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Madison left the kitchen and breakfast quarters, informing the server that she would be back. She began to trail down the hallway, listening for his identifiable gentle yet firm voice, the baritone that vibrated through the floorboards. Her heart fluttered, too, but not in a way that was exciting. Despite her dozy state a few minutes before, Madison felt fully awake as she padded down the corridor.
When she went to his office, she caught the sound of his voice rumbling through the door. He wasn’t erupting with rage, which was a good thing, but he did sound rather serious. She approached the door without hesitation and pressed her ear to the cherry oak.
“We will have to speak to him through the alpha,” Trenton said, who was the other voice in the room.
“Mmm-hmm,” The king said, musing. “I have heard things about this alpha.”
“Things?” Trenton responded.
“Not entirely flowery things. Supposedly, he’s rather dominant and savage.”
Madison slid her jaw back and forth, considering returning to the breakfast quarters or even their chambers to confront him about why he was hiding such a crucial discussion from her. But her stubborn nature took over, the wolf whispering in the depths of her belly rising, and she took a firm grip on the door knob.
It wasn’t locked, and she didn’t burst in. But the exchange halted instantly, with Trenton resting casually in a desk chair while Fletcher stood by the chapel window, gazing at the raindrops gliding over the pane in thick, glassy beads.
They both gave her a look, the king’s far more stunned and personal. The comet in his eyes that painted the retina a crimson red appeared, making Madison all the more cross.
“Who is this alpha you’re talking about?” she said with a firm resolve. “Is this related to the attack on the store? Why are you hiding it from me?”
Fletcher stood with his hands behind his back, looking very virtuous and lofty. When Madison spoke, he raised a hand in the air, which Madison interpreted as uncharacteristically controlling.
“Wait a second, Madison …”
She cut him off, snapping with an undercurrent of a snarl that made both the men flinch with bewilderment.
“No, you wait a second. I know you think you’re protecting me by keeping me out of this, Fletcher, but you’re not. I may not be able to shift, but I have a plethora of magical knowledge that more than makes up for it. I know how to take care of myself.”
She remained at the door, her back rigid and unforgiving, when the king’s scowl switched to a look of extreme awe. Madison then felt her face begin to grow warm, subtly realizing that her anger may have been misplaced.
“I know you can take care of yourself, my darling,” Fletcher said, still silhouetted by the window. “And I know how powerful your magical prowess is. This is merely a dangerous mission, confronting an alpha that we know has a violent history.”
She moved into the room, skirting past Trenton like he was a mere shadow. Fletcher watched her closely, fascinated and adoring.
“If I’m going to be your queen, you’re going to have to trust me. I’m not going to be one of those women that sits in the palace, all safe and bored. I want to be included. Ineedto be involved.”
His hair was pushed back in its solemn and presentable style. She could see buds of stubble sprouting along the sharp jawline of his face, which meant he most certainly hadn’t slept or kept up with his usual schedule. He pursed his lips at her with reluctance.
“Trenton,” he said, regarding his beta. “When can we leave?”
Trenton, Fletcher, two of the king’s enforcers, and Madison all left at midday, the storm building to an inevitable crescendo. They drove through the kingdom with Madison and Fletcher in the back seat, the pummeling of the water against the windows a semi-soothing ambiance.
The king told her what had happened the night before while she slept and how the traitor, Colt, had given up a man named Turk, who belonged to a pack with an alpha named Alaric. Many of the pack members were transients who were either outcasted or found their own way to settle in a forest outside the kingdom.
“Technically, it's still my jurisdiction,” Fletcher said, holding her hand in the back seat. “But it's far from civilization. Many shifters will take advantage of that. Their demeanors are a lot less tame, far wilder.”
Madison nodded along. It wasn’t that she didn’t have fear coursing through her veins. A small amount was healthy. But it would be pointless to be waiting in the palace all day, staring out the window while the storm grew and deliberating on the fate of her king. No, she needed to be in the thick of it and defend both of their honors.
“What makes them wilder?” Madison asked.
Fletcher sighed. She could sense his own fear rising in him.
“There’s a trend among some of the city-raised shifters of ‘going back to the earth’ to connect with their animalistic sides. There’s nothing wrong with that in itself, but it's often used as an excuse to be far more aggressive and to live outside the law.”
Madison understood him completely. She had heard of such behavior but had never encountered it directly. Through the sheet of the rain painting the windshield, they both noticed they were approaching a gated community.
And it was just as Fletcher had said. It was in the middle of the forest, with two shirtless men guarding it.
“Tell them we mean to speak to Alaric,” Fletcher said, switching into king mode. “Emphasize that it is only dialogue. We don't want to stir up anything unnecessary.”
