Hunter
I drove to the jewelry shop with Anthony, staring in my passenger's seat. He was eager to get there.
As soon as I placed the car in drive and opened the door to the jewelry shop, the kid ran inside, looking in every display in search of his amulet.
"Oh, young Alpha, good to see you, sir!" the jewelry shop owner says, making me smile, greeting him with a firm handshake.
"Good to see, Frederick," I reply, nodding slightly.
"And who do we have here? What's your name, young man?" he asks, smiling at Anthony.
"Im... I'm Anthony," he replies shyly, hiding behind me and making Fred chuckle. With shaky hands, Anthony extends his hand, shaking Fred firmly.
"Wow, firm shaky there bud. I see our young master has already taught you well." Fred says, looking at me with a smile and making Anthony blush.
"Yes. I want to grow up and be strong like Hunter is." He says proudly, making me chuckle. I pat his shoulder, making him lower his head with a big smile.
"Well, Anthony. It's good to meet you, young man. And, if I'm not mistaken, I believe I have something of yours, younger sir!" he tells Anthony as he walks towards the back of one of the showcases.
Anthony's eyes light up, making me smirk toward him. Fred leans down, placing the key in the keyhole, and turns it with a click.
He then retrieves a small wooden box, opens the box, and brings out one of those tiny boxes you'd typically get when you buy a new piece of jewelry. He turns it, placing it on the glass top, lighting Anthony's eyes up.
"My grandma's amulet!"Anthony chirps with a warm smile plastered on his little face.
"No. The amulet you have here, where did you get it, little man?" the jeweler asked curiously, making Anthony look up at him worriedly. He grabs the amulet, clutching it closely to his chest.
"Now, now. It's ok, buddy, I... I'm not taking it away from you, I promise?" I can't help but growl, making the jeweler startle. "Sorry. Bad habit." I apologize, making him chuckle.
"Young Alpha, I apologize. I didn't mean to scare him, honest," he says Calmly, lowering his head in reverence.
"I know you didn't, Fred. He still has some getting used to. He'll be fine. Everything is fine, buddy. Ok?" I said, looking at Anthony and patting his shoulder. He nods his head shyly, sighing deeply.
"My... my grandma gave it to me before she... before she told me to hide under the house in the tiny room under our house. The rogues killed her. I heard when they came," he said, crying and making my heart feel for the kid. Damn it... if I had only gotten there in time. Maybe I could have saved her, saved more of his pack. I could have brought them here and protected them.
Anthony wipes his tears with the back of his hand, looking at the amulet. Just what is so special about the amulet anyway? Why did she tell him to protect it?
Plus... what was in that damn vault that we can't figure out? And for the first time, the council cannot get permission for us to see the records of the pack's vault. Damn it... my head is going crazy, spinning with one question after another.
What the hell were those rogues looking for in that pack?
"Oh, son... I'm so sorry. Alpha, I apologize. I did not intend to upset or remind him of the attack. I heard what happened, young alpha. I'm so sorry, dear boy."
"It's fine, Fred. How about we leave it for now? Do you have my uh," I ask, making him lift a finger and gasp. "Oh, yes, sir. Here we are!" Fred says as he takes my mother's ring out, cleaned and ready in a small black box.
My heart skips a beat, and I smile. "Perfect. Thank you. We'll be off now." I say as I close the box and place it in my front coat pocket. Anthony gasps, giving me a bright smile.
"Are you going to ask Abbie to marry you?" he asks, making us chuckle.
"We'll see you later, Fred," I say, making him smile.
"By the way... why are you so intrigued with the amulet, if you don't mind me asking?" I tilt my head, my intrigue getting the best of me as I look sternly at the old jeweler.
"Oh, well... it's just... It looks an awful lot like the amulet Queen Elena's kingdom gifted someone long ago. I just thought it was odd. It looks similar to the description on the amulet that was stolen from her sister's castle a long time ago when they killed her mate and stole three baby girls." he says, making my blood run cold.
I felt my heart drop, and I had a sickening feeling as I looked at Anthony, who looked just as puzzled.
"What?" I ask, making him look away in thought. He snaps his fingers and tells me to wait. He returns with a book where he turns the pages frantically until he comes to a page with a drawing of the amulet Anthony held.
"See, this amulet,"
"No.no... I mean, what do you mean three girls?" I asked, placing my hand on my hip.
"Well, rumor has it... they kidnapped a few kids and teens and were able to find most... mostly alive," he said, sighing.
"But unfortunately, there were three babies... Elora's daughter, Elena's beta's daughter, and... I believe... another distant... very distant cousin's daughter. I'm not sure who she is; they never really talk about her other than she went mad and even tried attacking Elena once. But when they took her daughter, she lost it. No one has heard of her since." he says, making me look to the ground in thought. Why didn't the council tell us about these girls?
"So. The amulet." I asked, changing the subject.
"Right. The amulet is said to hold special powers that can only be activated by a royal blood family member. This amulet is like... a key, per se. As you know, Queen Elena and her sister Elora are the protectors of their kingdom, but this amulet was said to have been gifted to them by the other half of their family, the witch's clan."
"Witches?" I asked, puzzled, with eyes bulging.
"Yes. It's been passed down from generation to generation, gifted to the next in line to take over the throne. Queen Elena is a hybrid, as are all the women in her bloodline. This is why the wolf pack that tried to overtake them years ago allied with an enemy witch clan. So they can penetrate their walls and get to Queen Elena. Elora came to her rescue when they were attacked, fighting them off one by one and killing more than half of those witches. But, when she returned home, her daughter was gone along with the amulet. They said the amulet holds great power, and only a true blood can conjure its power within. An amulet that looks just like this one. But- Without the amulet, the girl who is destined to be next in line for the throne is powerless or limited." he says, making Anthony and I exchanged shocked looks.
"What's worse is that Elora's daughter is soon turning twenty-one. They say..." he begins to whisper, leaning in closer.
"That if they don't find the girl in time, she can die."
"What?" I ask as I look at him wide-eyed.
"Oh, yes... I'm afraid it's complicated ... from what I've heard, she needs one of her bloodline members to gift her their blood, all witches do. OR... she could die. I mean, I'm not sure if they've found her already or not, young alpha, but I certainly hope so." the jeweler says, making me raise a brow.
"Yeah. I hope so, too." I say, clenching my jaw in thought.
Poor girl.
Whoever she is, I hope Princess Elora has found her or finds her soon. I can't imagine how she feels. I thought I was losing my mind in the months my sister was missing, and I was ready to kill everyone who stood in my way of finding her. Hell, I haven't even had the heart to tell my sister I saw her mate and killed the bastard. But... she was so weak and in pain that she didn't even notice the difference between her agony and the pain of her mating bond breaking.