The Silver Eyed Prince (Highest Royal Coven of Europe) (35 page)

“Sir, please accept our sincerest apology,” Richard offered. “Due to circumstances beyond our control—”

“I don't need your explanation. I have already spoken with the former Queen at length yesterday, while her daughter was with the Prince. I know she is the Pure One.”

Sir Henry gasped. “You found her and she told you?”

“I did not give her a choice,” the Colonel snapped. “You knew this before submitting your request for protection to General Bradford! Why in the devil's name did you not tell him?”

“I take personal responsibility,” Sir Henry replied. “I made a mistake.”

“You allowed your objectiveness to be influenced by an emotional plea!” the Colonel exclaimed angrily. “Do you realize the danger you have subjected Elizabeth to?”

Sir Henry frowned with a puzzled expression. “She is safe as far as we are concerned. No one knows who she is and she is doing well with the Tain
ted. We are not aware of any danger—”

“I received this from Intelligence this morning.” Colonel Gunter pulled a folded piece of paper from his coat pocket and threw it on the desk. “Based on the data I gathered, they have confirmed that the men and veh
icles tailing the Prince belonged to the Duke of Northern Peninsula's army.”

Sir Henry's legs began to tremble and he fell back on his chair, aghast. This was the very thing they were afraid of.

“Did they discover the former Queen's whereabouts and Elizabeth's identity?” Richard asked earnestly.

“Not yet. They seem more interested in the Prince, though lately, I've noticed they pulled back their survei
llance considerably.”

“Thank goodness!” Sir Henry e
xclaimed.

“You misunderstand me,” the Colonel replied, his eyebrows drawn. “They have shifted their interest to Elizabeth. Her connection to the Prince might've aroused their curiosity. And this time, they are careful to avoid me—, observing from afar, out of ey
esight. This is very serious and could only mean one thing. They must've recognized who I am.”

“But isn't that favorable?” Richard said. “Your presence alone is keeping them at bay.”

“Perhaps—, but not for long,” Colonel Gunter replied gravely. “I shall discuss this situation with General Bradford directly and request him to send a squad of our best assassins. I shall also recommend that he personally take over this mission in my place.”  

“Colonel!” Sir Henry abruptly stood up. “What are you saying? You can't be leaving now—”

“Your negligence has subjected me to a rather difficult position!” The Colonel's eyes narrowed into crimson slits. “I am not the right man for the job. I should never have been here in the first place!”

“Colonel, please.” Richard raised his hands to a
ppease his outburst. “We need you. Elizabeth needs you now more than ever.”

“She is not safe with me!” Colonel Gunter thu
ndered, thrusting a forefinger towards him. “I am more dangerous to her than the enemy! Elizabeth is a Pure One, and I—,” he reversed his forefinger to point at himself, “am a Single. Alpha. Male. Do you know what that means?” he snarled through clenched teeth.

“I am a full-blooded, prime ped
igreed descendant of the fiercest, most dominant species in search of a mate, whose one weakness is an innocent like Elizabeth!” He plunged his fingers through his hair and began to pace.

“I cannot continue to involve myself in this.” The Colonel rubbed his nape, pacing like a restless wild cat. Then, he stopped abruptly in front of the table and slammed both fists on it, leaning on his knuckles as he hung his head in frustration.

Sir Henry glanced helplessly at Richard who discreetly raised his forefinger against his lips, not daring to interrupt the tension-filled silence.

When at last the Colonel raised his face, he spoke in a tortured voice. “I cannot bear to be near her much longer.” His pained eyes met Sir Henry's across the t
able. “I just can't—”

“Good merciful Omni, Colonel,” Sir Henry heard himself exclaim. “Are you—?” the words died on his lips when he saw the anguish on the Colonel's han
dsome face. He instantly knew he had struck a deeply repressed sensitive chord.

Sir Henry watched the powerful man in front of him draw a deep breath and exhale slowly, his eyes flaming scarlet as he regained his decorum. He resumed his mil
itary stance, tall and rigid, muscular chest out and broad shoulders pulled back.

“I regret to inform you that I must resign from this assignment. I shall stay on until General Bradford a
rrives with his men to take my place. Afterwards, I shall remove myself and fly back to base in England.” He proffered his hand to Sir Henry and then to Richard. “Thank you for your time, gentlemen. I must take my leave. I have an enormous amount of tasks to oversee.” He turned and left the room.

Richard glanced at Sir Henry after the Colonel's long strides faded from the hallway. “We were wrong about him. We should have terminated his mission from the start and gotten a replacement when we learned about his bloo
dline.”

“No.” Sir Henry waved his hand. “We were right all along. The fact that he left Elizabeth untouched in spite of the temptation proved that he stayed strong and f
ocused. He is a good man. I have newfound respect for him.”

“I wonder if he's going to leave without telling her he's in love with her?” Richard pondered.

Sir Henry responded with a heavy sigh.

On Giving Up One’s
Dearest Love and Friend

        Elizabeth stood near the parking lot exit with Ben, Lela and Carlos after school.

“You guys go ahead.” She glanced at her watch. “He'll be here soon.”

“No way,” Carlos replied. “We can't leave you here by yourself.”

“Can't trust any of these characters staring at you.” Lela looked around.

“Maybe you should bring some garlic again.” Ben grimaced. “But we'll have to wear gas masks.”

Elizabeth chuckled. “Really, you guys. There's barely anyone here.” She looked at her wristwatch once more and frowned. William was supposed to pick her up forty-five minutes ago. “Go ahead, I can manage.”

“Not without me, you can't,” a familiar voice said behind them.

“Chad!” Elizabeth felt herself relax at the sight of him. “Where've you been?”

He shrugged. “I had a few errands I needed to do.”

“You didn't answer my texts.” She pouted as she took her turn in giving him a hug.

“I didn't think I would take long,” he replied apol
ogetically and placed an arm around her shoulders. 

“Well, since you're here, do you mind if we went ahead?” Lela glanced skywards. “Sunrise will be here soon.”

“Go.” Chad nodded, then turned to her after they said their goodbyes. “It's late. Are you sure he's coming?”

Elizabeth peered down the long driveway, trying to hide her worry. “Yes. He's—, uh—, very busy. Lots of conferences, paperwork and such.”

Chad looked at her and sighed. “Is this really what you want, Elizabeth?”

She met his frank gaze. Chad knew William had been consistently late in picking her up from school—, fifteen-twenty minutes at the most, which she didn't mind and hardly mattered, when Ben, Carlos, and Lela easily occupied the time with non-stop chatter, prefe
rring to wait with her and let the traffic pass.

But today, William was alarmingly late. Even her three jovial friends had run out of jokes and began to fidget, candidly offering her a ride home, which she p
olitely declined.

The daunting phantom of insecurity sank its talons on her fragile self-esteem.
Was he neglecting her already? Had he woken up to the reality of her situation and decided to refrain from seeing her—without fair warning or even the courtesy of saying goodbye?

She suddenly wanted to cry.

Chad cleared his throat and dropped his arm from her shoulders. “I'm sorry, I was out of line. I shouldn't have said—”

“No, it's okay.” She forced an o
ptimistic expression that didn't seem to convince him. “You're right, it's late, and—, and—, he's probably swamped, and forgot about the time, and didn't remember to pick me up and—,” her voice broke. She was babbling, and Chad—, sweet, dear, sharp-witted Chad, could see through her flimsy excuses.

He squeezed her hand and she noticed he'd pasted on a sunny smile that didn't show his dimple nor reach his eyes.

“Of course, he didn't forget about you.” He searched her face. “How could he—, when the most beautiful girl in the world is right here waiting for him?” His eyes lit up when she rolled her eyes and crinkled her nose at him.

“That's better.” He nudged her chin and peered down at the long drive. “He'll be here. You'll see.”

“Oh, Chad.” She took his other hand, genuinely grateful for his efforts to cheer her up. “What will I do without you?”

He regarded her for a moment then darted his gaze towards the main gates of Darian Hall, where a speeding veh
icle was fast approaching.

Elizabeth recognized the sleek black sports car and instantly, her spirits lifted.

Chad raised her hands to his lips and kissed her fingertips. “Be happy,” he spoke softly, his eyes glittering with moisture in the faint light of dawn.

Elizabeth couldn't help but sense a certain finality in his voice.

“Chad?” she whispered as he gently let her fingers slide and slip away from his grasp, looking into her eyes with a fractured, sorrowful gaze, then stepped back. “Chad—?” she instinctively moved towards him.

A vein twitched on his temple and he didn't reply, save for the sharp indrawn breath he took, before he turned and swiftly walked away.

Unavoidable Circumstances

        P
rince William hastily climbed out of his vehicle as soon as he parked. He was ridiculously late and was expecting Elizabeth to be furious at him, but she was looking the other way, preoccupied, and had not even noticed his approach.

“Elizabeth,” he called from a few paces away to get her attention.

She turned and smiled at him, but swiveled her head right back to the opposite direction.

He followed her gaze and his jaw clenched.
Alexus Gunter.
Now what in the blazing hell was this about?

“Was that your friend?” He placed a tight rein on his temper.

“Yes,” she replied, still watching the Colonel's retreating figure as he boarded his SUV. “Chad stayed with me while I was waiting for you.”

“I'm sorry, love.” He kissed her cheek and turned her to face him. “I was on satellite conference with my father. He wanted me to come home as soon as possible and was quite upset. We argued endlessly.”

“It's okay,” she placed a palm on his chest, but her eyes flickered towards the passing SUV the Colonel drove.

A caustic dose of jealousy corroded his heart. Her absorption with the Colonel bothered him.

“Is there something going on between you and that guy?” he asked hotly, restraining himself from losing his head and picking a nasty fight. Now was not the time to be at odds with her. Too many things were hanging in the balance. 

“What?” She frowned, finally devoting her co
mplete attention to him. “Of course, not!”

“Are you sure?” He scowled. “Or did I interrupt something? You barely looked at me since I got here.”

“Oh, no, no—.” Her features softened and she stood on her tiptoes, circling her arms around his neck, urging him to bend down for a kiss.

He capitulated and kissed her soundly. “Is it b
ecause you're mad at me for being so late?”

“No, it's not that. I'm just ... I don't know. I feel like something serious is troubling Chad and I'm wo
rried about him.”

“I'm sure if there's anything, he could handle it,” he replied, although he knew exactly what the problem was.

Earlier, General Bradford had apprised him of the Colonel's findings regarding the threat from the Duke of Northern Peninsula and the change in security due to the Colonel's resignation from his mission, which was regrettable, but must be done.

Unfortunately, the King had lik
ewise learned of the situation, which had prompted the heated conference call that quickly escalated into a quarrel, pacified only by the interference of his mother, the Queen.

Nonetheless, he was forced to make a compromise with his parents. He must leave for England with his cousins, Elizabeth and her mother within the next five days, or else the King would forcibly evacuate everyone.

He gazed at his beloved Elizabeth, who had no idea of the dire circumstances that surrounded them.

“I must speak with your mother regarding our trip to England in five days.” He placed an arm around her waist and led her to his car.

Elizabeth halted and faced him. “Five days? What about school? She'll never go for it!”

“Don't worry about school. Ever
ything had already been arranged. And as for your mom, I am not asking for her consent—, I am commanding her to grant it.”