Chapter 31
I grabbed Luna Kinsley by the throat and slammed her into the wall. I watched fear cloud her eyes as she squirmed beneath me, but I didn’t loosen my grip. There would be hell to pay for messing with me and what’s mine!
“WHAT DID YOU DO?” I demanded, showing my teeth and letting my aura slip a little.
“Nothing!” Kinsley exclaimed.
“Do. Not. Lie. To. Me.” I growled, tightening my grip.
Real tears fell freely from Kinsley’s eyes, unlike her usual fake tears, but she stood by her story. “I- I- didn't do anything! Please believe me! It’s her! She’s framing me!”
“So does that mean that you were trying to poison Grace or me?” I asked, but the idea of her trying to harm Grace right in front of me just made me angrier.
“Please let me go! My husband won’t appreciate your hands on me!”
“Your husband is lucky I didn’t kill you for trying to POISON ME!” I roared. “Tell me why you tried to poison us! Does it have anything to do with the mark on her neck?!”
“What?” Kinsley’s face visibly paled, but the confusion on her face looked real.
“Who from this awful pack had the nerve to forcibly mark this girl?!”
The longer this went on, the angrier I was getting. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Grace reach out to a shaky hand toward me, just as the door to the room swung open, revealing a very angry Adrian. Grace’s hand recoiled immediately.
“Get your hands off her!” He shouted, shoving me back. His shove was weak and had no impact on me, but I moved away slightly so I could shield Grace more.
“Well, well, well, look who finally showed up.” I jeered, clapping my hands slowly.
“Just because I’m not here means that you have the right to touch my mate?” Adrian seethed.
“Your mate tried to poison us!”
I watched Adrian take a small breath in an attempt to calm himself, but there was still anger burning in his eyes, and something else, that looked something like lust every time he looked at Grace, making me want to hide her anywhere but here, so he would never be able to see her again. I wanted her to be anywhere but here...
“Please, let's just all calm down here. This is all just a big misunderstanding.” Adrian tried.
“How is poisoning me and my mate a misunderstanding?” I asked through gritted teeth.
I could see a blush rise to Grace’s face at the word mate. It was clear she still wasn’t used to such words.
“Your mate?” Adrian stuttered.
“Yes. And that leads me to my next question since you are her old pack Alpha, who the hell marked her without her consent? Because she sure as hell wasn’t living a good, mated life when I took her with me on my last visit.”
I watched the worry on Adrian’s face grow as he just as quickly tried to mask it. He seemed to realize much quicker than I expected that he was in a losing battle, but I was curious what their next move would be since they always seemed to be a step ahead.
“Listen, Alpha King Rhys, my mate meant you no harm. She saw her sister, who as you know has had a very troubled past as I am sure you have noticed in your home as well... And she panicked. It was all in self-defense.”
“First of all, Grace has a name. Second, she has caused no trouble in my home which is leading me to question your leadership skills, and your failure to protect those under you. Third, Grace hasn’t done a damn thing since was got here. She hasn’t spoken, she has hardly moved, she has sat here calmly and politely, and protected me from your poison, so I’d like to know more about her time here, and why the hell she was marked without her consent?”
“It was my Beta, your majesty. Grace had led him on and he lost control of himself.”
“Do you let everyone in this god forsaken place just do as they please?” I growled. “Bring him to me! There will be hell to pay for touching what is mine.”
“Of course, yes, Kinsley, go retrieve Beta Quinton.”
Kinsley nodded, but it wasn’t hard to miss the fear on her face as she slipped out of the room and made eye contact with me.
“Grace?”
She looked up at me with her wide blue eyes of hers that showed her fear so openly.
“You are being so brave. I will make them pay for what they have done to you, my love. You are so much more than they say.”
She looked hesitant, but she nodded, nonetheless.
“Now, should we talk about our alliance now, Alpha King Rhys?” Adrian asked, trying to pull the attention off of Grace, almost as if he was afraid she would say something.
“Alpha Adrian, I think you must be delusional if you think our alliance is still intact, after a poisoning attempt and the mistreatment of my mate.”
“Sir, please, let’s leave the past in the past. We have so much to offer you.” Alpha Adrian continued to plead his case.
“I’m aware of what you have to offer.” I forced my voice to remain calm even though all I wanted was to rip them all apart.
Alpha Adrian misunderstood what I meant by my statement, and immediately began to go into great detail about the things he thought would benefit my rule. But there was something off. Something he wasn’t saying.
Grace touched my arm gently. She seemed to notice the shift in my mood, and her face looked worried. I took her hand in mine, reassuring her that I wasn’t actually going back on my promises to her. I was just letting Adrian talk... Hoping he would talk enough to give us a clue to what exactly we were missing when it came to them. And when he finally did, there would be hell to pay. And I couldn't wait for the opportunity to have revenge, because I would be getting my revenge.