A Broken Promise

Zion's P.O.V.

After getting to the suite, I got Stephanie and Evan to take Odett down to the kitchen to eat dinner while we waited for Annie to bring up our food. While eating, I eased into the conversation I needed to have with my mate and other half. The talk with Rain was going so well, and she was taking everything in strides and even asking the critical questions when suddenly I made the stupid mistake of trying to tell her what to do.

I didn't mean to make it out like I wanted to keep her locked up in the castle like a prisoner. I don't want her anywhere near the battlefield, but I also understand her urge to protect our pups and people. This Kingdom is just as much hers as it is mine, and I know she will do anything to protect our home.

The moment I knew I fucked up was when she started losing control of her emotions, making the lights flicker, the glasses shatter, and the table shake. She bolted from the table and into our bedroom, locking the door behind her. I looked at her mother and Jessica, and I could see they were just as shocked as me.

"Maybe that wasn't the best move. I understand you want to keep her safe, but locking her up isn't the thing to do. She's stronger than everyone thinks. If she weren't, she wouldn't be chosen by not only the Moon Goddess but also the Witch Goddess." Jessica says.

"I know. I'm not trying to lock her up, but I understand how it sounds after the fact." I say, scrubbing my hands down my face in frustration. "I only want to make sure that if something happens to me, the kids will still have her."

"I understand that. But if something were to happen to you, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself. She would lose herself completely, and I doubt she would survive." She says, and Lady Ezmerelda nods in agreement.

"You're right. Now I have to figure out how to fix this." I say, feeling so overwhelmingly frustrated with myself that I made such a stupid mistake with the love of my life.

"I think we need to talk about how she almost lost control of her emotions. That could have ended very badly for everyone." Lady Ezmerelda says, and it suddenly hits me how right she is. Her power was practically pouring from her veins.

"I've never felt that much power coming from one person. I knew she was strong, but I had no idea she was this strong." I say, in awe of my beautiful mate's strength.

"I know what you mean. I never felt anything like that before, even from my father. She's truly the strongest person I have ever known." She says, and Jessica nods in agreement.

"What do I do to fix this?" I ask them.

"Go talk to her. Let her see that you understand her point and that you won't stand in her way. Show her that you are with her in every way." Jessica says.

I nod, stand to enter our room, and remember that she locked the door. I knocked on the door but got no response, so I tried to link her but once again got no response. I know she's in the room and can hear her heart beating steadily. I look over at Jessica and Lady Ezmerelda in confusion.

"Maybe she's asleep. She's not responding to my link." Jessica says. "I know her powers take a lot out of her, so maybe we should give her a little time to nap."

As I'm about to argue and find a way to unlock the door, Orian links me to let me know they found something on the security camera that I need to see. I tell him Lady Ezmerelda and I will be right there before cutting the link.

"Orian needs us at the crime lab," I say to Lady Ezmerelda before looking at Jessica. "Jessica, please stay by the door and let me know as soon as she wakes up."

"Yes, my King." She says before we leave the suite. The walk is quick and quiet again since we can't talk freely.

"What's new?" I ask as we walk into a room full of computer screens.

"We have footage of the delivery guy. He's exactly as the guard at the gate described. He keeps looking over his shoulder to the west, so we checked the footage from the camera in that direction and found something you need to see." Sam says, making my anxiety skyrocket.

"Just show me!" I snap out before taking a breath to calm myself down. "Sorry, things are just tense with Rain right now, and I would like to have some good news for her when she wakes up."

"I'd like to help, but it's not good news." He says as a video plays on one of the larger screens.

I don't notice anything at first until he zooms in. Suddenly, there is a pair of dull red eyes staring towards the gate. After a minute or two, the screen focuses on the face of Ian, and my blood begins boiling, and I let out a low, menacing growl. How dare he come anywhere close to my Kingdom and my mate!

"Anything new on the package?" I ask, desperately needing something to hold onto at this point.

"Nothing that we could find. Hopefully, Lady Ezmerelda can find something to identify the head." Orian says, making me groan as I scrub my face in frustration.

"Can someone show me to the package and head?" Lady Ezmerelda asks, and Sam jumps up quickly to show her the way, leaving Orian and me alone.

"So, you want to talk about it?" He asks.

"We've never had a fight. Hell, we've never even had a disagreement, and I know it's my fault. Now I'm not sure how to fix it." I say, pushing back the tears, knowing that I could lose her for one stupid decision.

"Why don't you start from the beginning of the conversation so I know how to help?" He asks.

We discuss the fight for the next hour, going over every little detail, not leaving anything out. He sits patiently, listening to everything before pointing things out and giving me pointers on how to handle the next argument and fix this one. He brings up many of the same points that Jessica made. Soon, Lady Ezmerelda comes back into the room with Sam. Unfortunately, their faces are grim and depressing.

"This doesn't look good," I say as the last bit of hope I held onto slowly slipped away.

"We have a problem," Sam says as he sits at one of the monitors, typing quickly before continuing. "Lady Ezmerelda narrowed down the age and gender of the wolf head, and I did a search of missing wolves that fit those perimeters. So far, I've only found two."

"That's a good thing, right?" I say, looking at him skeptically.

"Unfortunately, this databank reaches around the world." He says.

"Okay. What's your point?" I ask, getting very frustrated at this point. Why can't anything just be easy?

"One of the missing wolves is from the Northern Werewolf Kingdom." He says quietly.

"What pack? I need to call King Arnald and find a way to contact the parents." I say, my diplomatic instincts kicking in as I reach into my back pocket, pull out my phone, and start to walk out and back to my office to make a difficult call.

"The Royal Pack. It's the Royal Betas' only daughter." He says, his voice barely above a whisper at this point. His words make me stop in my tracks, and I have to sit down.

"Holy Hell!" That is all I can manage to say. After thinking for a few minutes in complete silence, I look at Orian. "Didn't you talk to King Arnald earlier today?"

"Yes, my King." He answers.

"And he never mentioned his Betas daughter was missing?" I asked in confusion.

"No, sir." He says. "There was no indication that they were having any problems."

"I need to get back to my office and call him immediately," I say, standing from the chair and walking towards the door.

"I'll walk back with you and head up to your suite to wait for Rain to wake up if that's okay." Lady Ezmerelda says, and I nod in agreement before we leave.

About halfway to my office, Jessica links me, asking where I am. I tell her I'm on the way back to the castle from the crime lab with Lady Ezmerelda. She said she needed me to come back to the suite immediately, so instead of going to my office, we made a beeline for the suite. I prepared a whole speech to express how sorry I was for making Rain feel like she wasn't strong enough, but when we reached the suite, I walked in to find Rain in Jessica's arms on the couch in tears.

"What's wrong, my Love?" I ask as I rush over to her.

"I'm so sorry!" She cries out as she wraps her arms around my waist and shoves her face into my chest. "I didn't mean to!"

"It's okay. Couples fight, but it's not a big deal, my love. I did something that I promised I wouldn't do. It's my fault, and I'll never do it again!" I say as I rub circles on her back in an attempt to calm her down. "I'm sorry I broke my promise never to try to keep you prisoner in the castle."