Chapter 151: Ambush

With Delia dead, she thought that maybe things would get easier, but there was still a feeling of danger looming around what felt like every corner. She’d hoped it would vanish as the days went on and her stomach grew larger, but it didn’t. If anything, it felt worse. She could only hope that Adolph's trip would help ease some of it. When the Wiccan delegation including Eden returned to the Wiccan lands, she had thought that maybe Adolph would relax, but she supposed that until they knew for sure that Gavin wasn’t a threat and that all the threats they had ever suspected had been neutralized, there was no chance that they would ever have peace.
Adolph was almost certain it wouldn’t even be that simple, no matter how much he may have wanted it to be. There was still something wrong. His wolf still felt restless. Maybe Eden was still a threat. Maybe not.
He'd find out soon enough. Eden was a cunning man. He'd either get Adolph alone with a plausible excuse or he'd manage to kill him in front of everyone and make it look like an accident.
Adolph preferred straightforward combat, but he would be in Eden's territory, so he would have to be careful.
He fastened his cloak and turned to Laurel, “Are you certain about this?”
Laurel chuckled, “Staying here? No.”
Adolph scowled, “There is no way I am letting you anywhere near Ash Castle or the border again, *pregnant* or otherwise.”
She pouted a bit and rubbed her stomach, “I get that you have all these instincts warning you about my safety, so I am staying here as you asked.”
Ask was too gentle of a word, honestly, but Laurel had given in easily enough. She had plans about how she was going to spend their time apart.
Adolph was going to meet Eden at the border with a few Wiccans to go see Annwn, if possible, and start working on Ash Castle. He hadn’t been able to disagree with Taliesin’s thoughts that the key to lifting the curse on the land was dealing with whatever Morrigan had done to Ash Castle during her reign.
Annwn would be the easiest part of the journey he imagined, so he would deal with it after Ash Castle if needed. From what Laurel told him, it was unlikely that he had to do much of anything except promise not to harm the people who lived there for their connection to Eden.
As he wanted to go home much more than he wanted any type of vengeance, it wasn’t a hard promise to make.
As the king of the werewolf kingdom, the throne of the full moon, he would have to work with Eden, the heir to the throne of the full moon, to make it happen. At least, that's what Taliesin speculated. Eden mentioned going to the heart of Ash Castle, but he hadn't explained what that meant.
All this mystic and cryptic nonsense was irritating him in ways he hadn't expected. He wasn't used to not knowing or not being able to figure it out. He wasn't used to letting someone else take lead either.
He didn’t understand why the moon’s thrones were split into two, but Taliesin was at least several times his age and had proven himself to be trustworthy so Adolph didn’t bother to do much but confirm with a priestess that Taliesin wasn’t planning to kill him while they were in the vampire’s lands.
His sister had laughed at him and told him not to end up dead by accident and to have an open mind.
Laurel walked with him down to the front gates as the rest of the caravan got ready to go. He pressed a kiss to her lips.
“I miss you already.”
“I’ll be here when you get back.”
“You had better,” Adolph teased, “No rushing off to cause trouble while I'm gone, and I expect you to behave.”
Laurel grinned, "Promise with only two fingers crossed."
Adolph laughed and mounted his horse with a little sigh. With one last look at Laurel, he urged his horse forward and followed the caravan out of the city. It was about a week’s ride to the border where he was meant to be meeting them.
Chasel sighed, ”All that work to get you two married and we’re leaving the city again like this? Being the king is such a problem. You can’t even fully enjoy being newlyweds!”
Adolph laughed. He wasn’t wrong. He just hoped that Laurel would have enough support while he was gone to keep whatever danger was lurking at the back of his mind at bay.
“Let’s hurry up and get this done.”
Chasel nodded, urging his horse into a run once they were out of the city. The journey to the border could take a while if they were leisurely about it, but they planned on taking the quickest route up rather than stopping through the territories on the way. They traveled light and small to get to the border as soon as possible for hopefully the last time.

Gavin was furious. The commotion with Delia had ruined his birthday party and his plans to get rid of Laurel, but Gavin had resolved to get over it and restructure his plans. Delia’s professed involvement with the vampires would put a lot of people at ease as they would likely think she was the only one.
That would make them relax and start to overlook little things he could use to his advantage.
Getting rid of Delia wasn’t what he wanted, but now that he was free of her, he had a chance to put someone else, more useful to his ends, in her place. She’d been wasteful and unruly, rude to the staff and nothing like Olivia. Olivia sent him money without question and obeyed him even after falling pregnant.
He needed a luna he could use to his advantage. He wished he hadn’t taken the bribes from Laura’s parents in the first place. Some of this could have been avoided, but that was the past.
He walked into the parlor where he’d had Laura’s parents taken that morning. Colleen and Henry looked as pitiful and shifty as they always had. He usually wouldn’t have bothered with looking for them if it hadn’t been a dire circumstance.
“Minister Mirabelle,” Henry started, “It’s so good to see you. We’ve been trying to–”
“Shall I get to the point?” Gavin asked, cutting in as he sat.
Henry flinched, closing his mouth. He could only imagine what reason either of them would have to be nervous considering how Gavin found them. The Emerald Twilight pack was an obscure one, but to his knowledge, it was well run. To be thrown out, they had to have done something horrible.
“The way I found you suggests that you did something unforgivable. As I recall, you were the betas of the alpha of your former pack.” Henry stiffened as Gavin smirked, “I am prepared to help you both to at least live comfortable lives in exchange for your cooperation.”
Colleen leaned forward, “Whatever we can do to be of help to you, Minister Mirabelle…”
“Your daughter,” Gavin said. “It’s a shame that she’d been replaced twice over: a seventeen-year-old country girl and treasonous rogue….”
Henry scowled, “Laura was a stupid, prideful, ungrateful girl. As soon as she got into the palace, she cut ties with us despite all we’ve done for her.”
Gavin was shocked as Colleen went on to complain about Laura’s refusal to give them money from the luna’s budget or her personal budget.
He had hoped to drive them to attack Laurel out of a sense of revenge, but a sense of anger and scorn was better. He smiled. It was all looking up now.
“Well, perhaps the moon goddess heard your complaints, your plight, and granted Laura a second chance to make things right with you.”
Henry frowned, “What do you mean?”
He sipped, glancing at the clock. By now, Adolph and his traveling party would be outside of the city and heading towards the border. If he had planned things carefully enough, they would be running into trouble within a day.
“Laura has been reincarnated,” Gavin said kindly. “Basil states that she is currently in Laurel’s body.”
Their eyes turned wide as saucers.
“I doubt that the king knows that his current wife was once his daughter in law… Think of the scandal?”
He watched the light in their eyes turn devious as they looked at one another.
“If you’d like a chance to speak to her privately, I can arrange that for you.”
Henry smiled, cold and devious, “Yes, please. We have so many unsaid things to tell her…”
It was too easy. Between them and the group of renegade vampires that were waiting for Adolph’s traveling group, he would have Basil on the throne and be married to a more suitable partner within a few weeks.