Regal Renegades

Chapter 13

Daniel's POV:

I had her scent on my mind like it was something I'd known my entire life, and I followed it greedily through the dark winding trees.

With every moment that feeling in me grew in intensity. That feeling- no, that knowledge that something here wasn't right in the slightest.

Her scent went this far away from everything else... and was accompanied by another.

The man I saw her with if I had to guess, and the thought sent my instincts on their own rampage.

The mix of all of this was just...aggravating and frustrating to me in a way that was quickly becoming unbecoming of a prince.

I didn't care. Right now my mind was set, instincts present and ready.

Every since was high on alert, weaving through trees and over rocks to follow her scent.

The other scent, however, was getting stronger- It was resurfacing... slowly coming toward me.

My own snarl surprised me as soon as the target in my mind shifted with a new purpose.

His figure showed in the distance not long after, and my pace picked up into a speeding run.

I was almost impressed with the half-second that he tensed and looked my direction where most wouldn't have noticed until I was already on top of them.

My instincts were guiding this, and such is the reason why my fists bunched at the collar of his shirt, and backed him up into one of the thick trunks of a nearby tree.

"Where is she," I snarled, all of the pent-up emotions about this whole thing showing as my voice echoed through the forest, silencing and creatures of the night.

His initial shock and instinctive sharpening of his claws quickly fell into a deep, tragic fear once he noticed who I was.

"Prince Vanderwood," He sputtered, obviously debating with the idea of putting his hands on me out of basic survival instinct, "W-What are you-"

"Answer the question," I grit.

I knew this wasn't his fault, so he shouldn't bear the full wrath of what I had to offer.

But I was done with the games. With the waiting, the running. I needed to see her again, and he was her latest companion.

"Caroline," Her name left me in a softer tone, but was still enough to cause him to lean back.

He looked panicked, eyes nearly bulging from his head, which didn't do my current feelings any favors.

"How do you know about her?" His voice was less than a feeble whisper, "The Ardigans told me they weren't going to mention their daughter unless they had to."

Their daughter...? Their daughter?!

This guy was a fucking moron.

I pressed his harder against the tree, the tearing of his shirt sounding in the air from my claws.

"Th-They put her in quarantine," He hurriedly began, glancing back the way that he was coming from, "For a punishment that's nearly over. They wanted her at your arrival just out of respect, but I was ordered to bring her b-"

I was gone before he could finish his sentence, my mind and body getting kicked into an overdrive I wasn't currently aware that I had.

I could feel my wings pushing for a release if needed, but felt like this would get me there fast enough.

Quarantine? Punishment? What the fuck was going on here?

What the hell kind of operation were these Ardigans running?