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King Romulus' POV

Leaving Red Moon had been both a blessing or curse, as standing within Amory's home had given him the clarity and confidence he needed to pursue her properly. Even now, he had a small piece of her clothing wrapped around his wolf's paw to ensure that she could not hide behind that damned concoction.

Romulus had to admit, she was smart—smarter than any had given her credit for.
But he knew the truth.
He certainly wanted Amory to take some sort of leadership position outright beside him, as far as he could see, her father hadn't any plans for the princess to marry.

Off the top of his head, Romulus had predicted that Voron of the Elfin Kingdom North here would act as a contender. From his past meetings with the raven-haired prince, he could see why his Omegas and human maids had swooned at the thought.

Another grumble had managed through his beast's chest at the mere thought of another male with Amory, their friendship had meant much more to him than settling her over to her father's past betrothed.

Alpha! Meet me back towards the inn, the scouts believe they've found something!

Lyall's voice had been a blessing, and Romulus skidded to a stop and allowed himself the moment to reorient his movements and huff in distaste. He had thought this was progress, but at least he hadn't made too much distance between the inn and his current location.

Granted, it had wasted an hour—And an hour could be the instance of life and death when Amory was concerned. Romulus might trust that she has taken care of herself well this past decade, but she's grown comfortable—Alpha Stephen had even said so.

It was suspicious behavior that Stephen could ignore the proper orders, and Romulus didn't doubt that he would need to send a few Enforcers or Lyall himself to check and see that Amory hadn't returned under the radar.

While the entire story hadn't been told, Stephen's stress to the situation spoke the truth—That Amory is truly missing and that the Red Moon Alpha doesn't have any more information than that.

Though Romulus was just nearing his Delta's scent, hopeful that there was any bit of a lead—Yet upon following after the trail, and rounding the better part of a small lake, he caught a few Enforcers managing to dig out a few rusted tools and laughed at the human's inventions.

"Enforcer Marrow." He instated, and the younger wolf placed the tool back down with a greeting nod. "Alpha, the Royal Delta is at the house up north...We don't know what to make of what happened, sir." Returning back to his fur, Romulus darted forward and grunted in distaste as he certainly did smell the remanence of a few humans in the mix.

And a deer. Vinegar—And blood, lots of blood.

Yet one, in particular, had caused a strike to his soul as he skidded to a stop. Shifting nearly instantly as his knees dug into the soil beneath him.

"She was here..." He whispered, and Lyall was standing just in the doorway as he came forward towards his King. Offering a pair of borrowed trousers and nodding.

"Yes. Three Rogues were killed in the altercation. Petilo has taken them off that way to burn them."
"She was with other humans?" The question had lingered before the Delta had responded, knowing full well that his King was on his last few tics of sanity before turning for his beast and scowering the entire kingdom on his own.

"Yes, at least three male humans. Their blood trail leads West, we've already sent a few pairs of scouts in that direction. It is not that old, Alpha. This is the lead that we needed." It was of some reassurance, but not enough.
Never enough for a moody beast that wanted to hear Amory's voice. That craved it.

Amory's calm voice chided him as often as she could for foolish things, oh he wished that were the case right now.

The former Queen wouldn't have allowed the Rogues to fester for as long as they had, not if she were in his position.

"Sir, I think there's something in the cellar." The possibility that Amory was here had coursed through him just as easily as a freshly brewed lager. He instinctively rounded the house and stood in front of the cellar doors with two Enforcers just at his sides.

"Petilo!" With him as the third, a familiar face for Amory to feel at ease, Romulus had motioned for another male to open the rusty door. Not finding a single spot that wasn't affected by the elements.

Yet what they weren't prepared for, was a young male with a spear—Nearly poking out the eye of said Enforcer.

"What the fuck?!" The Enforcer roared, and pushed the tip of the spear in a different direction before interlocking the human by the arm and holding it firmly against his back. Pinning and subduing him all in one swift move.

And all the young human could do was wiggle, not daring to submit to another set of wolves.

Romulus' eyes never dared to leave the male, and so he came forward to take a sniff—Realizing that he was most certainly with Amory when she was here. And without verbally saying so, the Enforcer had kicked the back of the human's knees to make him kneel.

Now insinuating even more panic in this young boy.

"You're in the presence of the King, human. Show some res—"

"With ease, Joven. Under the circumstance, I can understand his fear. Yet it will only escalate if you do not tell me what I wish to know." The boy blinked before letting out a groan from Joven's impatience for an answer.

"Get this boy some food and water!" Romulus yelled off behind him, and of course, the wolves had hurried to do as they were told. "Not a boy."

"What's that?" Romulus questioned, a smirk playing at the corner of his lips.

"I said I'm not a boy, sir." The fire in his eyes spoke of a harsh past, one that Romulus was relatively curious about. But nodded regardless.

"My mistake." The King teased, yet Petilo had let out a laugh. "Have no hair on you yet. He's a boy."

"I'm sixteen!" Ah, sixteen. Nearly the age where Amory had undoubtedly taken over the kingdom, did Romulus not call her a woman then?

"On the border then, but this is all beside the point. Do you know why we're here?" The question had instantly caused the bo—Young man to grow pale, as if he could grow any more white to begin with. Yet his gulp had audibly suggested that he most certainly did.

With the warm food and fresh water delivered, the boy held it with sheer guilt reigning over his features. Making Romulus tilt his head. "What's the matter?" The question was responded to with complete silence, and Romulus started to find himself growing rather agitated with the human not working with him—As if this defiance was earned.

"What is your name, young man?"

"Clive."

"Can you tell me what you were doing hiding out in this abandoned farm, Clive?" It returned a blink, but Clive had only turned around with shrunken shoulders as he held the food back up. "Ray needs it more than I do." He bustled before a sharp cough following his small demand.

At the prospect of another human, Petilo hurried down and returned within mere moments another man—This time, much more of a distinct description of a man than Clive.

"Goddess, what the hell did we come across." An Enforcer bustled, leaving the king to growl at their blatant disrespect. However, one thing was for certain. They smelled very much like Amory—Meaning her scent was imprinted.

In addition to the cloak hung over Roy's shoulders, filling the air with the Queen's scent.

"I take it you're Ray?" Romulus questioned, in between sets of coughs and such. Leaving Clive to offer up the cup of water, Ray drank it with haste. "I'll get another serving of food, Alpha."

"And a pitcher of water, looks like the poor bastard is going to choke." Ray, who had survived several days with only Clive as the company had frowned at the comment.

"Yeah? At least I'll die a free man." That comment had sparked impediment interest in the King as he kneed down between the men.

"Free as in...you were once with the Rogues?" Ray knew what was happening, and gave credit to Clive for not speaking out loud just yet. But there was little he could do in this situation, Amory had wanted them to return back to civilization, to the packs.

"Fancy get up. Ether you have traitors in your ranks, sir, or you've lost some." Romulus had a suspicion that stolen Enforcer gear would act as a deterrent when visiting through packs, but wouldn't his own men know the difference?

Evidently not, if that is what these two humans were instating.

"And packs." Clive picked up the spare ends after taking a sip of water, clearing his sore throat as he coughed back into his side. Feeling rather misplaced, as he had come to relevance that he and Ray would find their demise in the forgotten cellar of this abandoned farm.

"Packs?!" The growl had caused the young man to flinch, his shoulders hunching up to the point he hissed in pain. Leaving the healer amongst them to take a look, his eyes scanning on the rash that's managed to fester untreated for far too long, old scratch marks that rendered the type of abuse the Rogues were dishing out.

But the most interesting was the brand.

"Those barbaric branded you?" Both Clive and Roy's eyes had widened as they took to cradling their arm back to their chest.

"They did. This one is by choice." Clive whispered, not daring to give it back to the Healer—Worried that he would recognize the symbol.

"Goddess—The Alpha King is in search of the female you were traveling with, we want to know what happened here."

"Why? So you can kill her? Hang her? Make a spectacle of—" Clive had nearly gone on a tantrum until Ray had held him by the shoulder and shook his head. "Not worth it, boy."

"Not a boy, damnit."

"No?... Ah, you're right, think that's a bit of a stumble coming in now." Ray teased, only to cough up the small bit he nibbled on just now. Unable to keep anything down.

"Sir, what if packs are selling their human population and passing it off as Rogues coming to terrorize them?" An Enforcer questioned, and Clive huffed. "That's exactly what happened, Alpha Darnet deserves to rot!" He hissed, and the Enforcers stilled at the volume the young man had managed.

"Are you claiming that Alpha Darnet is a part of the Rogues?" The King offered, and it was then that Clive felt his confidence grow back as he nodded, all without hesitation.

"Yes, sir."

"And you won't tell me any details on what happened here?"

"They caught up with us, angry as all hell that Rhea burned their camp and scattered their product. We had to stay here and make sure Ray was alright, but then I got sick and—There were too many. They hid us in the cellar and that's...That's all I know." Alpha King Romulus' eyes had dilated at the mere mention of Rhea—His target.

His person of interest.

"I want a carriage from the nearest town to escort these men to the inn." The King issued, and Lyall looked misplaced. Turning to his Alpha in question, "Sir?"
"They'll be our shift in victory, isn't that right?" The smirk had caused the King to offer an arm and Clive had foolishly taken it, only for the king to catch sight of the very brand that gave these former slaves hope.

"Take a long look at that, Delta. The Queen branded her men for safekeeping." He claimed, and Clive stumbled backward to take his arm back away. "I rather pronounce my devotion to my Queen who cares than a King who's too late for the rest of my family." Romulus hummed and turned to another Enforcer.

"Get these two clothes and a Healer. We are going to find the Queen if it's the last damn thing I do!" Roy, who caught the feverish taunt and word of phrasing that caused his heart to spike had coughed his way to his feet and looked hopelessly toward the king.

"Sir, please! She's—"

"In danger and the only lead I have is two survivors. By the end of this, if you work with me, you'll save those imprisoned just as you were and find Queen Amory. I'd say that reverts any sort of denouncing of my leadership, wouldn't you say, Lyall?" The Delta nodded, but was still curious about the two humans they stumbled across.

With the clothes in tow and the carriage on its way, the King had continued back into the forest with his Delta, Healer, Marrow, and Petrio.
Yet it was the Healer who confirmed his suspicion outright.

"Only another Healer would know how to bind a spreading rash as the second male had. I can smell the herbs she used from here. It's impressive, sir, she must have gathered what she could from the scorched forest to here." The Healer praised, but the Delta narrowed his gaze— "Do we trust them? They could be lying."

"I don't think they would lie, Delta. And if I find out they have, then they will wish for their Queen regardless. I want Enforcers stationed near Alpha Dernet. I want to know what he eats for breakfast and speaks to throughout the day. Intercept his messages—Everything. Just get me the evidence." With that, the Alpha had made the bustling order and both Clive and Ray were escorted to a sort of civilian protection.

Though even now, they weren't all that thrilled or trustworthy. Especially if the King was already announcing his pursuit of engaging the Queen.

"We're close, Lyall. I can sense it."

"You do not think she died in this altercation?" It wasn't odd to find human remains in the forest, as the Delta was leaning in that direction. "No, those two aren't heartbroken over her loss. I suspect they are guilty but know more than they're letting on. I want two trustworthy guards with them, We'll need them as informants to what we can expect, or hope to find clues." The Delta had nodded, but caught the Alpha's quick scribble on a spare piece of parchment as he hummed.

"What do you propose that is, sir?" The symbol didn't make much sense to a wolf, but to a human that held their own religion and faith. Yet Romulus had spent the most time with humans—Or a human, he should reclaim.

And searching for such a kind friend, he recognizes the symbol with ease, ordering Marrow to return the lost dagger. The young Enforcer had a bit of a skip to his step, eager to find Rhea—Amory now that it's known she's in the hands of the Rouges.

"Here you are, Alpha." The offered dagger had left the handle visible, and the scribble of the symbol had been compared between the three. "Did Amory have a fascination with this dagger?"

"Well, Rhea seemed fairly misplaced when she realized it was missing. I'd say she was attached." Marrow claimed, and Lyall bobbed his head. "Wonder if it's still popular among the humans."

"Their religion? It's practiced in the shadows without a place of worship, we will go and follow those two into the pack. We need to regroup with where they are headed. They've lost a branch and stock of humans to what Amory has done. We'll need to act quickly before she does again." Romulus decreed, and Lyall frowned.

"You think she'll cause a scene?... She'll get herself killed." He grumbled, and the Alpha growled at the possibility.

"Then we best hurry, there's no telling how much time we have left from now to then." It was as if all the Enforcers had been in on the conversation as they spread out amongst themselves. Issuing the new word of the Alpha king, in combining the search for the alias of the late Queen and the Rogues.

Even with the new insight, and the two males having been with Amory within the last week, it still didn't amount to the pain coursing through his chest.

The King needed to see Amory, alive and well—He couldn't be late, he simply couldn't. Otherwise, who else could he blame but himself?

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Date: 05/4/23

Time: 12:00 PM

Words: 2829

Author's Note:

Romulus is just a step behind! But he's found the right lead and gained Ray and Clive.

What could have happened to Rhea and the rest? Stay tuned, the next chapter is about to be posted✨