Free Web NovelChapter 30: A Letter From Rhea
Kaleb’s dark brows snapped together, a harsh line carving across his forehead. "A midnight messenger at my iron gates?" he murmured, his mind reeling.
"We don’t have time for this, Kaleb!" Kat shrieked. Her face was completely stained with tears, her scent turning entirely sour with panic as she cradled her swollen stomach. "Our son is missing! We need to form a hunting party and find him, now!"
"I’ll send the rider away," Beta Daniel muttered, his jaw rigid with a mixture of raw exhaustion and defeat. "I’m sure my uncle just sent them to rub our noses in the dirt."
"No!" Kaleb roared, his golden eyes flashing dangerously. "Bring him inside." ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
The guard gave a rigid bow and hurried back down the hall.
"What the hell are you doing, Kaleb? We are talking about our son, and you would rather entertain a rider?" Kat snapped, barking right into his face, her fingernails digging into his leather vest.
"Stop choking me, woman! I will handle it, just let me think!" Kaleb snarled back. His wolf was clawing violently against his ribs. His world was burning to ash, and he was losing his grip on his own authority.
Kat stumbled back, her eyes narrowing into cold slits. "If anything happens to my pup, I will personally—"
"The BloodVeil messenger is here, Alpha," the guard interrupted, stepping aside and bowing his head to avoid the explosive alpha tension suffocating the room.
Kaleb’s jaw locked into stone as a tall, broad-shouldered warrior walked into the living space. "This had better be worth my time," he rumbled, his voice dropping. "Or you will leave this territory without your head."
"I am merely a vessel for the word, Alpha Duskbane," the messenger replied, his tone entirely casual as he navigated the tense room.
He took another step forward, but Daniel instantly blocked his path, his hand resting on his sword hilt. The rider paused, a mocking glint in his amber eyes. "My instructions are absolute. I will only hand this to the Alpha King, and no one else."
"Give it to me, or I will tear—"
"Let him pass, Daniel," Kaleb commanded. He remained seated in his grand Alpha chair, his large hunting knife still dripping with Jaxon’s fresh blood, a gruesome warning resting on his knee.
The messenger let out a soft, sharp chuckle and stepped around the Beta. He dipped his hand into his leather pouch and retrieved a small, heavy parchment sealed with a crimson BloodVeil ribbon.
"You have a message from the Ironfang Luna," the rider drawled, his smile widening. "My apologies, the former Luna of Ironfang. Luna Rh—"
Kaleb didn’t let him finish the name. Moving with a sudden flash of supernatural speed, he snatched the letter from the man’s hand. He used the bloody tip of his blade to slice through the wax seal, letting the weapon clatter to the floor. His golden eyes widened as his eyes scanned the words.
Kat’s breath caught in her throat. "What does it say, Kaleb?" she demanded.
He didn’t answer; his face had gone completely white, his skin turning a sickly, translucent gray. Unable to bear the silence, Kat lunged forward, ripping the parchment straight from his trembling fingers.
Her breath hitched, her voice cracking as she read the venomous words out loud:
Hello, Kaleb.
I must thank you. While you were busy fighting your foolish war, I was able to win the most important one. If you ever want to see your son draw another breath, you will be prepared to tell me exactly what you did to my son. Otherwise, this is merely the baseline of your ruin.
Rhea.
"She has my baby? Oh, moon goddess!" Kat wailed, her knees buckling as she pressed both hands tightly over her pregnant belly. "Kaleb, do something! She is going to kill my son!"
"She cannot touch the royal heir of Ironfang. It is an abomination!" Daniel barked with absolute fury at the insult. "Give the word, Alpha, and I will mobilize every able-bodied fighter. We will drag her back across the border by her hair!"
But Kaleb remained utterly quiet. He stared blankly at the stone floor, his mind trapped in a terrifying loop. The ghost had returned, and she had taken his throne prince.
The messenger cleared his throat, the sound sharp in the heavy silence. "If you do not have a response for my Alpha King, I will take my leave now," he said, giving a shallow, disrespectful bow. "Excuse me."
Kaleb snapped out of his trance, his golden eyes locking onto the rider. It wasn’t the words that made his blood boil, it was the smug, mocking smile stretching across the messenger’s face. As the warrior turned to leave, a low, tectonic growl ripped from Kaleb’s chest, his feral wolf voice bleeding heavily into his human vocal cords.
"Stop right there!" Kaleb ordered.
The messenger paused. His throat bobbed visibly. Good. Kaleb wanted him afraid. "Do you have a reply for—"
Kaleb blurred across the stone floor. In a split second, he pinned the rider against a stone pillar, the cold, blood-slicked edge of his knife pressed hard against the messenger’s windpipe.
"I have a message for her," Kaleb hissed, his fangs pushing past his lips, his breath hot against the warrior’s face. "And it will be written in your blood. I should put your head on a spike outside my gates."
"Alpha!" Daniel barked, rushing forward and grabbing Kaleb’s rigid forearm. The suffocating weight of Kaleb’s dominant aura was almost too much to fight through, but the Beta forced himself to stand his ground. "This goes against the ancient laws of the Grand Council! He is a recognized messenger. If you slaughter him, the entire alliance will sanction us!"
"I don’t care about their laws! My son is in a cage!" Kaleb snapped, his chest heaving violently as he glared at the rider. "Rhea needs to remember that she is still my property, bound to my pack, and I will have her head for laying a finger on my son!"
He pressed the blade deeper until a thin line of crimson beaded against the messenger’s skin. "You tell Rhea that if a single hair on my son’s head is harmed, I will tear apart every corner of this continent until I find her." His eyes blazed gold. "And when I do, I won’t kill her." His smile was terrifying. "I’ll make her live long enough to watch me destroy everything she loves."
With that, he ripped the cloth of the messenger. "Now, run along, or the next time I won’t just tear your clothes. I will rip your insides from your body!"
