Chapter 36

“The village is under attack!” Arthur cried, running back the way they came.

He heard the others following him, but they couldn’t keep up with him and their footsteps soon grew too distant to hear. Arthur pushed himself to run faster, fear building in his heart.

Daphne wasn’t responding to him.

What had happened to her?

He couldn’t hear or feel her. That shouldn’t have been possible unless she was dead.

He turned from that thought and ran faster. He reached the edge of the village and the scent of blood filled his nose. His stomach turned and he stumbled a bit at the sight of the bodies strewn across the main path into the village. He didn’t know how many were dead, but he was glad to see Rex and a few other familiar faces stumbling and carrying bodies off the street.

“Arthur!” Rex called, his voice tense and grateful.

Arthur didn’t stop and turned down the path to take the fastest path to his home. The scent of rogues still lingered, mingled with blood and death, but he forced himself to focus. He couldn’t stop to worry about all the blood splashed across the front doors of the buildings and pooling on the ground around the bodies. He couldn’t stop to see if the wolves were anyone he recognized from the village or just rogues.

“Daphne!” He yelled, running up the hill towards their house. The door was broken open. Wood shards and blood paw prints decorated the entrance of the house.

Lucas howled with grief and pushed at his control as anger began to boil and threaten to take over.

“Daphne!” He cried, tearing through the house, but there was no one inside.

Daphne was gone. Her scent still lingered in the house, but she had been gone for a while, maybe hours. The other scent hanging in the air sent Lucas into a growling fury.

“Owen,” Arthur growled around the terror building hot and painful in his chest.

He’d taken Daphne. Was she hurt? Why couldn’t she respond to him? There was none of her blood on the floor. It seemed that the blood there was on the floor had been tracked from inside. At the very least, he hadn’t injured her inside the house.

He’d taken her alive and that was the only thing that was keeping Arthur half calm.

Kill him, Lucas roared. Kill him for taking her! Rip him to pieces.

Arthur growled, panting as his fury filled him. He turned and stopped. Rex stood in the doorway, blocking the exit with his body and staring him down.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but it’s not a good idea.” Rex said, “Just calm down and—”

Arthur growled at him. His body trembled as his control started to slip. He felt his eyes turning red and furious. Rex faltered and nearly backed away from him, but he held his ground. Arthur was emotionally compromised. He owed it to him to get him to calm down and think through a course of action.

“He took Daphne! I'll kill him!”

“Arthur, wait!” Rex yelled, moving into the house to take up more space in the doorway. Blade came up behind Rex and entered behind him. Together, they blocked the doorway completely, containing Arthur in the house. “Calm down!”

“Move out of my way!”

“Calm down,” Blade yelled. “Think about it!”

“I don’t have time to think!” Arthur growled. “Daphne could be hurt!”

“That’s what we’re trying to tell you!” Rex growled. “Think about why he came for Daphne! Think about what he wants! If he was going to kill her he would have killed and left her body for you to find.”

Arthur growled, shuddering, “Get out of my way!”

“He’s trying to irritate you and lure you out, so he can easily kill you!” Blade urged, “Just calm down and we’ll come up with a plan, okay?”

Arthur panted, his heart pounding in his chest and Lucas thrashing and demanding blood. He knew Rex and Blade were right, but what did that matter? Lucas was furious, urging him to find Owen. His bond with Daphne was quiet and still. The longer she didn’t respond the more terror fueled his anger.

No matter how he called for her, she didn’t respond.

He knew she was still alive, but beyond that, he was in the dark and that scared him more than anything. He’d never been scared before. He didn’t know how to do anything but be angry and he was raging and furious now.

“Who cares! I can’t leave Daphne in his hands! Who knows what he’s done to her?” Arthur growled at them, tense and threatening. “Move out of my way!”

If this had happened months ago, he would have already bitten off Rex and Blade's hands, but he was restraining himself. He knew Rex and Blade cared for him and he had come to trust these people more or less.

“Don’t be stupid,” Rex huffed. “Of course we're going to save Daphne! But we need to plan before we act.”

The assurance calmed him a little bit, but he didn’t know what the hell they were waiting on.

“Look, Arthur,” Blade began. “The only people who can stand up to the Royals are the Royals. We can't let you fall into Owen's trap and get killed easily!”

“Royals?” Someone behind them whispered. Arthur clenched his jaw. Damn it.

“Who are the Royals? What royals?”

Arthur forced himself to focus and stop shaking, glaring at them.

They seemed relieved, shifting into their human forms as if he had agreed to sit and plan with them.

“Now, we—”

Arthur shot forward between them, pushing them aside as he passed them.

“Arthur!”

“I don't care if it’s a trap! Who knows what he'll do to Daphne?” Arthur yelled, ignoring them as he reached the forest line and went tearing through the trees, following their scents and hoping to find Daphne alive and unharmed.

“Quick!” Rex growled, shifting back into his wolf form. “Rally everyone you can and go after him. We can’t let him do something stupid and get himself killed!”

Blade shifted into his wolf form and let out a howl. The patrol members fell into formation and rushed into the forest following Arthur’s path. He was faster than the average wolf, but his size made it easy to track him even if he suppressed his scent.

Daphne’s scent was weak. Blade knew he wouldn’t be able to follow it far and soon they caught up to Arthur as he was trying to pick up the scent again.

“Arthur!” Blade yelled, circling him and blocking his path.

“Get out of my way!” Arthur yelled.

“You have to calm down, Arthur!” Blade said, “You’re—“

“If you're going to stop me from saving Daphne, I'll kill you right here!”

Blade closed his mouth, considering his options. Rex had given him the order to stop him, but there was no way he could take Arthur in a fight. What about Mamie and Joseph? If he died, then what?

What if Mamie had been taken? He shuddered; the thought infuriated him. He understood Arthur’s panic and fury. He glanced at the other patrol members and knew they understood as well.

Everyone knew that Arthur loved his mate. Daphne was a good person and just a human. She had no way of defending herself against the lunatic who had taken her, let alone all the rogues he controlled.

Anthony looked at Blade nervously. No one on the patrol wanted to fight Arthur. Blade considered it for a moment before deciding that there was only one way out of this mess.

“Alpha Rex gave us an order,” Blade began. “But, you're royalty, aren't you, Arthur?”

Arthur narrowed his eyes, his lips twitching with a low growl.

“Give us the order to follow you,” Blade met his gaze. “If you can.”

Arthur blinked, glaring at Blade skeptically and casting his gaze around. The patrol members didn’t seem hostile. They didn’t even look like they wanted to stop him.

“What are you trying to say, Blade? Just spit it out!”

“We want to help,” Anthony said.

Lucas stopped howling. For a moment, Arthur’s mind was clear as if sanity had returned to him.

Despite the urgency of the situation, he was touched by their wish to help him. He had never experienced such a sense of trust from anyone. Each of them looked ready to follow him to find Daphne.

Rationally, it was his best option. Blade and Rex were right. It was likely a trap, but he didn’t have time to try and plot around it.

Having them with him would be the best option.

He took a deep breath and said in a commanding tone, “Very well. Then come and help me.”

The wolves trembled as the order washed over them. They had subconsciously obeyed Arthur's orders before, but never once had they felt the royal family's power so acutely.

Arthur watched them fall into formation behind him.

“At your service,” Blade murmured. “Your Majesty.”