The Moon Goddess' Chosen

330 Compromised...!

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” she asked. While she would have liked to yell at the pigeon, straining herself this early in the day would have been unwise.

“It couldn’t be done. You needed your rest to make it to today, so we took a gamble. We will get them today and keep them from causing any harm,” the pigeon replied.

Katie sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of her nose, “Very well, Darla. Let’s get going then. Stay close to me.” With that, Katie walked back into her room with the pigeon perching on her shoulder comfortably.

Her secret was not as important as the lives of the people that were going to attend the coronation. Katie exited her room and came face to face with Kyle. The beta alpha bowed low, as well as the other two wolves flanking him on both sides.

“Good morning, Kyle,” Katie greeted delightfully.

“Good morning, Luna Katie. You’re practically glowing today,” he returned. His eyes settled on the pigeon that perched on her bare shoulder, however, he chose to dismiss the matter... for now.

“Well, I am well rested and happy,” Katie answered, paying no mind to the humble bird and walking past the beta alpha. Kyle kept a distance between himself and the Luna and followed her through the palace halls.

“Might I ask what the creature on your neck is doing? Perhaps you’ve chosen to carry a pet now?” Kyle asked when he could hold back his suspicions. He grimaced when the pigeon cooed at his remark.

“The bird is my companion today,” Katie replied lightly.

.....

“Oh, and this... bird knows this as well,” he asked her, walking ahead so he could see her expression. His alpha’s bright blue eyes regarded him for a moment before setting her eyes back on the halls.

Kyle pulled back when he realised she wasn’t going to tell him any more than that, “And here I thought we were making some kind of progress,” he slumped his shoulders.

Katie opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when Darla suddenly interfered, “Katie, that maid...” The girl scanned the passing wolves and came in eye contact with a maid pushing a food cart.

Chills went down Katie’s spine at the sight of the woman. They were still on the floor that housed the king’s chambers and as far as she knew, no one had ordered any food. Katie also couldn’t find her face to be familiar. She’d not taken the time to memorise the faces of those that served her, but it was odd to lack even a spark of recognition. The next words that came out of Darla’s beak put all the missing pieces together, “She’s one of them.”

Fear gripped the Luna at the words of the bird on her shoulder. Almost immediately after the bird had cooed, a shiny glint of silverware reached her eyes. Kyle sensed the tension and stepped in between the two immediately barring the maid’s path from the Luna.

“Kyle, seize her now,” Katie ordered and the command gripped the beta alpha’s whole being. Sensing that her cover had been blown, the woman retrieved a knife from underneath the white table cloth on her cart and attacked Kyle.

Kyle evaded her knife’s path swiftly and held her wrist, yanking it at an odd angle and forcing the piece of cutlery out of her hand, “That’s dangerous, you know,” he exclaimed before forcefully twisting her arm and slamming her to the right wall.

The sheer strength behind Kyle’s actions rendered all her actions useless. Once he’d gripped her hand within his, the fight was pretty much over. With her face pinned uncomfortably against the wall, she struggled against his iron grip but soon found these struggles to be useless.

‘When did Kyle get that strong?’ Katie thought to herself. She’d noticed his physique change as time passed, but the change was still substantial for a few weeks of being a beta alpha.

‘Well, I guess any kind of strength should look monstrous to me in this state. Perhaps, my perspective is not the same as it has always been,’ she tried reasoning but was ultimately defeated within her own mind. Kyle had handled this situation far too swiftly than she’d expected... and Katie felt a lot safer with him around.

The rogue woman raised her other hand in surrender. The other guards escorting Katie approached them and restrained the woman. Before the woman was taken away, she regarded Katie with a wicked glint in her eye, “You’re even weaker in person. By the end of today, you won’t be a threat to our king anymore.”

“The last time I checked, the king really liked me,” Katie feigned ignorance, “And couldn’t get hurt by a mere kitchen knife either.” While Katie knew she was referring to the rogue king and not Cole, she stubbornly refused to acknowledge the man as royalty, “And the other king is my father, so I’m afraid you either mad or delusional... or both.”

Kyle watched the woman get taken away from them. Wiping the thin film of sweat on his brow, he asked, “How did you know she was going to attack you?”

“You can thank my companion for the heads-up,” she gestured to the bird on her shoulder with a kind smile.

Now it all made sense.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. You can talk to animals now!” the boy sighed, “It’s like the gods are trying to make a demi-god out of a human.”

“Yeah, I can talk to them and they know the criminals by face and voice,” the girl giggled to him.

The beta alpha was taken aback by her words, “Wait, that would make you the biggest thorn in their side. What are you going to do now that you can identify them? You could help this investigation come to an end. They could...” the beta alpha forced himself to stop thinking too much. His job was simple and his alpha’s calm demeanour only suggested she’d thought about all of this already. All that remained was for him to listen to her instructions and help if he could.

“Naturally, I will take them down before they can cause any harm,” the girl shrugged.

“Even in your state, you’re just as frightening as ever,” Kyle chuckled, “In that case, I request permission to help you out with your mission.”

“Permission granted,” the girl replied, retrieving her phone from her purse. “It will be like old times, except that this time you can fight for a change.” She chuckled.

Kyle looked different as well. Kyle’s whole mood was significantly lighter. For once, she didn’t detect any sad or gloomy emotions coming from him and there were no signs of torture anymore, “I take it Caden is taking it easier on you.”

“Yes. Can I ask why you had to hand me over to him in the first place?” Kyle asked as they resumed their walk. The wolves that followed them were replaced moments later and the light commotion in the halls died down almost as though nothing had happened. The only sign of this short attack was the message that was carried along covertly toward the future king of Lycaon.

“Caden was the one most affected by your crime. So, yeah, I had to give him a chance to get closure. Has he asked you yet?” the Luna asked.

“No, not yet. I guess he’s not yet ready to let go of her yet and I can’t exactly blame him,” the beta alpha replied.

“How are you finding the capital, Kyle?” this question, while phrased differently was exactly the same one she asked every time she wanted to know about his progress.

Kyle sighed heavily. He knew she wouldn’t stop checking on his progress. He was coming to terms with his predicament and also finally accepting the fact that the rogue killer was far too soft for her own good.

“The capital is fine, I guess. I’ll save you the effort and tell you that my thoughts have not changed. I only live to serve my master. Nothing else.”

“Oh... Very well then,” Katie sighed. ‘Beta alphas are not capable of lying... What will it take to get you to start living again?’ the thought lingered on the girl’s mind for a moment. When no answer would come to her, she shelved it with all her other pending questions. With so little energy to spare, there was only so much she could take care of... and there was a band of criminals at large.

And they had already infiltrated the palace.