The Rejected Werewolf Princess by Didiadeyemi

CAMILLA'S POV

The only thing I truly hated about having the sirens on the loose was not knowing when or how they would attack. With every enemy we had faced so far, we had a deadline- something to look forward to. With Frederick, we had a week, with Allister, we had a timeline and with Reina- we knew, but right now, we were walking blindly. These were unlike any enemy we had faced before and I wasn’t sure how we could possibly prepare for something that we didn't even know was coming. Ansel had been of zero help, he had said everything he knew and we were left grasping at straws to find out whatever we could about sirens- the sirens we were facing to be more specific.

“Please tell me that someone found something,” I mumbled as way of greeting as Ryker and I walked into the counci room. It felt a lot emptier than usual, Ansel's empty chair had been moved away but the empty space mocked us, almost sneering at me in a jesting way. “It has been twenty-four hours, we need answers.”

There was silence amongst the elders for a full minute before Caius got the courage to speak. “Nothing yet, your majesty, perhaps if we could know how her partner died-"

“That is none of your concern,” I spat. I had shut down every question about what happened out there. The last thing I wanted to do was put Ryker's newfound powers on blast especially not when we were not completely sure what we were dealing with. “They had tried to attack Ryker and he killed the husband. It was a battle, lives are lost in a battle move on.”

“Yes, your majesty,” he bowed but it was clear that he didn’t believe me. “We don’t know what they look like. We have sent descriptions out to the towns and have asked everyone to be on edge but so far, they haven't turned up. The moment they do, we will know, they cannot hide when everyone is on the lookout.”

“The aim is to find them before they attack,” Ryker drawled having not said a single word since the beginning of the meeting. “Seeing as we cannot find them, has anyone found any ways we can kill them? Surely something must have come out of the last twenty-four hours.”

It was another of the elders that spoke. “I am sure you understand how difficult things have been lately, your majesty, one of our own-"

“Betrayed us,” Ryker cut him off. “He threatened the crown and tried to have us killed. The only reason the entire palace doesn’t know is because I am trying to prevent a protest.Many sentences in this chapter have been removed because you are not reading them on J o b nib.c(o)m. I would rather focus on the enemy outside than the enemy within but make no mistake about it, I have not forgotten what happened and while threatening to take you away from your positions might have caused this, I will gladly pull each and every single one of you from that position anc banish you without the shadow of a doubt.”

There was a hint of darkness creeping into his voice and as I looked down at his hands clenched in his laps, I saw shadows slowly slithering out of his fingertips. He didn’t even notice because he was still staring down the elders. Discreetly, I slipped my hand into his and intertwined our fingers. He stilled ever so briefly that if you hadn't been carefully analyzing him, you wouldn't have noticed. The shadows slowly retreated and he glanced at me briefly, he didn't speak, but I could clearly see the gratitude in his eyes.

He exhaled deeply, calming himself in the process before finally looking up at the elders whose faces held varying degrees of fear and wariness. I knew if they were to continue communicating with each other, nothing was going to stop Ryker from exploding and that was the last thing I wanted, so I cleared my throat making all eyes turn to me. “We need whatever we can on these people, the lives of everyone in this palace are at stake. You all saw what they did to the guards and how easy it was for them to slip out of here. They are masters of disguise. All they need is to catch you off guard one time and it is over. Keep your guard up and for the love of the goddess, find something.” “We have, your majesty,” it was Caius who spoke again, his tone much softer than before. “We did everything we kneu to be possible but we are still searching and reaching out to our contacts in other packs. We just need time.”

“We don't have time,” Ryker ground out. “Time is the one thing that we don’t have enough of to spare. No one sleeps or leaves this f*****g palace until we have something tangible to work with.”

He stormed out without another word and I just sat there staring at the exit he passed through as the door slammed shut. The elders stared at me, varying looks of concern and apprehension on their faces but I couldn't bring myself t: say a word. It was still the same Ryker we all knew, he was just on edge with the number of things weighing him down.

“Just find something,” I said in a much calmer tone than the one Ryker had used. “This isn't just about us. If you thin she is coming for us then think again. She will kill everyone and everything in her path, including you and your families. I don’t want that as much as you don’t”

I stood to my feet and walked out of the room after that. No one dared to stop me, no one spoke. It was complete silence and I didn’t blame them, there wasn't much to say. I followed Ryker’s scent out of the palace and into the garden. He was standing with his back to me but I knew that he could sense my presence. I walked over to his side, not touching him but staying close enough that I could feel his body heat.

For the longest time, neither of us said a word. We just stood there watching the clouds go by. I wanted him to break the ice first because I knew if I said the wrong thing, I could risk pushing him away even more.

“You can say whatever it is that you want,” he whispered after a few minutes. “I am not a ticking time bomb.”

“I don't want to say anything,” it wasn't a complete lie. There was a lot I wanted to say, just not right now. “I think the sky is very beautiful today. It reminds me of the oceans waves.”

“Camilla, please,” he ran his hands down his face. “I need you to say something. I hate the silence. I already feel like stranger in my own body. I don’t want to feel like a stranger to you too. I need to know that you still recognize me.”

“l do,” I told him without any hesitation. “I see you even if you don’t see yourself. I already told you, you weren't lost after that test. What matters to me now is that we get rid of these sirens. What do we already know?”

“They like water, not just any kind of water, salt water.”

“Good, there are three saltwater bodies around here. I can have guards patrol-”

“No,” he cut me off. “I don’t want to put anyone's lives at risk. We need to know for certain and take the battle to them. If we let them go on the offense, then we are finished. They are stronger than we realize and-"

He trailed off into silence and I knew that there was something he wasn't telling me. I wanted to push and it took all of my self-control to not push and demand that he tells me. Instead, I folded my legs and sat on the ground. Ryker looked at me, confusion etched in his brows as I gestured for him to take the seat next to me. It took him a second but he finally did as I asked and I rested my head against his shoulder. He stiffened for the barest second before wrapping his arms over my shoulders.

“Are you going to tell me what it is you stopped yourself from saying earlier?” I asked and he tensed up. “I won't sto asking until you do.”

“I can hear them,” he didn’t even hesitate before he started speaking. “I don’t know if it is because they have been ir my head before but I heard a scream two days ago. I was trying to tell you about it. I heard it again last night. It felt like raw pain, like someone was trying to claw out my heart.”

“Why didn’t I hear it? I've heard her too.”

“No, not the way I did. She was inside of my head, Camilla, I saw them as Christine and Juan, I saw her child as Audrey. She made me see things. You heard and saw her for what she was but I felt her magic, I felt it inside of me in a way that I never want to experience again. She is grieving for her partner and she is hurt. She will come for revenge.”

“We will be ready,” I squeezed his hand. “You need to trust that. We just have to find out where she is.”

“We will but I don’t want you there when we do,” I opened my mouth to protest but he cut me off. “Allow me do this alone, Camilla, the way it should have been from the very beginning. Let me make things right. I want to make peace. “You know she doesn’t want peace.”

“I know, but it doesn’t hurt to try and I can’t do that with you there. It will only fuel her rage. I need you to trust Juan and I,” he was asking a lot of me, more than I was willing to give. “Please, Camilla, let me do this.”

I nodded. “Okay, I will."