Chapter 59

Sebastian

The city is beautiful today. The sun shines across the landscape, casting long shadows from skyscrapers and there’s a few fluffy clouds littering the sky. All traces of rain and its clouds has finally vanished, leaving the city and I alone.

The rain felt like it was never going to leave me alone. It was determined to drown me and end all of my sorrows with it. It almost succeeded with its mission. Miranda saved me, though. She pulled me through the darkness and brought me back into the light, not allowing me to lose myself in the turmoil the rain brought.

Miranda saved me. My fated mate. I am fully convinced now that she is my destiny, the woman whom I am supposed to share the rest of my life with.

Uncertainty punctures through my thoughts. Despite my confidence in Miranda and I’d blossoming relationship, my mind cannot help but wander to the thought of Miranda rejecting me.

She’s done it in the past before, pushing me away and cursing me out, but things between us have changed. We are a team, her and I. Nothing can come between us now, no matter how we try…right?

My fingers curl into my palm. The palm of my hand feels cold without Miranda’s touch. My mind even feels unsteady without her voice and our children’s laughter ringing in my ears. Last night was pure bliss, something that I have never been able to experience before. I only wish that I am able to find that same peace with my family after all of our problems cease to exist.

“Sir,” my Beta’s voice shocks my body, bringing me back to reality. I look at from him from over my shoulder, eyes dropping to a large, black envelope in his hands. “A letter. From the Rogue King.” I freeze.

The Rogue King…

What does he want?! He’s lucky we don’t find him and rip him to shreds!

“Bring it here. Now!” I snap, rushing around the desk. I snatch the envelope from his hands, examine it from every angle possible. “Leave.” My Beta nods, bowing, before he takes his leave out from my office in a hurry. He closes the doors behind him and I can hear the faint click from the door’s outside lock.

I take a seat at my desk, looking down at the envelope. Its black color absorbs all light that touches it, the material warms to the touch. I place the front of the envelope onto the desk. A green wax seal stares at me. Inside the green color lies a sickly yellow, one that matched the eyes of the prisoner I killed yesterday.

Goosebumps tingle against my skin, starting from my hands and gliding across my body, taking shape over the entirety of my skin. I inhale, my chest feeling uneasy.

What game is the Rogue King playing at? His psychological warfare has already raised many alarms in my kingdom. My Beta and Delta officers have already begun to suspect that the situation is much larger, and far more personal, than they’ve been led to believe. How much more can they take before they come asking me questions that I do not know the answers to?

The drawer in my desk slides out and I pluck a knife out from the shadows, bringing it into the light. The blade reflects the sunlight onto the envelope in front of me, illuminating the green and yellow wax.

The Rogue King’s seal is embedded within the wax. It is a simple design, much like mine, but it screams inferiority and compensation with its meager design. A set of wolf’s teeth stares at me, snarled, ready to bite. Will it do any damage, though?

I press the blade’s tip under the slip of the envelope, teasing the wax seal, before popping it off. the blade rests next to me. I lift the envelope and inspect the inside of the fold closely, trying to see if there are any hidden or underlying messages inside the Rogue King’s correspondence.

There’s nothing.

I take a deep breath, filling my lungs with as much oxygen as I can before slowly exhaling to the point where my lungs burn. I repeat this process a couple more times before breaking out of the trance, my nerves now calmed.

My fingers open the envelope. I slowly reach inside, my breath hitched inside my throat, as the tips of my fingers come in contact with the contents inside. I close my eyes and drag the materials out from the envelope, unearthing them from the Rogue King’s darkness. I open my eyes and look down.

The stack of items is thick. On top is a thin piece of folded paper, also adorned with a putrid green color. It’s wrapped with a small, yet thick, parcel, tied with stringy twine. I go to pick it up but am stopped when a pop of color catches my eye. I brush the letter to the side.

Beneath the letter is a picture of Ella, Evan, and Noah’s backpacks. In the distance of the photograph is the triplets playing on their school’s playground. I pick it up, my heart pounding in my chest, my ears ringing.

How did he…

I set the photo side to reveal more below it. Grabbing the pictures, I shuffle through them at a quickened pace. Every new photograph that is revealed crushes my chest with the unmistakable feeling of dread.

My desk is littered with a multitude of photographs of my children. Ella’s smile does not soothe me, nor can I hear Evan and Noah’s laughter in my ears when I look upon their faces in the printed photos. Nausea sweeps my body. It leaves me feeling dizzy and disoriented, unable to bring myself to my senses or see any semblance of rationality in what has been brought to me.

I stand with Evan, Ella, and Noah in some of the pictures. The day where I waited for Miranda to come has been photographed as well, with me on the bench while the kids play on the play set.

How long has he been watching us?

I swipe the neatly folded letter from the twine, my hands trembling from anger, unable to console or calm myself. I rip the twine away and the wax seal cracks in half, its edges now ragged and sharp.

My heart sinks in my chest, dropping through my chest and landing in my stomach. I hold back the urge to throw up, swallowing the bile down my throat. I set the letter to the side, revealing the contents of the smaller parcel.

Miranda…

Her beauty resonates through the photographs. Her smile is captured eloquently, her eyes looking at me through the picture. My breath hitches in my throat. I stand, the desk chair tipping over. I lean over, plucking the letter from the side.

The tan paper looks disheveled and it smells musty. The words inside are almost unintelligible, my eyes straining and my mind has to focus just to be able to read the Rogue King’s words.

Who would you rather save? Your precious children? Or your mate? Choose wisely. Your choice will determine your fate, false king.