Theo's grip on the knife faltered. It felt as though the world tilted on its axis, and he took a sharp intake of breath. His cousin? How could Kaleus be the one to betray him? They had always been close, closer than Theo had ever been with any of his siblings before they'd been slain.
"How dare you accuse my cousin of treason!" he raged, advancing on Bite with the knife raised high. "I trusted you! You've been my advisor for years, and now not only would you conspire to kill me, but to blame Kaleus for your crimes?"
"I—I saw him with my own eyes, Theo. For a long time, he was anonymous, but then just a few months ago, he revealed himself as the face of the rebellion to us all!"
"Liar!"
"Please—please, I was just following orders! Kaleus is the one, I promise!"
Bite cowered against the wall, shaking her head back and forth as The o descended with the knife. She squealed when he placed the blade against one of her floppy ears, but she made no move to contradict herself, no move to throw another name out in the open, even when faced with the possibility of losing one of her precious ears.
She whimpered and sobbed.
Theo had no pity for this traitor, but he had to face the facts. A liar would have immediately thrown out another name that she thought would appease him. Instead, she stuck to her story.
At last, Theo stood back and looked down at the goblin with a cold, merciless gaze. There would be no mercy for those who had dared to defy him and challenge his rule over their people. No matter what happened next, this goblin was going to pay a heavy price for her betrayal.
But the more Theo considered the possibility of his cousin being the traitor, the pieces fit together too perfectly. Kaleus was always jealous of Theo's position in their family because he wasn't a full-blooded goblin. Kaleus was always hungry for power and control, but Theo had always thought that they had a kinship, a bond, like brothers, despite their differences in station and blood.
Yet looking back at it all now, Theo was sick to his stomach to realize everything he'd overlooked before. How Kaleus always challenged Theo's authority under the guise of trying to sharpen Theo's perspectives, plans, and ideals. Kaleus always told him that he never intended to undermine Theo, only strengthen him, even when Theo found that he could not defend his position against his cousin's opposition. It'd been a friendly and beneficial challenge ... or so Theo thought.
What if Kaleus had been pressing him, time and time again, to show the other goblins just how different he was from them? How far his beliefs differed? Kaleus must have thought that if he sowed enough doubt with the other goblins, then overthrowing Theo and taking his place as king would be an easy affair.
This betrayal cut deeper than a precious bond with his blood kin. It was a betrayal of his trust, and the trust of all those who believed in him as their rightful monarch.
Theo would see Kaleus destroyed and his rebellion crushed once and for all. No one would come between him and what was rightfully his: his crown, his kingdom, and most of all ... Lily.
By marrying her, he'd become his protector, both from the goblins who threatened her, and any external threats, and he took that responsibility seriously.
Theo used the pillowcases to hogtie Bite, and then he hurriedly dressed himself to take her to prison.
"Theo? Where are you going?" Lily asked, positioning herself between him and the door. "Aren't you going to tell me what's going on?"
In that moment, when he stared into her dark, worried eyes, something inside of Theo shifted. Stopping the rebellion, and his cousin, wasn't just about him and the betterment of the goblins, it was for Lily and her people, too.
"I know I owe you an explanation, but ..." Theo closed the distance between them and murmured against her lips before kissing her deeply, passionately enough to make Lily flush with warmth. "I'll tell you everything you need and want to know once Bite is locked away in the darkest cell in the kingdom."
Lily didn't look convinced, but he couldn't blame her. Still, he would hold to his promise, even if she didn't believe he would.
As Theo left what was supposed to be his tiny slice of heaven with his new wife, his wolf raged within him once again, but this time it was not rage he felt toward this traitorous creature who had sought to steal his wife away from him. Instead, he felt a fiery determination burning deep within his soul: he would find out all of their secrets, discover all of their plans, and deal with them once and for all so that nothing like this could ever happen again. And when he was done, no one would ever dare challenge him or threaten his reign ever again.
Chapter 7 - Lily
Within two hours after the attack, Theo ordered Lily to pack her meager belongings. When she demanded answers from him, he only told her that it would have to wait until he knew they were safe. She couldn't argue with that logic, but if there really was a goblin rebellion afoot, and Theo's cousin was trying to overthrow him, where would be safe?
As they rode together in a small, wooden carriage up a steep mountain pass, Lily couldn't help but feel like a fool for thinking Theo was the danger of coming to live with the goblins. Of course he was dangerous; he was the most powerful among the goblins. But it was in his best interest to keep her happy and healthy.
She hadn't even considered the possibility that the rest of his kind might not take nicely to him marrying a she-wolf.
"Where are we going?" Lily finally asked once they'd been traveling for some time. The cart shook constantly on the path, and it was giving her a headache.
"To the Underland," Theo answered curtly. "We're almost to the tunnels."
His tone was clipped and impersonal, making Lily withdraw back into her seat, unwilling to press him for more information. He was back to his cold, impassive self, nothing like the man who had set her skin on fire last night. Nothing like the man who'd had her begging and panting from the feeling of his fingers inside her. Nothing like the man who'd kissed her gently while he filled her to the brim, making her eyes spark with lust unlike anything she'd ever felt before.
And especially nothing like the man who'd killed three of his kindred without blinking just to protect her.
Just what had she gotten herself into?