The Royal Beta

Ch. 5 - Dante

Hope you enjoy this chapter, and the rest of your day. (:

Love, Charlie

Chapter 5 - Dante

Dante was working his ass off. Sweat was dripping from his forehead, but he couldn't be bothered to wipe it away. Though training did make him feel good, he now realised he might have been taking it a bit too far.

But who could blame him? He was falling for his queen for crying out loud! He should have been punished. But it went without saying that his king could not know about this, so Dante was left to punish himself. Dammit! Why must her eyes have been so blue? So captivating?

He growled loudly while punching the punching-bag over and over again. Yet it never seemed to be enough.

Even as his knuckles started bleeding and his muscles protested to every move he made. He couldn't stop, though. Not before he was able to forget about those eyes. Those eyes that kept staring at him, that kept haunting him. He couldn't escape. They were always there, watching him - watching as he closed his eyes, watching as he screamed in frustration and watching as he finally fell to his knees.

His head fell to his hands and the tears streamed freely down his cheeks. He was exhausted, frustrated and... lonely.

He wasn't one to cry easily, but everything was taking a toll on him. With the pack-work increasing, he found he just couldn't do it on his own anymore. Now more than ever did he understand the importance of a life-partner. He wasn't invincible. He didn't have superpowers. He would never be superior despite his title and at the end of the day he was just... a man.

A mere man that had got too much shit load to carry on his shoulders. He had been ignoring it and now he was paying the price. He was crumbling under its weight. Yet no one seemed to notice, no one seemed to pay attention to his well-being.

They all only saw him as that strong Royal beta. The one who was standing tall, proud and fierce, strong beside their alpha king. The one who had all the answers to everything. He was their protector.

But who was his?

Screaming on top of his lungs one last time, Dante decided it was time to stop this foolishness. So he wiped his eyes and exhaled one more time before he got up on his feet. His whole body was sore, but it was best to ignore it and to just keep going.

He was ready to put his mask back on. Only when he turned to leave the empty gym did Dante realise it wasn't as empty as he thought it was. There, leaning against the wall, was his king. Dante lowered his head in shame.

Of all people, his king was the last he'd want to see him break down like this.

"You okay now, Dante?" The concern and sincerity in his king's voice had Dante snapping his head back up. Sure, Dante and king Geoffrey got along quite well, but he didn't think his king would care about him this much. Then again, king Geoffrey wouldn't be much of an alpha king if he did not care for his packmembers.

Dante nodded his head, searching for words. "Yes, I'm fine," were his genius words.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll work itself out," king Geoffrey spoke.

If only he knew how I'm feeling about his mate, Dante thought bitterly. And in some way, he wanted his king to know. Keeping it a secret had Dante feeling as though he was betraying him - and in a way, he was.

Feeling the frustrations rise again, Dante took deep, calming breaths to reign in his inner-wolf.

"Either way, I actually came to ask you if you were ready to leave tomorrow morning" king Geoffrey came to business when it became clear Dante was not going to respond to the king's earlier words.

Dante nodded his head and pushed away all the bitter thoughts, "of course, alpha".

King Geoffrey frowned at him and Dante knew he was genuinely concerned about Dante's well-being. While Dante normally did not speak all that much, those short answers were never given to his king.

"Okay well, do not work yourself too hard. Get some rest," were his king's parting words before Dante was left on his own, again.

***

Instead of getting some rest, Dante found himself running along with the patrolling troops at night. He needed to do something - anything - to set his head straight.

He was about to travel to another pack by foot, for three days. Along with his king, his queen - who he was falling for - and ten of the Royal pack's best guards. In other words, he needed to keep his feelings in check before someone noticed his not so appropriate feelings towards the queen.

If that were to happen, he'd be screwed... royally.

He would need to keep his distance from her. It was his only hope.

Or maybe he should just stay home, opting for recommending his king to take Derek with them instead. It was only usual for the alpha of a pack to leave the beta in charge in the alpha's absence.

But since when did Dante flee from his problems like that? Did he not always face them head on?

This time would not be an exception. He was going to suck it up, put on his big guy pants and escort the royal pair to Lunar Guardians and he was going to do it right.

There wouldn't be any feelings that would keep Dante from doing his job correctly.

His king trusted him and Dante was dead set on proving he was worth that trust. He would show them he was deserving of the Royal beta title, just like he had always been.

'Beta Dante, all is clear on the southern borderlines' reported one of the guys on patrol back to him. They were using the mindlink that enabled all members of a pack to communicate with one another telepathically.

Not too much later another one chimed in, 'eastern borders all cleared'. And soon enough the northern- and western-border patrols were reporting back the same message.

'All look-out posts are manned, too. At least two men positioned at every post in the east of the territory'. Dante was proud to hear that his men had it all under control. Then again, they weren't part of the Royal pack for no reason.

Dante himself was running around the entire territory, not just sticking to one area. As the leader he needed to have the overview. It was what was expected of him.

'Good job, keep it up,' Dante praised them. He knew how important it was to let your packmembers know that their work and effort were appreciated. Also he truly believed that showing your gratitude every once in a while would make living together a lot more pleasurable. Because in the end, each other is all they had.

'Dante, why don't you take a rest? I'll take over for tonight,' Derek mindlinked Dante. Hearing him approaching from afar with his enhanced hearing, Dante knew Derek was not going to take 'no' for an answer and he decided to meet Derek halfway. Maybe Derek was right, if Dante wanted to be able to escort his king and queen safely, he needed to be well-rested. He couldn't be that when he was pulling an all-nighter tonight.

'Alright, I will,' Dante agreed. The two met somewhere in the middle of the territory, both wolves nodded once as Derek dashed past Dante to join the patrolling troops. 'Guys I'm out for tonight, Derek is taking over.' A few acknowledge his leaving and then Dante was out - blocking the mindlink.

Dante made it to his room and fell down on his bed, the mattress sighed under his weight and the wood moaned in protest. His bed was truly getting old. The wood wasn't as strong as it used to be and in fact, the whole thing needed to be replaced.

But there was no urgency to do it right now. After all, the old thing wasn't breaking... yet.

Not dwelling on the bed for much longer, Dante lit the candle in front of the picture frame beside his bed and then Dante was out like a light. He would quickly grab a bag tomorrow morning - it was not like he needed much anyway. He wouldn't need to take a suit with him or anything.

Not like he was going to meet the king... Well, thought Dante, not a king he needs to dress up for.