The Warrior’s Broken Mate novel Chapter 97

It was a restless night with Grayson that night but Elias got up as often as possible to help me with whatever it was that he could help me with.

When the sun finally started rising in the morning I was asleep sitting up in the chair in Grayson’s room with my hand in the cot. I had obviously fallen asleep while trying to get him back to sleep. But I was woken up by Elias gently shaking me.

“Hey, that can’t be too comfortable. Why don’t you go back to bed and I’ll keep an eye on him. “Elias suggested. But I leaned forward and I turned to look out the window.

“No. It’s alright. I should stay up now. We’ve got a lot of work to do today.” I said.

“That can wait. You don’t need to worry about it. I’ve got things covered.” He said.

“It’s alright. Let’s just go and get this shit sorted.” I said, grabbing the baby monitor and I slowly got out of the chair before walking out of the room.

“You’re really stiff and sore.” Elias said, watching me walk down the hallway.

“Yeah. That chair isn’t too comfortable to sleep in.” I said.

When we got downstairs the kitchen staff saw that we were awake so they started making breakfast immediately.

Elias cleared off the table so we were able to eat breakfast and we sat there while I was thinking about everything.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this? To go back there?” He asked.

“Yeah. I’m sure. I’ve been there before.” I said.

“I know you have. That doesn’t mean anything. It’s different there now. It’s going to be harder.

“He said.

“I promise. I’ll be fine.” I said.

“Not in this state.” He said.

Arthur walked into the room practically glowing, and it made my stomach twist. I couldn’t stand that kind of cheerfulness–not this morning.

When breakfast was set down in front of us, I kept my head down and ate in silence. The others weren’t speaking either; the air was thick with everything they weren’t saying. Their hostility toward each other sat between us like another plate on the table, impossible to ignore.

I was too drained to step in, too tired to care–so I just let the silence grind on, every second heavier than the last.

As soon as I finished breakfast I went to the living room where all the files had been placed and Grayson started crying. So Elias went upstairs to get him.

He changed his nappy and clothes before he brought him downstairs to me.

I had to feed him again while I was looking through the files but as soon as I was finished I put him in the rocker right next to me and I laid down on the couch with a file in my hands.

It didn’t take long for me to pass out on the couch with the file on me. But of course I wasn’t that lucky.

I heard some people running through the house towards the front door so I got up and went out to the front terrace where Elias was standing with Luke and Stephanie and I looked down the stairs to see a bunch of people that I had never seen before.

One of them walked up the stairs towards us, and stopped right in front of where we were.

“What?” He asked.

“Alpha trials. We put them all under Alpha command one at a time and we find out who it most worthy to come with us and who is more suitable to stay here.” I said.

“Yeah. We can do that.” He said.

So Elias and I went back outside and we walked downstairs with Alpha Isaac and explained the situation to them. The two different duties that we needed fulfilled and they all seemed keen to take on either one of them. So we proposed the interrogations and no one opposed it. They were willing to go along with it and we all agreed.

The trials would begin that day. We needed to leave as soon as possible. We’d already been putting it off for too long. We need to get back there before there’s nothing left and everyone is dead. Everything hinged on them, and only once they were done would we make up our minds. Until then, the air itself seemed to hum with expectation, stretched thin with waiting.

The men moved with quiet efficiency, setting up camp in the clearing just beyond the castle walls. Tents rose like a small forest of canvas, fires were lit against the gathering dusk, and the smell of smoke drifted on the wind. Their voices carried low, steady, as though none of them wanted to disturb the uneasy calm before what was to come. The clearing became a living thing–shadows shifting, steel glinting, the presence of men who knew tomorrow could change everything.

Arthur came down to see what was happening, curiosity written all over him, and for once he seemed at a loss for words. He stood at the edge of the chaos, watching the werewolves move as one–the raw sound of loyalty. I could see it in his face: he was more than impressed. He was astonished. Maybe even envious.

Because that’s what struck him most–not the violence itself, but the unity. How loyal we were to one another. The good ones anyway. How we didn’t hesitate to throw ourselves into the fight for what we believe in. No second–guessing. No betrayal simmering just beneath the surface. Just instinct, devotion, and the code that bound us.

I told him then, plainly, that werewolves are different from his people. We’re bound to each other, not just by blood, but by choice. We live our lives by a code, and we don’t break it when it becomes inconvenient. It’s who we are.

Maybe he should think about that. Maybe, if he carried that truth back with him, it would stop his people from constantly tearing each other apart. If he truly calls himself the King of his land, then he should act like one. A king who cannot hold his people together isn’t a king at all.

I let the words hang there, sharp and heavy, watching to see if they would cut him or change him.