The Alpha King’s Virgin by Charmeleon (Raine & Amari)

Chapter 44

AMARIS

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“Who sent you?” I asked for the third time.

The hunter proved to be a stubborn one. That didn’t matter to me. I liked breaking stubborn men, and he would eventually break. He mumbled something that sounded a lot like ‘f uck you’, and that didn’t sit well with me.

“The only one that is f ucked is you. Now we can do this the easy way, or we can do this my way.” I sank my claws into his groin, just south of his privates, and tore a strip down to his thigh..”Tell me what I want to know.”

Patience wasn’t one of my virtues. The longer it takes, the less chance I had of finding my mate. I’ve been over the entire area twice and still haven’t found any trace of her, except for the shoe. If I could just get some information out of this hunter.

“Stop sniveling!” I snarled, gripping his hair to tilt his head back. “Talk or I will remove your balls next.”

His mouth opened and closed like a fish’s. “I… I swear to G od, I… I… was just following orders.” He started to shiver and sweat poured off him. He was going into shock and wouldn’t last long.

“A name! I need a name.” I shook him like a doll, frustration made me brutal.

His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he passed out. Well, that was futile!

I left him to go to my next prisoner.

Brynn sat behind his desk, guarded by four of my wolves. As soon as I stepped into the room, he was on his knees groveling.

“Please, your Majesty… Have mercy on me. My family… I needed the money; my daughter has a rare condition…” His nose touched the floor with his hands splayed out in front of him.

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His personal plight was of no concern to me. “Who took my mate? Do you know? And do not lie to me, Brynn. I will wipe out your entire family and I will make you watch. So, think carefully about what you

say to me.”

He looked up at me, hands clasped in front of his face like he was praying. “On my life, I don’t know.”

At least, this time he wasn’t lying.

“The hunters? Talk fast. Who brought them here?” I sat on the edge of his desk, arms folded over my chest. The hunter said they were following orders. But whose? And to what end? To kill both Raine and me or to capture her? Was Thaddeus just an unfortunate victim? I had more questions than I had any

answers to.

Brynn’s entire body was shaking. “No, I know nothing. I thought they were here to collect more s laves,

but…”

“Are you saying the humans come for the sl aves?” Now I was confused. Most human beings didn’t even know we existed. Most, but not all. There were an elite group of hunters that made it their life’s mission to hunt the supernatural beings, but they hadn’t been seen or heard of in years. Until now. Although these clowns were anything but elite.

“No-yes, I don’t know.” He looked at me, frowning. “Your Majesty? The sl aves are brought here under your orders, at least that is what I was told. We keep them here until they get picked up and I get paid…”

“My orders? Who said that? And you did not think to question it?” I grabbed him off his knees to stare into his face. I tapped his forehead with my index finger. How could he be so st upid? “You’re a fool!”

“It’s not my place to…”

I shoved him away. “But you take the money.” I was disgusted. “Who comes to take them? Do you keep records?”

He shook his head, looking down at his feet. “They only come at night. I’m not always here.”

Another dead end.

I ordered my guards to keep the mine cordoned off. No one was to leave or enter under any

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Chapter 44

circumstances.

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It’s been three days and four nights since I lost her. I haven’t slept, I hardly ate. My men and I scoured the mine, both inside and out. Ross had phoned me countless times during that time and even dispatched more guards to the mine and the surrounding areas to help with the search.

I left with my personal bodyguard and the driver to return to the castle to attend to matters. We had to widen the search. No ransom demands have been made as yet and my only conclusion is that whoever they are, had no intention of bringing her back. But she was still alive. I would have known if something bad had happened to her.

“Ross, send out a message to all the realms and all the packs in the kingdom. Tell them if my Queen is not returned to me in good health, I will burn every pack, every kingdom to the ground.” I shouted orders at Ross while I ran up to my bedroom for a fresh change of clothes. No more waiting around. I needed to act.

“You can’t do that Sire! This is an open declaration of war!” Lord Grayson said as he and Ross followed me upstairs.

I swung around, half-crazed with anxiety, struggling to keep my wolf under control. “Yes! War! That is what they want, isn’t it!” If that was their main goal to overthrow my rule, to make me lose face in front of my subjects… Well, they’ve succeeded. They have awakened the monster.

“Your Majesty, you need to rest. You’re not…” Ross began but I snapped and slammed him against the wall. Bits of stone crumbled down to the carpet from the impact.

“Do not tell me what I need! I need her back and I will not stop until I have her. Do. You. Understand!” I dropped him and walked away, breathing heavily.

“Amaris, please…” Ross picked himself off the floor. “You must stop. Think. We can still keep this contained.”

“Contained? Contained!” My voice shook the windows.

“Ross is right, your Majesty.” Greyson said, “We cannot go public with the news that the queen has been

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Chapter 44

taken.”

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“Well, don’t you think it’s already too late?” Sorin darkened my door. “I mean, I’m sure half the kingdom knows already. You know gossip spreads like wildfire among wolves.”

Greyson turned to him, making sure to stand between the two of us, expecting me to lash out at my brother, no doubt.

“Your Highness, even so, we cannot threaten every supernatural kingdom with war. It is ludicrous,” he said.

Sorin side-stepped the older man to rest a hand on my shoulder, giving me a concerned look. “I don’t blame you, Brother. You’re barely holding it together. Who knows what the poor Raine is going through.”

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I turned and placed both my hands on his shoulders, grinning. “You know, Sorin, you are the one who stands to gain the most out of this.” My fingers clawed into his tunic, piercing the material to sink into his muscle. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you were involved in this.”

“Stop it, Amaris! How dare you insult me like this! You are clearly unstable.” He writhed under my grasp. groaning with pain as I dug my claws in deeper. Blood seeped through his tunic, staining the white and gold to rose.

Ross and Greyson pried me off of him. Sorin stag gered away from me, his otherwise pale face splotched with red. “The king clearly is in no position to make any rational decisions. I move to temporarily remove him from the throne.”