Azalea POV
My body ached as I rolled onto my back. My memory was grainy, so I was a little confused because l
thought I was in heat? Although I felt perfectly fine now and well-rested, there were no signs of a
temperature. However, rolling over, I find the bed empty, making me get up.
Glancing around the room, I couldn’t see Kyson anywhere. Walking to the closet, I retrieved some
clothes, a pair of jeans, and a blue shirt. The options are limited, from me shredding clothes all the time.
Mostly Kyson’s, but I know he kept clothes in his office. The thought makes me chuckle, knowing he was
keeping clothes there for safekeeping and away from my claws. His clothes weren’t safe here, especially
with me nesting on and off. Such a bizarre thing to do.
I meander around the room, trying to wake up before hunting down Kyson when I notice my tablet.
Picking it up, I glance at the time before seeing Kyson’s phone on the bedside table. My brows pinch.
Wasn’t Abbie supposed to call back last night, or was it still the same day? My sense of time had been
blurring. My days and nights formed into one never-ending one and losing track of time was becoming a
regular occurrence.
Picking up his phone, I unlocked it, but he had no notifications on it or messages, not that I could read
those anyway without typing them into my tablet. I toss the phone on the bed and head for the bathroom
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtwith a shake of my head. I shower quickly, eager to see Kyson so I can try to convince him to take me to
visit Abbie.
When I got out of the shower, I towel dried my hair, not wanting to use the hairdryer because my hearing
was super sensitive right now; I could even hear the lights’ flickering buzz and the ruffle of the c******s as
the breeze moved through them. Everything was extremely heightened, more so than usual.
Slipping on some flats, I open the door and step into the corridor to see Dustin yawning and leaning
against the wall.
“You look tired,” I chuckle, and his eyes fly open, and he straightens up. “Morning, my Que-,” I raise an
eyebrow at him.
“Azalea,” he corrects himself. It was stupid. He tried to be so formal when he literally followed me around
like a shadow, so him calling me that irked me. So, I liked to think he was a friend, not just here out of
duty.
“Do you know where the King is?” I ask him, and he yawns again.
“I will take her,” Trey says, and Dustin looks at him. I hadn’t even noticed him standing there.
“Why are you up here?” Dustin questions. “You’re not on guard today,” Dustin says.
“Damian said to relieve you, I am fine working. You have covered my shift three times now?” Trey says
with a shrug, and I look at Dustin. Has Dustin worked three shifts straight? That is like thirty-six hours.
Dustin shakes his head and waves him off. “I am fine. You can go.” Dustin tells him, waving him off.
“No, you should sleep,” I tell Dustin, feeling bad, taking in his appearance; he indeed looked exhausted.
“I am fine, Azalea. The King is in his office. However, I wouldn’t advise going down there; he is in a
mood,” Dustin says. Since when isn’t he in a mood? I don’t think it is a mood but his d**n personality.
“You said Damian is back?” I ask Trey, and he nods.
“Go rest. Trey will take me to see the King,” I tell Dustin, squeezing his arm as I pass him. Dustin grips
my arm when I move toward Trey, and I give him a strange look, but he sighs.
“It’s fine; I will take you. You’re dismissed, Trey. You’re not needed here,” Dustin tells him.
“But-“
“I am her personal guard, and I dismissed you. Now go!” Dustin snaps at him. Trey growls and shakes
his head. “Trying to help, geez,” he snarls, stomping off.
Turning my attention to Dustin, he glared after Trey. “Hey, what’s got into you?” Dustin shakes his head
and drapes his arm over my shoulders, tugging me closer.
“Something off about him. I haven’t liked him since he came here ten years ago; I am not sure why, but
he rubs me wrong. However, he took a bullet for the King about 8 years back, earning a spot on the royal
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmguard, and then Damian put him on personal guard duties alongside me; he is trusted. But I don’t trust
him; a few things don’t add up for me,” Dustin says, and my brows pinch.
Trey seemed harmless, although he had been rude to me when the King cast me away. That was him
reacting to orders, and other than that, he hadn’t given me any reason to worry. However, I trusted
Dustin, so it made my spine tingle when he said he didn’t trust Trey.
“What do you mean?” I ask him.
“Just, I don’t know. How he came to be here doesn’t seem right to me,”
“So, where was he before?”
“The Landeena Kingdom, about 20% of the pack here were originally your family guard or those from
your Kingdom, survivors of the massacre. After your parents were k****d. King Kyson’s pack was the
only remaining Lycan pack. For safety, Lycans stick together. We are a d***g species, so the King took
them in. My Queen, those people are your people,” Dustin says, nudging me with his elbow before
yawning again.
Did people survive? I assumed that with how much of a ghost town, everyone was k****d, but it made
sense that there would be survivors.
“How about we stay in the room for a bit? You can sleep. Since you don’t want anyone else as my
guard,” I tell him.
“I am fine; I can take you,” Dustin assures me, but I grip his arm and pull him back toward the room.