Dimitri’s POV
“I won’t be participating in the tournament,” Ellie said, making us all look at her.
“Why?” Will asked her, furrowing his brows.
Ellie sighed and looked at Maddie.
“Because I can’t distract myself with it,” she said. “Maddie needs to be protected. She needs me.”
“Ellie, no,” Maddie said as she stood up and approached the couch.
She sat down next to Ellie and took Ellie’s hand in hers.
“You have to participate, Ellie,” Maddie said softly. “You’ve been preparing for it for a long time. I will be okay. Dimitri and Will won’t let anything happen to me.”
She was right about that. I was going to destroy anyone who even thought about hurting her. Nothing was going to happen to Maddie.
“No, Maddie,” Ellie said sternly. “I am not participating. If something happened while I was in the game, I would never forgive myself.”
Maddie wanted to protest, but she was interrupted by a knock on the door.
“Madeline,” I called her sternly.
I wanted her close to me while we talked to Alpha Alistair. I didn’t trust him.
She sighed, stood up, and walked back to me. I grabbed her hand just as Will opened the office door.
“Alpha Alistair,” Will said and stepped aside so he could walk in.
“Beta William,” Alpha Alistair said, bowing his head a little.
He looked at me and smiled.
“My King,” he said as he approached my desk. “Thank you for inviting me here.”
I gave him a small nod and pointed at the armchair opposite my desk.
“Sit down, Alpha,” I said. “We have a lot to discuss.”
Alpha Alistair sat down and looked at Maddie. A small smile spread across his face.
“It is so nice to see you again, my Queen,” he said. “I wish it was in better circumstances, though.”
I tightened my hold on Maddie’s waist. I didn’t want him looking at her. As far as I knew, he was the traitor. I wished I could pull Maddie to my lap. She was sitting on the chair next to me, but she was still too far away for my liking.
“I need you to explain what you told me yesterday, Alpha Alistair,” I said sternly. “Why do you think that there is a traitor among the Alphas?”
Alpha Alistair sighed and leaned back in his chair. He glanced at Ellie and Ali and raised his eyebrow.
“Should they be here for this, my King?” he asked. “The less people know, the better.”
“They have to be here, Alpha,” Will said as he pulled a chair and sat down next to Maddie. “Please answer the question.”
Alpha Alistair looked at me and took a deep breath.
“Think about it, my King,” he said, “Is there a rogue powerful enough to inflict such damage? Is there a rogue powerful enough to gather so many followers who would do as he said?”
I tightened my jaw and narrowed my eyes slightly.
The answer was no. There wasn’t a rogue powerful enough to cause so much trouble. If there was, he would have been eliminated a long time ago. I was tracking the rogues’ movements and if I had noticed that any of them were getting powerful, I would have had it taken care of.
“Our Kingdom is in danger, my King,” Alpha Alistair added. “I am pretty sure that the danger is coming from the inside, not the outside.”
I gritted my teeth.
“You must have a suspect,” Will said angrily. “You must already have an idea about who it is.”
Alpha Alistair looked at him and sighed again.
“Maybe,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to point a finger at the wrong person, though.”
“Who?” I asked sternly.
“Alpha Rhys,” Alpha Alistair said, looking back at me.
I raised my brows.
“Alpha Rhys?” I repeated. “Why?”
Alpha Alistair glanced at Maddie.
“He is young and ambitious,” he said.
I raised my brows.
“We were all young and ambitious once, Alpha Alistair,” I said. “That doesn’t make him guilty.”
Alpha Alistair sighed. “No, but what he said about your mate might.”
I tensed up immediately. Skol stirred and pressed to be let out.
“What?!” I exclaimed, trying to hold back a growl.
Alpha Alistair looked at Maddie.
“I am sorry, my Queen,” he said, bowing his head a little. “I want to apologize in advance for the words I am about to say in front of you.”
“It’s okay, Alpha,” Maddie said, her voice laced with nervousness. “Please continue.”
Alpha Alistair looked back at me and took another deep breath. He didn’t even say what he wanted to say and I was already seething with anger. I wanted to kill Rhys. I wanted to strangle him and watch life leave his pathetic body.
“Alpha Lucius and I overheard him talking to his Beta,” Alpha Alistair started explaining. “He said how nice it would be if your mate was his. He told his Beta that he would try to make it happen because there was nothing more he wanted than to have her.”
I saw fucking red.
He was a dead man.
A feral growl escaped my lips. My canines elongated and fur started growing on my arms. Skol was thrashing and trying to get out. I was going insane with anger.
Maddie placed a hand on my thigh, but it barely did anything to help with my anger. I was on the verge of finding him and killing him.
“That doesn’t prove anything, Alpha,” Maddie said calmly. “That doesn’t prove that he is behind the rogue attacks.”
“No, my Queen,” Alpha Alistair said, looking at Maddie. “But it proves that he wants something that our King has. If he wants you, what makes you think that he doesn’t want the throne as well?”
I didn’t give a fuck about what he wanted. He wasn’t going to get it. Maddie was mine. Fucking mine!
Alpha Alistair looked back at me and tightened his jaw.
“You need to be careful, my King,” he said. “Someone is plotting against you. It may not be Alpha Rhys, but I am sure that it’s someone. You can’t trust anyone.”
Maddie rubbed my thigh gently and I relaxed just a little. I forced myself to take a deep breath.
“Thank you, Alpha,” I said, my voice trembling with anger. “I will think about everything you shared with us and I will make sure that both my mate and my throne are safe.”
Alpha Alistair nodded. “I am always at your service, my King. Please use me if you need me.”
I nodded and motioned toward the door. “We need to discuss this, Alpha. Please give us some privacy.”
Alpha Alistair stood up immediately.
“Of course, my King,” he said and bowed. “I will see you tonight at the opening ceremony.”
I nodded and watched him leave the room.
“What are we going to do?” Will asked as soon as Alpha Alistair walked out of my office and closed the door.
“We are going to talk to Mike,” I said, gritting my teeth. “Right the fuck now.”
