Page 61 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part One

“I don’t know,” he lied. “I’ve pissed off many people in my life. Maybe this is about revenge. We just have to keep vigilant. If they were so brazen to run right into my territory, then there’s no telling what they’ll try next.”

“If we tell the Circle, they can send in some witches to help Diedre protect—”

“No,” he cut in. “Diedre is stronger than anyone. She’ll figure this out. I need to know who's behind this first; we can’t trust anyone.”

The door opened, and Micah walked in with some team leaders.

“You wanted to see us?” Micah asked as he entered with his head lowered.

He could feel the apprehension in the air. The rogues had got to them, too. He hadn’t thought his warriors’ faith in him would ever be shaken.

“Diedre is going to give you all some protective charms. I’m worried that whoever is behind this can take control of a wolf so easily,” he told them.

Very worried. What would happen if they somehow infiltrated the compound and controlled one of theirs? He wasn’t even sure they hadn’t already. How had they known about Layla in the first place? Either someone was voluntarily feeding them information, or they already had control of someone. Diedre would have to look into that.

“If there is another breach, raise the alarm but keep your distance,” he added. “I’ll have to deal with it.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Micah answered.

“Keep the patrols within the boundary. We can’t use the trainees for this unless it becomes necessary.”

“The boy from the gate is still waiting for your punishment, Alpha,” Micah said.

He’d completely forgotten about the boy. Last night could have turned out a lot worse. But it wasn't the kid's fault. Dylan should have known better than to send a boy to do a man’s job. His father had made them all do that, and it had destroyed most of them. He didn’t want to leave the same legacy his father had. Crushing a child's spirit and sending them to gruesome battles wasn’t how you produced well-balanced adults. Half the wolves in his pack were probably as fucked up as he was. But the kids didn’t have to turn out like that.

“You deal with him. He needs to understand how dangerous falling asleep on the job is,” he said as he stood up to walk back to the window.

He was feeling too antsy to sit in one place. Layla was getting to him. He'd still been in the shower when he'd felt her fear, and it hadn't stopped when he'd gone out to check what was wrong. Was she still waiting for punishment for trying to escape? After last night, why would that even cross her mind?

But he had enough shit to worry about now; he wasn’t supposed to be thinking about her feelings. As long as she remained safe, he had to ignore her. Especially now. Shit would blow up if the truth came out now.

Cain growled his displeasure, but he ignored the beast, too. Cain knew less about taking care of anyone’s emotional needs than he did.

The warriors turned to leave, but Micah remained where he was.

“I’ll... I’ll go and see if Diedre needs anything for her spells,” Dylan said as he looked from Micah to him.

He already knew what Micah wanted to speak about. Dylan must have already told him what he intended to do.

“Alpha, I’ve been told you’re sending Cassandra away?”

He sighed and returned to his seat. Micah was sad and angry- he could feel that even though his head warrior was trying to calm his emotions. But he imagined if he hadn’t had death hanging over him, he would have been the same with his future child. He’d been told that having children changed people like that.

“She’s been overstepping, Micah. Your daughter needs to learn her place.”

He was sure Micah had noticed his daughter’s interest in him over the years.

“I’ll talk to her. Her mother will be distraught, Alpha. They’ve both been planning her eighteenth birthday and... Please give me a chance to make this right.”

Micha had never asked him for any personal favours in all the time they had known each other. The man had a lot of pride, so he knew what it would have taken for him to stand in front of him like that.

“It’s not just me she’s upsetting,” he admitted.

When Micah’s heart rate spiked, and he looked up to meet his gaze, something the warrior never did, he knew his words had been understood.

“She’s not my mate, Micah. She’s not going to be Luna and Queen. She can’t behave like she is and make other people do her dirty work. I’m sending her away so I don’t have to have a more difficult conversation with you,” he explained. “Do you understand?”

Micah nodded, the fear for his child visible in his eyes and the set of his shoulders. It was never a good thing to upset Cain. Micah and the rest of the warriors knew that better than anyone.

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