Chapter 54

MISTY

I collected Dawn, freshly showered and looking much better. “I’ve never been to the palace and didn’t expect it to be so opulent,” Dawn remarked.

“Yeah, Axel has been living in luxury off the pack tithes. The palace owns a hundred and thirty properties, and I’m sure the tithe allowed him to purchase those.”

“Wow, but I guess he had good business acumen,” she remarked.

~“I can still smell blood,”~ Cammy piped up.

“Do you need to see a doctor?” I asked again.

Dawn shook her head. “No, it’s healing, but still seeping a little. It was quite a deep cut, and it happened so quickly, and I wasn’t expecting it.”

The dining hall table was already set, and Dawn looked around in astonishment and chose the seat next to mine. Trent disappeared, but Adam hovered just inside the door, his eyes never leaving Dawn.

Chelsea was already seated. Nonchalantly kicking off her shoes, she made herself comfortable as though she’d been living in a palace all her life. “This is the life,” she mused after Nickie poured ice water into our glasses.

“You’re such a diva, and you should have been queen. Beautiful and irritating,” I said, sitting opposite her.

“Well, we know which one of us is the tramp…,” Chelsea retorted.

Dawn pulled her chair out but remained standing when Tanner and Lloyd walked in, their nostrils flaring at the rogue smell.

Lloyd’s gaze immediately fastened on Dawn, his eyebrows shooting up. “Dawn? I know you from sight, but we’ve never been introduced.”

“Yes, that’s right. I’m pleased to meet you officially, Alpha,” she said, baring her neck.

“Likewise,” Lloyd said, kissing me and linking me simultaneously. ~“What’s going on?”~

~“She was sitting in the food court all alone. She has no family left and was robbed and stabbed. Oh, and Adam is her mate,”~ I filled him in.

“Adam, why don’t you join us,” Lloyd said without missing a beat.

“I would love to. Thank you, Alpha,” Adam responded enthusiastically and sat beside Tanner.

Hauling the ceremonial knife out of his pocket, he gestured to Dawn. “Let me accept you into the Shadow Moon Pack. You are free to use your own words to pledge.”

Dawn sent me a surprised look and knelt before Lloyd nervously. He nicked her palm, and she stammered for a moment before pledging.

Dinner was a different affair. The table was set with charger plates, and the food came on a big trolley pushed by a man, a human, in a double-breasted white jacket.

~“Ooh, we’re being served by the chef,”~ Chelsea linked me.

He bowed instead of baring his neck and cleared his throat. “I am Chef Petros. For this evening, I have prepared salad Catalan, filet mignon with blue cheese butter, potato au gratin, and sautéed mushrooms with fresh herbs. For dessert—pavlova.”

I wasn’t sure whether I should clap, but at the same time, this all felt wrong. I still felt unsettled after the outing—seeing shifters on TV did that, and Dawn’s condition hadn’t helped.

But the food did smell delicious. He served Lloyd first before going around the table. For a second, I was worried there wasn’t enough. It’s not like we told him Adam and Dawn were joining us, but I needn’t have worried.

Tanner and Lloyd’s eyes were glazed over, and the minute they cleared, I linked Lloyd.

~“Did you know there was a chef?”~

~“Tanner says Petros has a contract and cooks dinner for the alpha king every Friday night. The kitchen staff prepares alternate meals for the rest of the pack. Unbelievable.”~

Axel wanted to be treated like royalty in every respect.

“Enjoy,” Petros said, bowing again and leaving.

“Well, that was an eye-opener,” Dawn said, staring wide-eyed at her plate.

“No kidding,” Chelsea chimed in with a mischievous grin, her eyes lighting up as she inhaled the mouthwatering aroma. “But, honestly, I kind of love it. And it smells amazing!” she added, clearly enjoying the moment.

Lloyd, however, wasn’t as enthusiastic. He folded his arms, his expression darkening. “Don’t get too used to it,” he said firmly, his voice cutting through the atmosphere. “I have a problem with this.”

The room seemed to cool at his words. Chelsea, caught off guard by the sudden shift in tone, bit her lip and sank deeper into her chair. “Oh…I guess you’re right,” she mumbled, clutching Tanner’s hand.

Dawn’s gaze flickered between Lloyd and Chelsea, sensing the tension but unsure of its source. She tilted her head curiously. “Wait, what’s the issue?” she asked. “Is it the food, or…?”

Lloyd’s frown deepened, and for a moment, it seemed like he wouldn’t answer. Then, with a heavy sigh, he leaned back in his seat. “It’s not just about the food, Dawn. It’s the principle of it. Axel lived like this—lavish meals, indulgences—while the packs struggled. This kind of excess…it represents everything wrong with how he ran things.”

Chelsea shifted uncomfortably, still feeling the weight of Lloyd’s disapproval. “I didn’t think of it that way,” she admitted softly, her voice barely above a whisper. “Sorry.”

Lloyd’s expression softened slightly. “I get that. But I won’t live like this. We must remember what’s really important—taking care of the packs, not living like kings and queens while others go without.”

“But…maybe we can still enjoy this meal,” I said, trying to lighten the mood.

Lloyd’s lips twitched, almost forming a smile.

“Lloyd is right,” Tanner agreed. “This excess was a norm for Axel, but it isn’t right, much less that the pack eats a different meal. There’s a difference between treating ourselves and losing sight of who we are.”

Chelsea, regaining a bit of her earlier spark, smiled weakly. “I agree. I was just amazed, but let’s enjoy this meal before we start eating bread and water…”

Lloyd chuckled, the tension finally breaking. “Fine. Enjoy the meal.”

I waited for Lloyd to take a bite, but everyone stared at me. Picking up my cutlery, I speared a mushroom and popped it into my mouth. Lloyd watched me with a grin.

~“Soon, I’m going to feed you,”~ he promised.

I couldn’t imagine sitting before the entire pack and waiting for Lloyd to feed me. It was such an archaic custom, and I never understood why it was so important.

Besides the scrape of cutlery, there was no talking for the next while, and admittedly, the food was divine.

“Does the chef just walk around the palace on his own?” Lloyd asked, finishing his meal.

“No, usually he is accompanied by guards, but we’re short-staffed after deploying those squads, and…” Tanner paused when his phone vibrated.

His phone continued to buzz, and we all waited for him to speak. “The squads are reporting drones. What the fuck is Axel doing?”

“Drones?” Lloyd asked.

“They are like miniature aircraft which someone on the ground controls. It’s a surveillance device,” Tanner explained.

Lloyd’s face fell—and I understood why. He was expected to lead the royal pack against inventions he hadn’t even known existed.

Axel truly operated by his own twisted rules, and I couldn’t understand what he would gain if we were exposed to the world. It was self-defeating, wasn’t it?

The thought of what Olivia and others had endured made my blood boil. He treated life so carelessly, especially after killing Lloyd’s family. The urge to drive one of these gallery swords straight into his heart surged through me.

“How many wolves did you accept today?” I asked, placing my hand over Lloyd’s.

Lloyd shook his head. “Not enough. I think we got through eight squads. But Luke’s arrival took up a fair bit of time.”

“Oh, right. I almost forgot about that. Did you manage to get any useful information out of them?”

“Not really, but we didn’t really have much time.”

“I tried calling the number I retrieved from the phone, but without an input code, I can’t get through,” Tanner clarified.

Shit. How would we ever find where Axel went? He could be in another country and orchestrating chaos from abroad.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to overstep,” Dawn said cautiously, her voice tinged with uncertainty. “But the place where you tracked him originally has a helicopter landing pad, right? What if he didn’t go to another hideout but flew away and returned once you were gone?

“You’ve been thinking he has multiple places, but what if that’s the only one? Maybe he didn’t see the need to buy more properties because he thinks the palace is still his.”

The room fell into a brief silence as everyone considered her words.

Adam was the first to speak. “She makes a good point,” he said thoughtfully. “I could scope it out, see if the helicopter is there. Maybe Dawn could come along for the ride?” he added, his voice hopeful, as he glanced at her.

Dawn blinked in surprise, a slight blush creeping up her cheeks, but before she could respond, Lloyd interjected.

“Good thinking, Dawn,” he said with a nod of approval. “But I think Misty and I can handle this one. We’ll take a drive, check it out ourselves, and see if the helicopter is there.”

Adam’s face fell slightly, but he quickly masked it. “Right,” he said, though a flicker of disappointment lingered.

Dawn shifted awkwardly, unsure whether to feel relieved or embarrassed. “I just thought…maybe it would be helpful,” she murmured.

Lloyd smiled. “You’re absolutely right. That’s the kind of thinking we need.”

~“Really? Just the two of us?”~ I linked Lloyd.

~“Why not? If the helicopter is there, we will have the chance to see the comings and goings, and don’t forget I can mask my scent.”~

~“What if mercenaries are guarding the place?”~

~“We’re not attacking, just observing. Do you think I would put you in danger for one second? I could send Adam, but I want to spend some alone time with you, and this is the perfect opportunity,” ~he clarified.

~“Okay,” ~I said happily. It was quite a long drive…