The Alpha King's Witch Bride Chapter 311: Hope Is A Dangerous Thing

Kaelos’ POV

*****

The office was suffocating.

Not because of the traces of fear in Caroline’s breathing as she stared anxiously at the floor.

No, it was the silence after Janelle’s verdict and after all was said and done between and the other Alpha Kings.

Caroline had told the truth. The tea hadn’t been poisoned by her.

That should have eased , but it didn’t.

Because soone still had.

And right now, Odessa was gone, walking through a portal that led to hell knows where under my watch, and I was standing here with my hands empty and my chest hollow.

Caroline, Janelle, Althea and the other Alpha Kings filtered out in twos and threes, their words clipped and their eyes avoiding mine.

No doubt the Alpha Kings would be whispering about how I’d "lost control" in my own pack.

Let them.

I’d trade their approval for Odessa’s heartbeat in a second.

anwhile, Marcellus stayed back. He always did.

He was leaning against the far wall, his arms crossed, a perfect picture of calm loyalty. The dim light from the chandelier carved the sharp line of his jaw, his gaze steady when it t mine.

"We’ll find her," he said simply, a reassuring smile curling his lips. "Odessa is strong. She’ll be alright wherever she is."

His words were... grounding in a way I didn’t expect. But then they did nothing to bring my wife back to .

"She’s been gone for hours." My voice was lower than I ant, roughened by the weight pressing on my chest. "Hours, Marcellus. Every second that passes—"

"I know." His tone was steady and unshaken, a great contrast to mine. "That’s why we shouldn’t waste any more of them."

I nodded once, dragging a hand through my hair. Damon was still pacing inside , claws scraping, demanding we move, hunt and tear apart every territory and ruin until Odessa’s scent was mine again.

But there were too many unknowns.

And one of them had worn Layla’s face.

I turned toward the window, looking out at the Blood Oak land stretching for miles, bathed in red moonlight and soaked in crimson from the blood rain.

The rogue attack hadn’t left any major damage, except for the main gates and wall.

Thank the goddess for that, I guess...

"She was by my side for years," I said, referring to Layla. "I trusted her with everything. The gates. The patrol schedules. Odessa."

"She fooled all of us," Marcellus said plainly but that wasn’t true.

I turned my gaze to her, shaking my head. "You heard what Althea said. She was... mind controlled. I saw it myself. I watched her beg to get ’him’ out of her head, right after she stabbed with a silver dagger."

Marcellus’ brows furrowed with surprise. "Y–You didn’t say anything to the others..."

I shrugged.

That’s because I didn’t need to. It was a personal mont which still lingered at the back of my mind.

I was the Alpha King of North Arica. It was my job to see these things before they beca rot in the foundation.

Yet, here I was, discussing my problems with other Alpha Kings who should be busy with their own continents.

I exhaled hard, trying to scrape off the guilt and frustration, focusing my eyes on Marcellus again. "Where were you?"

He straightened from the wall, a faint furrow between his brows. "During the attack?"

"Yes." I turned fully toward him now. "When the event hall went into chaos, I didn’t see you until after the rogues were down. Where were you?"

For a fraction of a second, sothing unreadable flickered in his eyes, there and gone before I could na it.

"I was at the main gates when I got word of movent near the south wall," he finally said. "Could’ve been a diversion, could’ve been a breach, so I went to check it myself. By the ti I looped back, the fighting was nearly over."

It made sense. Too much sense.

Marcellus had always been the kind of Beta who moved without waiting for orders, covering my blind spots before I noticed they existed.

I grunted in acknowledgent. "Next ti, let know before you disappear mid-crisis."

He smirked faintly. "Noted."

From anyone else, I might’ve heard defiance in it. But from Marcellus, it just sounded like a friend refusing to tiptoe around and I didn’t have the strength to scold him for it.

Suddenly, the door swung open again and Janelle’s voice cut through the thick quiet.

"You can both save your banter for later." She waltzed to the centre of the room, her gown spilling over the marble, her gaze sharp as a hawk’s. "Kaelos, you need to cool your head before you start questioning your entire inner circle. That’s exactly what Ryker would want... You’re tearing yourself apart from the inside."

I clenched my jaw. "He’s already taken from the inside."

"That’s not what I ant." She ca closer, lowering her voice. "You’re not thinking like a hunter. You’re thinking like a grieving mate. And grief makes mistakes."

The truth in it stung, but I didn’t argue.

The door creaked and Althea stepped in next.

I guess knocking was non-existent now...

"Ryker is calculating, Kaelos." Althea began with a solemn tone. "And if Layla was under a compulsion, it ans he’s been watching this pack for far longer than the portal incident. Possibly even before Odessa arrived."

I rembered an incident that I’d pushed to the back of my mind just then.

During I and Odessa’s battle against the raven witch in xico City, the latter had ntioned poisoning my mother for Ryker.

aning he’s been around for years, possibly decades before .

A low growl built in my chest. "Then I’ll question every soul Layla ca into contact with in the past month. I don’t care how far I have to dig."

Marcellus nodded. "I’ll start pulling the patrol rosters. She was on periter checks three nights last week."

It was efficient and it gave my restless wolf a thread to follow, however thin.

I turned back toward the desk, pushing aside the maps and patrol notes scattered there. I couldn’t look at them without rembering Odessa leaning over my shoulder to point out sothing I’d missed.

The image ca again without warning — Odessa, her hair catching the firelight, the faint curve of her smile when she’d touched a scar on my forearm and told it looked like a crescent moon.

Then the mory twisted into the last ti I saw her tonight... before she stepped into that portal. The lingering fear behind her confident and reassuring mask.

My hands curled into fists on the desk.

"I will rip apart every stone in this world if that’s what it takes to get her back." I didn’t an to say it aloud, but the words ca out like an oath.

Janelle studied for a long mont, then glanced toward Althea. "Tell him what you told outside."

My eyebrows furrowed as I raised my head, glancing at the two of them.

The high priestess hesitated, her fingers tightening around the folds of her robes. "I wasn’t certain if I should ntion it until I was sure."

That got my attention. I straightened, my eyes narrowing. "ntion what?"

"It’s about the ring Odessa wears," Althea said. "The one that belonged to her mother."

I knew the ring. I’d seen her fidget with it absentmindedly when she was thinking, and had felt the cool tal against my skin when she gripped my hand.

"It’s not just a keepsake," Althea continued. "It’s an heirloom from her mother. A protective charm with... other properties. One of which is a tracking bond."

My pulse kicked hard. "Tracking?"

"Not in the way you’re thinking. It doesn’t broadcast her location at all tis. But with the right ritual, which I can perform, it can create a link to wherever she is now. The magic was dormant until it sensed she was in danger."

Hope was a dangerous thing. But it hit anyway, sharp and blinding.

"How soon can you do this ritual?" I demanded.

"Soon," she said cautiously. "But it requires preparation and ingredients. And I can’t guarantee the connection will last long. If she’s in a magically shielded location, it may only give us fragnts."

"Fragnts are more than we have now," I said.

Janelle’s lips curved slightly. "Then it’s decided. Althea will begin preparations imdiately."

I nodded, already feeling my focus narrowing to a single point.

This was a lead. Maybe the only one we’d get.

Marcellus pushed away from the wall, rolling his shoulders. "I’ll start rallying the trackers and scouts. The second we have a location, they’ll be ready to move."

I t his gaze. "Good. I want the fastest, most disciplined wolves on this. No one breaks formation until I say so."

He gave that faint, easy smile again. "You got it."

We moved toward the door together, but as Althea began murmuring instructions to a maid who stood outside the office, I caught a flicker of movent out of the corner of my eye.

Marcellus had turned slightly, just enough to glance back toward the high priestess, or maybe toward the ntion of the ring.

His expression was unreadable. Not concern and not quite curiosity either. It was sothing sharper, lingering on his face for only a breath before it smoothed away.

I let out a small breath, dismissing it. Still, the faint image lingered in my mind as we stepped out into the corridor.

"We’re coming for you, Odessa," I vowed silently to the blood moon.