Pregnant With Four Alphas' Babies: A Reverse Harem Romance Chapter 147: Enemies in the Shadows

*King Gene*

I don’t sit here often, but I enjoy it a lot when I do, especially when there’s no one around to see me. Don’t get me wrong; I love sitting on my throne when all my subjects come to beg for help from me. The little worms come crawling in, bringing their finest heirlooms, hoping to bribe me into letting their son out of the dungeon or spare their daughter from being sold to another pack’s brothel to pay off the family debt.

Why would I give a fuck about their useless, petty problems?

Although… some of those family heirlooms are fairly nice, and I don’t mind taking them to add to the castle décor, even if I forget who the fuck their sons or daughters are. Whatever is happening to them, they probably deserve it.

I run my fingers slowly down the throne’s right armrest. Touching the solid gold makes me feel powerful; while not the strongest metal, it’s certainly one of the most valuable, and nothing short of this precious metal would do to decorate the place where I present myself to my adoring public. At the end of the armrest is a giant ruby, polished and gleaming, large enough to hold in my palm while I bask in my glory.

My father was a fucking coward who never appreciated the finer aspects of royalty like this beautiful throne, which has sat strong and powerful for centuries as it allowed all the powerful kings to present themselves as true masters of the kingdom in a glorious setting.

No, that stupid bastard preferred to walk around the kingdom, talking to the common Omegas as if they were true wolf shifters and not the scum of the earth. Such a sentimental, stupid moron he was.

I reach up and touch the crown on my head. I can’t believe I let those useless idiots talk me into giving up my power for even one moment. I was sure they all had designs on my title and plotted to overthrow me, but Alpha Tristan was so quick to give it back, so that must not be true. Either he’s the biggest idiot in the world or… no, there is no ‘or.’ He’s just an idiot. He could have had all of this! I don’t think he sat on my throne once. Good. He’s so big and muscular, he may have broken the thing.

I lean back and relax. My world is under my full control! Never again will I let those idiots steal my birthright away from me. Just because I had to drag it out of the hands of my father—he never appreciated me anyway—doesn’t mean that I’m not the best choice to rule the kingdom for the rest of my life! Ah, the wonders of power. How I love to bask in—

“Your—Your Majesty?”

I nearly jump out of my skin. Who let this idiot into my throne room?! I’m not holding court! This is my private time. “What do you want!” I bellow, and I’m quite good at bellowing.

“Your Majesty… I… I’m afraid I have some news,” says the man.

I have to squint my eyes to figure out who the hell he is. All these guards look alike. Wait…. “You’re out of uniform, you idiot! Your uniform is supposed to be green, and it’s all red!” I yell at him. “What the fuck did I say about always wearing a proper uniform while on duty?!”

“Y—Yes, Your Majesty,” he says. “I apologize, but that’s just the thing… I’m afraid my uniform is covered with blood because one of the other guards was killed, and—”

“Why the fuck are you in here bothering me about your wardrobe? Go find a fucking laundress or… whatever you need for that,’ I say, waving him away. Did he say something about a guard being killed? Oh, well. He probably tripped and fell down the stairs.

“It’s not my—Your Majesty, I beg your pardon, but I must tell you the news, and it’s not about my uniform,” he says.

“Well, what is it then?” I have no patience for these idiots who work for me. I need to make a note to hire better help.

“It’s the… Luna Barbara,” he says.

With that, I sit up tall and glare at him. “What about her?” I hope she’s not asking for more things. That woman’s room is already decorated with the finest furnishings, and she has more clothes than anyone could wear in a lifetime. I just don’t understand why she needs so many clothes.

“She… she’s escaped the dungeon, Your Majesty, and killed one of the guards,” he says.

I look at him, not sure I’d heard him right. “What the fuck was she doing in the dungeon?” I ask.

“King Tri—the Alpha Tristan, when he was king… he sent her there and told us never to let her escape,” he says. “She was assigned to the lowest level.”

“I am king now!” I shout, making the hall vibrate. “Alpha Tristan has no sway here!”

The guard bows and takes a couple of steps back. He looks like he’s about to piss his pants. Good. That’s exactly what I want my staff to feel–fear. “Yes, Your Majesty,” he says.

“Don’t worry about it,” I tell him. “I didn’t put her there, so I don’t give a fuck about whether she’s escaped, as long as she doesn’t bother me about it.”

I dismiss the man, and he looks grateful to leave the room, then I settle back into my throne, closing my eyes and relishing the comfort and the quiet and the–

My eyes open wide. Barbara was in the dungeon… in the same wing as my father! And I just sent my mother there!

I hasten off the throne and run toward my room. I have to get there quickly before that bitch Barbara opens her big, fat mouth!

If she finds what I have hidden there, everything will be ruined!

* * *

*Reece*

Tristan and I are both standing here waiting for Cora to spill it about where they’ve taken Eli. I’m so angry at what she’s done that my blood is boiling; she put Rose—not to mention our babies—in serious danger by making her worry about Eli so much. And for what? What stupid idea did they have when they kidnapped him? To maybe make a few bucks off Rose’s misery?

I can tell Tristan is furious as well. The way he kicked in the shed door nearly made the whole building fall down. Looks like we’re on the same page for sure.

“Answer him!” I say in my toughest Alpha voice. There’s no way she’s going to be able to hold onto her secret with two powerful Alphas in the room. Thankfully, we can also suppress her mind-link abilities so she can’t warn whoever is working with her when we get close.

Which we’re clearly not right now.

“He… he’s supposed to be here,” she says, stuttering and looking terrified.

I don’t think Tristan would kill her, but if he’s feeling the same way I am, he may be close to doing just that if she doesn’t start explaining right now.

“We… we just needed supplies to get through the winter,” Cora says. “We… we thought it was a good idea.”

“A good idea?!” Tristan is pretty much screaming now, and I have to say that I match his mood.

Why would these rogues ever think that kidnapping one of the most powerful Alphas in the kingdom was a good idea?

“We—We were expecting to get a big ransom for him,” she says quickly. “Our… some of our people have families, little kids. We don’t have enough to make it through the winter without help.”

Tristan’s expression softens a bit at that, but I can tell that he, like me, is still suspicious of Cora’s motives. We just need to find Eli, then we can sort out the truth later.

“We’ll deal with that later,” he says, still on the same page as me. “What we need to know right now, immediately, is where Alpha Eli is being held.”

“I—I don’t know,” she says. “He was supposed to be here. That’s where we’re keeping him until we get a payment from his pack.”

My heart drops into my stomach as I look around the rickety shed. It’s clear that someone was here recently—more than one person—and obviously, they’re gone now. Frankly, I would feel better about Eli being in the hands of some desperate rogues who just want to feed their families than whoever this might be. We don’t know the motives of whoever moved Eli from here.

It doesn’t matter. We’ll find him.

Tristan and I exchange a look that says the same thing, and I turn to Cora. “Where else might your people go to hide someone?”