Sins Among Royals

“Report,” a voice crackled through the airwaves of a man’s personal radio as the earpiece in his lobe jumped to life.

“Here sir,” the young man responded as he pressed the button on his collar and replied through a concealed mouthpiece. He sat in a dark coloured truck at the bottom of the castle topped hill. “Who in the hell lives in a castle anyway,” he muttered bitterly as the man sitting in the back seat slumped further into the depression he had made in the soft cushy surrounds.

“I don’t bloody know and quite frankly I don’t actually give a fuck. Being in this town is a mistake. Listening to that little shit face Kade wasn’t the right move.” The two men in their vehicle had complained, moaned and whinged the whole way to Blackwood. They had been staking out a weird supernatural with a penchant for men when they were called off the job. The two perverts had taken quite a liking to the woman till they realised what she did to men. Still, the one in the back missed watching her. Knowing that they would rid the world of another unnatural human like thing gave him a thrill.

He did not get that same thrill hunting werewolves. He thought they were beneath him.

“You know his sisters a little mongrel right? The only reason we’re here is because he was invited to some shit ceremony they do when they bond.” The man in the front muttered with disgust.

“Fucking sick fucks.” It was obvious that neither man understood anything regarding the werewolf world.

“Might want to learn to air your grievances off the airwaves Young,” a dominating voice growled at the two men as they both sat upright and cursed.

“For fuck sakes Luke, sort your shit out.” The man in the back seat groaned as he climbed from the vehicle and stretched. It had been a long couple of days watching and waiting but as he held his arms overhead, arched his back and heard a satisfying click he soon heard something else that made his blood run cold.

A wolf howl tore through the town, sending with it a sense of uneasiness and foreboding. He listened as it fell silent, the eerie feeling creeping through his body was enough to send the hair on his arms, neck and back standing on edge. The moon rose over the horizon and cast its pale light across the landscape, shadows dancing as it climbed higher.

A second howl followed as the other man climbed from the truck, “everyone!” The voice crackled through the earpiece again, “move in. Attack only the wolves. We can’t explain human casualties.” With that the two men fumbled around for their shotguns and handguns quickly before departing their vehicle and heading into the treeline near their truck.

In an instant they both knew they weren’t alone as they crept through the undergrowth. The men trying desperately to keep quiet. They needed to listen for wolves, one knew that while humans could be quiet, wolves moved with a stealth that made it hard for humans to track, if they didn’t know what they were looking for.

The snap of a twig and a sudden and fierce growl caught both of the men off guard. When they turned to see the source of the noise the men were being trailed by three gigantic wolves.

In a split second they both turned and pointed their guns, “stay back you asshole!” One of the men yelled in fear. The wolves smelled the fear radiating from him like heat from a fire. The smell soured the atmosphere around them immediately as the wolves readied themselves.

The wolves were palace guards who had been sent by Alpha Christiansen to patrol the town. At Noah’s insistence they were under attack the Alpha jumped to it. Unlike Noah who was completely inexperienced Albert had seen many attempted take overs and so he was ready.

The nervousness of one of the hunters soon got the better of him as he began shooting wildly at the wolves. In the blink of an eye and completely by surprise the man soon let out a blood curdling scream as another wolf descended on him from behind. The sound of fleshing torn and bones being cracked echoed through the trees around them. Blood splattered the second man as he watched in shock as the savage wolf continued its attack until his teammate was well and truly dead. There was no recovering from the injuries he had sustained.

The second man dropped his gun and fell to his knees, what was the use in fighting when he would only end up deader than dead. Before long the wolves heard more screams and gunshots, the man who held his hands in the air closed his eyes and sent out a silent prayer for salvation.

When he finally mustered the courage to open them again he was alone. His gun had been taken and the body of his comrade lay on the ground beside him. His blood staining everything.

The man heard more shots fired wildly and wondered who had been the next victim.

Meanwhile, in the castle Kade had been rounded up with the rest of the guests and he didn’t like it one bit. He had been lumped in with a group who had been deemed unable to protect themselves.

Rushing for the door his parents tried to stop him but Kade shrugged out of his mother’s grasp with a frown. “You want to stay in here with them?!” He whispered harshly as his father stepped in.

“Now son! Don’t do anything stupid, we’re safe in here!” He tried to reason with Kade but to no avail.

“Safe?!” Kade yelled hysterically. “These people are monsters! They turn into wolves dad! When will you realise they are all abominations that deserve death!” since learning his role as a hunter Kade had come to hate all werewolves and supernatural creatures alike. It didn’t matter to him what they were, they were all impure, unholy abominations that needed to be wiped off of the face of the earth.

“What about your sister?! You know her, she is no abomination Kade, she never has been!” His mother scolded him.

“She’s the worst of the lot and you two are so blinded by her that you can’t see that. You spoil her and coddle her so much and you encourage this behaviour in her. You are no family to me.” Kade spat as he pushed passed other guests and stormed from the room they’d been barricaded in

He quickly strode out to the area they’d been gathered and saw wolves everywhere. He pulled a gun from a concealed holster and began firing randomly at any wolf he could.

“Stop it!” Poppy ran towards her brother when she saw what he was doing. “Kade! What are you doing?!” She attempted to stop her brother only to find the barrel of his gun pointed at her forehead.

“Stay the hell away from me you mongrel bitch,” he was seething with anger, his finger on the trigger.

Poppy heard his words and felt the sting that came with it but she struggled with understanding and thought her brother might have just been hysterical with panic. “Kade, please!” Poppy pleaded and tried to reason with his better half, “please stop! They are good people there and they are trying to keep us safe.”

Kade laughed maniacally as he cooked his gun and stared down the barrel at his sister. “They aren’t people! They are monsters!” He screamed angrily, “and you’re just like them! You think I’m happy I’ve got you for a sister? You think I like telling my friends you’re a freak?! It’s embarrassing. You’re embarrassing!”

Still Poppy as having trouble with what he said and still tried to reason with him, they were blood. How could he be so cruel? Poppy opened her mouth to say something but Kade pointed the gun at her leg and shot. Poppy howled in pain as a bullet tore through the muscle of her leg. How could he be so heartless.

Unfortunately for Poppy her mate was off protecting the castle, she saw his tail disappear into the trees before Indie went chasing them. But fortunately for Poppy there was another present who heard every single word from Kade’s mouth and saw his treatment of his sister and it made him furious.

Ever since he’d lay eyes on him Wade wanted nothing more than to tear him limb from limb and when he saw Kade shoot his own sister in the leg Wade pounced on the opportunity. He knew he didn’t need to shift to be able to disarm Kade and thanks to all his training Wade knew he could take him on easily.

Running towards the pair quickly Kade was caught completely off guard when he was punched in the side of the head. The force of the hit was so hard that he staggered sideways as his vision blurred.

As he fell he turned and landed on his back. He pulled his gun up and began firing randomly again.

“Poppy get out of her!” Wade yelled as trickle of bullets whizzed through the air around them.

Before long Kade’s gun fell silent as he discarded it and climbed to his feet. His vision was still a little blurred but he saw the man that had hit him and he laughed tauntingly. “Oh it’s you!” He shouted. “Have you come to pay me back for killing he?”

“I knew you remembered my face!” Wade stood tall despite being shot through the shoulder. The wound stung but he had other things keeping his mind from the pain.

“Of course I remember you! We laughed and laughed about you for days after killing your bitch!” His words were like poison seeping into Wade’s ears and sending him into a rage.

“Who did you kill Kade?!” Poppy demanded of her brother. “What have you done?!” She screamed as her brother laughed as he climbed to his feet.

He laughed, and laughed, and laughed. “I took away the love of his life. My first kill, my proudest kill.” He boasted loudly as Wade ground his teeth together, his fists clenched tightly.

Poppy looked at Wade with tears in her eyes. “He took your mate from you?” Her voice but a whisper as Wade turned towards her and nodded once. She knew it was the truth, she saw the pain in his eyes and the tears that were ready to fall.

“How could you?!” Poppy screamed at him, “that bond is sacred! How could you!” The tears flowed freely down Poppy’s as she realised the gravity of what her brother had done. “Wade, I’m sorry.” She mumbled as she looked towards him with great sorrow.

“You weren’t to know,” he mumbled through gritted teeth. “I need vengeance Miss Poppy and I fear you will seek vengeance on me for what I am about to do.” Wade had waited for so many years to get revenge on the person that killed his mate. He would have his vengeance and he was willing to be punished for it but Hazel deserved better.

Poppy looked from her brother to Wade and back again. She sucked in a shaky breath and wiped her tears,her brother was willing to hurt her, to point a gun in her face because of his hatred for their kind. She closed her eyes momentarily and steeled herself for what he was about to say. She never expected any of it, “a life for a life, that is the law of the pack.”

With that Kade grew deathly pale. He stared his sister in the Eye and saw no emotion, how was that possible. “What? No!” He searched quickly for a weapon but had trouble retrieving his knives from beneath his suit. “No Poppy! You can’t let him. I’m your brother!” he pleaded desperately.

Turning back towards him she muttered, “That’s right, you are my brother.” Her words made Wade stop dead in his tracks. He turned to Poppy with a look so enraged, so angered that he looked like a man possessed. “Do it where no one can see you. We’ll say it was friendly fire.”

Wade realised he had her blessing and smiled in thanks. It was not a happy smile but more one of twisted satisfaction. Hazel would finally be avenged. He walked quickly to his victim and picked him up by the scruff of his neck. Kade thrashed around violently as he tried to get free, his movements only saw Wade tighten his grip on the desperate man.

They soon disappeared into the tree line at the edge of the grounds. The sound of the river below gave Wade and idea as he dropped Kade near a tree.

“Why don’t you just turn into your mutt of a wolf already and tear me to shreds!” Kade laughed bitterly.

“My wolf is too good to be used on a piece of shit like you.” Wade growled as he turned and kicked Kade so hard his body flew into a tree. Kade was the worst human he’d ever met. “You and your kind don’t get to dictate who lives and who dies based in what they are capable of.” Wade had always had a strong sense of justice and had always wanted to be a guard of some description but when it came to hunters his sense of justice barely existed.

Wade dealt to Kade by releasing his years of pent up anger and hatred. He beat Kade till he was black and blue and suffering with many broken bones. With every hit Wade landed his crazed, lunatic punching bag laughed which further angered Wade and made him hit harder. After a prolonged attack he dragged Kade to the edge of the cliff that overlooked the river and dropped him.

Wade thought he would feel better, he thought his vengeance would bring him peace but as he stood overlooking the river he realised that all he wanted was his mate.

As doubt, anger and sorrow swirled around inside Wade’s conflicted mind he heard something snap behind him. If it was a hunter he would gladly meet his death, if it was one of Ebony’s wolves he would gladly fight to the death but as he stood there in silence staring down at the river where he’d dropped Kade nothing came. No gunshots, no growls, just silence.

“Wade?” A slight voice whispered, pulling him from his despair. “Are you alright?” She asked gently as she walked towards him slowly.

Placing a loving hand on his shoulder he soon leaned into her touch. She took him in her arms as he finally released the tears he’d been holding back all those years and when he finally let go of his emotions he felt free as he wrapped his arms around Amber and felt complete.