Chapter 98: Grace
Rhys and I made our way to the large ballroom that has been blocked off to contain the kids. The packhouse was chaos. There was a med station set up in opening of the clinic lobby, and the kitchen had a buffet setup for everyone as they came in. Everyone’s faces showed the same weariness that I felt, and honestly probably showed. Rhys and I had gotten changed into some clean clothes and I had scrubbed the blood off of my skin to the best of my ability without taking the time to shower. I felt gross, but I knew that I would have time later to clean up. This was more important.
“Oh thank god!” A relieved voice called out, and I felt myself relax as Alana wrapped her arms around me. I didn’t realize that I had been nervous to know the state of my friend. The thought that maybe she had been one of the ones that Rhys had left here to help protect me had crossed my mind. But she was here, and she was safe.
“Are you alright? Are you hurt? I was so scared for you!” She blubbered, pulling away slightly to look me up and down.
“I should be the one asking you that!” I exclaimed, doing the same thing. She was the same to me. No new marks. No blood. No visible injuries at all.
She pulled me into her again, and I returned her tight squeeze. I was grateful that after everything, she still wanted to be my friend.
“Do you want to come with me, or do you want to stay and chat with your friend?” Rhys whispered in my ear when we finally broke apart. There was no malice in his voice, but I felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment. I was lucky. The people I loved were here, and they were safe. But not everyone had been so lucky.
“I’m sorry, Alana,” I told her earnestly, “The Alpha King and I are on a mission right now, can we catch up later?”
“Of course!” She replied, waving her hand and smiling like it was nothing. “Is there anything I can do to help, your majesty?”
If Rhys was surprised, he didn’t show it. “As a matter of fact,” He told her, but he was looking anywhere else, “We were just going to check on the children who were forced to fight us. Would you mind tagging along? Once we decide what to do, we’re probably going to need extra hands.”
If that statement made Alana nervous, she didn’t show it. She just eagerly replied that she was happy to help and that she loved children. I don’t know if she truly processed that these kids were trained to kill, but it didn’t seem to bother her at all. She just linked her arm with mine and off we went toward the unknown chaos.
I honestly had no idea what to expect when we opened the door, and we asked Alana to wait there for further instructions, but I did not expect to see so many guards at each door and in the hallway, or the glares from the older kids that we received when we crossed the threshold.
The room was empty except for about 50 kids. Despite them all being supposedly from my old pack, I didn’t recognize a single face. They were all divided into 6 different groups. Each group seemed to have an older teenager, anywhere from 15 –18 years old, who positioned themselves between us and their charges. The rest of the kids in each group ranged from 5 – 13. The younger kids were clinging to some of the older ones, but there were two groups led by girls, and 4 by guys, all trying to look tough and fearless, even though it was obvious they were scared to death.
“My name is Alpha King Rhys. Today, you guys attacked my pack in an attempt to help Alpha Adrian gain access to my mate.”
Rhys’ words hung heavily in the air, and a small voice from one of the groups asked, “Is Alpha Adrian here for us?”
The small child was immediately shushed, but I couldn’t tell from their tone if they wanted to go back to him or if they were afraid to.
“I assume, there is someone among you who is in charge, and I would like to talk to them.” Rhys continued as if the child hadn’t spoken.
“That would be me, sir.”
I hated how my mind was surprised to know that it was a girl who had spoken up. She was tall for a girl, maybe 5’8 to 5’10, and she couldn’t be older than 17. Her dark brown hair was messy, but pulled into two dutch braids down that stopped about halfway down her back. Her lip was split, and she had a dark purple bruise that covered a large portion of her upper arm. However, she did not look even slightly put off that she was the one who was going to be dealing with the Alpha King. But looks could be deceiving, and I wondered what it was she actually felt.
“And you are?” Rhys asked, keeping all interest off his face, even though I felt it pique through our bond.
“Maizie, sir,” She answered strongly. “I was voted by the kids to speak for us.”
Rhys raised his brows, but I knew he was impressed that they had organized in this way. I knew I was.
“Do you have a second in command that you would like to join in our conversation?” Rhys asked.
“That would be Michael, sir,” She answered, gesturing toward the guy in front of the group closest to her. It was clear that they had set themselves up next to each other for convenience purposes. Michael had short blond hair and stood at about 6’3. He had the most menacing look, but a 6-year-old boy was clinging to the back of his shirt with a fear that made me feel horrible for pulling Michael away from him.
One of the guards placed a table in the corner, near one of the exits for us to meet with the children. Rhys pulled my chair out for me, and I sat down, and Rhys took the seat next to me, as the two leaders made their way over to us, and whatever they were going to say, I was sure we were not going to be ready for it.
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