The Alpha Prince And His Bride
Episode 20

When James continued to roar and thrash against the chains almost desperately , the guards took out a long whip and before any one of us could react lashed it against his bare back .

I winced at the loud sound it made upon contact as more b***d flowed from his body , the stifled gasp that came from Eden caught my attention as my gaze snapped back up to her . My breath hitched at what I saw there .

She looked as though she’d seen a ghost and as if her mind had suddenly caught up to the scene in front of her , a loud terrified scream escaped her mouth as she all but ran to James side . “STOP ITTTT !” She cried throwing herself on top of him to stop the onslaughts .

I stood completely dumbfounded at her response , she acted like someone who had known James her entire life and couldn’t bear to see him in any pain .But I was sure Eden hadn’t seen James before , so none of this was making any sense to me . Even the guards had stopped there torture , unsure of what to do next.

“Somebody get these chains off him !” She screamed .

Everyone in the room remained completely still at her reaction , no one moved , not a single soul said a word .

Austin was frozen like a statue besides me , my brothers looked like it was suddenly the end of the world , father seemed like he was on the verge of collapsing … and the prosecutor , for once he didn’t seem calm and collected . His face twisting into an ugly expression , I came to the sudden conclusion that I hated this look far more than I did his creepy happy one.

What was I missing here ? For everyone seemed like they knew something I didn’t and whatever it was , wasn’t any good as no one in the room was happy about it . In fact , it seemed as though it was bad news for every single person present in the room now .

“Eden !” Father shouted , finally breaking the silence and shattering the invisible ice within the room. “Get out of here NOW!”

Eden trembled at father’s words . “Father–” She whispered , giving him a helpless look , refusing to move from James’s side .

His eyes narrowed into one of those dark looks he usually gave to my brothers .”NOW!” He roared as the palace windows shook at the power that radiated off the terrifying sound.

A loud menacing growl tore from James at my father’s tone . Eden climbed to her feet and ran out the room without speaking another word . James watched her go with a pained look before pulling aggressively at the chains once more , the guards struggling to keep him under their control . In fact , if he continued with his actions there was a high chance he would break free and no one could predict what would happen from there , especially with the rage bottled up inside of him now . His breathing was hard , b***d leaking from his forehead down his eyes , giving an illusion of bloody tears as it continued down his face .

“You better control your brother .” The prosecutor warned as he turned to Austin . “If you don’t , we will .” He threatened . The deadly look in his eyes alone spoke volumes on what that threat meant .

Austin stiffened once more , not pleased at the unmistakable threat towards his brother . ” Get these f*****g chains off him first .”

The guards looked at the prosecutor for confirmation and after a few seconds he nodded .

James sprang up from the ground instantly , b***d dripping onto the floor as he glared at the prosecutor .Before he could say anything however Austin was in front of him in seconds . “Let’s talk outside brother .” He insisted placing a hand on James’s shoulder .

James reluctantly moved his angry gaze from the prosecutor and aimed it towards Austin , his eyes softening a little at the look Austin gave him. His breathing slowed and it became clear that he was trying hard to gain control of his body once more . After a few minutes he finally nodded his head and motioned for Austin to lead the way.

The tension in Austin’s body seemed to lessen a little , that is until his gaze settled on the vampire a little distance away from us , he was in front of Draven in the blink of an eye , growling aggressively at him . ” I don’t want Lucy in the same room as this bastard when I’m not around.” He snapped , glaring at him.

“Isabella .” The prosecutor ordered . ” Take Lucy to see Eden , we have more important matters to discuss and I don’t want any disturbances .”

Isabella nodded .” Yes Prosecutor .” She obeyed taking my hand in hers and leading me out the room.

I looked over my shoulders and caught Austin’s eyes on me , the look there making my body tremble , something I would never get used to. I continued to stare into his eyes , trapped by his hungry gaze , unable to look away for even a second , it was only when the doors closed behind us and I had no choice but to look the other way did I finally stop.

…………….

AUSTIN’S POV:

James was tense besides me , in fact it was the first time I had ever seen him like this , he was usually calm and collected even under stressful conditions . But this was expected , something that couldn’t be controlled .

“I know . ” I told him before he could say anything . ” I know she’s your mate brother .”

It was also the first time I’d ever seen him this helpless and out of control , it looked as though he had absolutely no control over his feelings now , I could see the battle in his eyes as he battled between what was the sane thing to do and taking what belonged to him.

It was a werewolf’s natural nature to want what belonged to him , your mate gave you a reason to live , a reason to fight , now that James had found his mate , it was only normal for him to want her by his side , the need to claim her as his own would be strong , the need which was almost impossible to ignore was enough to drive any sane person mad .

A raw insatiable need.

A need that I felt whenever I was around Lucy , who was I f*****g kidding , it was there even when she wasn’t near .

f**k.

Even now with everything going on around us I still had a soul shattering need to claim her in every f*****g way possible. A need to mark her , a need to let every f*****g person know that she was f*****g mine , MINE. I almost murdered that vampire’s son in cold b***d when he suggested to make Lucy his bride , I still felt like ripping him apart now .

I shook the thought out of my head , what the f**k was wrong with me ? I had more important matters at hand . Like the fact that my brother’s mate happened to be the worst possible pick ever , as I watched him now I could see the strain it put on his body having Eden so near and not being able to claim her .

In this case however , it wasn’t possible for the claim to happen ,especially not now , this was the worst possible time for James to try to claim his mate , she belonged to the council , by right she was their property and there wasn’t much we could do without starting a war . A war that I couldn’t possibly start when Lucy was around , her safety mattered to me more than anything else . The thought of her in danger made my gut twist and my heart clench painfully .

No , I couldn’t bring any danger to Lucy. Not now , not ever .

“Leave . You must leave brother .”

James eyes snapped up to mine at my words , he looked like that was the last thing he expected me to say.

“No.” He replied almost instantly ,in a flat tone .

“James .” I pressed . ” We have too much at stake right now , Eden belongs to the council , if we plan on taking her from here it would require a lot of planning . If you leave now the council wouldn’t feel as threatened , we could take them by surprise another time . “

He still didn’t look convinced .

“Taking her from the council now is a great risk you’ll be taking brother , think about it , if we lose the battle Eden would be the one to be harmed by the council with the worst punishment being death , the best and smartest decision is to leave .”

James stiffened at my words , his body motionless and I could tell those words did the trick at convincing him to leave.

He shook his head . ” What about you ? How can I leave you here with Lucy ?”

It would be a risk letting James leave , but I also couldn’t take the chance of having him here when Eden was around , the smallest thing could flip him off , after seeing his reaction from earlier there was no way I could have James anywhere around Eden. If James started a fight , things could go south quickly , I could end up losing both my brother and Lucy.

No.

He had to leave.

” I’ll be okay .” I promised , it wasn’t the first time I was placed in a difficult situation by myself . ” If you still have doubts about our safety , you could remain with Lucas and stay back with the packs .”I suggested .

I could see him battling with himself as he fought to comply with my words , obviously not wanting to leave when there was so much at risk . I saw the moment he finally gave up , not finding any other better solution . James was the type who looked at all possible outcomes of a situation , he was always the one to think rationally . But this time I knew that this was the most difficult situation he has ever been faced with , since it involved none other than his mate.

“James . “I said , catching his attention once more . ” Do not return unless you hear my signal. “

He swallowed but eventually nodded . ” I give you my word brother . “

…………….

LUCY’S POV :

“What’s happening ?” I asked alarmed .

Eden was on the ground in tears , looking completely lost and broken . My heart ached at the sight before me , both Isabella and mother were trying to comfort her .

“James is her mate .” Isabella answered , wiping Eden’s tears .

My eyes widened in horror . Everything Eden and Isabella had told me before replayed in my head now … Eden and James could never be together and if they chose to disobey the council , it meant death for them both .

No.

This couldn’t be happening .

“What’s going to happen now ?” I demanded , my hands shaking .

“There is nothing we can do .” Mother answered in a broken tone . “We can only hope James leaves this alone , if he tries to fight for Eden it would only make things worst for everyone .”

Eden’s eyes widened in horror, pulling away from mother’s embrace as if a switch had suddenly come on upon the mention of James fighting for her .

“I just want to see him at least once .” She cried ,climbing to her feet . “I need to see him.”

Mother and Isabella blocked her way immediately . ” You know you can’t do that Eden.” Isabella stopped her . “Did you see what happened in there a few minutes ago ? They were torturing James , if you went to meet him now things would only get worst , he can lose his life .”

That seemed like enough to stop Eden in her tracks , her face went pale as she dropped to the floor once more with a defeated look.

I dropped to my knees in front of her and gently took her into my arms , not saying a word for I knew there wasn’t anything I could possibly say to make this any better. She held onto me as she continued to sob uncontrollably .

Nothing.

……………..

Sir Vincent’s POV:

Everyone was silent after the meeting , things had taken a completely different turn.

The prosecutor’s usually calm demeanor was tensed now , a sight that was very rare to see . ” We may have a problem . ” He admitted . ” That Alpha James is Eden’s mate , if it were any other normal werewolf everything would have went smoothly but he’s a powerful Alpha along with his brother . Both of their packs together could be fatal to us .”

I saw where the prosecutor was coming from , James and his brother Austin were powerful and posed a threat to our original plans with Eden .That is , if James decided to fight for her , which judging from the scene today was more than likely to happen.

“She’s already promised to Hunter .” Alpha Richard pointed out . “That’s all that matters .”

The tension in the room only increased at the mention of Hunter.

Hunter.

The heartless monster . After his mate was murdered right before his eyes , the alpha had turned dark , he became one of the most feared killers in the supernatural world , in fact, he was one of the council’s most important clients .

Richard’s words surprised me , did he really not care that James was his daughter’s mate ? Would he really rather she got married off to that killer Hunter ? Or was it just an act , to get on the prosecutor’s good side . I wasn’t sure , Richard was never easy to read , it always annoyed me that I couldn’t read the wolf , now more than ever .

“James isn’t going to just let his mate go , any Alpha with that power would fight till death for his mate , what we saw in the meeting room was only just the beginning .” The prosecutor pointed out stiffly . “We have to inform Hunter that his bride is ready for the claiming , he needs to claim her before James can .”

“And if James does so before Hunter ?”

The prosecutor’s gaze snapped to mine angrily . “No such thing could ever happen , you know Hunter , he’s a brutal killer , if he doesn’t get his promised bride we could lose his alliance with us and even worse become one of his enemies , it’s not a risk I’m willing to take .” He snapped . ” I don’t care what we have to do , Eden belongs to Hunter and that’s the only person allowed to claim her .”

” But can we really stop James and Austin ? ” Cassandra asked with a wicked glint in her eyes as she proceeded to make herself comfortable on the cushions , the witch enjoyed these kind of events , it excited her more than any man in her life ever could . ” I mean just look at how Austin attacked Draven today, not a care in the world that he was in the presence of the council … and James , you saw how many of our best guards were needed to keep him at bay . If you ask me , they’re even stronger than we originally thought .” She continued , as she intentionally directed her words to me , knowing just how much it would piss me off . Something the b***h enjoyed doing .

The sudden reminder of what that f*****g a*****e tried to do earlier had my temper rising , threatening to explode .

The prosecutor turned to study me as if sensing the sudden change in my mood.I knew what he was going to say before he even opened his mouth .

“Don’t let your rage ruin my plans.” He warned , his usually calm gaze turning to stone as he glared at me . “You will do as I say , do not interfere with Austin .I know you have a rage after what he did but I may need the alliance of that wolf in the future . So leave it alone .”

“Am I clear Vincent ?” He snarled in his deadly tone when I refused to make any comments on the matter.

We had enough power and connections , we could survive without one f*****g Alpha.

“Yes prosecutor .” I forced myself to say.

“Good. “

I quietly waited for everyone to leave the meeting room before calling for John. The vampire watched me with curious eyes upon entering . ” You called ?”

” Who the f**k does he think he is ?” I roared pelting a glass against the wall. “Attacking my own son in front of my very eyes , he must have a f*****g death wish.”

John quirked a brow . “I’m guessing I missed out on all the fun .” He concluded .”Who are we speaking about.”

“Alpha Austin Lance Vinci.”His name slipped from my mouth like venom. I hated that fucker .

The servant rushed to pick up the broken pieces of the shattered glass , shivering at my rage .John’s eyes widened upon the mention of the Alpha’s name , a reaction most people had upon hearing his name , my rage intensified further .

” Well he is the most powerful Alpha–“

“I don’t care who the f**k he is , he disrespected us the moment he placed his filthy hands on my boy.”I shouted , glaring at John.

John was my closest in command , the vampire handled most of the council’s assassinations along with The Cross brothers . He was studying me now , sensing just how much the incident from today affected me .

He gave me a knowing look , his gaze darkening .” What do you want me to do ?”

I thought about his question for a moment , the answer right there in front of me . What could possibly hurt the Alpha , bring him the most pain in the worst way possible ?

I smiled . ” Hit him where it hurts the most … his wife Lucy.”