10. Weston

Chapter 10

Weston

A s I entered the throne room, Nyfain, the king—a dragon with an intense aura and golden-eyed stare—said, "Good to have you back. I hear you brought us Granny's prized drugmaker."

Finley, the queen and his mate, sat in the throne next to him on a dais at the head of a long, grand room, smiling in welcome. "How was the journey? Did you have any trouble?"

Where to start . . .

"Hello, Your Highnesses. We were met with a few complications," I said before telling them about the clues we were able to follow, the break we'd gotten from Hadriel sussing out intel via gossip, and the village we had found.

"Wow." Finley sat back, her long brown hair draped around her face, and crossed an ankle over her knee. "The village was way out in the middle of nowhere, huh? Smart. It's not like someone would just wander into it."

I gritted my teeth at how blasé she was in speaking about that horror village. What did I expect, though? They hadn't seen the beating Granny had given her gardener or walked through that hopeless and run-down place. They hadn't looked into the haunted eyes of those villagers and been confused about why no one had bothered to protect their home. They hadn't heard firsthand accounts from Aurelia's life or read about the hard times in her journals.

Fighting off the need to tell them about my status with Aurelia, wanting to wait until they understood the situation a little more, I painted a picture of what I'd seen and what we'd learned. Detail by gritty detail, I made them feel the environment Aurelia and the villagers had survived.

"They weren't just a production village, they were trapped there. They were forced to make the product or risk severe punishments."

"So... wait." Finley leaned forward, confusion knitting her brow. "First, sit down, will you? You've got to be tired, and I can see how tense it's made you."

The tension wasn't from fatigue, but yes, I was fucking exhausted. I had hardly slept last night, instead passing the hours holding my mate, listening to her breathe. I'd worried about this meeting, about what would happen when we arrived here.

About what I'd be forced to do to this kingdom to protect her.

I pulled a chair over and sat in front of their thrones, just the three of us in this great room. I'd asked for that specifically and they hadn't questioned it, having always trusted my judgment. I hoped, after this, they still would.

"So..." Finley scratched her nose. "I don't understand this. You're saying one person made all the product coming out of that... production village, you called it? That's what you said, right? Just one person, not several?"

Nervousness rippled through me at how she focused solely on the drugs and seemed to discount the environment Aurelia and the others had lived in. They needed to be viewed hand in hand, or Aurelia would be regarded as an accomplice and not a victim.

"One person made the base of the drugs, yes."

I explained the difference between the villagers versus Granny's workers and patrol. I also mentioned about the village not getting paid, instead getting just enough food and goods brought in. Nyfain leaned back in his throne when I told them how Granny kept them from leaving by essentially holding a child hostage to ensure the parents returned.

"They were more captives than workers," Nyfain said, finally—and thankfully—getting the picture. "That's why you didn't bring us back more than one?"

"It's why I left everyone, save one, in the village, yes," I responded. "I did initially capture some of their patrol, but they were able to escape. I'll get to how in a minute, but they're all dead now. They attacked us farther along the road, and we took them down. It wasn't worth keeping them."

Nyfain dipped his head once, accepting that. Their death was punishment enough.

"Okay, but..." Finley held up her hand. " One person is making all of those drugs? What did you mean about the root? I'm still not understanding this."

"There are two parts to Granny's drugs." I explained the details and what each village did.

"So the person you brought back is the one who'd been making the non-addictive element of this drug," Finley surmised. "The main element of the drug, really."

"Non-addictive and not dangerous. But yes, the main element of the drug."

"And a single person is making all of that?"

"Correct. Granny's people then mash it into a different shape, apply the colorful coating, package it, and send it out for distribution. We found the production village, but not the packaging center."

She shook her head. "You must be mistaken. I'm not questioning the job you've done, Weston. I know you are thorough, but there is simply no way that one person is responsible for the amount of product Granny is pumping into the market. The other place must make a portion of it."

"I brought all the product with me. They're unloading the carts now. It's not pretty, but the quantity checks out. It was kept in a supply shed in the market square. Without a lock."

Nyfain sat forward. "What do you mean, without a lock?"

I explained what we'd found. What I'd seen with my own two eyes.

Nyfain steepled his fingers, and a wave of nerves washed through me. He was excellent at reading people, amazing at guessing motives. He knew there was something I was holding back.

"I was not able to capture Granny or her beta, Alexander. I learned about the second location, the packaging center, after I had the drugmaker, but by then we were trying to rush her out of the kingdom. They were trying to reacquire their prize. We'd nearly lost people as it was. We'll need to go back for the others. Or, more likely, we need to wait until they come for her. I'm confident they will."

I explained about the letter, fighting the rising rage at Granny telling Aurelia that she'd come for her. That had been a direct challenge to me.

"Granny is cunning," I said. "We heard that when we were searching for information near the castle, but seeing it in action... We had a well-organized plan of attack that was executed perfectly. Granny had been our main target, but even so, she was able to evade capture and escape. I still don't know how. She got her dog out as well, and later released her captured patrol, all disappearing without a trace. Without a scent . She's not as good during face-to-face confrontations—I exceed her there—but when working in the shadows, she is exceptional. She can't be underestimated."

I knew her plans would be complex. Masterful, even. I'd need to overhaul our defenses and ensure there were no holes in coverage. No lapses in our patrol. Our people would need to be operating at optimum levels at all times, not lax, the way we'd allowed them to be in peacetime.

"Why should we bother going back for the others, or even holding Granny's bait?" Finley asked. Nyfain continued to study me silently. "If you're to be believed, and I'm still questioning that, then we have the supply maker. You said yourself we have the root of the problem. If we kill her, we kill the organization. Problem solved."

My rage throbbed, a black weight in my middle. My wolf paced, snarling. Nyfain watched me without expression.

"There are two problems with that," I said evenly, trying to maintain my composure. "The first is that, given the coating is what makes it dangerous, Granny can replace the drugmaker and resume all activities. Anything she makes will be just as addictive. The second..." Nyfain's eyes gleamed. He clearly knew the shoe was about to drop. "She's my true mate, and our animals have established a four-way bond. If you kill her, it'll destroy me. If you try, I'll annihilate your pack and cripple your kingdom while I take her out of here."

The last was said on a growl, and the rage got away from me, flooding the area with a burst of my power.

Finley froze. Her eyes kindled fire; dragons were always on the brink of a challenge, and this was more than enough to set them off. Nyfain didn't react, though, watching me closely, studying me. Thank the fucking gods. Going up against them would be brutal at best.

"Did you know right away?" he asked, his voice subdued. I could see Finley fighting with her dragon to keep from jumping off her throne and attacking me. It was probably her and Nyfain's four-way bond that helped her keep her head. They, too, were true mates, and I imagined his bond was likely feeding her soothing emotions.

"Yes, even from a distance. I lost my head the first night I saw her and fucked her in the middle of a path in the woods behind enemy lines. Obviously, that was a problem. The next night, we captured her as intended, and I tried to maintain my composure throughout the rest of our journey. It... mostly worked. Sometimes. We fought, but I didn't do a great job of keeping my hands off her. It's been a rocky journey."

"Even fighting a true mate is a turn-on," Nyfain said, and I released a breath.

"Yeah," I replied, thankful he'd been through it and understood. "Honestly, I was doing my duty despite the sex with her. It wasn't until things stopped adding up that my opinion started to change. I had her journals. I had the truth, a truth that she hadn't realized herself." I paused. "I know, based on my bond with Aurelia, that my judgment in this situation is compromised, but I ask that you keep an open mind. The rest of the sub-pack that went can attest to all of this. It wasn't just me that started to question things. I wasn't even the first, not even close."

I worried for a moment I sounded like I was pleading with them to give her a chance, and honestly, maybe I was. I didn't want to go to war with these dragons. It wasn't because of their power, which was substantial, but because I respected them and what they'd done for this kingdom. I admired them as leaders and trusted them. I didn't want to push against them. I certainly didn't want to destroy the pack that I'd painstakingly put together. This place was just as much a labor of my love as it was theirs.

But for my true mate, I'd do anything. It wasn't even a question. I would protect her at all costs.

"Basically," I said, getting back on track, "she creates the fun, someone else creates the danger, and Granny controls the operations. Aurelia didn't know what had become of her product. She didn't know about the coating. She nearly died when she saw it in the market, and took it to see what changes Granny had made. If we hadn't had the phoenix healing elixir, she would have died. Aurelia—that's her name—still doesn't know she is my true mate. She only met her wolf earlier today?—"

"Wait." Finley screwed up her face, holding up her hand again. " What? She just met her wolf?"

"She was suppressed."

"But if she's your true mate, she is powerful. If Granny is as strong as people say?—"

"Granny kept her suppressed on purpose and lied to her about it."

I explained why Aurelia had believed she lacked magic and how she'd come to make the drugs at a young age.

Nyfain's fingers were still steepled as he studied my every move. "You certainly did seem to encounter a few complications, yes," he finally said, humor laced through his tone. I wished it had eased the tension somewhat, but there was too much on the line here.

"I'll say," Finley mumbled.

"You said the pack learned about Aurelia as you did?" Nyfain asked.

"Yes. You can ask them about it. Any one of them. I can release their bond if you want to question them without my influence."

"Releasing the pack bond won't be necessary," he said. "But yes, we'll need to question them. Her as well."

The idea of them questioning her, of making her stand in judgment and punishing her for a shitty life that was forced on her, made rage blister through me again. More power pumped into the room. I closed my eyes and tried to regain control.

"Oh gods, his rage is setting off my rage, and this is getting dicey." Finley blew out a breath and bent, nearly putting her head between her legs. "How are you so fucking calm, Nyfain?"

"Because I know what he's going through. Weston, I hear you—I want you to know that. But you have to realize that yes, your judgment has been compromised. You can't help that. It's primal. I promise you that we will be thorough, and when we know the truth, we'll be fair. We'll figure this out. Can you accept that?"

"Yes," I said, not knowing if that was true. We would all be walking a very fine line.

"Where is she now?" he asked, usually the easiest to set off and this time the calmest of us.

"Hadriel recommended putting her in the tower. She'll be locked in. I could not suffer her being placed in the dun?—"

Nyfain held up his hand. "Is she dangerous?"

"Not at all. After she saw what her product had become—how Granny altered it—she requested to stand in judgment. She is not prone to random fits of violence unless attacked."

"Makes sense if she's your true mate," Finley murmured. "You're usually as calm as they come."

"She did just meet her animal, though," I continued, "and that animal is an alpha. I have no idea how that is going to work out."

Nyfain nodded. "It's been a long journey with some... surprising revelations. Why don't we end here for today, and we can pick this up tomorrow morning in our private chambers. We can go over the details more thoroughly and talk to some of the other pack before we need to question her directly. I do have to warn you, Weston, that her questioning needs to be formal. That can't be helped. But we'll get as much information as we can before that time. In the meantime, get some sleep. You need it."

"Just bring Hadriel in tomorrow," Finley said, sagging back in her throne. "He can yay or nay whatever Weston says. He won't lie to me, and he won't leave out any details. He doesn't know how."

Nyfain nodded and excused me. My mind whirled as I replayed how that had gone. Badly, if I looked at it from a surface level.

When talking them through it, I'd worried it seemed like I was coming up with excuses why Aurelia was ultimately innocent—excuses to get my true mate out of trouble. That they had not seen that village in person, and had not seen Aurelia break down with each realization regarding Granny's treatment of her, lessened the story's impact. My inability to properly articulate Aurelia's situation made it easier for Finley to look at it in black and white: Aurelia made the drugs, and so she was guilty. What should the why matter?

At least the fact she was my true mate would make them more careful. At least Nyfain sympathized with me. If he hadn't, telling him I'd rip apart his kingdom's pack would've definitely incited violence.

This was all so fucked up. Worse, I couldn't go to Aurelia. I couldn't hold her and feel the comfort only she could provide. I missed her already and craved her in my bed. I was adrift in a way I'd never been before, terrified for what tomorrow would bring—terrified they'd sentence her to death, and me with her. Because one thing was for certain—I would not stand by if they tried to hurt her. I would make good on my threat and tear this kingdom apart.