Chapter 228 Chapter 227
"I'm not an abomination," he choked out as they struggled to get him in position, holding down his head. Despite the pain pulsing through his veins, he threw his head back and let out a powerful roar, the ground trembling beneath them.
Several of the hooded figures inched backwarda at the ferocity of the roar.
His mind fractured, his control splintered. Rage gave him strength when pain couldn't. One swing of his arm and he sent his assailants flying. They landed to the ground with a painful thud, shocked.
He got on all fours, releasing another anguished howl. It was unlike anything they had heard before. Shivers ran down so many people spines.
The howl of an alpha king.
His wolf was seeing red, and while the tiger retreated—already spent of strength—he shifted to his wolf, right in front of them, one they had never seen before.
Gasps of awe and horror filled the space as they beheld the king's majestic wolf form.
The hooded figures tried to attack him, but he easily picked them up, crushed them on the ground and snapped their necks with his teeth, their blood smearing his fur. Then he went after more. One phrase kept repeating in his head:
If they won't accept us, they will perish.
Kill them all!
Kill them all!!
KILL. THEM. ALL!!!
And kill them he did.
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Rayena and Soraya were still on the route back to her kingdom, and judging from what the carriage rider had told them, they would be spending another three days on the road. Soraya sobered up, preparing for the arduous journey ahead, while Rayena lay slumped against her, completely listless from the rocky ride.
All of a sudden, a sharp, agonizing pain cut through her chest, causing her to flinch and double over in agony. Rayena blinked rapidly, trying to clear the haze in her vision, her eyes widening. What had just happened?!
"Is everything alright? What's wrong?" Soraya asked, looking at her with concern.
Rayena clutched her chest, looking around her. The sharp pain came again, stronger this time, and Rayena winced, a whole-body tremor taking over her. The enclosed carriage suddenly felt too small, too hot. Air refused to fill Rayena’s lungs. Every bump of the wheels vibrated straight through her ribs.
Tears instantly flooded her eyes, and she began gasping for breath.
"My chest hurts," she whispered, feeling like someone had sunk a dagger into her chest and was twisting it viciously.
"Something's wrong... Something's wrong with the king," she whispered, staring at Soraya with a wide gaze. Her heart began to race.
The latter paled, gripping Rayena firmly. "What?"
"Something's wrong with the king, we have to get back. Turn this carriage around!" Rayena screamed, suddenly restless.
The carriage started slowing down.
"No! We're not turning back!" Soraya cried out. "What do you mean, turn back? We just left the shifter realm?!"
"You don't understand! Something is wrong with the king. I can feel it." She pointed to her chest, more tears spilling from her eyes. "I can feel it here. Please, let's go back. Let's go back to the palace!!"
Soraya stubbornly shook her head. "We can't return. The king himself gave us orders to leave. Why should we turn back?"
At her rejection, Rayena turned hysterical. She began screaming, banging at the windows, all sense of reasoning flying out of her head. The pain in her chest only worsened, the bites on her neck pulsing badly.
"We have to turn back! We have to turn back!!" she screamed over and over again, struggling with Soraya. "Let's go back to the shifter realm! I need to see Xenon!"
Soraya couldn't understand her new behavior. She'd never seen her friend so desperate. If she let her continue like this, Rayena would hurt herself. She needed to do something before she brought harm to herself and the baby.
She searched through her things and found a bottle.
It was filled with sedatives, but Soraya was hesitant to give it, worried about the effects it would have on a pregnant woman. But with Rayena in full breakdown mode, she had to take her chances. She dropped a pill into her hand and shoved it into her mouth while she was crying.
Rayena gave a shocked look of betrayal, but the pill took effect fast. Her vision turned blurry, and she slumped against her, completely knocked out.
Now quiet, Soraya held her close to herself, gently rocking her. Even unconscious, she was still twitching, tears streaming from her eyes. Soraya looked at her with worry, her chest tightening.
Whatever happened for her to have such a reaction?
Soraya would never find out.
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After Rayena fell unconscious, Soraya urged the carriage driver to speed up the journey. The carriage rode violently as it sped through uneven rocky paths, but Soraya held Rayena through it all. Even when Rayena woke up and realized they weren't turning back, she tried protesting but was too weak to do so. Seeing Soraya wouldn’t let them turn back, she kept mute.
They arrived at Westfall late in the night. Rayena’s parents were already outside their castle, waiting for her. They burst into tears the moment they saw their daughter and had an emotional reunion. But Rayena didn’t want to be with them. She insisted on going back to the shifter realm.
“Please, let’s go back to the Shifter’s realm. I need to see Xenon,” she cried, body shaking with sobs. Her voice descended into a whisper of terror. “Mom, Dad… he’s hurting. Something terrible is happening.”
“Who’s this Xenon? Is he the one who got you pregnant?” her mom asked, putting her hands around her daughter.
“Yes, he is,” Soraya instantly supplied. “He’s the king, but he’s in the middle of a crisis and told us to bring Rayena here so we could protect her.”
Rayena's mother glanced at her child, feeling pity at her distraught expression. It gutted her to see her baby in so much misery, while being pregnant. No woman should ever have to go through this.
She reached for her face, gently cleaning off the tears running down her cheeks. Taking a deep breath, she made to speak. “I understand that you miss him and want to see him, but he was the one who told us to bring you back after you’ve delivered your child,” she lied smoothly.
Rayena’s sobbing hitched, and she glanced at her mother. “R-really?” she stammered, looking back and forth at her parents. “He said that?”
Her mother nodded, her eyes already glossy. “Yes, my darling. You made such an arduous journey to come here in your condition. Don’t you think you need to rest and deliver the child before you go back?”
Rayena sniffed, her voice trembling. “But you don’t understand. I can feel it. Something is wrong with him. He needs me.”
“He will be fine,” her mother stated with conviction. “Have some faith in him. He is the king, is he not? He’s trusting you to keep yourself and your child safe. You should trust him to take care of himself as well.”