The Kings' Broken Mate

They are Our Kings

Renatus' POV-

"What the fresh hell are you two doing here?! Wasn't me disappearing in BLACK SMOKE more than enough inclination I did not want to be followed?! Sorry to disappoint you campfire and saltwater but I am not mate material. You need to leave, you have to leave me alone." I felt the air charge as black clouds began to form above us. This was definitely a common reaction for her, the storm brewing and the electricity beginning to strike around us. Her control was starting to slip and we could all sense it. Her fear thick like the smoke invading the atmosphere. Before either of us could speak to her, her father spoke.

"Regardless of them being your mates, which you failed to mention when you emerged from your safe, they are our KINGS you thick headed child! Mind your tongue and get your damn self under control! This has been going on for four years Remington. It's time to let it go and live your life in something other than a drunken haze! I am sick of having to coddle you and have the pack tip toe around you." Apparently there is a lot more going on than we initially realized. The ground began to shake beneath our feet, our guards all poised for our defense. One of the men with us was a syphon, a type of witch that could adsorb someone's magic and redirect it. Right now there were too many ways this could go wrong and we needed to intervene. I silently commanded him to break off and try to get to her, just incase we couldn't calm her down. I turned my attention back to Remington and her dad arguing.

"Goddess tell me how you really feel Father! Does the black mark of my torment bring shame to your preciously delicate ego? You know nothing! You weren't there while he cut into my flesh. You weren't there while I begged for death!" I could see her eyes flickering, the presence of her wolf coming closer to the surface. The wind began to whip around us, stinging with a brutal chill as the ground frosted over. Alpha Moore was shaking with fury now, his wolf fighting for control.

"You aren't the only one who suffered there! Your brother died there, he went through more torment than you ever did, trying to rescue you!" Wait they had a son taken as well? What the hell was going on? I could see the confusion on Raclaus' face as well, telling me he was just as lost as I was. The storm seemed to freeze in place as the temperature plummeted dangerously low, the air beginning to fill with stagnant snow and ice. Her wolf had full control now, her anger giving way to calm furry.

"He suffered more than I Alpha? I wouldn't be so sure of that. You know nothing of what happened during those nights. You can take your resentment to your grave, as I will to mine. Just remember your precious son was the reason my human was taken in the first place! But of course the traitor should live while she died!" Her body was vibrating, every cell charged with energy. She was no normal gifted wolf, that much was apparent. I nodded to Raclaus signaling for him to intervene now. Out of the two of us, I think he had a better chance of getting through to her.

"Listen to my voice, focus on me. Remington, please calm down. Renatus and I only want to help you." He kept his voice soft and even, trying to choke back the emotions running rampant within him. He was concerned for her, fearful even that she may end up taking her own life, she had almost succeeded once by her recklessness. I had to choke down my anger, fighting myself not to burn her Father to a crisp for the things he said to her. Telling a child she should have died over another is disgraceful. This escalated so much faster than we had been prepared for.

"Help me?! If you wanted to help me you should have let me die in that f*****g alley!" My heart clenched as the words left her lips. She had been made to suffer this trauma alone, no one looking beneath the surface to find the truth. There was so much about this situation we did not know, making it that much harder to navigate. I was confident that she must never have told anyone the whole truth, and she's been harboring it alone all this time. Raclaus tried to reason with her again.

"We couldn't do that. We need you, Remington, more than we ever knew before." There was some truth in his words. I think Raclaus and I had become to complacent in our dynamic, stagnant. Already her presence was affecting us, more than I could understand right now. Alpha Moore interjected pulling all of our attention back to him.

“They found you dying in an alley? They are our Kings and because you’re a damn alcoholic they had to scrape you off the concrete! Do you have no shame for wasting the life your brother saved?” His shouting bordered on hysterics the longer he spoke. Shock warred with anger within me as I listened. It was obvious there have been problems related to drinking before, but seemed fixated on her brother even though it was clear he may not have been the savior they thought he was. Dark laughter filled the clearing sending a chill across my skin and down to my bones as the glow in Remington’s eyes dimmed with the retreat of her wolf.

“Of course I have shame Father, though it is a shame you could never understand. It’s a soul infecting shame born from the weeks of silver whipping at my skin because I was weak enough to be taken in the first place and nurtured through the torture inflicted at the hands of someone who should have saved me simply because my existence prevented his power. It’s the sort of shame that takes every dismissal of my presence from you and every glance of pity from the pack as fuel as it burns away the shreds left of my light. It’s a shame that I can never out run, never leave behind, and never forget though I damn well try.” The wind began to blow again as the ice melted. Her voice carried hauntingly through the clearing and I saw a few of her pack mates including the Beta pale at her words.

Somehow the Alpha appeared immune to the pain in her voice and tried to speak again. I stoked the fire within to let my flames simmer around me as I moved between the Alpha and Remington. His words seemed to lodge in his throat once he was faced with the sight of the phoenix king’s flames. Movement in my peripheral vision made me pause for a moment while Raclaus and the syphon shifted closer to Remington’s sides and the rest of the Kings’ guard closed ranks. Once everyone had returned to a stand still, I let my aura radiate with my anger as I spoke.

“It is vital to your health you choose your words more carefully when speaking to my mate. Yes, we found her in the alley behind our club last night and thankfully we were able to save her, but we shouldn’t have had to. Not because of our status but because her Alpha, her damn Father, should have saved her long before last night. You speak of her shame but where is yours for your failure to protect and heal her?” Alpha Moore had the good sense to blanche with my words or maybe with the growing flames surrounding me. When the Alpha remained silent far to long, the Beta stepped forward to speak.

“Your Majesty, if I may, there appear to be many things that some of us were unaware of and that others seem content to ignore.” His gaze moved pointedly to his Alpha before returning back to me. “However this confrontation does not seem to be helping Remington right now. As much as I regret having to say this in light of certain disclosures made today, she poses a significant danger to the safety of everyone in this clearing. If you are agreeable, I will lead the warriors and Alpha Moore to the pack-house so you can attend to your mate.”

“Take them to safety Sean. They fear me enough as it is, they do not need to witness anymore reasons they should.” Remington responds before I can, her voice softer with a longing sadness now. The Beta looks to me for confirmation and I grant it. The Alpha finally stirs from his stupor when the Beta clasps his shoulder, but the warriors of Black Bay Moon quickly subdue him. As they swiftly disappear from the clearing, I turn around to see Remington clinging to herself as black flames surround her mimicking mine.