The King's Return

32| HE IS DIFFERENT

LOGAN'S POV

"We've been in the woods for a long time, Your Majesty, yet the rogue has yet to be discovered. Is it safe to assume he's still here?"

"You're the one who told me he'd been seen here many times, so I'm sure he's here. Be patient, we'll find him eventually."

We've been here for hours, and I know everyone is tired, but who knows how many more girls will be raped if we don't catch the rogue?

I can't take that chance, so no matter how exhausted I or everyone else is, we have to find him and we have to do so quickly.

If something bad happens to another girl because I couldn't find just one rogue, I'll never forgive myself. I know it won't be easy, but I'm not giving up anytime soon.

"I know you want to find the rogue like yesterday Your Majesty but you didn't have to come along. I'm aware that your mind is elsewhere, that you are thinking about her.

"Why don't you return to the castle and leave this to me? Blaze is also a great tracker, so all will be fine with him here.

"Just return to your mate and communicate with her; who knows, you may be able to reclaim her before Sebastían completely steals her from you.

"It's also not helping that you're here, everyone is afraid you'll lose it. I don't blame them; I can sense your wolf as well."

I know he means well and is thinking the same things I am, but it isn't as simple as he implies. Since this whole thing with Sebastían began, I'm sure a lot has changed.

I assumed that if I convince myself that Amira loves him more than me, I can at least let her go and let her be happy, but I don't want to see her go.

I simply can not imagine my life without her because I know it won't be fun, I'll be miserable. I don't want to get used to life without her.

I know I want to see her, and I'm not going to manipulate her in any way. I'm going to let her decide who she wants most in her life, Sebastían or me.

"Let's start by tracking down this rogue. I'll speak with Amira later, but not right now. I have no idea what I'm going to say to her, so I think I should practice what to say before I approach her. It isn't as easy as you might think."

Jake didn't say anything after that, in fact, he didn't say anything for hours, and I know it's because he's afraid I'll get more upset, and I hate that he is right.

I'm not sure what's wrong with me; a part of me wants to return to the castle, while another wants to stay here and find the rogue.

Both of these things are crucial right now, but I know I have to pick one, which is difficult given the possibility that I might regret my decision.

I know I have time to talk to Amira because she's in the castle and won't be going anywhere anytime soon, but if I neglect this, this rogue might end up hurting more women, and I won't be able to live with that for the rest of my life.

I've learned something in the last few years that I'm not going to forget no matter how many years go by.

Being a king is no easy task; I've learned that I would occasionally sacrifice my own happiness for the sake of others and that if I waiver even for a second, I will never be a good king to them.

I never intended to become a king, but now that I am, I have no choice but to be damn good at it, and nothing will ever change that.

My father entrusted me with this responsibility, and I don't want to let him down in any way.

When he told me he wanted me to be his replacement, he put his complete faith in me, and I know he did so because he believes I would never make a mistake, and if I do, I will do whatever I can to fix it.

I'm well aware that I'm not flawless; in fact, I'm far from it. That isn't something I need to be reminded of because it is something I already know and will always know.

I also understand that, while I am not perfect, I will not stand by and watch innocent people suffer when I know there is something I can do, something I have the capacity to do.

I despise violence more than anything, but it will never amount to my hatred for people who have no respect for others, particularly men who have the effrontery to disregard and assault women.

Even though I despise killing, I can always make an exception since I would never let a menace wander around freely, I would rather die.

I'll track down that scoundrel, and by the time I'm through with him, he'll understand why my wolf is nicknamed Leo the Lion.

AMIRA'S POV

"Stop thinking too hard, my lady. His Majesty will be back in no time, tracking a rogue is second nature to him. As I already said, he will return before you realize it."

What rogue is she talking about?

"Brittany, what exactly are you talking about? I had no idea Logan was on the hunt for a rogue; no one had even mentioned it to me.

"Is it because no one thought it was necessary for me to know? You keep calling me 'my lady' 'my lady' every day, but when it comes to crucial matters, you seem to forget that I am entitled to know as well.

"What if something bad happens to Logan and I had no idea he's on the hunt for a rogue? What do you guys take me for?

"What am I doing in this castle? Do I look like a piece of furniture?"

What is the matter with these people? I should be out there with my mate, checking on him, rather than sitting here waiting for him.

I didn't mean to yell at her, but I'm annoyed. Every day, these girls say something, but when it comes to significant matters, they seem deafeningly silent, which I despise.

"I'm so sorry my lady, I know you have a right to know but it wasn't my place to tell and in my mind, I thought maybe His Majesty will tell you."

She looked so startled and I realised that I had done that to her.

"I'm sorry for lashing out at you, I've been trying so hard to get my head straight for the past few days and things aren't going well so far." I tried to smile at her to assure her that I was alright.

"Everything that has been happening has me on edge and I know that's not an excuse. I should watch the way I speak with you." I know I was wrong and for that, I have to apologise.

"My lady, I'm just your servant. You have every right to lash out at me but I have no right to accept your apology, you shouldn't apologise to me at all."

"That's ridiculous, you're also a human being and I should treat you like one, servant or not. Don't ever make yourself ever feel less of a person because of your job title.

"I don't want to ever hear you demeaning yourself again. Am I clear?"

"Yes, my lady."

"Good. Now tell me about the rogue that Logan is out hunting." I sat down on the bed and waited for Brittany to tell me everything.

"I just know that there's a rogue that has been raping women around our territory and Jake and others have been trying to catch him but failed.

"It was this morning when I heard that the king will be going on the search too. I thought it was just a lie since he usually leaves that kind of thing for Jake and the pack warriors."

There's a rogue that has been causing trouble around here and I just found out? I hadn't realised I was that insignificant until this moment.

Logan's indifference I could take, but this? I don't care if he ignores me but why would he keep something like this from me?

Has he ever considered me part of this pack? I wanted to ask Brittany how long it has been happening when my wolf screamed mate. He was around! He was back which meant he was safe and unharmed.

I couldn't hide my happiness when I realised that. I was hoping that he would come to my room but minutes went by and there was no sign of him.

His scent was there which meant my wolf and I guessed right. He's in the castle. Why he didn't come to my room, that I do not know.

Brittany looked at me as if she was also asking herself the same question. I hate that look she gave me. I don't need people's pity!

I decided that I should be the one to look for Logan if he wasn't looking for me. I'm tired of waiting for him all the time.

I went to check his chambers, he wasn't there and his scent was very faint which meant it has been long since he was there. He hasn't been in his chambers for days.

I decided to check his office, he spends most of his time there and I know he could be there. He wasn't there either. Where could he be?

His scent was the strongest there which meant he just left. I decided to follow his scent, which led me out of the castle and to a place I never saw before.

It looked like a prison, even though it is not like the one back home, it is still a prison. This one is clean, it's not smelly like the one in my previous pack.

I moved further until I heard Jake's voice. He was asking whoever was held there to tell the truth. I guess it's the rogue that they went to catch earlier today.

"I'm telling you the truth. I don't know what you're talking about, I just arrived here yesterday and I didn't hurt anybody. I swear!"

Logan growled at him loudly, even my wolf whimpered at that. "I will not ask you again so you better tell me the truth before I tear you into tiny pieces. Speak!"

I should've been scared when he spoke but I found myself checking what was happening. The rogue kept saying that he didn't know anything about the raped women and I could see clearly that he had no idea he was pissing Logan off.

His eyes changed colour and I knew at that moment that he was going to shift, he was pissed and I could feel it within me.

I didn't have enough time to react as he shifted within a second and started tearing the guy everywhere. I don't know how I forced myself to not cower after shifting.

My wolf wanted to go to him but I didn't want to be any closer to him. I know Logan and that Logan in front of me wasn't him.

He is different from the one I'm used to and I couldn't figure out which one was the real Logan. The one I'm so used to or the one I just saw.

I forced my wolf to leave the prison before anyone saw me and ran all the way back to the castle. As soon as I got there, I tried shifting back and after so much effort, I finally shifted back to my human form.

At that moment I was so glad I had packed my clothes just in case. I am not staying here any moment longer, I don't need another motivation to help me realise that I made the right decision.

Logan doesn't love me, he doesn't care about me at all and I'm not going to force him to. He is not who I thought he was, he was just as heartless as any other alphas I've seen.

He has no regard for other people's lives or whatsoever. Why did I even think that he was different? Was it because he is my mate?

I could tell from the distance that something didn't add up when he was questioning that rogue but he didn't care, I know he sensed it too.

Why did I have to fall in love with someone like him? Why?