The Crown

16 - Caden

I watched as Zander and Grace leave the room, worry filling me slightly. I knew she hid it well in front of the others but it was the way of her eyes looked. She was tired and I knew it.

"I hope she feels better soon. Tomorrow is her corination and she'll be our Queen." Karina says from her spot at the table. I could hear the worry in my sister's voice as well.

"Well while she is taking care of herself, we should get some work done. The faster we find these traps the faster we can fix our forest. Besides it'll be less work for Grace to stress over." I state with a purpose as I clothe the door when Grace vanished from sight as she descended the stairs.

"Okay then." Was all my sister had to say as we got back to work.

I watched as paper after paper the piles slowly dimmed to nothing but a few sheets left and the pins on the map now scattered to a large scale.

"How many traps are there now?" Her voice was exasperated, gravely like from how much we've talked all day.

"Close to six thousand. More then Grace and I thought." I answer, leaning back on my chair and yawning. Through out the day I had some trusted pack members bring us food, some who participated in the run even helped with showing us where some traps were hidden.

"Speaking of Grace, do you think her check up went well?" It was something that had been on my mind and I guess Karina was worried too. They had become inseparable and I was happy that they had each other. Karina was always treated like trash growing up. Our father was never a good dad to her. She was always thrown away like a discarded doll.

When I realized this that's when I started training harder. I took the brunt of her abuse and held her away from harm. It got to the point where I had a room made out of my old closet just to keep her safe.

It was great to see her smile so freely and to know she now had two sisters because of Grace and Amelia made me smile as well. My sister could breath easier now these days.

"Her appointment should be done by now. But Maddie is one of the best so she may have had to wait longer." I answer finally, my eyes roaming around the map. To think I had met Grace there and all that we've been through to now had kept us stronger.

"Alpha!" The door bursts open and a warrior steps, his breathing ragged and his eyes wide.

"Audry she came after Grace with more of her tricks and it's taking everything in the pack to keep them apart." He continues before I could ask him what was wrong. That had both me and Karina rushing out the office, the warrior leading the way to where my mate was. I could hear the screaming from Audry as she cursed my mate's name in vain before I saw them. Grace was held back with Zander infront of her, holding her shoulders and whispering something into her ears that kept her from moving, a look of rage boiling in her sapphire eyes.

"You whore I'll kill you! Caden is mine do you hear me!" Audry kept screaming, what looked like half the pack holding her down.

"Put her in her room and keep her there. She is allowed no food or any other novelties other then a bed and a dresser of her clothes." Grace orders, a chorus of yes ma'am sounding from the wolves who held her down.

And then her eyes turned to me and I saw furry burning inside her. What the hell did Audry say to make her that mad. And to have that anger burning towards me had me wonder whether I would have to fight that burning inferno my mate would unleash at me soon.