C106 The Traitor

Zion's P.O.V.

I woke up this morning and felt something different in the air like something would happen soon, but I wasn't sure what that would be. I asked Ryker about it, but he wasn't sure either.

Orian linked me to let me know that everything was ready and that everyone would start showing up in about an hour or so, but that he needed to see me in my office for an important matter. I told him that I would be down soon and quickly linked Jessica and Lady Ezmerelda to ask them to help get Rain ready while I went to handle a few things before the shower and celebrations began.

As soon as I told Rain that we needed to get moving and that her sister and mother would be helping her get dressed, she started getting emotional, which I know is from the hormones. Thankfully, I saved myself by explaining that she wasn't fat, just very pregnant. That worked, and just in time, since Jessica and Lady Ezmerelda arrived the next second, I quickly let them in before rushing out of our suite and down to my office.

"What's going on?" I asked Orian when I walked into my office to find him, Sam, James, Nick, King Arnald, and Beta Mark, all with scowls marring their expressions.

"We just received word from the tech company we sent the tracker we found on the your Jeep to. They sent a detailed analysis and also informed us that they have been able to reverse the tracker so that we could locate where the signal was being sent to." Orian states.

"That's good news, right?" I ask, wondering why they all look so grim.

"It would be, but unfortunately, the signal leads back to someone in the Kingdom—one of the warriors, to be exact." He answers, and I now understand their expressions as I realize that we have a traitor within our borders.

"Who?" I ask, trying to hold back Ryker's feral growl but failing miserably.

"Warrior Adam. He's been a warrior here for almost seven years now and was brought into the castle to be a guard two years ago." Sam answers while looking over a file I didn't notice he had before.

"I remember him. Where is he now?" I ask them.

"He is in a cell in the dungeon. We figured you would want to interrogate him," James said, standing from his seat. I nodded, and he led us out of my office and towards the basement entrance, where the dungeon was located.

As we make our way, I talk to Orian about constructing a proper prison outside the castle. Something about knowing that my mate and our three children are living above murderers and traitors sets me on edge. He agrees and says that he will make an appointment with the contractors.

Once we make it to the bottom of the basement and reach the cells, the scent of blood and urine reaches my nose, and I have to suppress the urge to gag as bile starts to rise. We've always kept the cells relatively clean, so I don't understand how it could suddenly smell this bad.

"What is with this stench?" I ask.

"We still have the rogue prisoners from the attack on the Blue Moon Pack being held here." Orian answers. "They've been making quite a mess. We need to deal with them quickly as well."

"We can handle them after the celebration for my mate," I tell him as we make our way to the cell where they have the traitor housed. Once we reach the cell door, Adam's head jerks up and squints at me.

"Ahh... If it isn't the Almighty King Zion. How can a humble warrior help you?" Adam says with a sneer.

"Did you put a tracker on my Jeep?" I ask, slightly pushing out my aura. I can see him struggling against it as he tries to keep eye contact with me.

"No." He says, but I can tell he's lying, so I push out my aura a little more, making him pant.

"I will ask you again. Did you put a tracker on my Jeep?" I repeat, this time using my Alpha command.

"Yes." He answers after a moment of struggling against the command.

"Why?" I ask, still using my aura and Alpha command.

"The Rouge King wanted your location," he said as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

"You were a good warrior. Why throw all of that away?" I ask him, determined to get to the bottom of this quickly.

"You took what was mine. Why should I not retaliate?" He says, and I'm confused. I've never taken anything that wasn't mine to take.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I respond.

"You took my mate from me, and when you were done using her, you had her killed." He says with a low, menacing growl. "You even had sex with her before you had your mate kill her."

"What are you talking about?" I ask. He has truly lost his mind.

"Ashley, she rejected me for you. She told me you promised to make her your Queen, but you lied and threw her away after you had your way with her. When she tried to fight for you, you had her killed!" Adam screamed. His anger rolling off of him in waves.

"I always told her that she would never be my Queen. That title was always reserved for my fated mate, and she knew that!" I say, trying to stay calm. "She tried to kill my mate and should have been killed then and there, but instead of killing Ashley, my mate was lenient and banished her from our territory. She wouldn't have died if she didn't return to the suite my mate and I shared with our daughter to kill them both."

"You're lying! You had her killed after having your way with her. I felt you two sleeping together all the time. I felt every bit of it!" He screams as he lunges at me through the silver bars of his cell while standing just out of his reach. The smell of his skin burning from coming into contact with the silver bars reaching my nose.

"How did you feel when she was intimate with someone else if she rejected you?" Oran asks, catching on to something I missed.

"Go to hell, pretty boy!" Adam snarls.

"Anser the question!" I yell, letting my anger get the better of me.

"She wouldn't let me accept the rejection. She told me that once she was Queen, she would dispose of you, take me as her mate, and make me King. Who do you think smuggled her back into the castle?" He answers with a sadistic laugh as his eyes turn red. He's turning feral. "I will take your mate from you like you took mine from me. You will know the pain you have caused me!"

"You dare to threaten my mate, your Queen?" I growl, gripping his arm, still reaching out through the bars and pulling him flush with the silver he was just pressed against. "I will end you now and put you out of your misery."

"We need to be sure he's the only traitor in the kingdom." Sam links me before I end his miserable life. I inwardly curse him for being right. As much as I would like to kill Adam and get it over with, I have to know how many traitors we have. So I take a deep breath and steady myself but never release my hold on the traitor scum's arm.

"Are you the only one working for Douglas in the Kingdom?" I ask him, not bothering to suppress my aura or release my Alpha command.

"We have many spies throughout all of the Kingdoms except yours. Ashley and I were the only ones capable of infiltrating here since you have been so guarded." Adam answers after trying to fight off the command for a moment.

After hearing those words, I rip his arm away from his body, causing blood to spew all over everyone on this side of the bars, and turn to walk away, leaving Adam screaming in agony. I need to get myself cleaned up and ready for my mate's celebration.

When everyone catches up to me, I quickly tell Orian not to worry about getting a healer down here for him and to let him bleed out. It's exactly what he deserves for threatening my Queen. I feel bad that Ashely used him like that, but he was too naive for his own good.

No one objects, and we make our way up to Orian's suite to get cleaned up and dressed in silence while everyone else goes to their own suites to do the same. Once we are all dressed and ready, we quickly make our way down to the first floor and wait by the elevator for Rain and the others to arrive.

"Are you going to tell Rain about Adam?" Sam asks as we wait.

"I will after all the celebrations. She deserves to enjoy this time and not worry about anything else for the time being." I answered honestly. I had thought about not telling her, but I knew she would be devastated if she found out I had kept this from her, and Ryker agreed.

"I think that would be for the best. The Queen has been under a lot of stress and has already given up so much for her people. From going into hiding and being unable to share her pregnancy with her people and feeling their joy for her, she has given up standing by your side and leading the Kingdom, which is her right as the Queen and your mate." Orian says, and everyone nods in agreement right before the elevator dings, alerting us that they have arrived and the door opens.

She looks stunning, but I can feel her nervousness. I offer my hand, which she takes, and slowly lead her to the banquet hall while letting her ask questions and answering as much as possible while also trying to push calming vibes into her through our bond. As I open the door, there are collective gasps from everyone, including my mate, as her hand flies to her mouth to stifle the gasp.