~~

Reece

~~

I knew that this trip was likely to be very hard for me. Not that it would be physically demanding, or that I would have a hard time doing things. No, I knew that I was not going to be at my wife's side every step of the way.

It's not that I am overly clingy and just want to stay with her. No, it's because I wouldn't be there to protect her all the time. I was going to have to let go. I was going to be forced to step aside and let others be there for her.

Was that what it meant for her to be the queen? Was she going to keep ascending higher and higher and eventually leave me behind? It would serve me right, in all honesty. I was head over heels, deeply in love with her. But I had been an asshole to her, I had nearly ruined everything before it ever started. It would be a fitting punishment from the powers that be to punish me by being left behind by her greatness.

But I wasn't going to be left behind like that. I wasn't going to roll over and just take it. I was going to fight my hardest and I'd be damned if I let anything keep me from following right at her heels.

The day after we arrived here, she was already set to begin her training. It was just learning the histories from Gabriel in our chamber. I think he was telling us men to go and investigate the place while he watches over his queen for us.

I'll admit, when I first met Gabriel I didn't really trust him. But as time went on he proved time and time again that he was an ally, and a true friend. He seems like he would honestly lay down his life for his queen. That was some sincere loyalty.

After we ate breakfast that morning, we walked as a group back to the Royal Quarters, or that's what the few people I had already met in the Sentinelle called our room. I left my Little Bunny and Gabriel there. And after a quick goodbye kiss the eight of us left together.

Being around the warlocks was still weird for me. They were old, like really old. Crawford was the oldest of them at four hundred and sixty-six. But Eldrige was not much younger at four hundred fifty-nine. And apparently they had known each other their whole lives.

They at least looked a little old. Graying and wizened looking, but when I was with Gabriel I completely forgot about the fact that he was six hundred and ninety-two. And then there was Dietrich who was five hundred twenty-eight. And neither of them even looked older than early thirties.

Hell even Vincent was older than me. If it wasn't for David and the twins, I would be the youngest man in this group. I'm not used to being around so many people that look so young but are so old. But the warlocks weren't just old like the others. No, they acted old too. They spoke so old fashioned compared to Dietrich.

I just had to take the time to get used to it. But I still didn't see me ever going for drinks with them easily. I would, don't get me wrong. I am a nice guy after all. But it would still seem a little weird.

Whatever, I just had to get used to all the changes in our lives. That's what I forced my wife to do back then, isn't it. I didn't even give her the chance to ease into things. What an ass I truly was.

We left the room, leaving my mate and Gabriel alone, that kind of gave me a jealous feeling. But I didn't think that he was a bad guy at all, I knew things would be just fine. They'd better be.

For now though, It was time to meet everyone here. I would be damned if I was going to let any of these people around my wife if I hadn't vetted them thoroughly first. Every single person in this place was going to be grilled by all of us. Let's see them hide something from us.

We began on the floor where we all slept. I wanted to make sure those closest to us were trustworthy before anything else. And as I was the Alpha King, none of them were able to deny us. They would never obey me as much as they would Trinity, but they would still act deferential and follow my commands unless they contradicted the queens.

Dammit, this used to be a place run by alphas. Oh well, I was married to the queen, I was truly second in charge. I'd take second best if it meant she was number one. She was my number one anyway.

The abbey was quite large. There was a very tall square-like entry wing in the front that led to an even taller square center. From that center square there was a wing to the left and right that were curved on the end. There were also smaller, equally curved sections coming off the initial entry wing on either side sitting in front of the larger side wings. These smaller wings were mirrored in the back as well, one on each side. And it ended with a large wing in the back that mirrored the entry wing. The entire abbey was symmetrical at least. It's construction was very well done but very obviously ancient.

The light colored stone walls on the outside were just as present on the inside. There wasn't a single stone that looked to be crumbling and the building looked far from run down. It was amazing. Even more so because it had electricity and running water. I would have forbidden this trip if Gabriel hadn't assured us that they were at least that far into the modern age.

Those that were still in their rooms in the north wing of the sixth floor all seemed to check out. There were quite a few people who seemed promising in fact. There was a man who would be in charge of training us, his name was Lucas, and he instantly seemed to connect with Shane. Seemed like we could all make new friends here, not that we needed Shane with a new bestie to pull pranks on everyone.

We also met a man named Nicholas, call him Nick he insisted, who seemed to have a strong desire to be a guard. According to Vincent, he checked out, and if he proved himself he would most definitely be allowed to come aboard. I wanted to expand the guard as it was.

Next we met a man named Grant. He seemed like a strong man that would add a lot of strength to the pack if he wanted to come back with us. All of these people checked out so far. That was comforting.

There were a few women who we came across as well. One named Lana looked young and was apparently the nurse or medic of the Sentinelle. She was responsible for helping everyone that came back to the abbey injured. She could learn a lot from Griffin if she were to come back to Colorado.

Then there were two other women who seemed promising so far, Thoma and Izzy. These two seemed as close as sisters but couldn't look more different. One was tall with dark hair and eyes and a strong looking build, the other was on the short side, but still taller than my Little Bunny and she was platinum blonde with bright hazel eyes.

These two would be great female warriors for my mate. Some more women around to be friends with would help too. It was probably not right of me to be looking through the Sentinelle with hopes of filling out our ranks, but to be honest, wasn't that what they were meant for?

We met some more good people that seemed like they would be a good fit among us, Perkins, Malik, Hideki, Micah, Christophe, Victor, Celest, Thea, Sebastian, Yuri, all these members were beyond excited to get a chance at serving the King and Queen. If they proved themselves then they would be a great addition to our pack.

This search and interrogation of the members was going great. Everyone seemed to be in this because they believed in the legend of the Goddess Incarnate and truly wanted to offer their lives to the Goddess. I truly had a good feeling about all this. That is until after lunch.

After we ate our lunch we moved to interviewing people outside the abbey. Most of them were just as loyal but perhaps a little less enthusiastic in that loyalty. There was nothing wrong with being a little less hyper about it.

There were promising people among this group too. Hal, John, Joe, Tim, Richard, Ruth, Mary, Seiji. This group of Sentinelle warriors was proving to be quite the boon. There were only two that gave Vincent pause when he met them.

He seemed to have gotten tense when we met two men who were working together near the docks. They didn't seem to be bad people in attitude and appearance. However, we all knew that this meant nothing, and apparently their words did not match up with the truth of their intentions.

The men, named Charles and Ralph, were repairing the docks and had the most direct contract with people outside the village, aside from the scouts that is. These men often spent a lot of time in neighboring villages and cities.

I don't know if that helped to contribute to their disloyalty or not, but these two men claimed to be loyal to the Sentinelle and to the Queen. Though the truth of the matter was that they only wanted to stay in the Sentinelle until the Queen was found and they could move on with life in a different era.

When Vincent spoke to these men he got a full picture of what was going on with them. He saw exactly what it was that they wanted in life. These men never wanted to be part of any Goddess Guard. They would never be willing to fight for what was right or protect the Queen.

They didn't seem to be actively working against her, yet. But given the opportunity they would most definitely betray us all. They cared for no one but themselves. They would turn on a dime, and jump sides at the drop of a hat.

When their loyalties were called into question they, obviously, took offense to it. They claimed that we were just trying to find people to remove from the group and add our own. They tried making claims that we had, most certainly, removed many others and this was just a witch hunt so to speak.

"I'm afraid that you are mistaken.

" Ghirald, the steward, informed them. Ghirald had been escorting us around the abbey and village for our investigations.

"This is ridiculous.

" Charles, a tall surly looking man with a permanently angry look etched into his face spoke first.

"What reason do you have to call us into question?

" Ralph demanded. He was just as tall and surly looking. But where Charles had bright orange hair and eyes, Ralph looked swampy with muddy eyes and murky brown hair.

"Your words don't match your heart, your soul. The things you say are in direct contrast to what you truly believe.

" Vincent stepped forward and answered him in a stern tone.

"We will not let you near our Luna if we cannot trust you, and you two are the only ones we've come to so far that pose any sort of threat to her.

"

"You're insane.

" Charles ground out through his teeth.

"No Charles, he is Goddess touched.

" Ghirald said the words reverently.

"What's that supposed to mean?

" Charles looked confused and angry.

"He has been granted an ability by the Goddess.

" I told him.

"And his ability is to know someone's true intentions.

"

"Seems a little useless to me.

" Ralph scoffed.

"That doesn't sound like something that the Goddess would give someone.

"

"I don't believe you in the least.

" Charles added.

"It doesn't matter. You're done here. You will no longer be part of the Sentinelle.

" David stepped forward and spoke angrily.

"The group of you think you can boss us around?

" Charles was laughing.

"Not all of you are even wolves. You've got a bloodsucker and a pair of witchy boys.

" Charles' manner of speaking was getting more and more crude as he went on.

"We will not be put out by you.

" Ralph backed up his friend.

"Only Gabriel can relieve us of our duty.

"

"I am your King, and you will listen to me.

" I snarled at him.