Russel spent the next several hours interrogating everyone he thought might have even the slightest chance of betraying them all to the Harvenks. When most of his questioning yielded no results, he started to pull in higher and higher ranking officers. The way the Harvenk spy had coincidentally been able to traverse the entirety of his kingdom and then the capital, including his well-fortified and guarded castle, convinced him thoroughly that there was a traitor. Someone was feeding information to the Harvenks and because of that leak, Lola had almost been killed. He could barely contain his rage in his various interrogations and had yelled, slammed his fists down on things, and even threw something at the wall many times.

All that time and he got nothing.

Not one person knew what he was talking about or had any idea who might have leaked information to the Harvenk “mongrels,” as everyone put it. They even looked disgusted at the thought of betraying their kingdom. Russel made sure he listened to the steady thumping of their hearts, knowing that if a person lied it would typically cause their hearts to beat much faster. It wasn’t a sure thing by any means because some had developed a real knack for controlling their hearts so adeptly that they could easily fool any wolf. Others, no matter what authority figure was questioning them, were just too nervous anyway for that to be effective. Most, however, simply elected to not lie. It was easier that way.

“How long have you been Commander of the Watch?” Russel asked his latest suspect. “And state your name and rank.”

A woman around Russel’s age stared back at him. One of her ears was missing and thick scar tissue ran from that side of her head and spread along her cheek and jawline. Her golden-brown eyes stared unwaveringly at Russel as she was interrogated. She also had a calm demeanor, as if being torn from her command and brought in for questioning in the middle of the night was an ordinary occurrence.

“The better part of six years,” she replied, pausing for a disrespectful amount of time. “Your Majesty. And I am Commander Jordan Ospry.”

Russel let the snub go but not before noting it in the back of his mind. Clearly the woman was less than thrilled with the recent change in monarchies.

“You were loyal to my father?” Russel inquired.

“I was loyal to the powerful and commanding King Carter Polver of Oclan, yes,” she stated. Her voice was flat but there was a flicker of malevolent glee at snubbing Russel yet again.

Russel looked at her calmly, taking and judging her insults. She was a wolf herself. He knew that much. The damage done to her ear must have been before her first change then. That told him she’d already been through and seen a lot at a very young age.

It almost meant she was probably mentally strong. A toughened soldier that was affected by very little.

Russel continued to stare at her, nodding his head at her answers. Outwardly, he kept his face impassive.

And then he abruptly erupted into movement, too fast for anyone to stop him or even flinch. Commander Jordan Ospry could only stare as the new king, a king she was sworn to protect with her life, came at her in a blur of claws and glowing blue eyes. Pain blossomed from her shoulders as the king’s claws sank into her flesh. Then they were falling backward and she was powerless to stop it. Her head smacked into the stone floor while above her, Russel’s part wolf and part human face, snarled at her.

“In the future, you will do well to show some respect to your king,” he growled, his voice a low rumble of menacing, deadly threat. “Show contempt for me again and I will be happy to impress upon you the error of your ways. And believe me when I say, it will be a thorough session.”

Commander Jordan felt her own rage explode inside her. Her jaw clenched and her eyes flashed with a bright, amber glow.

Russel roared directly in her face and dug his claws in deeper. The blue of his eyes got brighter and brighter.

“Do we still have a problem, Commander?” Russel said, still with that low growl at the back of his throat.

The Commander glared at Russel for several long minutes and then finally shook her head no. His face immediately went back to normal and he jerked his claws out of her. To her credit, she didn’t let out a gasp of pain or even wince.