Chapter 22
King Cyrus Valentino sat beside Amelia’s bed, his fingers drumming against the chair’s armrest. His expression hadn’t softened even as he waited for his subordinate to bring the doctor who could tell him how severe Amelia’s wounds were.
His wolf was pacing in his mind, unsettled, restless, and furious. After only a week in the royal palace, the girl known as his wife was attacked by his enemies. This wasn’t just a threat to the girl’s life, but a scar to the royal’s protection of their people.
That was bold of them, quite strategic, he must say.
Seeing Amelia struggling to pull the pillow comfortably, he stood from his seat and helped her place it under her back. His hand brushing against her skin softly made a shiver run down her spine.
Their eyes met briefly, the innocence in her eyes captivating Cyrus for a fleeting moment as he found himself lost in her eyes for a second.
On the other hand, Killian was still standing quietly by the doorway and didn’t know what to feel about the situation.
Wasn’t Cyrus Valentino known for his monstrous behavior and hatred towards the healers? Why was that man being so considerate with Amelia? And why did he feel a dull ache when he saw Cyrus touching Amelia? He didn’t like her, so why?
Killian took a deep breath before he walked to the door and knocked on it, catching the couple’s attention.
Cyrus stood straight, his aura suddenly changing from approachable to cold and distant as he sized Killian up and down.
“Yes?” he quirked his brows.
“Permission to speak, King Cyrus,” Killian said, his teeth grounded.
Cyrus hummed vaguely before sitting beside Amelia again.
“I was the one who called the royal palace to inform you about Amelia’s condition. I know your people will look into this, and I just want to add my input. When Amelia left in the taxi, I saw the triplets from the Ashborn pack coming from the same path as Amelia,” Killian paused, letting the King process the information.
Amelia glared at the man.
So he was the one who ratted out about her condition to Cyrus and hindered her plan of healing first. She couldn’t help but find it odd. Why was it that the man who mentioned there shouldn’t be anything between them and that he hated her was getting so involved in her life now?
“You think the alphas did that to her?” Cyrus asked.
Alpha Killian nodded proudly as if he had made some tremendous distinct observation and helped the King immensely. However, Cyrus’s following words humbled him immediately.
“In that case, you need to work on your skills, Alpha Killian,” Cyrus said.
Amelia closed her eyes. She already knew something like this was coming. She didn’t want Killian to be humiliated before the king.
She knew the King would next wonder how she could fall for a dumbass like him, and it would be an insult to her, too, though she agreed that she was indeed dumb in the past.
“Don’t you think you are looking for trouble by accusing the Ashborn alphas without proof? Did you see the men, the dress they wore, their emblems, or any marks on their bodies?” Amelia asked.
Killian glared at the girl for calling him out like that when he was just here to help her, but he didn’t say anything before the king.
“No,” He uttered.
“She won’t be alone again,” Cyrus commented, not adding anything about the attack. This time, there was no anger in his voice, just a terrifying edge aimed at the people who harmed his wife.
Killian nodded and left the room with a bitter taste in his mouth. He admitted that he had made a mistake by presenting half-knowledge to the king, knowing that such words at this level could lead to Pack Wars.
At the same time, across the city, in the shadowed chambers of the Bentley estate, Patrick stormed into his father’s study, slamming the door behind him before he threw the scrolls on the desk.
“What kind of behavior is —?” Dominic started but was cut off by his son.
“You sent men to kill Amelia, Cyrus’s new wife?” Patrick asked.
Dominic furrowed his brows, his aura deepening as his sharp gaze fell into the scrolls before shifting to his son.
“What nonsense are you spouting? Have you lost your mind?” Dominic asked.
“I haven’t lost my mind, but you undoubtedly have. I got the word from Cyrus’s inner circle.
Seven men from your team, the black shadow commanders, one of them holding the emblem of our team, have been found dead in the University. They were killed by someone while attacking the queen. They have witnesses,” Patrick explained.
Dominic quickly opened the scrolls, his pupils dilating.
It was a death report, standard royal procedure. He gazed at the detailed information of the ranks, their names, and even their background in his team. The emblem photo at the bottom of the scroll confirmed that the men belonged to him.
Dominic stood from his, confusion engulfing his thoughts.
How could this be possible? He hadn’t summoned any of them, let alone the leader.
He walked to the wall before pressing a secret button, which immediately moved and revealed a hidden ledger of all the current active orders and the team deployed for them.
There was no mention of any attack near the University or any royal. There were no red-inked permissions. Then how and why?
Dominic turned towards his son.
“I didn’t order them. They didn’t go on my orders for sure,” He assured. His words and the clear evidence before them confused Patrick.
If his father didn’t order those men to attack Amelia, and he didn’t either, then who asked those men to lead this attack?
“Someone manipulated them,” Dominic suddenly said, his strange words catching Patrick off-guard.
“Manipulated them? You mean hypnosis? But why would someone do that? Why choose our people? And when?” Patrick asked.
Dominic didn’t say anything. He wasn’t sure if it was just a simple hypnosis.
There were powers, ancient powers, that could bend minds and make a person dance to your tune. The powers could mask thoughts, corrupt loyalty, ignore kinship, and more.
If someone wielded that kind of control, they could make soldiers believe they were their leaders and deploy just about any attack. However, the main question was, why use them to target Cyrus?
“But why Amelia?” Patrick asked the suppressed question, and Dominic shook his head in confusion.
“I don’t know. But if someone has that kind of control and is using us to attack Cyrus or Amelia, they are not just targeting them. They are planning a deeper game on which we all are on board,” Dominic said.
Patrick didn’t add much and just left, leaving Dominic deep in thought. He had indeed been thinking of warning Amelia not to join hands with Cyrus because the guy already hates healers.
He wanted to approach her to break Cyrus and corner him until he dropped the idea of being a king, but it looked like he would have to clean up this mess he didn’t even create first.