The Warrior’s Broken Mate novel Chapter 59

It took me some time to get used to the layout of the castle.

Elias and I eventually found our room at the very top floor, and it had an incredible view.

For miles, there was nothing but forests and open land–a perfect landscape for a werewolf pack.

I was standing out on the balcony, admiring the scenery, when Elias stepped out from the bathroom.

He came out onto the balcony, slipped his arms around my waist, and leaned them casually on the railing.

“I was looking around earlier. Turns out, this room wasn’t the King and Queen’s–it actually belonged to their eldest child. Always has,” Elias said.

“Well, I suppose that makes sense, doesn’t it? I’m the Queen’s firstborn,” I replied.

“You’re the Queen now,” he said.

“Not while my mother’s still alive. That title belongs to her,” I said. He leaned down and kissed my shoulder gently.

“I hadn’t really thought about it that way. But she’s been alone in this castle for years–she doesn’t know what’s happening anymore. I think you’re the one who’s actually ready for the role,” he said.

“You’re probably right. But I doubt that little fact is going to change much,” I said.

“Let’s not dwell on it for now. I can think of better ways for us to use our time,” he said, brushing his lips against my shoulder again.

“I bet you can,” I murmured, relaxing into his chest.

Looking down, I could see the warriors moving along the perimeter of the barrier, patrolling.

They were running back and forth, keeping watch.

The one flaw in the barrier was that any werewolf could pass through it.

Elias turned me around so I was facing him, then leaned in and kissed me.

Still kissing me, he walked me backward into the bedroom.

He turned just as I fell onto the bed, gently laying me down.

He trailed his leg up my thigh, brushing over my shorts, and began toying with the waistband.

But a knock came at the door, cutting the moment short, and Elias growled in frustration.

“Go away,” he shouted.

“I’m sorry, Alpha. I can’t really do that,” Luke’s voice called from the other side, cheerful as ever. Elias sighed, kissed me one more time, and sat up beside me on the bed.

“What is it?” Elias asked, clearly annoyed. Luke stepped inside, noticing quickly that he had interrupted something, and instantly looked nervous.

“Apologies, Alpha, Luna. I just thought you’d want to see this,” Luke said, bringing over a tablet and holding it out to us. On the screen, a video was playing–something that had clearly been broadcast to the public.

“What the hell am I looking at?” I asked.

“That would be your father–he’s speaking from wherever he’s hiding,” Luke said.

“That’s a pretty fancy place. Have you seen it before?” Elias asked me. I focused on the mansion behind my father in the video, but it didn’t ring any bells.

“No. I’ve never seen that place before. Not in real life, and not in any of the photos from his packhouse either,” I said.

“That doesn’t matter right now. Just listen to what he’s saying,” Luke told us. Elias raised the volume.

“As many of you may already know, my daughter has been abducted. She was taken from our home a week ago. And the man who took her was someone we once trusted like family. Elias Dalton is the one who kidnapped my 16–year–old daughter, and I will stop at nothing to bring her home. I will pay any price necessary to get her back. Please, I’m asking for your support. I just want my daughter back,” my father pleaded.

I paused the video on the tablet because I couldn’t stand to hear another word from him.

“He’s just officially made you the number one enemy. Dad’s got a lot of powerful connections in both the human world and the werewolf world,” I said.

“I know. But plenty of people also know what I do–rescuing wolves from abuse. They’d never believe I could actually kidnap someone,” Elias replied.

“And what about those Alphas you angered by taking in their abused wolves? They could

easily back my father and claim you kidnapped members of their packs too. This might spiral out of control faster than you realize,” I said.

“Well, no human is going to come looking for me inside this castle,” he said.

“Luke, how close are we to our allies?” I asked.

“We’ve got allies spread across the country. I can start reaching out to them now,” Luke replied.

“You’re going to have to. Dad’s getting serious. He’s declared war and made Elias the enemy of the world,” I said.

We stood and made our way down to a conference room I had discovered earlier that day.

I already knew we’d need to convert this space into a war room, but it definitely needed some upgrades.

The entire castle didn’t have even a single working computer. That was one of the first things we had to change.

“What’s going on?” Rowan asked as she appeared in the doorway of the conference room. But I turned my back to her and took a seat at the table.

“I’m going to make my own video,” I announced.

“That’s not safe. If you film around the castle or even just outside, he’ll recognize it. You’ll be exposing our location,” Elias warned.

“That’s why I’m not doing it here. There’s a cabin a few miles away from here–part of the castle land. It’s mine. No one lives there. Send some warriors to clean it up and make it look like it’s lived in. We need the video to show I’m being treated well. Except for the marks,” I said.

“What marks?” Luke asked.

“The bruises and cuts I’m going to draw on my face and arms. But he claimed I was taken a week ago, so by human logic, they’d be partly healed by now,” I explained.

“We’ll get everything in motion,” Luke said with a smile as he headed out of the room.

I turned to Elias and saw that he was smiling at me as well.

I was ready to fight fire with fire. If my father wanted to ruin Elias’s name, then I was going to take him down instead.

No one can threaten my mate and walk away unpunished.