The Princess's Revenge Chapter 32

Valencia’s POV

Every warrior in the room turned to stare at him. Even I was surprised by his reaction. Why would capturing rogues alive upset him so much? Weren't prisoners valuable for getting information?

Xander's eyebrows shot up. "Yes. I thought Alpha Logan would want to interrogate them. Find out who's organizing these attacks."

Dorian's jaw clenched tight. "That was... very smart thinking."

But his voice sounded forced. The tension in his body was obvious. One of the warriors sitting against the wall looked confused. "Beta, is something wrong?"

Dorian seemed to realize that everyone was watching him. He took a deep breath and forced his expression back to normal.

"No, nothing's wrong," he said. "I'm just... surprised you managed to take them alive during such a chaotic fight."

Xander straightened up with pride. "It wasn't easy. The female one nearly bit off Forrest's finger before we got her tied up."

He gestured to one of his warriors, who held up his left hand. Two of his fingers were wrapped in bloody bandages.

"Good work," Dorian said, though he still looked uncomfortable. "Very brave of all of you."

He walked closer to the bound prisoners, studying their faces carefully. The male rogue snarled through his gag when Dorian approached.

"We should take them to the dungeons immediately," Dorian said. "I'll interrogate them myself tonight. Find out what they know."

"No," Xander said firmly.

Dorian spun around to face him. "What?"

"We wait for Alpha Logan," Xander replied, his voice steady. "These prisoners are too important. Alpha Logan should handle the interrogation personally."

"That could be long," Dorian protested. "By then they might find a way to escape, or kill themselves, or-"

"They're not going anywhere," Xander interrupted. "We'll put them in the dungeon and wait for Alpha Logan to return."

Dorian's face flushed red with frustration. "I'm the Beta of this pack. I have the authority to-"

"You have the authority to make decisions in Alpha Logan's absence," Xander agreed. "But these prisoners are connected to attacks on our pack. Alpha Logan will want to question them himself."

The two men stared at each other, tension crackling between them. I could see that Dorian was struggling to find an argument that would convince Xander to let him interrogate the prisoners immediately.

"Fine," Dorian said finally, though his voice was tight with anger. "We'll wait for Alpha Logan."

But I could see the disappointment in his face. Why was he so eager to question these rogues himself?

"Beta?" one of the warriors asked carefully. "Should we move the prisoners to the dungeons now?"

"Yes," Dorian replied curtly. "Get them out of here."

Two warriors lifted the bound rogues and carried them toward the door. The prisoners struggled and made muffled sounds through their gags, but they couldn't break free.

I looked at the warrior sitting against the wall, his face streaked with blood and exhaustion. "What happened to all the pack members who were in the courtyard?" I asked. "Where did everyone go?"

He shook his head wearily. "I don't know. I was guarding the food storage room when the attack started. I never made it outside."

Another warrior sitting in the corner, looked up with pain etched across his features. "Lennon," he said quietly. "I was on guard duty in the courtyard, watching Isaiah's performance."

My heart clenched. That meant he had been there when Delphine was watching the minstrel.

"A fire pot came flying over the wall," Lennon continued, his voice growing hoarse. "It exploded right in the middle of the crowd. People were screaming, on fire, torn apart by the blast."

His hands shook as he spoke. I could see tears gathering in his eyes.

"Then a second fire pot was thrown in," he said, his voice breaking. "At least fifteen rogues charged through the main gate. We fought them hard - warriors, guards, even some of the stronger servants joined the battle."

"What happened next?" Xander asked, his voice unusually gentle.

Lennon wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "More rogues came. A second wave of them. There were too many. We couldn't hold them off." His voice cracked completely. "Some of our warriors escorted the women and children upstairs to the second floor. I stayed with the other fighters to hold the rogues back on the first level."

He looked directly at me, and I saw the grief in his eyes.

"My friends," he whispered. "They're all dead. We fought together for years. I watched them die one by one."

Tears started rolling down his cheeks. My heart sank to the bottom of my chest. This brave warrior was broken by what he had witnessed. I felt overwhelming sadness for him.

Please let Delphine be safe, I prayed silently. Please let her have made it to the second floor.

Xander walked over to Lennon and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You fought bravely," he said. "Your friends died with honor. You survived to tell their story."

Lennon nodded but couldn't stop crying. "I should have died with them."

"No," Dorian said firmly. "You lived because we need you. The pack needs every survivor."

I wanted desperately to run upstairs right now and search for Delphine. Every second felt like torture not knowing if she was alive or dead.

"Beta," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "Should I go check on the people who evacuated to the second floor?"

Dorian turned to look at me. "No. I need you to clean this storage room. Wash away all the blood stains. We can't leave this mess."

My heart dropped. "But the people upstairs-"

"Will be fine," Dorian interrupted. "This is more important right now. We need to secure our food supplies and make sure this area is clean."

I stared at him in frustration. "Yes, Beta," I said reluctantly.

Even though every fiber of my being wanted to run upstairs and find Delphine, I forced myself to obey. I walked to the corner where I had seen cleaning supplies earlier and picked up a bucket and some rags.

Behind me, I heard Dorian giving more orders.

"Xander," he called out. "Take two warriors and patrol the castle perimeter. Make sure no rogues are hiding outside."

"Yes, Beta," Xander replied.

"Mike," Dorian continued, addressing another warrior. "Gather ten servants and count all the wounded. Get them to Dr. Vance's stone house immediately."

"Understood," Mike said.

I dipped my rag in the bucket of water and began scrubbing at the blood stains on the stone floor. The red liquid had already started to dry, making it harder to clean. I had to scrub hard to get it off.

"What the fuck happened here?"

The voice cut through the air like ice, and my heart nearly stopped. I spun around, my pulse racing with sudden hope and relief.

Alpha Logan stood in the doorway, his massive frame filling the entrance. His golden hair was disheveled, his clothes were dirty from travel. Amara was behind him.