Book 1: Chapter 48

*** Solaris POV ***



The bathtub was cool against my back as I leaned against it. I’d been sitting on the floor of the bathroom for at least a couple hours. Every so often wrenching into the toilet. Today was the day I was giving Nate his punishment. I’d woken up early in a cold sweat and whatever strength I had gained back over the last couple of weeks seemed to leave me. Reaching up, I grabbed the cold wet cloth and put it on my head, closing my eyes. 

“Sol…”

My eyes peeled open to see Finn crouched down, looking at me with both pity and worry.

“I’ll be fine. Just…I need a minute.”

“I know, sweetheart. I know.” He rubbed my shoulders and I sighed.

Noah leaned against the doorway. “You sure you want to do this, Sol? There are other ways.”

“If I don’t do this, then he’ll take the full punishment that my old man wanted at the castle. I can’t let that happen. Even if I have to use magic, I swear to the goddess I won’t allow that to happen.”

He didn’t even fight me when I said it. I already knew this was going to be rough. Sure, I was conditioned to do this kind of punishment. It wouldn’t be my first time and hell, I’d received my share of them as well. But never had I needed to do it on someone so close to me. The thought made my stomach do flips and I leaned forward, throwing up in the toilet again. All that was left was acid and blood. Finn rubbed my back and I coughed, trying to catch my breath.

“What time is it?”

“We need to leave in a half hour. Or at least, that’s when the two Kings’ Guards are supposed to show.” Noah sounded as defeated as I felt. “I’m sorry, Sol. I wish I could do this for you. I wish Finn and I could do it.”

Shaking my head, I sat back on my ass against the tub. “No…I have to do this. It’s my punishment as much as it is his.”

“You don’t deserve to be punished, Sol! That’s ridiculous! He attacked you! He tried to forcibly mate you! That’s on him!” Noah growled out.

I sighed and got up slowly. “Yes. That’s why he is getting punished. That’s why he’s on the receiving end of this. I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve to be punished, Noah.”

“There’s no reason that you should be punished as well!”

“I kept my life from them. I kept the fact that I was alive from them. Now, when we are at the end, that’s when I decide to come forward?” I chuckled to myself. “Even I know that’s shit. Especially when one of them happens to be my fated mate. That would drive anyone mad.”

Finn sat up on the tub as I turned to run some cold water over my face. “Do you regret it? Telling them?”

“It wouldn’t do me any good. It’s done. I can’t go back. It makes my next steps easier. Allows me access more than just some rogue wolf running a bar. But neither of them reacted well. Not that anyone would in our situation. It’s just…”

“Not what you expected?”

I chuckled, rubbing my face in the towel hanging in the bathroom. “I didn’t really have any expectations. Let alone what I was planning on saying to them. Maybe that’s where I messed up. Thinking I could just wing it.”

Noah and Finn both laughed. “Yeah, except you do nothing but wing it. You don’t know how not to wing it.”

Rolling my eyes, I shoved Noah back into the room and headed into the closet. Pulling out my uniform, I placed it on the bed before stripping down. Pulling on my pants, I still had an undershirt as I put on my jacket. Finn came over and buttoned my jacket, running his hands through my hair.

“We will be next to you the whole time.”

Noah was pulling on his uniform jacket as well. Theirs didn’t have nearly as much gold or the medals that mine had. Rarely, even at the castle, did I wear my full uniform. There were only certain times outside the castle that it was needed. The show of our station whenever we were out, no wreaking havoc. Then my old man requested we leave the uniforms behind. His excuse was the color was not a compliment to blood and nearly impossible to get out. It was a joke, of course. We had to request new ones if anything happened but it was the symbolism of his words that were more important.

Looking down at the uniform, I smoothed out the slight crease on the side. This would probably be the last thing I would wear. I would be buried in this uniform, maybe even this specific one if nothing happened to it.

“Sol?” I looked up at Finn who was staring at me, a face somewhere between trepidation and worry. “You okay?”

Nodding, I turned and looked in the mirror. “Morbid thoughts, is all.”

“What…?”

With a slight smile on my face, I took a deep breath, puffing up my chest. “This will be the last article of clothing this body will wear.”

Finn came around and wrapped his arms around my shoulders, ignoring all the work it took every time we had put away these uniforms to keep them nice. His face burrowed into my neck.

“I’m not letting you go. Not for a while.”

“We need to go through. The guys should already be waiting…”

He shook his head, not moving from being buried in my neck. “Not what I meant and you know it. This won’t kill you. If you’d like, I’ll make sure the last thing you wear is your leather jacket and those ugly fucking jeans you love so much. I don’t care. But it’s not happening anytime soon.”

Chuckling, I raised my hand and brushed the side of his face. “As much as I would like that, my station comes first. Just try not to let the old man get too carried away. I don’t want to go back to the castle.”

“Sol…” His voice trailed off.

I turned out of his arms and put my hands on either side of his face. Giving him a quick kiss, I smiled again trying to instill some kind of strength into him but Finn couldn’t smile back. Going over to my side table, I pulled out a container of green paste. It was seaweed colored and smelled strongly of medicine. It was one of my old recipes that I’d get to find anything better. I put it in a bag but Finn took it from me.

“I’ll carry it. You’ll have enough.”

I nodded and sighed.There was a knock on the door downstairs and Noah headed down the stairs. I inhaled, closing my eyes for a moment. 

“Alpha, the Kings’ Guards are here.” Noah called from downstairs.

When I opened my eyes, Finn was watching me intently. I gave him a small smile before dropping into my Alpha presence, letting some of my aura slip out as I headed down the stairs. The two guards were dressed in the dark blue of the Kings Guard uniform. It was customary that two would be sent to watch a punishment be enforced to make sure nothing went wrong. As well as part of the stipulation that my old man gave me was that he was to choose the weapon. One of them was holding a hard leather case and I reached out to him. He started to reach out to shake my hand and my eyes narrowed.

“The case.”

He blushed slightly before switching hands and holding up the case for me. I placed it on the bar and opened it up. It was a whip, single with small barbs at the end. Sighing, I ran my hands over the whip. It could have been worse. The single was better than the five headed barbed monstrosity that I’d seen. In the corner of the case was a silvery liquid in a jar.

“How long does the poison last?”

“They estimate a week, depending on the strength of the wolf.”

I nodded and placed the jar back down, closing the case. 

“I don’t know why we are out here for such a severe crime. They should have been sent to the castle where…”

Glaring at the guard, I slammed the case closed. “What is your name?”

“Mark and this is Brett.”

“Alright Mark. What were your instructions when you were sent here?”

His eyes narrowed at me. “To deliver the case and to observe the…”

I put my hand up. “Right. To observe. Use your eyes to ensure the the full punishment is doled out. That doesn’t mean you may run your mouth, guard.”

The guard, Mark, glared at me. “I don’t know who you think…”

Finn stepped up behind me. “You watch your tone. You are speaking to the First Alpha Prince.”

He scoffed. “A rogue will never be our king.”

Noah and Finn growled but I put up my hand to them. My eyes flared and I let loose my aura at full power. Noah and Finn went down on one knee, baring their necks. But the two guards dropped, foreheads touching the wood floor of the bar. Mark started to cough and I could see Brett struggling to breathe under my power.

“If it’s too much for you to call me the First Alpha Prince, you’re welcome to call me the Rogue King. I received both titles for a reason. You will, from now on, do as I say exactly as I say it. Otherwise, you can explain to the Alpha King why you were sent back without fulfilling your duty.”

I let my aura up before continuing, the two of them catching their breath. “You will follow us to the territory and watch with mouths shut. As soon as the punishment has been finished, you will leave the territory and you will tell them that the punishment was observed as which was agreed upon.”

“Yes, Alpha.” Mark choked out but I reached out and grabbed him by his uniform, pulling him up to look me directly in the eyes.

“I am not just an Alpha. I am the First Alpha Prince. The only ones who get to call me Alpha are my Betas and Gamma. All three of which outrank you enough that if they killed you, no one would question it. So get your shit together.”

I let go with a bit of a shove and he almost stumbled over Brett who was still catching his breath on the ground. Grabbing the case, I motioned to Noah and Finn. “We are going now.”

The Kings Guards scrambled to follow us as all three of us got in Noah’s Jeep. They had brought a truck and they got in. Finn sat in front with Noah while I sat in the back, holding the case. My hand brushed over it absentmindedly as we drove onto Silas’ territory.