Their Burning Touch on my Skin

Chapter 10

Ace

“What happened?” Cayden asks me as we sit down on two armchairs in his office after he got me out of my unofficial welcome celebration.

“They did a few tests on Emma. She decided to make a deal with Judge Attwood, so she could prevent him from keeping Serena at the Royal Palace.”

He lowers his head, passing a hand over his face. “I can’t believe this. I’m sorry that I underestimated the situation. I should have sent Logan with them, but we are all a bit anxious about leaving your mother alone at the moment.”

“Why? What happened?” My heart squeezes with worry, and he shakes his head.

“There is something wrong. We can’t pinpoint it yet, but the meetings about the findings regarding the wolves get more suspicious and the tests get increasingly invasive. And I already got a new order from the court about bringing her in again. I mean, we just brought her there two weeks ago. It’s not normal and I’ll be starting to refuse cooperation.”

He sighs, leaning back in his chair. “If you can even call it such a thing, still.”

“Dad, I know you are angry and frustrated. But if the High Court is coordinating this, I’m sure they have just the best intent in mind,” I try to explain, not believing that they would torture my mother for nothing.

Cayden isn’t my biological father, he is technically my uncle. I had the luck to grow up in this amazing family dynamic where my mother, by having multiple mates, gifted us with the presence of the same equivalent of fathers. I called all of my fathers ‘Dad’ while being called son by every one of them, and even though I was the biological son of the Beta, I was given the possibility of becoming Alpha. I got trained by Cayden in the hopes I would take his place once, so I know every one of his expressions by heart and can read him like an open book.

He glares at me, his posture screaming at me while he stays his usual calm self. “You were in the Royal Palace the entire time, weren’t you?”

“Yes, Alpha,” I answer in a submissive tone, facing the anger that is rolling off him.

I know my mom is everything to him, so it’s only natural that my remark triggered his rage. My family’s pack is home to the strongest and proudest wolves. They can’t understand the fact that sometimes you have to submit to the royal institutions looking out for us for the greater good.

“So, even if you never cared enough to show yourself to us, or let your mother know that you were doing fine and were even close by, you surely didn’t miss what they were doing to her?”

Holding my chin high, I fight the urge to lower my head. “No, I didn’t.”

“You didn’t.” His voice is nearly a growl as he tilts his head. “Then tell me, will you be accompanying Emma back to the High Court for more tests? Because I’m sure an invitation for her is the one I will get next.”

Jax’s roar explodes in my head, already prepared to create havoc at remembering her screams.

I push him down, the golden flecks appearing in Cayden’s eyes signalling me that his wolf would be ready to face mine breaking out of me.

And even if I know that his wolf Aiden is strong, I don’t think he would be able to fight Jax when it’s about his mate.

And they didn’t see his demonic form yet.

“If the Alpha King and the High Court ask us to collaborate to strengthen our army, I will comply. It’s important that we can protect our race from any threat.” I grit my teeth, my stomach churning even without Jax clawing against the walls of my mind. “And it’s important to gather information about Emma’s wolf and her special ability.”

‘We will never bring her back. I’ll eat your heart from the inside if you even think about doing that.’

“What threats, Ace?” His tone is cold, and I know that they see me as brainwashed, but it’s so easy for them to watch it all from the outside without having to feel anything more than just pity. “Is that because of your powers again?”

My lip twitches, and I snort. “You wouldn’t understand anyway.”

Of course, it is because of my powers. And how many more monsters like me are out there?

How many with the all-consuming desire to see it all burn, without having something that is holding them back?

Cayden scoffs, shifting in his seat. “We will talk about that in a few weeks, I guess.”

The door opens, making me look over my shoulder. Kai slumps into the armchair next to me, droplets of water falling from the tip of his hair.

“Please, come in. No need to knock. Feel like at home,” Cayden mocks, making Kai grin.

“Thank you, Dad.”

I shake my head, wetting my lips with my tongue to hide a smile. Jax purrs, the scent of Emma which is still clinging to him even though he changed clothes and must have showered calming him down. I feel a faint ping in my heart because of my jealousy, making me prop my head up onto my hand to cover the traitorous feeling with my nonchalance. “How is she?”

He sighs, sinking further into the armchair. “She is in great pain. Mom gave me an ointment to put on her wounds and pain medication. It was hard to see her fighting through the pain of me applying the ointment but I finally managed to get her to sleep.”

“Good,” Cayden breathes out. “At least she is safe now and can heal.”

We stare at each other silently, each of us probably thinking the same.

‘This is so f****d up.’

“Do you need to tell me anything else, boys?” Cayden asks, and Kai chuckles.

“Maybe. But I guess you will hear about it from the court very soon anyway.” His grin broadens, making Cayden groan.

“You have to be kidding me.” We laugh, seeing him roll his eyes. “How bad is it?”

I sit back up straight, playing with the armrest. “He wiped out an entire medical team assigned by the High Court that was performing the tests. A room full of ten people.”

“That’s not true,” Kai laughs, passing his hand to push back his curls. “There weren’t ten people.”

“You can’t be serious,” Cayden groans, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Judge Attwood will want to do a process again. He was waiting for just that. Hendrick will go on a rampage.”

Kai shrugs, and I watch him with a wide grin. “Didn’t Dad bite off the arm of one of the doctors during the testing last time? I mean they should know us by now.”

“You are kidding!” I laugh, making him shake his head as he snickers.

“That’s not the same thing, Kai. This is a problem. We should focus on protecting our mates,” Cayden scolds, but I can see from a mile away that he is fighting hard to hide a grin. “And Finnegan already has enough issues with the High Court without you two following his example and going berserk on the royal pack territory.”

Kai doesn’t take him as seriously as he should as he grins at him. “Well, Grim didn’t manage her screams very well. In the end, he was just protecting his mate. It was practically imposed upon me by the Moon Goddess. It’s just how nature works, right?”

“What an eloquent little devil you are. We should have given you both of you away to the army when they asked us for you when you were born,” Cayden jokes, making us crack up. “Would have spared me from hearing Judge Attwood this much.”