Page 10 of Heart Broken Mate

I pulled myself from the bed at the thought of that. I’ve heard about fated couples. People talked about them as though theywere some sort of ideal idea of love people should strive for. I never really believed in it. For me, love was simple, and when something as complicated as the supernatural gets mixed up in it, it defeats the whole purpose of it.

But I still couldn’t understand this feeling. I wondered if the man had the same feeling. His name is Luke, and I could still see him when I closed my eyes. The way he stood before me, biceps bulging and defying James’s order.

There also was the issue of James. How was I going to face James after what happened? How would I tell him I fumbled at the first opportunity he gave me to prove myself?

On my way back to town from the lone wolves, I had walked alone with the other in front of me. Some of what they said drifted back to me, and they were mocking me.

It was just like the first time I joined them. They segregated me because I didn’t grow up with them. Only Ilad was there for me, and now Ilad was there with them. He had to think of himself. He couldn’t associate himself with me any longer. He had put some hope in me, and I had let him down. I feel like I have let a lot of people down. And I would understand if they wanted nothing to do with me anymore.

I will understand if Ilad treats me like a leper, and if James wants me out of the pack, I will leave.

But I have to make sure he hears about the incident from me first. I can’t have Viper poisoning him against me. He would twist the whole story up and make it appear like was a two-faced bitch. Truthfully, it might appear like that. Because why else would I have sabotaged the mission in that way?

I sighed and finally stood up from the bed, walking to the door. I knew James said he would be busy, but he would have to make some time for me. Just five minutes and I would explain what happened to him.

When I got on the road, it was dark, and a little rain was drizzling. I didn’t mind the rain; I didn’t even notice it as my mind was focused on what I would tell James. He’s an older werewolf and might have experienced something like this before or even have some advice for me. I hoped so.

When I got to the Palace, there was no one by the door, which was strange. Even at midnight, whenever I walked past the Palace, there was always someone at the door. And today, James said he has a meeting. There should be even more security unless the meeting isn’t being held at the Palace. If it isn’t, then James wouldn’t be here.

I stopped on the stairs and considered going back, but I was here already, and it wouldn’t hurt to check out the Palace. I pushed the main door open and walked into the external garden.

It was night, so I wasn’t surprised that it was empty. I was surprised to find the main hall empty. There are always people there. The palace isn’t just the sitting place of James. It was a hub—a hub for all werewolves.

But tonight, it was empty. No people, no party. I got the sense something was wrong. I looked towards the entrance and considered turning back and returning in the morning. I decided against it.

I started up the stairs, glowing my eyes to see better and walking lightly on my feet so I didn’t make much noise. I had my claws extended, ready for sudden attacks. No sudden attack came. Igot to the top of the stairs and walked to the throne room. When I got to the throne room door, I used my enhanced wolf hearing to listen in and found it empty.

Everywhere was empty. I couldn’t even hear people's breath, couldn’t hear them talk. I figured I was right initially. The meeting wasn’t happening here, and I would have to talk to James some other time. I considered sitting by the stairs outside and waiting for him. If he saw me there, he would know it was a serious matter, and he might also guess I was pandering for his sympathy, and if there was one thing James hated more than failure, it was emotional manipulation. I decided to head home and deal with my mess the next day.

Just as I was about to step out, I heard a scream. I stopped and listened for it again. It didn’t come, but I picked up the location it came from. I followed it, making sure to be as quiet as possible. The scream didn’t sound like that of someone in pain or distress, and it didn’t sound like that of someone happy, either. It was just that—a scream.

The further I followed the sound, the more sounds started coming to me. They came as whispers, and I arrived at a door. I’d never been this far into the palace before. It looked like someone’s private quarters.

I stood by the door, and the voices carried to me. Sometimes they were clear, and sometimes, they were not, but it wasn’t hard to get the bone of contention about the discussion. There were about five people in there, and I recognized some of the voices. I recognized James. He sounded subdued, almost like he was scared to talk. I guessed the Tarloux family had visited, and they decided to have the meeting at his home. I recognized one more voice. A man called Lenny, the commissioner of police,under James’s employ. It was important that at least one person from the human faction knew about the supernatural beings they were inhabiting the town with. The person they chose was Lenny. I never liked him much. He had the look of a jealous person. I knew he couldn’t be trusted, and James didn’t trust him either. But Lenny was so scared of James that he would never do anything to cross him.

The other voices I didn’t recognize. The conversation they were having sounded crazy to me.

“And how many children this time?” one of the voices asked.

“We don’t know yet. Along the line of fifty to hundred,” Lenny said.

“We can’t take that. The deal was two hundred!” another voice bellowed, and I recognized it as the voice of the person that screamed earlier.

“You will take what you get, Ringer!”

That was James, and he was still talking.

“You will take what you get, and you will pay what we are owed. What, you think, we just walk into the streets and pick those children up? It takes months to curate a dozen of them.”

“You told the family you would have over a hundred and closer to two hundred when you talked to them last.”

“I know. Some unplanned situations came up, and we couldn’t keep up with the numbers.”

“It is those goddamn lone wolves, isn’t it? I told you to deal with them!”

“And I will,” James said, and then the next couple of things he said didn’t carry to me. They weren’t talking with their voices raised anymore, and it was hard to listen, but I understood what was happening.

I couldn’t believe it. I heard it but still couldn’t bring myself to believe it. It all just seemed far-fetched. It wasn’t the kind of thing I would have imagined happening in the werewolf world.

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