Chapter 33

33

KILLIAN

S narling, I sit bolt upright and reach out with lightning-fast reflexes. My fingers close around something soft and supple, and I ignore the fingers clawing at my arm, as I blink away the black haze clouding my vision.

"Killian, sir, let go, before you kill him." Zane's voice, calm and assured, causes my wolf to hesitate from crushing the windpipe in my grip.

Shaking my head, light starts to dance before my eyes as my sight clears, and I realise I've got a small, balding man who looks absolutely terrified, dangling from my arm.

"Sorry," I mutter, setting him down and rubbing my eyes as I stare around my quarters. "What happened? How did I get here?"

Rubbing my hand over the back of my head, I feel a lump just as I expected. Palpating it hurts, but it doesn't feel like anything worse than a nasty cut. Nothing broken.

"Charlotte. Where's Charlotte? Is she hurt?"

Zane gives me an odd look but shakes his head.

"She wasn't attacked. She's unharmed. Theo is with her now." Zane walks closer to the bed and stares down at me, arms folded across his massive chest. "How are you feeling? You were darted with something to knock you out. If Ryker hadn't been close by…" He shakes his head, looking stunned by tonight's close call.

The doctor shuffles out of the way, draping his stethoscope around his neck and then tidying up his supplies.

Leaning back against the sumptuous headboard, relieved to hear that Charlotte's unhurt, I sigh and stretch out my stiff arms and legs. "I'm fine, just a bit… sluggish, I suppose."

My wolf is quiet, still feeling the effects of whatever they gave us.

Rolling my ankles, I find everything to be intact, which is a relief.

"Do we know anything about who it was? Did Ryker see them?"

Now that I know Charlotte's okay, and I'm relatively alright, I'm pissed off. This is my home. I am the fucking prince. Who the hell dares to do this within the palace walls?

Zane hesitates. "Ryker didn't see anyone. They bolted when he heard and came running. But everyone is out scouring the grounds for clues."

"It has to have been one of the council or their security teams. They were on the grounds all evening, and it's fair to say I probably ruffled a few feathers last night."

Zane shrugs. "Would they have brought darts just in case you did something to anger them? This was definitely planned in advance." He looks pale and guilt-ridden. "My guess would be they work here, or are close to someone who does and could have snuck them in. Which isn't a pleasant thing to consider."

The palace staff has grown in numbers. From a few gardeners and Elodie's restoration team, there are now dozens of employees cleaning and cooking, along with people here installing security measures and pricing the cost of rebuilding the wing. The list of potential culprits is vast.

"I've sent everyone but essential personnel home without revealing what's going on." Zane pauses. "I'm sorry, sir. I thought we were better prepared than this."

Waving away his obvious shame at me getting injured, I pull myself back up to sitting. "This was always going to happen, Zane. It wasn't a case of if, but when. And Ryker kept his post and came to my aid. That's what matters."

Zane reaches behind him and grabs a chair, dragging it over to my bedside and sitting down. Pressing his lips together, he bites back whatever he wants to say while we both watch the doctor packing up carefully.

He doesn't even look up as he speaks. "You'll be fine, Your Majesty. The drugs should clear your system in the next hour. No vigorous exercise and a good night's sleep, and you'll be fine."

Nodding and thanking him, I smooth the blankets over my legs and wait for him to close the door behind him, catching a glimpse of two guards outside my door before it shuts softly.

Neither is Charlotte.

"So, what do you want to do now? I'll cancel the ball, send word out to all the packs that any visits are temporarily on hold…" Zane starts to list off the changes that he wants to make to my schedule for the next week, but I close my eyes and hold up a finger.

"No. Nothing changes. We press ahead."

Zane frowns and shakes his head vigorously. "That's a bad idea, with respect. We need to figure out who's after you first."

Tilting my head, I look at Zane, a solid man, one who I know I can trust with my life. "The problem is, Zane, that everyone is, and so we need to flush this person out. They'll be frustrated this evening, annoyed that they didn't get to finish the job. I need to stay accessible, so they come back to try again."

Zane clasps his hands together and rests his elbows on his knees. "I don't like it."

Laughing, I give him a sardonic smile. "Neither do I. But it's the only way. They'll come again, and in the meantime, it's business as usual. I want to find out what the council has been up to, and right any wrongs they've done. That has to be the priority."

"Fuck," Zane mutters, accepting defeat and scrubbing his hands down over his face. Pushing to his feet, he lifts the chair easily with one hand and replaces it.

"Can you send Charlotte to me? We need to discuss how this might impact upon her." That's true, but it's not the real reason I want to see her.

Zane freezes, his back facing me, and his shoulders tighten. "She's tied up at the moment, but the minute she's free, I'll tell her you were looking for her. Get some rest, sir."

That's a non-answer if I ever heard one.

"Zane, where is Charlotte right now?" My voice is deathly calm, but inside, a riot of emotions flash through me. Fear, anger, impatience.

"Downstairs." He moves toward the door, but I stop him with a hard stare.

"Where exactly downstairs?" Breathing through my nose, I try to force down the anger welling up inside me.

This is Zane. He cares for Charlotte. He wouldn't hurt her.

"The cells."

I jump from the bed, charging for him.

"If she's completely innocent, it's still the safest place for her. You were covered in her scent, it lingered right where you were found. Ryker was convinced it had to have been her. I locked her up for her own safety, and yours, Killian. If she didn't attack you, then someone clearly tried to frame her. It's best if they think it worked."

I stop and think about what he's saying, pushing back against the instinctive reaction to gut him for locking up my mate.

He's right. Someone tried to kill me and let Charlotte take the fall. That's got to be a clue about who's involved. No matter who they are, it's better that they think they've been successful in casting suspicion on her.

But they're going to pay when this is all over.

"She didn't do it," I say stubbornly, slumping into the nearest chair, my sudden burst of energy showing me that I'm not fully recovered just yet.

"I have to look into it though, Killian. You understand that."

I nod, knowing he has to do his job, even though it's going to be a waste of his time.

"Are you sure it couldn't have been her? Her mother is a tricky character. Could she have coerced her into it? You know that after all the attacks on the monarchy, her family started funding the elite enforcer training programme."

Closing my eyes, I try to imagine my mate so pissed off with me, and scared of what her mother might do, that she helps attack me, but my brain just cannot compute.

"She didn't do it," I repeat, with a growl this time.

Zane throws his hands up, surrendering to my judgement. But still, his hands are tied; he can't just release her because we both like her.

"That's fine, then. She'll chill out in the cells for a few days while we find the real perpetrators. Nobody will be able to get to her there."

I don't like it, but he's right. I can't drag Charlotte to the ball, knowing full well someone will likely target me there. This way, she's still close by, but can't put herself in harm's way.

"Fine, but when she gets out and is furious, let the records show this was your idea."