371 [Bonus chapter] Sleeping Warrior

Fresh white bandages wrapped the woman at three parts of her body, both shoulders and stomach. These were the three places where the arrows had broken her skin... arrows that had been laced with wolfsbane had gone through her. She was breathing steadily with the help of the machine that monitored her vitals.

The constant beeping of the machine was more proof of her being alive than the subtle rise and fall of her chest. She was barely breathing. Regardless of the fact that she’d almost died, though, something told him she was going to be alright.

There was more fight left in this specific female. Even in this weakened state, when killing her would be the simplest thing to do, she radiated the aura of a warrior. Her body’s state reminded him very much of Katie’s. The only difference was that female felt much wilder than Davin’s daughter.

Davin now had to confirm the question burning in his mind. Frank stepped to the side, letting the royals through the drawn curtains. The closer Davin got to the woman in the bed, however, the more his wolf whispered the frightening reality that stared him in the face.

He could feel it. The abnormally high level of divine energy in the being sleeping on the bed. It was the same as that of a royal... In fact, it was quite similar to the that of the Chosen. It was similar to that of someone that had been graced with some ability from the moon goddess herself.

What was worse was the scent of his uncle that lingered all over the woman’s unconscious body, mixing with her own in a perfect blend, “I had the same reaction when I saw the way the prince looked at her and ordered to have her hospitalised immediately. We might not see eye-to-eye, but the hunters don’t want to destroy the peace that exists between the royals and the humans,” Frank explained, “Take a look at her shoulder. I think you’ll be even more confused by what you find there.”

The king snapped from his daze and moved over to the woman, pulling the light blue garment that concealed her left shoulder. The skin was bare and he sighed in relief for a moment, but there was still one more side to check. He wasn’t in the clear yet.

As soon as he’d forced the garment free of the skin there, his blood went cold. The mark there was just as real as she was. Set in her shoulder were two deep rows of teeth from a wolf bite with the dark image of a howling wolf at the very centre of the mark.

Passing his hand over the grooves the teeth marks left, he counted the number of particularly deep marks that the canines left. As he’d feared, they were twelve in total with six for each jawline, “The mark of a royal.”

.....

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“Can you be sure that the person that marked her was indeed your uncle?” Frank asked him.

“Yeah, it was him,” the man sighed, pulling a chair from behind him and settling in it with his head in his hands. The king rubbed his temples, “This is getting more and more complicated.”

“Does it have to be?” Queen Martha spoke up.

“It doesn’t have to be, but there are so many questions that keep arising. A rogue holding the mark of a royal and helping a beta alpha escape. It’s not looking too good at the moment. Sean doesn’t seem to be in the mood to talk either as long as he is here and his conditions aren’t met,” the king replied.

“He’s the one in custody and you’re considering his conditions? What kind of king are you?” Silver asked him.

“The same one that wants to ask you to release him into my custody. And before anything, hear me out. You can send hunters to make sure he doesn’t escape or go anywhere. I can lock him up with hunters to guard him, but while we are here, I don’t think he’s going to say anything,” the king reasoned.

“I can’t make a decision like that. You know that your majesty,” Frank replied with a sigh, “I’ll need far more than that.”

The king was quiet for a moment, “Hmm, very well. Give me two days with him then. If I have nothing useful from him in that time, then he can come back here... indefinitely. You get to decide how much security is around him during those two days.”

It was now Frank’s turn to think this through. After a moment, the man resigned, “Very well, you can have him. He will have two hunters aware of his whereabouts at all times. Their methods of guarding him will be completely up to them. You have far too much hope in that man, your majesty,” the man replied.

The king sighed in acceptance and eyed the woman in the bed, “there are some lines which can only be crossed once and once it is done, there is no going back. Until I know what’s with her, she is to be kept in pristine condition. Ensure that she’s healing well.”

“Hold on. I’ll get a notepad for the orders you’re giving here. Don’t forget how little power your title holds when you’re here. The master of this fine establishment is the only one above me, I’ll have you know. So make reasonable requests,” Silver said, making no attempt to write down the king’s orders. Davin didn’t indulge him though. He simply remained silent and unmoving.

Silver realised soon that the man was serious. They were to treat someone that had just broken one of the most dangerous wolves in the world like royalty. Didn’t the man take a moment to assess what that meant? As these thoughts ran through the Mighty Warrior’s mind, he realised there was nothing he could say to change this decision. Thrusting his hands into the air in defeat, “Fine, she’ll be treated like glass.”

“Thank you, Frank. For all you know, this woman could be of the same value to the empire as Queen Martha or princess Lina,” the king said to the man, finally standing up from the chair.

“Maybe Queen Martha should free the Rogue King’s beta alpha first before we start making such assessments,” Cupid Shooter mumbled to himself.

“What was that, Frank?” Martha asked, feigning ignorance.

“I said this woman couldn’t possibly rank as high as your gracious self,” the man quickly changed his words, “That kind of respect and elegance takes a certain amount of work to gain.”

“Oh... Your words are too kind, Frank,” Queen Martha giggled.

The hunter sighed... ‘I know she heard me... Why does she have to torture me so?’