Chapter Twenty-Seven

Christopher

After quite a few stares, I manage to get Celina back to her car. I lay her in the back and turn the mirror away from her. As much as I’d love to see her naked, I won’t take advantage of her like this.

When I start the car and pull out of the park and onto the street, I call Ruben back. “Did you call a medic?” I ask the moment the line has connected.

“I have, but she needs to be prepared for what she’s about to meet. What is wrong with Celina?” He asks this while I hear Xander in the background talking to someone in urgency.

“Multiple lacerations and I smell Wolfsbane. It was directly injected, but the needle that was in her neck is suddenly missing.”

“I’ll get everything started. Call me when you’re here, and I’ll come down with some clothes. Where’d you find her?”

“Underneath a white lycan in the woods. I got there as he was injecting Wolfsbane in her. I also found Randaul with his throat slashed by our Celina. That’s the only thing that seemed to give her a chance to get out of there.”

“So the Wolfsbane attack was recent. I’ll call my medic. Call me when you get here.”

“Thanks, Ruben,” I tell him before hanging up.

I get Celina back to the apartment within ten minutes, and that’s with speeding and running red lights. I call Ruben the moment I’m in the car garage and park quickly in Celina’s monitored spot. Declan is long gone, but his blood sure as hell isn’t.

The elevator door opens the second I have the car in park. Ruben tosses me a blanket when I jump out of the car. Swiftly, I wrap Celina in the blanket and carry her to the elevator.

“The medic will be here in five minutes,” Ruben tells me and reaches for Celina. “Go shower, and I’ll keep her safe.”

I let out a growl as my beast and I grow angry at that thought. “Mine.”

“Look man, I know you’re a little protective of her right now, but if she wakes up to find you covered in blood, and naked, she’s going to freak. Also, I doubt Dr. Ariah will be thrilled to see you like this. Keep your shirt off so she can look at that shoulder. I’ll set Celina on her bed and I won’t let her out of my sight while you clean up.”

I glare at him while we ride in silence. I glower but bend. “I’ll set her on the bed, and I’ll shower in her bathroom while you watch her.”

Ruben nods. “That I can do.”

The door opens with Xander right in front of it. “How is she,” he demands as he follows us.

Jenna lets out a loud cry of shocked pain as she covers her mouth, “Celina!”

“Sit down,” Ruben growls at her. “You’ve done enough damage to her.”

“I didn’t do anything, other than try to push Declan on her.”

“You gave Randaul an in, and a reason to stay close. If you think that’s the only thing you think we’re aware of, you’re delusional.” Xander moves toward her. “If she dies, I’ll hold you personally accountable.”

She stiffens, “What do you mean?”

“I’ve had time to review my voicemail,” Xander answers; making Ruben and I stop in our tracks. “We’ve got most of their conversation recorded before it ran out of room. You were one of the first things discussed.”

“What-what did it say,” she asks while my blood begins to boil.

“That’s what you care about,” Ruben growls in disgust. “Your best friend, our future queen, was attacked because of what she is.”

“How was I supposed to know that she was going to go after Randaul?” Jenna demands, getting to her feet.

“Sit down,” Ruben growls, pushing his aura right at her; forcing her to sit.

The look of disgrace on Xander’s face is something I never knew he was capable of. “He went after her, her pack, her friend, and the royal family. She’s an alpha, Jenna, not a beta. She did what any alpha would do. She went to take out the threat.”

“She’s not good at fighting her instincts, is she,” Ruben says, looking at Celina in my arms.

“No, she’s not,” Xander growls in his frustration. “She should have just waited.”

“Yes, she should have,” I agree. “We’ll talk about this later. For now, let’s get Celina situated and taken care of.”

They nod with Ruben following me into Celina’s room, with Xander staying behind to watch the backstabbing viper and phone calls. Once we get to her room, I lay Celina on her bed and then shower and change in less than three minutes.

Celina is laying on the bed with Ruben sitting on the couch. He’s leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his fists clenched and pressed to his chin. “She’s still breathing,” he tells me, not taking his eyes off the wall.

“What’s wrong,” I ask, sitting next to him.

“I smell him on her,” he answers as he lowers his hands.

“Randaul?”

He nods. “Her hand is covered in it.” He turns his head to look at me. “I never thought Randaul was capable of this.”

A buzz from the intercom interrupts our conversation. “That should be Dr. Ariah.” He gets up quickly after that, leaving me alone to listen to Celina’s steady breathing. I get up and go stand next to her, and brush her hair from her serene face. Her pink cheeks bring a small smile to my lips while the pit grows in my stomach. This woman drives me insane and is more than worthy to protect the beast kingdom. She’s just so stubborn and hard-headed that it’s going to get her killed. She’s her biggest threat. How can I protect her from that?

A knock alerts me to the doctor’s arrival; pulling me from my thoughts. “Prince Christoper, I’m Dr. Ariah. I oversee Crescent Lake Pack’s Memorial Hospital. I have treated the Alpha Princess Celina on a few occasions, and am trusted by her family. I swear I will give her the best care possible, and treat her with the utmost respect.”

I nod, hearing her racing heart and smelling her werewolf scent. “I will allow you to care for Princess Celina, but I want you to report to me everything you find.”

“Yes Sire,” her bell tone voice says with relief evident. “I would like you to leave the room.”

Ruben puts his hand on my shoulder while a possessive growl rolls through me. “While the doc works, let’s listen to the voicemail Celina left her brother.” Gently, he pulls me away from my Celina. I have to let the doctor examine her. She is female, so she won’t be tempted to mark her. Finding some relief in that thought, I turn and follow Ruben to the living room.

Xander has his arms crossed while he glares at Jenna. Before we can say anything, he reaches back and hits the spacebar on his laptop.

“How did you know I’ve been watching you?” That is Randaul’s sickening voice.

“You jumped on Jenna the moment you had zero chance to run into me. The only way you’d be able to do that is if you were close. Also, my father made zero mention that you had stopped by, so that means you’re doing what you can to glide under the radar.” That was Celina with her voice marred by thick sarcasm. Her answer surprises me. Even I didn’t catch that.

“Perceptive and on point. Still, you know, I’m not the only one after your little neck. It was stupid of you to ditch your little helpers.”

“Is that why you’re here, or are you trying to get me to submit to your son?”

Randaul laughs, finding humor in her response. “I see you strong-armed your little friend. If it helps, she did fight it. Not many can say no to my persuasive skills.”

“What do you have over her? A man of your stature doesn’t use simple submission as his only safety precaution.” Again, another point I missed.

“You’re not as dumb as I thought you were. Your little friend purposely poisoned herself with the Wolfsbane to get out of the Claiming. Pour Mon Pote. Didn’t you and Jenna make a pact at one point to learn French? Isn’t that why you’re learning it in school?”

Xander hits the pause button as he glowers at Jenna. “You do realize you could have killed her with that stuff? If she had accidentally drunk it, who knows what could have happened.”

“She wasn’t going to,” Jenna cries, covering her mouth as tears start forming. “I-I just wanted to get out of the Claiming. After I poured my glass, I knocked the bottle off the table and made sure I broke the glass after I drank it.”

“You could have died!”

“I didn’t want to be marked Xander. I wanted to find my true mate. Not have it decided for me. I’m not Celina. I can’t fight off lycans and most alphas. As sister to the Alpha King’s Beta, I would have been a prime target.”

“Celina would have helped you. I’ve seen her help even the weakest she wolves escape being marked during the Claiming. She would have gladly helped you.”

“That’s just it Xander. I didn’t want her help. I knew this year would be especially hard because it was her last. I didn’t want to be a liability out there and risk her getting marked trying to protect me. She’s always protecting me.”

“So you stabbed her in the back by making a deal with Randaul?” Ruben demands, making her flinch.

“I didn’t mean for her to go after him,” she screams, covering her face with her hands as she sobs harder.

“You’re her friend. What did you think she was going to do? Sit back and wait for him to try something else through you?”

“I don’t know what I thought would happen when she found out, but it wasn’t this.” She starts shaking her head. “I didn’t want this to happen. I was just supposed to have her reconsider Declan. That’s it.”

“Do you really think that,” Xander demands, “because I know you’re not that stupid. He had leverage over you. He was never going to let that go. You were his puppet for life the moment you agreed to do what he asked.”

“I panicked and I was confused. I tried to fight him. I really did, but then he let his beast out, and” she starts crying harder, making it impossible to understand her through her blubbering.

Ruben opens his mouth to respond but Xander just groans. “Let’s just listen to the rest of the voicemail.”

We stand there in silence, listening to Celina and Randaul’s conversation. It amazes me how perceptive she is as I listen to them, but I can hear her arrogance. Then again, she is in the biggest testament to her strength yet. If she shows weakness, she’s dead.

“It looks like Celina knows more about what’s going on than we do,” Ruben says, folding his arms as he smirks. “This should be good.”

“Why is that,” I ask, giving him a hard look.

“Since the entire Council is going to be investigated now, the Lycan King and Alpha King are fully in charge now.”