Tangled Hearts - The Alpha's Baby Mama-Chapter 271: Give your life for mine

Noah POV

"Is everything alright?"

Kurtis asked as he moved to stand behind me.

"I’m not fine, Kurtis," I turned to him, a sad smile on my face "You know I thought a lot of things would change – that love would be enough at some point but what is not meant for you would never be yours. You should always remember that."

"Huh!" Kurtis stared at me confused, but I tapped at his back and moved past him.

"Are they ready for me to see them now?" I asked.

"Yes" he nodded "I had the guards bring them into the room, they’re secured and waiting for you."

I nodded and started in the direction of the holding cells. Today I was going to see Reid, Brooke and my sister Nora. I’ve kept them in the holding cells since the whole incident. Today was going to determine if I would release any of them or have them tried in court and punished.

"So, what was the final analysis about Reid?" I asked Kurtis as we moved towards the holding cell. "Did you get all the information you needed?"

There was no response.

I turned and saw that he was walking beside me, but his mind seemed far away. That was a first for me. Kurtis was the sharpest and most alert person I’ve ever met but recently, his mind seemed to be slipping away whenever he was with me.

He had helped with the investigation and today we wanted to take a decision. These few days without my Beta have been tough for me.

"Kurtis!" I tapped at his shoulders, bringing him out of his reverie "Is everything alright?" I asked.

"Yeah!" he nodded avoiding my eyes "I’m sorry, did I zone off again? My mind has been all over the place but I’m fine."

"Are you sure?" I asked eyeing him.

"Of course. C’mon, let’s go. We don’t have all day."

When we arrived at Reid’s holding cells, he was sitting demurely, both of his hands in the cuff and his ankles. As soon as we reached him, he raised his head and our gazes met. He stared at me blankly for a while before he lowered his gaze and gave me a curt bow.

"Your majesty!" he said calmly.

"For a moment, I thought you were not going to do that because you’re angry!" I said "I understand you’re angry with me, Reid but I had to do what any leader would do. I had no other choice."

"Have I done anything ever, that made you question my loyalty?" he started. "For the 8 days I’ve been locked here, all I could think of was where I erred. What did I do? How I have ever made you doubt me. Fine, am I not allowed to have my own life? Is not like you were going to marry her... we had sex and maybe I might have shared a little more than necessary but I thought you were going to consider the fact that I’ve been serving loyally for years. You deserted me, Your Majesty... when I needed you the most."

"The life of the Luna is more precious than yours, Reid!" I heard myself say coldly. "Not just that, she’s carrying the heir to the throne, I wouldn’t have considered emotions in the safety of the heir to Moon Whisper."

"You would have given me the benefit of the doubt. Something to prove my innocence. There is no reason to betray you, Your Majesty. It has never crossed my mind, once. All the time when we never agreed, I have not considered it and do you know what also, no one ever has come to me to liaise for rebellion because I do not give off that sort of energy. You were wrong for putting me behind bars when I am innocent."

"So, you still harbour resentment? Do I need to be worried that you might try to get revenge if I let you go?"

"A proper apology and compensation would suffice but what we had would be strained and you know this, Noah!" he shifted "Still I could drop off my resignation, if you think you cannot trust me, then it’s best to let me go!"

I scoffed and nodded "I knew you were going to say these words. Anyway, I filled through the files on Reid. Nothing was found on you, and my right you’re supposed to be reinstated which I would have done immediately. But not with this attitude. You still think you did nothing wrong."

He didn’t say anything, he just averted his gaze "You think I am at fault here, don’t you? Well, for the record I would never choose my family over yours, Reid. If there’s anything or a situation and you’re the suspect, I would follow this process over and over again. You’re my Beta... you’re supposed to protect me and give your life for mine. You shouldn’t even think of surviving and leaving me dead. That is your duty, that has been the duty of your family for generations. You serve me and me alone."

"I am not disputing any of this!" his eyes flashed with anger "But for once could you just acknowledge that I do a good job."

"Why should I do that?" I chuckled dryly "Why should I pat your back when you’re doing your duties? Do you expect me to do them for you? or maybe you want someone else to take your place? Get over yourself, Reid... I am not giving you this opportunity because you deserve, by right, I should have given you a better punishment but I’ll go easy on you since you’re a first-time offender..." I paused.

"Next time, I won’t be so considerate and you will resume your duties and carry out everything as you used to, even better. But if you think that you won’t be able to do that... please let me know. I’m sure there’s another family in Moon Whisper who are willing to serve with their life. Go ahead, Reid, make a choice."

We stood there quietly waiting for Reid... after some minutes, he finally spoke.

"I am sorry, Your Majesty. I was wrong and I regret everything I have done. Please, give me another chance to show my allegiance to the crown."