Chapter 5: It Was Rhetorical!

Alpha King Caspian's POV:

"It was rhetorical!" I growled as I snapped my head back around to face the woman this time.

I had her limp body lying over one of my arms as I had just removed the leather-bound cuffs from the hanging chain. I looked back to see my Warriors holding either of them by an arm. The man was struggling a bit, but he remained silent for the moment. Cash may have burst through the barrier if he bothered to open his mouth, knowing what he did to our newly found Mate. She, on the other hand, was still trying to get a word in edgewise, but I wouldn't hear it.

'Get them OUT of here!' (I demanded via Mind Link.)

'Promptly, Your Highness.' (I heard them all say in unison.)

I had to get them out of the room, as my wolf was pressing on the barrier pretty hard, so he could take care of his own business. Once I had her lying there in my arms, free of the chains that once bound her to the ceiling, I reached up and lightly touched her chin, lifting it ever so gently so I could finally look at her face. Her eyes were closed and swollen. I also noticed her nose was broken and still bleeding.

I didn't hesitate when I reached into my suit pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, placing it ever so gently on her nose. When I stood upright, lifting her and repositioning her in my arms a bit, she whimpered and winced in pain as if she was still out of it.

"It's okay, baby. You're safe now," I said as I tried to speak in a calm yet reassuring tone, when the matter of fact was that I was beyond furious at that point.

'Bring the car to the front of the castle NOW!' (I sent a message via Mink Link.)

'Promptly, Your Highness.' (I heard a response say.) 'Two minutes out.'

'Let me out!' (Cash demanded to be released.)

'She needs me to carry her, Cash. There's no way she can walk on her own.'

(Cash growled and then started to whimper.) 'I want the ones responsible to pay for what they did to Mate!'

'You mean our Mate. She belongs to me just as much as she belongs to you.'

When I turned around, Maxwell was still standing there. He had a blanket in his arms this time. He started over to me. I couldn't help it when he heard the growl that was emitted from deep within my throat, causing him to stop walking altogether. He looked up at me, and I nodded for him to continue walking to me. Although he had to change his pace from swift to cautious so he could place the blanket on top of her. I knew the growl was possessive for our Mate, as Cash wanted to protect her from further injury.

I knew Maxwell's intent, which was to place a cover over her so she would not be seen by the others once we left this room. The fact that she was being tortured was one thing, but being seen in this state, I would not allow it, hence the cover laid over her. However, considering the current state of our Mate, Cash did not want anyone to come near her at that moment, including my Beta, Maxwell. When he placed the blanket on top of our mate in my arms, she winced from the weight of the blanket that was placed on top of her. I frowned intently.

I held her as carefully as I could in my arms as I walked out of the room she was in. I swiftly headed for the stairs we used to come down here in the first place. When I finally reached the top of the stairs, as I walked up them two by two, there were numerous people in this particular corridor now. I guess they heard the commotion and came to check it out since it was time for breakfast.

However, food was the furthest thing from my mind at that point. My one and only concern was getting her to the Imperial Clinic so we could see to her injuries. My only problem was whether we were going to arrive there in time to be able to save her life. She seemed to be hanging on by a thread. I was not going to lose her now that we had just found her.

Alpha Roland's POV:

When I woke, it was rather early this morning. I knew it was going to be an extremely long day. However, what exactly it would entail would determine how this morning's meeting would go when the time came. I knew that His Highness Himself would be visiting with us, and we would have a business meeting which would be held promptly after breakfast. Well, that was the plan, or so I thought it was made originally.

At least, I was assuming that He'd show up for breakfast. He would usually set a time, but then, for reasons beyond his control, he would be extremely late due to unforeseen circumstances occurring in another sector of our vast Kingdom. There was more than one werewolf pack out here, as I was the Alpha of the Blue Moon Pack. And the last thing I needed to do was be late for when His Highness arrived.

However, despite not knowing all the particulars about the minuscule details, I quickly got up, prepared myself, and left my room to check on the various things I did first thing in the morning. After that, I usually went to my study, but this particular morning, I walked around a bit more until it was time to be called down for breakfast. The last thing I was going to do was anticipate the early arrival of His Highness. He's never done so before, so why would I expect Him to do something out of the ordinary when I knew His usual character was that He was always late?

Then that got me thinking. Will He actually show up at all?! I mean, after all, this couldn't be all that bad of a visit, could it? Once I was satisfied with where I was to head first, I finally headed out down the main corridor as the staff was buzzing about getting breakfast ready in the kitchen. I walked by the kitchen first and stood in the doorway, where the smells were ever so appetizing. My mouth salivated at the anticipation of being able to taste breakfast with the imminent arrival of our guest. That was when I heard something in the next room.

'Did you hear that crash?' (Rex broke into my thoughts when he asked me.)

'Yes, I heard it. I think it came from the dining hall next door.' (I responded in return.)

'Let's go see what happened!'

'Where is it that you think I am going, Rex?'

I swiftly walked away from the open kitchen doorway, heading to the dining hall. That's when I saw what I did not expect to see. There was a servant girl lying there on the floor, covered in water from a spilled bucket she must have been carrying. Foolishly, she dropped it somehow. I inhaled sharply.

That's when I noticed she was lying next to a chair. Wait, did she break this, too? It was apparently broken. Was she the one who was responsible for this broken chair? Not to mention, what could have led to it being knocked over with enough force to cause it to break in the first place?

"What's all the commotion?!" I asked as I stepped into the room, seeking an explanation of what had happened earlier.