Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder by Alice Knightsky
Chapter 134 Alone With King Kai
Banished.
I couldn’t believe my own cousin had said that word to me. Before I could do anything, I heard him order, “Guards, arrest him!”
The doors of the throne room opened, and the guards and crowd flooded back in. They didn’t go far. Everyone was waiting for the king’s decision.
People looked at me, some were shocked, some were puzzled, some looked at me with pity, and some were gloating over the situation.
However, I noticed that none of my pack members were there. They must have been intentionally kept away from the throne room.
I stood staring at James for a few seconds. His gaze was already alert, and before I knew it, royal guards had circled him in the center, protecting him- from me.
My cousin no longer trusted me, and it was the same from me towards him.
I shifted without hesitation and fought off a few guards coming at me.
As I moved my way towards the exit of the room, I heard him announce to the crowd, “Ladies and Gentlemen! I must inform you that Alpha Ethan Gray is the cause of this war. I know it will come as a shock because many of you have always seen him as a hero, but because he cruelly murdered his stepfather many years ago, King Kai, the brother of the man that was slaughtered, has attacked our kingdom.”
The crowd was quiet, and the king continued, “Now, King Kai is offering peace if we hand the true culprit, the one responsible for all of our suffering, over to him. Let Ethan be the one to pay the consequences for his dastardly deeds! Let his life be given instead of the innocents’. He has fooled us into thinking he was on our side when all along he has been the one to cause all of our pain and senseless deaths!”
It was clear that James’s mind was made up before I even walked into the room.
Cheers went up with the end of the king’s speech, and others began to chant that I should be captured and sent to Kai to die, and I was banished from the kingdom because I wouldn’t turn myself over to certain torment and death.
And all I could do was to run for my life.
I was not afraid of death, but at least I would want to die for something worthy.
I picked up speed, running down the hallway toward the outside of the building. Finally, the emotions started to settle in. Betrayal, rage, and desperate disappointment stirred together in my mind, and I could barely breathe.
‘Talon, I’ve got to go,’ I told him via mindlink. ‘I’m leaving the capital.’
I couldn’t force my pack to come with me, but at the same time, they would be in danger if they stayed behind. They were loyal to me, and James would never trust them to shift their loyalty to him. I needed to warn them.
‘What’s happening?’ Talon’s tone sounded frantic, even through the mindlink. ‘Is the king turning you over to Kai?’
‘He tried. I’m no longer an Alpha, I am banished. If you want to stay, I unders—’ I couldn’t finish my sentence. ‘Ethan, shut the f’ck up. We’re all coming.’
I chuckled bitterly. When was the last time I heard Talon curse? My best friend, loyal subordinate… I couldn’t be more grateful.
‘Thank you, man.’ I managed to say, ‘Get what you can together, and meet me where we came in.’ I’d left most of my forces there before I entered the capital.
I only had one bag I kept when I was out on the battlefield. In it were some water, change of clothes, and the tattered ultrasound picture Rosalie had given me all those months ago. It was the only picture of my child I had….
I charged toward the tunnel I knew would allow me to escape the capital. But as I ran and calmed my mind, I realized there was a unique opportunity, and I couldn’t let it slip through my fingers.
King Kai, our hated enemy, the brother of the man I despised, was out there, not far away from where I stood.
He was the true cause of all of the suffering of our people. We all knew why he came to the East continent, and why he chose to ask for me now- that was because he was losing the war!
He was the one who should be blamed for the death and destruction that had taken place here, and I wouldn’t let that b’stard get out of here without any pain!
If I had to go through suffering, someone else would need to go through it with me.
I changed my trajectory. With my wolf’s speed, I was so much faster than anyone else James could send after me, I knew I could either outrun or outfight his soldiers. I just needed to get to the tunnel that led to Kai before any of them realized what I was doing.
‘Talon,’ I said, using the mindlink again. ‘I’m going to run an errand. Lay low, and I’ll be back.’
‘An errand?’ he asked, stupefied. ‘Where are you going? Wait-’
I cut off the mindlink. I had no time.
Sticking to the shadows and outskirts of the capital, I ran next to bushes and walls, brushing against every flowery bush or mud puddle to help hide my scent.
I saw the opening to the tunnel I needed up ahead. The sound of guards shouting to one another in the distance let me know my path was clear. Even if they saw where I went, they wouldn’t catch me.
I had to shift to open the trap door that led to the tunnel, which was hidden in the ground near a cropping of large rocks toward the back of the castle. Quickly, I took my human form and pulled the door open, peeking inside to make sure I was alone. I had no doubt the enemy soldiers hadn’t been using this tunnel. It was too small. The others coming from this direction were much wider.
This one would barely be wide enough for my wolf.
But I wasn’t claustrophobic.
Dropping down onto the stairs, I pulled the door closed and then shifted back into my wolf, securing my bag, and heading on my way.
The floor of the tunnel had a few inches of water in it. The smell of wet concrete and earth coated my lungs as I ran along at full speed. My fur brushed along the sides of the tunnel, it was so close. I pressed on.
Only a few moments later, I reached the end of the tunnel and waited. This would be more dangerous because enemy wolves would smell that I wasn’t part of their pack. I could a*s*sume that many of the warriors would be on their way to the capital, or already pouring through the castle walls, but I was certain Kai would be in his camp, and he would have a detail of guards protecting him.
If only it was nighttime, my task would be much easier.
But it wasn’t, and I didn’t have time to wait around and see what unfolded.
At the end of the tunnel I shot up the stairs and used my snout to push through the door, popping up just enough to see where I was in relation to the camp.
I couldn’t have missed it.
Rows of tents stood about three hundred yards to my right. For the most part, the camp was silent. I heard a few male voices flutter to me in the wind.
Those would be the guards.
Satisfied that none of them were close enough to me to spot my ascent, I climbed out of the tunnel, hoping I’d be able to access it again when I needed it
Staying low to the ground, I sniffed the air for an indication of where the guards were. The distinct smell of a male hit my lungs, and I realized one was nearby.
After rolling around in the leaves for a moment to help mask my scent, I stalked to the closest tree and used the trunk to hide myself as I waited. A few moments later, a guard came by. He was in his human form, probably for easier communication. After all, mindlink could only work amongst the core pack members.
It didn’t look like the guard was aware that I was there. In fact, he wasn’t paying attention at all, just making his rounds as he had been instructed.
When I burst out from my hiding place and leaped on top of him so quickly, he didn’t have time to make any sound. The impact knocked the wind out of him, and my sharp teeth sank into his throat, ripping out enough flesh to prevent him from ever making another sound again.
With his blood dripping from my jowls, I surveyed the situation. Not smelling any other wolves nearby, I shifted to my human form, put on the dead guard’s uniform, and headed into the camp.
Finding King Kai’s tent wasn’t difficult. It was the largest one, located in the center of the camp. A glance around told me I wouldn’t have any problem sneaking into that tent. The other guards noticed me from far away, but they were not suspicious probably because they couldn’t see my face clearly.
If they were as unobservant as the one I’d just killed, they wouldn’t find the dead body for a few minutes. And that was all I would need.
Kai… the West King, the one who initiated this war. He had the guts to get this close to the capital, then he’d better prepare to pay the price!
There were a couple guards outside of the tent, so I lowered my head and made myself heard. “My King, urgent news from Mirage about Alpha Ethan!’’ After saying this sentence, I entered the tent before the two guards could react.
Kai was standing behind his desk, looking at a map.
Alone.
The Moon Goddess was on my side this time. If I could smile now, I would grin from ear to ear.
He was obviously waiting for the news.
“Give me the report,” he said, but immediately, he realized that I entered the tent without permission and he was on high alert. “Who are you!?”
But it was too late. I took my chance, shifted, and launched myself off of my back legs. I went flying over the desk, hitting him full force with all of my weight and knocking him backward against the wall of the tent.
“Arrgh!” Kai shouted. “Guards!!”