Chapter 27 - Devious Damsel

“Finally! The young prince blesses us with his presence.” A stocky male soldier bellowed out across the back entrance of the palace. He had been waiting alongside two other soldiers that made up Kai’s operation team.

“Fuck you too Trace!” Kai sniped back. He said it with a smile in his voice, clearly familiar with this particular shifter.

“Ha ha ha!” Trace’s laughed echoed in the courtyard. “This is why I love working with ya.” Trace scanned around. “Where’s ya watchdog? He not coming today?”

“Arrow is working on something for me so he won’t be joining us.” Kai replied curtly.

“Oh? That’s too bad. As much as he annoys the hell out of me, he’s a good guy to have in your corner in a dog fight,” Trace replied.

“Well, I for one am glad for the break from him. If I had to hear one more sob story about Naya I was going to have to start pulling my fingernails out,” the female soldier replied. She had her long blond hair braided and wrapped up in a bun. She didn’t seem to be a big fan of Arrow.

“That’s just because you’re jealous Hayley. I wish you’d just fuck him and get it over with.” Trace responded jovially.

“Fuck you Trace!” Hayley snapped. She launched a water bottle at him which Trace easily caught.

“That’s the second fuck offer I’ve gotten today. I’m getting more popular by the second. I just need you to tell me the same Neo to get a full hat-trick in less than 5 minutes.”

Trace turned and looked at Neo, the other male shifter sat waiting quietly. Other than Kai, Neo was the only other black haired shifter among them, being the son of noble.

“You’re both idiots so don’t drag me into this.” Neo tied back his hair in to a hairband and then looked over at Kai. “So, who’s gonna take up the 5th spot if Arrow’s not coming?” he continued.

Kai huffed. “Well… about that…”

Nate came running out of the palace back doors and met everyone out front. “Sorry I’m late. I’m all good to go now.”

Trace, Neo and Hayley stared at him. He was dressed in the same combat gear as them.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Trace shouted. “This is a joke right Kai? You’re bringing a kid along?” Trace shouted. “We’re not going on a teddy bears picnic!”

“Hey! I’m not a kid okay, I’m a fully qualified soldier!” Nate argued. He wasn’t intimidated by any of his seniors and his growl suggested that he was willing to demonstrate how qualified he was.

“Qualified soldier? You look like you’re barely qualified to be out of nappies (diapers), so don’t give me that bullshit!” Trace challenged.

“That’s enough!” Kai had reached his last straw and was sick of all the backchat. He released some of his dominant waves and all four of them quickly focused on him and stood to attention. “He’s coming and that’s it. I’ve already warned him that if he becomes dead weight, we’re leaving him behind, so end of discussion.”

Trace tutted to himself but remained tight lipped.

“I intend to make this quick so come and take a look at these plans with me before we go.” Kai rolled out some maps and sheets of paper on a stone table in the courtyard and the rest of the team gathered round to look.

———————


It was early morning and Adalyn had had a poor night’s sleep. Her wolf was now fully back. She could feel her pacing back and forth in her mind. She was much more active than normal. She was missing Kai and was feeling restless and irritated as a result.

Adalyn rolled over and checked her phone. There were no new messages from him. He must have already been on his way to the border to fight.

Adalyn sat up and decided to call Leona. She hadn’t spoken to her since she arrived back home. She dialled the number and after a few rings a sleepy voice answered.

“Hello? Who is this?” Leona asked, not recognising the new number Adalyn was calling her from.

“It’s me, Ady.”

“Ady?! Oh my god! I didn’t recognise the number! Where are you?? Everyone is looking for you.” Leona prattled off questions in quick succession.

“I’m home now,” Adalyn continued. “I got back yesterday.”

“Where have you been?? Are you okay? I’ve been so worried about you.”

Adalyn could hear Leona start to sniffle as though she was holding back tears.

“I’m sorry Leona, I didn’t mean to worry you. I’m gonna tell you everything that has happened but before I do, I need you to promise that this stays between us. Then I’m gonna need your help to back up my cover story, just in case anybody asks.”

“Okay...” Leona replied curiously. Adalyn didn’t often ask for help so she knew this was going to be big.

Adalyn filled her in on the story so far.

“No way! You’re mated to Prince Kaiden? That’s insane! My best friend is going to be a princess. You better remember me when you make it big okay!” Leona screeched down the phone.

Adalyn hadn’t even thought about that and she hadn’t discussed it with Kai either. She would effectively become royalty once they were fully mated. Up until now she had only thought about being with Kai but she hadn’t thought about all of the other things that would inevitably come with being mated to a prince. A twinge of anxiety coursed through her. She’d have to remember to discuss it with him once he was back.

“I think that’s still a way off with everything else that is going on Leona.” Adalyn added. “So are you okay to say that I spoke with you when I was in Eclipse Fang, just incase my aunt or Gabe asks you?”

“Yeah…sure. I got you.”

“Thanks, one other thing, so I mentioned how Kai said that someone from the Star Howlers pack might be involved in my kidnapping. The guy they saw on the CCTV footage had their pack crest tattooed on their arm. Well as it’s not a common place for a pack tattoo, I was thinking that Dylan might know who it is? Are you still in touch with him?”

“Dylan? We haven’t spoken to him since he transferred out of our school. He’s taken over as alpha of his pack now. He’s not that easy to reach anymore. Hmmm…” Leona paused to think for a moment. “I’ve heard he tends to frequent a gentleman’s club in their pack territory. You might be able to catch him in there. I’ll see if I can find out when he’ll next be there. I think you’ll need more than a description of the guy you’re looking for though. Do you have a picture of the guy on the CCTV?”

“No, but I know someone who does. I just have to find a way to get it off him without him noticing.” Adalyn pondered for a moment. Kai said that Arrow had shown him the video and was tasked with tracking him down, so he’d most likely have a photo of him.

“Okay, let me ask around and see when Dylan will next be there.”

“Thanks Leona, I owe you one.” Adalyn was really grateful. Even though Kai had told her not to get involved, she knew that she could help and sitting and waiting around like some damsel in distress was not her style.

“No problem Ady. Get Kai to hook me up with one of his rich hot friends and I’ll consider us square.” Leona proposed with a hint of mischief in her voice.

Adalyn laughed, “I’ll see why I can do.”

Adalyn hung up and laid back on her bed. She had to figure out a way to get that picture from Arrow, without him getting suspicious. Adalyn flicked through the phone book on her phone. Like Kai said, Arrow’s number was saved on her new phone. She selected his number and dialled it.

“Hey Ady! Everything okay?” Arrow answered quickly.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I didn’t mean to alarm you, are you nearby?” Adalyn asked cautiously. She was trying her best to not sound suspicious.

“Yeah, one sec.” The phone went quiet and then suddenly cut off.

“Err…Arrow?” Adalyn asked in to the phone again. She wasn’t sure what had suddenly caused the phone to cut off.

“Hey!” Arrow waved at her inside her bedroom.

“Ahh!” Adalyn jumped back on to her bed terrified. “When did you…How did you get in?”

“Through the window.” Arrow answered. He couldn’t help but be amused at her reaction. “You should really keep that closed you know.” Arrow started walking around like he owned the place, looking and touching random objects like he was at an exhibition. “You know that blonde guy has been acting a bit weird, almost like he was he waiting for someone to turn up. Are you expecting someone?”

Adalyn raised her eyebrows. “Blonde guy? Oh, you mean Gabe? He’s probably just checking to make sure I don’t take off again. My aunt grounded me.”

“Huh...” Arrow peered through the window. He was slightly uneasy about Gabriel’s behaviour but he knew that he was like a relative to Adalyn, so he didn’t feel any cause for concern. Arrow was convinced that he managed to get in without him noticing and Gabriel had now disappeared. Arrow turned back to face Adalyn after dismissing it. “So, what’s up, did you need something?”

“Uh, yeah. I was just thinking that guy you saw on the CCTV when I got kidnapped, do you have a photo of him?” She asked cautiously.

“Yes…why?” Arrow asked curiously. He was there when her and Kai argued about her helping out with their investigation, so he was apprehensive about saying something that he shouldn’t.

“I was just thinking that I know a few people from that pack, so I was wondering if that person could be somebody that I knew. Could I have a look? It might help you figure it out.”
Arrow, thought for a moment. She had a point; she couldn’t exactly do much with that information and he had yet to assign someone to look in to it for him. “Okay.” Arrow pulled out his phone and brought up the picture. Adalyn took the phone and stared at the picture. She didn’t recognise the person at all but she paced the room and pretended to be thinking about it.

“Hmmm… have I seen him before?” Adalyn scratched her chin.

She turned her back towards Arrow and continued to ask herself questions out loud to distract him. Whilst she did so, she slipped her new phone out of her pocket and took a snapshot of the screen before slipping it back in her pocket.

“Nope, sorry. He doesn’t look familiar at all.” Adalyn concluded. She flipped back round to Arrow and presented him his phone back.

Arrow was slightly bemused by how she was behaving, but didn’t think too much of it. “Don’t worry about it Ady. I’ll find him and Kai and I will sort this out.”

Adalyn gave Arrow a short smile. “Thanks”

“I better head back to my post before your blonde prison guard returns. If you need anything else I’ll be nearby okay.” Arrow headed over to the window and jumped out.

Adalyn waited a moment then checked the picture on her phone. Now all she needed was to meet up with Dylan to get the answers they needed.