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

Chapter 79 

AMARIS 

That was the hardest thing I had to do. Letting her go with Joanna. But if they thought for one minute that I would let them leave unprotected, they were mistaken. I didn’t trust magic alone to protect my mate, I believed in brute force. That is why I sent a troupe of my most trusted guards to follow them at a safe distance. 

Of course, I would have rather gone with them, but Ross was right. There was no way for me to leave the castle at this time. I wasn’t unaware of the whisperings of doubt and fear going around. Sorin had succeeded in spreading his poison, casting a dark shadow over my rule and my queen. 

I had to address that issue immediately. 

“Ross, we have work to do.” In my office I had all the books on the laws and traditions of our kind. I needed to find a loophole to draft my decree. When I was no more than a pup my father had forced me to study those books, but I as not like Sorin who always had his nose in a book. No, I wanted to learn how to fight, was more interested in hand to hand combat and the use of weapons. I was a warrior for  sake, not a scholar. Now I regretted that I didn’t pay more attention to the books. But what did I have Ross for? 

He already knew what I needed. Walked right up to the bookcase and took down the appropriate books. “I think you’ll find what you’re looking for in this, Amaris.” It was two damn thick books. 

“There’s no time to go through the whole damn thing, Ross!” I had no patience at the best of times, and this was testing my reserve. 

“Even if you pass this decree now, Amaris, do you think the Elders and the packs would accept it?” Ross said as he flipped through the pages of one of the books while I paged through the other. 

I scoffed, “Like they have a choice. My word is law.” Was I not the king? 

Ross sighed. 

I glared at him, frowning. “What?” 

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He sat back in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger. “You’re trying to fix traditions and laws that has been around for centuries in one day. Amaris. You know our kind. We don’t take kindly to sudden change forced upon us.” 

“Exactly. It’s been a long time coming. Those who are afraid of change will just have to suck it up. I’m sure not all of them would be opposed to it.” Ross had a point, and yes, I am doing this for my own selfish reasons. But who was I to question a deity’s decision to pair me with a half–witch? Hell, even if she were human I would still make her mine. A soulmate bond can’t be denied and that was the reasoning I would use for my decree. 

I missed her already. It has been but a few hours and I feel her absence. I felt incomplete. 

Ross was loyal to me, although we sometimes argued about matters that we didn’t agree with. I didn’t expect blind obedience from him, he was my Beta, my friend, and my closest advisor. His opinion mattered to me. 

“You think this is going to cause more problems than I can handle, don’t you? You know you can speak freely.” It was written all over his face while he read through the pages, but I would never give up without a fight, and I never lose. 

“I don’t blame you for doing this, Amaris. She is worth it. But there are a few matters bothering me.” He looked up from the book, wearing the thoughtful look I’ve come to know so well. That only meant trouble. 

“Well, tell me.” 

He took a deep breath. “For instance, how would it affect the other supernatural realms. They have prohibitions of their own. It’s not like you’re the King of everything, and they just have to follow your rules.” 

I waved his concern away. “Not important. I don’t give a  who they mate with or don’t want to mate with. Their problem, not ours.” 

What he said next was like a hard fist to my gut. “Do you think it’s possible that she could have more than one mate?” 

Was he losing his mind? “What? No!” Athan was not her mate. Never in a 

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thousand years! I slammed the book shut and got up. I glare at the mountain. How far have they gone? 

“Just a thought. Why would he want to claim her then?” 

I turned around, my blood boiling. “For no other reason than to piss me off! She is mine and no others!” How dare he even voice such a thought. I was losing control over Rage. Did he also doubt that the pup was mine?! 

Ross lifted his hands in surrender “Alright! Sorry, I mentioned it. I didn’t mean to upset you.” 

But he did. 

I needed to get some air. Needed to run in my wolf form. I began to remove my clothes, right there in front of him. 

“Amaris…” he began but I cut him off. 

“I’ll be back. Work on the decree.” Rage didn’t need any encouragement to come forward. Within no time my black wolf shook himself free of his human form and padded out of my office. 

Rage’s paws thundered down the hallways and the stairs. My servants and staff knew well to keep clear of him. Three of my bodyguards that were nearby transformed into their wolves and followed me closely. 

‘Did I order you to follow me?‘ I shouted at them through the mind link. It needed space. 

‘Sorry, Sire. It was Lord Greyson’s orders, came the reply. 

‘Back off!‘ I growled at them, and they stopped, only to slink after me a short time later. I ignored them. 

Rage made his way to the rescued wolves‘ temporary tents, drawn by the sound of violent fighting? What the hell was going on? 

The wolves had formed a circle in the clearing and two males were having it out with each other. But it was no ordinary spat that often occurred between 

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males. That seemed to be a fight to the death. I was shocked to see Vincent was one of the fighters. 

“What is the meaning of this?” I roared at them after taking back my human form. 

Vincent stood up from the bleeding man on the ground. “Your Majesty.” He bowed low, and the rest followed his example. The circle opened to let me pass. A girl ran to me with a pair of torn shorts. I nodded my thanks and put them on. 

“Explain yourselves.” I regarded them sternly, but inwardly I berated myself. I still had to integrate them into my pack and had been putting it off for too long. They were regarded as outsiders by my pack, and then again, most of them were from an assortment of different packs. It was understandable that quarrels would break out. I had to fix this as quickly as possible. 

Vincent pulled at his torn and bloodied shirt and discarded it at his feet. He spat on the groaning man on the ground. 

“Enough! Speak.” I liked Vincent but I wasn’t about to play favorites. 

“Your Majesty, this idiot is spewing nonsense about the queen and the vampire. I wanted to rip his tongue out. After what you did to save us, he had no right to gossip about you and the queen.” I sensed Vincent’s wolf clawing at the surface, eager to finish what he’d started. He was in a better physical condition than when I last saw him. He would make a fine warrior. 

“Let me make it clear to you, those of you who do not want to pledge their loyalty to my queen and me are free to leave. I will give you this opportunity to leave without judgment.” 

The crowd shifted uneasily, glancing at each other to see who would be so brave as to take the first steps. They were scared of retaliation. 

“The rest, if you want to remain here, be ready to be accepted into my pack tonight when the moon is at its summit.” I motioned to Vincent to follow me as I headed back to the castle.