The room fell silent, the tension thick enough to choke on. Caspian felt a great anger swell inside him, and for the first time, he wanted to defy Elijahās orders.
Then, without warning, the door burst open and Christian stepped in, looking flustered. "Your Majesty," he said breathlessly, "we canāt find Violet Purple."
"What?" Elijah thought he had heard wrong. Then, almost immediately, his cold gaze shifted to Caspian.
Caspian saw that look and went pale. He already knew what the Alpha King was thinking.
"I donāt know where she is," he denied quickly, agitation flickering in his eyes.
Christian added quickly, "Not just her, Your Majesty, both Alaric Storm and Griffin Hale are missing as well."
The light in Elijahās eyes turned glacial. A muscle ticked in his jaw as he slowly rose to his feet, his dark Alpha aura filling the room.
"What did you just say?" His voice came out cold and lethal.
Even Christian swallowed hard. "IāI canāt find any of the boys, not to mention Violet Purple."
Elijah turned to Caspian. The older Alpha tried to stand tall, but cold sweat rolled down his temples.
"Where are they?" Elijah demanded.
"Are you suggesting I hid them, Your Majesty?" Caspian shot back, meeting his gaze. "Even ten years ago, when you demanded my son be handed over to Patrick for testing, my wife and I obeyed without question. So why would I withhold him from you now?"
For a long moment, both Alphas locked eyes, neither blinking, the tension suffocating. Then Elijah broke it off and turned to Christian. "Turn the pack upside down. Search every inch of this territory. And contact Irene, tell her that if this is some ploy to undermine my authority again, my patience has snapped thin. She wonāt like what comes next if I find those kids myself."
"As you wish, Your Majesty." Christian bowed quickly and hurried out.
With Christian gone, it was just Elijah and Caspian again, and this time, the North Alphaās pulse pounded as the Alpha Kingās calculating gaze lingered on him.
Where the hell were those kids? What the hell were they planning?
If only theyād told him about their escape beforehand, he couldāve suggested better hiding spots. Now they were out there on their own.
He only hoped they knew what they were doing.
Elijah lifted his head, his tone thick with accusation. "Where is your wife being kept, or have you moved her as well?"
"Sheās in the healing wing, Your Majesty," Caspian answered tightly, resisting the urge to punch him square in the face. How had he never realized until now that Elijah was a bully, and a grade-A asshole in a crown?
Maybe heād been too absorbed in his inventions to notice the tyrant ruling over them.
It was a miracle no one in the North Pack had challenged his rule, considering how detached heād been. But perhaps the packās prosperity, and a lightning-wielding heir like Alaric, had been enough to keep rebellion at bay.
Moreover, Caspian wasnāt exactly weak. He just hadnāt been interested in power.
But that ended now. Heād balance both the scientist and the Alpha in him.
But first, heād find his son and his mate.
Elijah moved toward the door, and Caspian instinctively made to follow.
"I can find my way around," Elijah said without turning, the sharpness in his tone making Caspian stop mid-step.
Of course, Caspian wanted to argue, but the words died in his throat. He didnāt trust the Alpha king around his wife, scratch that, Zara, his ex-wife. But perhaps, if there was anyone who deserved to be in Elijahās overbearing presence, then it was her.
So he stayed back, listening as his footsteps faded down the hall, silence falling in the room once more.
A few seconds later, the door creaked open again, and Ace rushed in, eyes wide with panic. "Father," he whispered urgently, "I know where Alaric and the others are."
Caspianās head snapped up, and his pulse spiked. He glanced instinctively toward the closed door, his heart pounding.
"Come with me," he hissed, grabbing Ace by the arm. He dragged him into the bathroom and twisted the tap on full blast.
Elijah wasnāt stupid. Caspian was sure heād left someone behind to keep watch. And with how that man operated, there was no guarantee someone wasnāt standing right outside that door, eavesdropping. The running water would drown out whatever they said.
"Where are they?" Caspian asked lowly, his eyes hard.
Ace swallowed. "IāI donāt know exactly."
Caspianās expression darkened. "What do you mean you donāt know?"
"One minute they were outside, and then this portal just opened, and this girl came out of it. They seem to know her and call her by the name āLilaā. I looked into it and she was one of Violetās roommates at Lunaris."
Caspian frowned, his mind trying to piece things together.
"She pushed Violet into the portal," Ace continued, "and then Griffin and Alaric went in after her. The portal closed right after."
For a moment, Caspian just stared at his son, too stunned to speak. A portal? If it had come from anyone else, he wouldāve dismissed it as nonsense. But Ace wasnāt a fool, and had his own analytical mind. He wouldnāt say something he hadnāt witnessed himself.
A muscle ticked in Caspianās jaw. "Youāre sure?"
Ace nodded quickly. "Positive. I tried to get closer, but it vanished before I reached it."
Caspian rubbed his temples, exhaling hard. A damn portal. That meant magic was at work. If that was true, then they were out of reach.
And Elijah was going to lose his mind if he learned that.
Caspian looked at the door again, paranoia twisting in his gut. "Donāt tell anyone what you saw," he warned him. "Not a word, Ace.
If Elijah finds out theyāre gone from this pack, heāll stop at nothing to get to them. Perhaps, this little break is what they needed, after all."
Ace swallowed and nodded.
Caspian turned off the tap, his reflection staring back at him from the mirror. The face that looked back wasnāt that of a inventor anymore, it was an Alpha ready to fight back for the future of his son - and his mate.