His Abandoned Luna, Her Disabled Alpha

CHAPTER 33

His parents might have forgotten about food entirely, but Luke had not.

Exhaustion was slowly catching up to him. He had spent most of the day moving between Emma's room and various responsibilities around the pack house.

After finally deciding to eat something and get some rest, he discovered that the dining hall was empty and the kitchen unusually quiet.

The sight made him even more aware of the hunger he'd been suppressing for a while now and it deepened his irritation.

"Why hasn't dinner been served yet?" he asked a maid hurrying past.

The young woman stopped immediately and lowered her head in submission.

"Young Master, a guest is arriving soon," she explained softly. "Alpha and Luna are waiting to receive them."

"A guest?"

Luke glanced toward the clock hanging on the wall. The hour hand had already crossed midnight. "What kind of guest arrives at this hour?"

The question lingered in the air without an answer.

Even among packs, there were rules and courtesies everyone understood. Visiting another Alpha's territory unannounced in the dead of night was considered highly unusual.

Unless the matter was important enough that etiquette no longer mattered.

"Mom, who's coming?"

Luke lowered his voice as he moved closer to Luna Doris. The tension radiating from Alpha Victor was enough to make him cautious. Even after becoming an adult, there were moments when his father's presence still felt overwhelming.

Alpha Victor shot him a glance, as if his presence wasn't required and was even somewhat inconvenient. The frown on his face deepened, but he said nothing and continued pacing across the hall.

Luke ignored that look on his face as he did most of the time recently. Ever since the day he found out that Ivy's surname had been changed, he couldn't look at him the same way again.

Their relationship as father and son was not the best to begin with and that day, a small yet irreparable c***k had formed between them.

Luke cast his attention on his mother in hope of getting an answer. Anxiety hung heavily in the air. A thin sheen of sweat had already formed along Luna Doris' forehead. She lifted a hand and wiped it away before letting out a slow breath.

"Someone from the royal family..." Luna Doris began quietly, but she was cut off midway by a commotion at the door.

"Alpha! Luna!" A frantic voice shattered the silence.

A pair of boots thundered across the front steps before coming to a screeching halt at the wide-open entrance.

Caleb stood in the doorway, bent slightly forward as he struggled to catch his breath. One hand braced against the doorframe while the other pressed against his chest.

His usually neat appearance was in complete disarray, as though he had sprinted across half the pack territory without stopping.

Alpha Victor halted mid-step and Luna Doris immediately stiffened.

The head guard's face was pale. His breathing was uneven. Most alarming of all was the look in his eyes.

Caleb looked shaken. Terrified even.

As the head guard of Silver Mane, Caleb had witnessed wars, rogue attacks, border conflicts, and countless emergencies. Very few things could make him lose composure like this.

"What happened?" Alpha Victor demanded.

Caleb swallowed hard and straightened himself.

Through clenched teeth, Caleb forced the words out. His voice sounded strained, each syllable scraping against his throat. "He went to the cells. I tried to stop him, but..."

"What?!"

"Who?!"

Alpha Victor and Luke exclaimed at the same time. The hall fell into a freezing silence immediately after.

Caleb's bewildered gaze flickered between father and son before settling on Alpha Victor. For a moment, he seemed unable to continue. His chest rose and fell heavily as though merely repeating what had happened required courage.

Luna Doris felt her heart sink as a bad feeling crept around it like a poisonous vine.

"Speak clearly," Alpha Victor ordered, his voice sharp enough to cut through steel. "Who went to the cells?"

Caleb swallowed. His fingers curled tightly at his sides as he fought to steady himself. Yet when the words finally left his mouth, they still carried an unmistakable tremor.

"His Royal Highness..." he said quietly.

"Prince Kael went to the cells immediately after arriving. I couldn't stop him."

For a brief second, nobody reacted. The words were simply too absurd for them to process. They stared unblinkingly at Caleb. Luna Doris looked as though she forgot how to breathe.

Prince Kael?

That name alone was enough to knock the air out of their lungs. As an Alpha with some connections in hand, Alpha Victor knew a bit more about the palace than the average man.

Unlike the other royal family members, Prince Kael rarely appeared in public. It made him a mysterious figure amongst the royals. That mystery wrapped him in a thin veil of respect and fear.

Prince Kael wasn't merely a prince by title. His name carried a certain weight throughout the capital and even beyond the borders. Entire packs thought twice before involving themselves in matters connected to him.

The royal princess was infamous for her ambition. She schemed openly, struck boldly and never hid her intentions. Everyone knew where they stood with her.

Prince Kael was different.

Nobody knew what he was thinking.

He hid his cards so deeply that even the royal court struggled to predict his next move. While others fought their battles in broad daylight, he preferred shadows. By the time people realized they had become part of his plans, the outcome had already been decided.

Although bound to a wheelchair, nobody dared mistake that as weakness. If anything, the disability only made his reputation more frightening. He had climbed to his current position without ever stepping onto a battlefield himself.

Every achievement had been earned through intelligence, strategy, and a level of patience few could match.

Many believed that if fate hadn't toyed with his life, the struggle for succession would have ended years ago.

Even now, he remained one of the strongest contenders for the throne. Perhaps stronger than the Lycan King's favored princess herself.

That was why Alpha Victor's face had turned so grim. More importantly—

Why would someone like him visit the prison cells of a small border pack in the middle of the night?