Chapter 66: The Woman In The Cloak!
The Second-in-Command Captain looked as if he wished the stone floor would open up and swallow him whole. Valex’s unhinged calm was far more terrifying than an outright explosion of rage; it felt like standing in the eye of a hurricane, waiting for the wind to tear the world apart.
"Your Highness," the captain whispered, his voice trembling as he kept his head bowed. "The guards on the night shift swear they saw nothing. The perimeter wall was completely clear. There are no broken locks, no signs of an entry, and..."
"And yet my five-month pregnant wife is not in her bed," Valex cut him off. The words were quiet, spoken with a lethal precision that made Kael’s jaw tighten from where he stood just behind the King.
Valex didn’t wait for another stammered apology. The primal instinct of his wolf was clawing violently at his chest, demanding he move, demanding he track, demanding he find the bond that had suddenly gone cold and distant. With a sharp, furious sweep of his cloak, Valex turned away from the captain and began marching toward the grand staircase, his heavy boots shaking the very foundations of the hall with every aggressive step he took. He was going to her room himself. He needed her scent. He needed to see where she had last been.
As Valex reached the base of the stairs, the heavy oak doors at the top of the landing swung open.
Miss Faye came down first, her face pale but her posture rigid with a grim, solemn dignity. Just behind her was Cara. The young maid looked entirely broken—her eyes were bloodshot and swollen from hours of weeping, her fingers desperately twisting the fabric of her stained, wrinkled apron.
When Cara caught sight of Valex’s massive, towering frame ascending the steps, a fresh wave of terror washed over her features. She choked on a sob, instinctively shrinking back against the banister.
Valex paused on the steps for a fraction of a second. His dark eyes locked onto Cara’s tear-stained face, then shifted to Miss Faye’s tight, sorrowful expression. He didn’t say a single word to them. The fury and desperation radiating from his body were so suffocating that the air between them turned completely rigid. He pushed past them without a glance, his shadow engulfing the staircase as he bolted up the remaining steps toward the royal quarters, driven by a frantic, blind need to find a trace of Odesse.
He slammed the heavy oak door open, the force of it bouncing violently against the stone wall.
"Odesse!"
His voice tore through the quiet of the royal suite, raw and frantic. Valex strode into the center of the room, his dark eyes sweeping over the space in a manic blur. He ripped back the heavy velvet curtains, expecting—hoping—to see her standing on the balcony, looking back at him with that soft, reassuring smile.
Nothing. Only the cool morning wind rushing into the empty room.
He turned on his heel, his breathing turning into shallow, ragged gasps. He lunged into the bathing quarters, throwing the privacy screens aside with a deafening crash. "My love! Odesse!" He searched the shadows, his hands catching on the cold marble of the basin, his chest heaving as the hollow silence of the room mocked him.
He bolted back into the main bedchamber, entirely unraveled. The King, the ruthless Alpha who had just commanded the high kingdoms, was completely gone, replaced by a desperate husband losing his mind. He tore the velvet blankets off the mattress, burying his face into the pillows, trying to catch even a faint hint of her sweet, familiar scent. But the air was bland, empty, and chillingly thin. The bond in his chest felt like a frayed, freezing wire trailing off into a bottomless void.
"Odesse, please!" he cried out, his voice cracking, losing all its terrifying authority. He threw his head back, screaming her name at the ceiling as if he could force the universe to give her back. "My love! Where are you?!"
The sheer weight of the emptiness finally snapped his legs. Valex collapsed heavily by the side of the bed, his knees hitting the hard floor with a dull thud. The fierce, untouchable King folded in on himself. He buried his face in his hands, his massive shoulders shaking violently as the first harsh, suffocating tears broke free. He wept openly, a broken, human sound of pure agony echoing off the cold stone walls of the empty room.
...
Two weeks had passed since the disappearance of Odesse. The palace guards along every border had searched every thicket, cave, and clearing for the Odesse, but they could find no sign of her. Still, Valex was not ready to give up.
He sat lazily on the royal couch in his solar, though his posture was born of pure exhaustion rather than comfort. He looked up at Kael, who stood like a statue in front of him. Valex’s voice was authoritative and fierce, raspy from days of barking orders and a total lack of sleep.
"Have the soldiers begun searching the nearby kingdoms? I have asked for help from the Alphas of those packs, and they are willing to let our scouts check their lands."
Kael kept his hands clasped behind his back, his expression tight with a mixture of loyalty and growing dread. "Yes, Your Highness. I have assigned several elite units to cross the borders into the neighboring territories. They began their sweeps at first light this morning."
Valex pushed himself forward, his hands gripping his knees as he stared up at his commander. "And? Have they found any signs? A shred of cloth? A scent?"
Kael shook his head slowly, his eyes dropping to the floor. "No, Your Highness. No one has returned with any news. The trails are completely cold at the borders."
Valex fell back against the cushions of the couch, covering his face with his hands as a long, ragged sigh escaped him. The silence in the solar was heavy, punctuated only by the ticking of the clock on the wall.
Kael looked at his King, the lines of worry deeply etched into his own face. "Maybe you should get some rest, Your Highness. You haven’t closed your eyes for a week now. The pack needs you sharp if we are to expand the search further."
Valex pulled his hands away from his face, glaring at Kael with eyes that were fiercely weak—bloodshot, dark-rimmed, yet still burning with a dangerous intensity.
"Kael, my wife is out there," Valex said, his voice dropping to a dangerous, low rumble. "I do not know where she is. She may not have slept. She may not have eaten. She is in severe danger, carrying a child in her womb, and you ask me to rest? What sort of man would I be to sleep in a warm bed while my family is gone?"
Kael closed his eyes for a brief moment, swallowing hard. He knew he was crossing a dangerous line, but the sheer desperation of the pack’s situation forced the words from his mouth. "With all due respect, Your Highness... what if she ran away?"
The temperature in the room plummeted instantly.
A suffocating, lethal aura flooded the solar, pressing down on Kael’s chest until it felt like his lungs were collapsing. He looked up and saw Valex standing right in front of him, having moved with such unnatural speed that Kael hadn’t even seen him rise from the couch.
Valex’s eyes were narrowed into slits, his jaw clenched so tightly the muscles bunched beneath his skin. "Since when did you start speaking out of place, Kael?"
Kael dropped his head immediately, his shoulders shivering under the weight of the Valex’s raw, oppressive power. "Forgive me, Your Highness. I made a terrible blunder. It was an unworthy thought."
Valex stared at him for a long, agonizing beat before the suffocating pressure finally eased, allowing Kael to draw a ragged breath.
"Go out there and find her," Valex commanded, turning his back to Kael. "No one sleeps until she is found. We shall all ride out when the sun begins to set. Get my horse ready, and prepare the men. Now leave."
"Yes, Your Highness," Kael whispered. He bowed low, turned toward the heavy oak door, opened it quietly, and closed it behind him, leaving the King alone once more.
The moment the latch clicked, the fierce posture drained from Valex’s frame. His shoulders collapsed, and he fell back onto the couch, staring blankly at the high ceiling. A single, heavy tear rolled down his left cheek, disappearing into the dark fabric of the cushions.
"My love, where are you?" he whispered to the empty room, his heart aching with a hollow, crushing pain. "Why do you abandon me so?"
...
The hours dragged by like a slow torture until the sun finally dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in deep shades of bruised purple and crimson.
In the palace courtyard, Valex was already mounted on his massive black horse. Kael sat on his own mount beside him, his expression grim and focused. Behind them, twenty of the pack’s finest soldiers sat atop their steeds, their armor clinking softly in the cool evening air.
The heavy iron gates of the courtyard groaned as they were pulled open. Valex turned his head, his dark eyes sweeping over the line of riders. When he spoke, his voice was a loud, authoritative command that left no room for doubt.
"Check every stone, every cave, and every shadow. The other units are already patrolling the other borders. Every man here shall move directly to his assigned district and search for her. Do not return until you have combed through every inch."
"Yes, Your Highness!" the soldiers responded in unison, their voices echoing off the stone walls.
Valex snapped his reins, riding forward as the soldiers fell into formation behind him. They pushed past the first perimeter, descending the stone paths that led toward the secondary gate separating the palace grounds from the civilian town.
As the secondary gate swung open, the rhythmic thud of over twenty horses entering the cobblestone streets shattered the quiet of the evening. The townsfolk, who were wrapping up their daily business, stopped and watched in hushed, anxious groups as the royal procession passed.
Near a small fruit stall, a woman with her hair tightly wrapped in a woolen shawl leaned in close to her neighbor, who held a woven basket against her hip. "What is happening?" she whispered, her eyes darting toward the King’s imposing figure. "For a week now, the soldiers have been patrolling the streets like we’re at war."
The woman with the basket looked around cautiously before lowering her voice to a bare murmur. "You did not hear it from me... but a clerk from the lower levels whispered that the Queen is missing. Vanished right out of her own bed."
The first woman gasped, her hand flying up to cover her mouth. "Oh, my dear heavens. Do you think she ran away from him?"
The second woman leaned in even closer, her eyes wide. "Worse. What if she was kidnapped by a rival pack? Look at the Alpha’s face. He looks like he’s ready to tear the world apart."
As they reached the town square, the soldiers began to split up according to Valex’s orders, dispersing in tight squads toward the different sectors of the valley. Valex didn’t slow his horse down. He kept a steady, aggressive pace, taking Kael and the Second-in-Command, Lucien, along with him.
They rode away from the crowded market districts, moving down an empty, narrow road where the cobblestones gave way to packed dirt and overgrown weeds. The buildings here were old, abandoned, and falling into ruin.
Valex slowed his horse to a walk, his sharp eyes scanning the decaying structures. "What place is this?" he asked, his voice deceptively calm.
Kael pulled on his reins, aligning his horse with the King’s. "Your Highness, this was where the early markets used to be held. You ordered the merchants to evacuate a few years ago after they complained that the low ground gets entirely damp and flooded after every rainfall."
Valex pulled hard on his reins, bringing his massive horse to a sudden halt. He dismounted smoothly, his heavy boots sinking slightly into the damp earth. Kael and Lucien immediately mirrored him, pulling their horses to a stop and stepping down into the grass.
Valex walked a few paces forward, his eyes locking onto a sharp bend in the path ahead. The trail narrowed significantly, almost entirely swallowed by thick, tangled trees and unyielding briars that blocked out the dim evening light.
"Your Highness," Kael said, stepping forward with his hand resting on his sword hilt. "I can go check over there. The path is narrow and might be unsafe."
Valex continued walking slowly, never breaking his gaze from the dark canopy ahead. He raised his left hand, a silent, absolute command that made both Kael and Lucien freeze in their tracks.
"There will be no need for that," Valex said quietly. "You both may search this immediate perimeter. I shall be back."
Without waiting for a response, Valex stepped off the main path and forced his way into the overgrown trail. The branches snapped against his leather armor, and the thick brush clawed at his heavy dark cloak, but he pushed through them with an unyielding, frantic strength. He had to use both hands to tear apart the heavy sticks and vines blocking his progression.
When he finally broke through the dense wall of greenery, the suffocating thickness of the woods opened up into a small, perfectly circular clearing.
It felt like a hidden room carved out of the forest itself. There was nothing here but thick ivy crawling up the trunks of the surrounding trees, dead grass underfoot, and a weathered wooden bench sitting directly in the center.
And on that bench sat a woman.
She was completely shrouded in a heavy, dark cloak that covered her body from head to toe, the deep hood pulled far forward to obscure her face in absolute shadow.
Valex’s instincts flared. He tilted his head slightly, his hand moving automatically to rest on the polished pommel of his sword. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.
A heavy silence followed. The woman did not move. She didn’t flinch at his tone, nor did she make any effort to look up at him.
Valex’s voice grew louder, the deep rumble of his Alpha authority vibrating through the small clearing as he took two heavy steps closer. "I ask you again. Who are you, and why are you here alone in the dark?"
The woman finally moved, her head tilting slightly beneath the hood. When she spoke, her voice was soft, melodic, and entirely calm. "I am here because my husband has abandoned me... and I have nowhere else to go."
Valex looked back over his shoulder toward the narrow entrance he had just cleared, before straightening his back and looking down at her. "Who is your husband?"
The woman stood up slowly from the wooden bench, her movements fluid and unhurried. With a deliberate, graceful sweep of her hands, she reached up and pulled the heavy cloak from her shoulders, letting the dark fabric drop into the dead grass beneath her feet.
Standing in the center of the clearing was Azure.
A bright, manic smile stretched across her smooth features as she took a half-step toward him, her eyes locking onto his. "You, Your Highness," she said quickly, her voice dripping with an eerie, triumphant sweetness.
Immediately, the tension in Valex’s massive frame broke, but not in a way any of his guards would have recognized. The amber-gold color of his royal eyes rapidly bled away, replaced instantly by a dark, shimmering green that swirled with a wicked, predatory light.
A slow, sly smirk crept onto his face, twisting his features into something dark and entirely unrecognizable. He relaxed his grip on his sword, stepping forward until he was standing completely within her space.
"Yes," he murmured, his voice dropping into a smooth, deeply satisfied purr as he looked down at her. "I am, my love."
