The Princess's Revenge Chapter 34

Valencia's POV

We walked through the destroyed corridors, his arm wrapped securely around my waist. His face was dark with anger as we stepped over broken furniture and pools of dried blood. The smell of death still hung heavy in the air.

My heart ached seeing him like this. His pack had been attacked, his people killed, and I could feel the fury radiating from his body. The destruction around us was clearly affecting him more than he was letting on.

My heart raced as I debated whether I should try to comfort him. Would he want that from me? Or would it make him angry?

Before I could lose my nerve, I placed my hand over his where it rested on my waist. His hand was warm and strong, and I felt him tense slightly at the contact.

I held my breath, waiting for him to pull away or tell me to stop. Instead, his fingers moved to cover mine, gently squeezing my hand. The simple gesture sent warmth spreading through my chest.

He was accepting my comfort.

I stole another glance at his face, still seeing the tension there. My mind kept circling back to Dorian's strange behavior tonight. The way he had "forgotten" about the prisoners, how nervous he had seemed when Xander mentioned them, his eagerness to interrogate them himself.

Should I tell Alpha Logan about my suspicions? What if I was wrong? What if I was causing problems between him and his Beta over nothing?

"You're thinking very loudly," Alpha Logan said suddenly, his voice cutting through my internal debate.

I startled, looking up at him. "What?"

"You keep looking at me like you want to say something," he continued, his eyes meeting mine. "What is it?"

My heart hammered against my ribs. I hadn't realized I was being so obvious.

"I..." I started, then stopped. How did I even begin to explain my concerns about his Beta?

"Valencia," Alpha Logan's voice was gentle but firm. "What's wrong?"

I took a deep breath. "Yes, there is something."

We turned right down another corridor, heading toward the direction of armory.

"Tell me."

I gathered my courage and continued. "It's about Beta Dorian," I said carefully. "Tonight, when we captured those rogues, he acted strange."

"Strange how?"

"He didn't want to tell you about the prisoners. When Xander said we should wait for you to interrogate them, Dorian got angry. He really wanted to question them himself, immediately. When Xander mentioned the prisoners to you, Dorian looked terrified. Not just nervous - genuinely scared. Like he was afraid of what they might say."

Alpha Logan's eyes darkened. "Go on."

"And there's something strange about tonight's attack."

He stopped walking and turned to face me fully.

"The rogues destroyed everything, but why?" I said. "Think about it - they spent so much time tearing apart the storage rooms. They could have killed more people or stolen weapons, but instead they just... broke things. They couldn't even break into the armory door."

Alpha Logan's grip on my hand tightened slightly. "You’re right, go head."

"It doesn't make sense for rogues to waste time on destruction when they could be fighting warriors," I continued. "And when I mentioned this to Beta Dorian, he immediately shut me down. He said rogues don't need reasons beyond violence, that they're just animals."

His face had gone very serious. "That's impossible," he said slowly. "Rogues always have a purpose for their attacks. They might be savage, but they're not stupid."

"That's what I thought too," I said, relief flooding through me that he was taking my concerns seriously. "There has to be another reason for all this destruction."

Alpha Logan was quiet for a long moment, his jaw working as he thought. "The funeral attack and this attack are too close together," he said finally. "There has to be a connection."

I nodded eagerly. "Exactly. It can't be a coincidence."

"I gave Dorian the responsibility of investigating the funeral attack," Alpha Logan continued, his voice growing darker. "But he hasn't reported back to me with any findings yet."

My stomach dropped as I remembered the conversation I had overheard this morning. "Actually," I said carefully, "I think he has found something."

Alpha Logan's eyes intense. "What do you mean?"

"This morning, when Delphine was showing me around the castle, we passed Beta Dorian in the hallway," I explained. "He was talking to his warriors about the funeral attack. I heard him say they had found the rogues' retreat route."

"What?" Alpha Logan's voice was deadly quiet.

"He said the rogues headed north after the attack," I continued, feeling sick to my stomach. "But he never told you about it, did he?"

Alpha Logan's face went white, then flushed with anger. "No. He didn't."

The silence that followed was terrifying. I could practically feel the rage building inside Alpha Logan. "North," he said finally, his voice like ice. "That would take them toward Aldermer."

My blood turned cold. If the rogues had fled toward Aldermer, and if Dorian knew about it but hadn't reported it...

"Didn't you notice Dorian's strange behavior before?" I asked.

Alpha Logan took my hand as started walking again, his expression unreadable. He let out a long, heavy sigh. The sound was so unlike him that it made my chest tighten with concern. I had never seen him look so... defeated.

"I think it's because of what happened two years ago," he said quietly. "It hit Dorian too hard. I should have paid more attention."

I had never seen Alpha Logan with this kind of expression before. His usual cold confidence was gone, replaced by something that looked almost like regret. It made him seem more human, more vulnerable.

"What happened two years ago?" I asked carefully.

Alpha Logan was quiet for a long moment. When he finally spoke, his voice was heavy. "Two years ago, during the fighting with Aldermere, Dorian and I were stationed at Ironwatch Border," he began. "An enemy spy infiltrated the pack. He was seeking revenge for something that had happened to his family."

My stomach clenched with dread. I could tell from Alpha Logan's tone that this story wouldn't end well.

"The spy captured Dorian's family," Alpha Logan continued. "Dorian had two sons - Benedict, who was eight, and little Thomas, who was only five. The spy forced Dorian's wife to choose."

"Choose what?" I whispered.

"Which son would live," Alpha Logan said, his voice flat. "The spy said he would kill one of them no matter what. She had to decide which one to save."

Horror crashed over me like a wave. I pressed my hand to my mouth, feeling sick.

"She chose Benedict, the older one," Alpha Logan continued. "She thought she was protecting him. But the spy killed Benedict anyway. He said he wanted her to live with the knowledge that her choice meant nothing."

Tears gathered in my eyes. I couldn't imagine the agony that woman must have felt.

"What happened to Thomas?" I asked.

"He survived the attack," Alpha Logan said. "But his mother... she couldn't bear to look at him after that. She blamed herself for choosing his brother over him. She thought Thomas would hate her for the rest of his life."

"That's not his fault," I said, my voice shaking. "He was just a child."

"I know that. You know that. But she couldn't see past her own guilt and grief," Alpha Logan replied. "Three days after the attack, she threw herself off the cliffs. Dorian found her body."

The tragedy was too horrible to comprehend. A mother forced to choose between her children, then losing both of them anyway.

"Thomas?" I managed to ask.

"He lives with his grandmother now, in the King’s Fang. Dorian sends money but rarely visits him. I think seeing the boy reminds him too much of what he lost."