The Broken Wolf
Chapter 144

I wasn’t able to fall asleep after Seth left, my mind racing with countless possibilities of what could happen as I toss and turn. Will she speak with him? Will she refuse and get hurt? Will Seth give up and come back home quickly? What if there’s an attack while he’s there?

There’s a knock at the door and I open it to find my mom standing there, a sympathetic smile on her face.

“It’s always terrible when they’re gone,” she says softly, walking in.

I nod, closing the door behind her and following her back to the bedroom. She walks into the closet and pulls out a dirty shirt of Seth’s, walking over to wrap me in it and helping me back into bed.

“Your mind is racing,” She says softly, climbing onto Seth’s side of the bed. “I know your bond is so unique, but he can feel it. He asked me to come check on you, but didn’t fully explain. Was there an argument before he left?”

I shake my head at her, feeling foolish. “Maybe? Did he tell you what is going on?”

“Not exactly,” she says, playing with my hair as I lay my head on the pillow. “I gather someone with information was captured elsewhere.”

“Yeah, at Bloodmoon” I tell her softly. “It’s a shewolf. She wasn’t willing to talk, but they said she was hysterical. Seth told them to give her wolfsbane, and I said not to. He wasn’t happy about it.”

“It’s hard to speak sense into them sometimes,” she tells me calmly. “You’re right, though.”

I nod a little and realize why he was so upset. “I said it while he was on the call, on speaker. I didn’t think about it, but that’s probably why he was upset.”

“These big, strong men like to think they’re always in control of everything,” she says, moving to lay down next to me, rolling on her side to face me. She reaches up and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear and cups my face. “You have to let him think he is. Deep down, he’ll know he’s not, but let him think it.”

“I’m sorry he dragged you out of bed,” I tell her with a small smile. “I’m just so worried they’ll attack again while he’s there.”

“Molly, even if they do,” she tells me with a smile. “He’s the best fighter I think I’ve ever seen. He will be just fine. Now, go to sleep.”

I awake to find my mom has left me, though I can smell food and feel safe assuming that she’s out in the living area. I get up and peek my head out to find her and my dad sitting at the table, sipping coffee and speaking in hushed tones.

“Is everything alright?” I ask, nervous about why my dad is now up here.

“Everything is fine, kiddo,” my dad says, turning around with a smile on his face. “I just wanted to have breakfast with my two favorite girls.”

I can’t help but smile at him as I take a seat next to him at the table, but not before placing a k**s on his forehead. I take a bite of the french toast that’s waiting for me, savoring the sweetness of the syrup.

“Palace food isn’t as good as the food here, is it?” he asks.

I can’t help but giggle. “It’s fine, though a bit stuffy. They served duck one night with Benjamin and Lily.”

“Duck?” my mom asks, a horrified expression on her face.

“Yes,” I tell her, laughing. “It was fine, but…well… I’m not sure that’s what they expected. I don’t think it’s what any of us expected.”

We spend breakfast catching up. Even though I have seen them, it’s just been so busy and it’s nice to have some time alone with them.

“Molly,” my dad says seriously, straightening his posture. “I, umm… I spoke with Seth this morning. Things with the woman they captured have not gone well overnight. He asked me to speak with you about what is to happen if she does not decide to cooperate.”

I sigh, realizing now that this was not just a fun breakfast with his two favorite girls. “Dad, they can’t torture her. It’s wrong.”

“Lunar Falls is one of the more progressive packs out there,” he tells me, reaching out to hold my hand. “But, kiddo, sometimes you have to do things to keep your loved ones safe. If he’d given me the chance, I’d have gone with him. You aren’t safe. My grandpups aren’t safe. He needs to do whatever it takes to get information.”

“Torture is wrong,” I whisper, looking down. I’ve always known my dad was an Alpha, but I never actually had to see him do any of, well… anything. “You never did anything in front of me, ever. I realize now that you protected me from seeing anything, but dad. I can’t even tell you how many people I’ve seen Seth kill now.”

He nods at me and squeezes my hand. “I know, but all of them were to protect you. The mate bond makes you see things differently. You are so small, especially in your wolf form. As your dad, I’ve always felt an overwhelming need to protect you. I can’t imagine how strongly Seth feels that same feeling, especially since there’s three of you.”

“I know,” I whisper, uneasy with the turn this conversation has taken. “But King Peter killed my brothers in an attempt to protect Seth. He thought what he was doing was right, but it wasn’t.”

“Oh, Molly,” my mom says, tears filling her eyes. “This isn’t the same. He thought he was protecting him, but there wasn’t any real danger. There very much IS real danger for you.”

I nod, understanding what she’s saying, but still struggling to differentiate it in my mind. “I think I want to go back to bed,” I say quietly, hoping they’ll let me and just leave me for a bit. Thankfully, they do after they help me clean up from breakfast.

I walk back to the bedroom, pulling Seth’s dirty shirt back on and curling back up in bed. A few tears escape me as I think of my brothers and the danger they never really posed. What would my life have been like if they hadn’t been killed? Would I have ever met Seth? Would the rogues have ever formed a pack?

I wake up to the sound of my door slamming and quickly sit up, finding my mom walking into the room. “Molly, we have a problem. Seth’s on the phone,” she says, tossing the Wolf Kingdom newspaper at me.

I look down and see a photo of Seth and Myself at B***d Moon the day of the Alpha Challenge, impeccably dressed and holding hands. Seth is looking at me with a look on his face like I’m the only person there while I am looking off in the distance, waiting for the challenge to begin.

“THE ROGUE PRINCESS” the headline reads and I feel my heart sink to my stomach.

“We’ve all heard the rumors regarding our new princess, Molly Barfuld, daughter of the famous former Alpha of the Lunar Falls Pack. The stories were true about this adopted daughter, though, abandoned in the woods when found by the Alpha, a little girl left all alone with a broken wolf.

It would seem though that, once marked by our Prince, the new Princess was finally able to have her wolf, though not without making some other changes as well. There was a magic spell concealing her wolf, as well as her looks. If you had seen her before, you’d hardly recognize her now with her curly hair and dark green eyes.

Our dear princess was abandoned in the woods as a young child by her biological parents, none other than the banished Alpha Benjamin and his true mate- a witch! They wiped the poor girl’s memory and locked away her wolf and her magic, leaving her in the woods after her older brothers, Benjamin’s three sons, were murdered by King Peter.

The Bardulfs took the child in, adopting her in a b***d adoption unknowingly sanctioned by the very man who caused her to be placed into hiding.

The Prince has reportedly been most patient with his new-found mate through the entirety of this ordeal, though one has to wonder how he feels being mated to our princess who we now know has magical abilities. It has been disclosed to this reporter that, quite recently, Alpha Benjamin was on the brink of death, but was healed completely by his daughter.

The royals have only been half truthful with their baby announcement as it is now known by this reporter that they are expecting not just a girl as announced, but twins.

Will our new queen reveal more magical abilities that she’s only recently found and more importantly, will the heir to the throne?”

“Seth,” I whisper into the phone, barely able to breathe.

“It’s going to be fine, Love,” he says softly and I can feel the tears about to spill over. “I’ll fix this. I’m so sorry.”