Chapter 60: CHAPTER 60

ΚΑΙ

I was alive, and doing quite well.My plan was falling perfectly in place the way I planned all of it when I was pronounced dead. I knew it was going to be the last time for me to try and get myself out of the whole mess I was in. I stood in the heart of a nearby pack, a place where no one expected me to be, especially after I was pronounced dead. The crypt under my palace held a dummy, an empty vessel meant to deceive anyone who came looking. The plan had been orchestrated with precision, every move calculated. Lily and I had put everything into place, knowing that if I didn't act now, I would lose everything.As I surveyed the pack around me, I could feel the excitement of what I was about to do pressing down on my shoulders. This wasn't just a matter of survival, this was about reclaiming my power. Jaime had stolen everything from me, even though it was not even mine, to begin with, but I knew that if I let him have the pack he was going to drive it right through the ground. I wasn't going to let him do that. The odds were stacked against me, yes, but I thrived in impossible situations.This nearby pack that I came to was weak, just like mine had become under Jaime's reign. Its royal family was dead, and the pack had been left in the hands of its elders. The pathetic, spineless men who were more interested in lining their pockets than leading. I knew that conquering this pack would give me the foothold I needed. Once I had control here, I could unite it with the Blackstone pack and bring the Seven Isles under my command once again.As I approached the meeting with the pack's so-called leadership, I could feel their eyes on me, filled with curiosity and a hint of fear. They had all heard that I was dead, yet here I was, standing before them. Their surprise was palpable, but none of them dared to question me directly. Instead, they invited me in with false smiles and hollow pleasantries."Welcome, Kai," one of the elders said, his voice dripping with insincerity. "We thought you were... well, gone." They had an annoying accent I could not stand, or maybe it was just because I had resentment towards the particular men who were speaking. I was about to take the whole pack for myself so I did not know if it was proper for me to hate their accent.I smirked, taking a seat at the large table in the center of the room. "I get that a lot."They exchanged nervous glances before settling into their chairs. The room was dimly lit, and the air smelled of smoke and incense. I could see the greed in their eyes, the hunger for power that mirrored my own. But unlike them, I wasn't here to play politics. I was here to take what was mine."We've heard of your struggles in the Seven Isles," another elder began, his tone trying to be diplomatic. "We were saddened to hear of your passing.""Not that saddened, apparently." I muttered under my breath, looking out at the celebration outside mostly with half naked women that did not look like they wanted to be there. I wasn't here for their fake sympathy. I needed to get to the point.The elder continued, oblivious to my comment. "We've been discussing new ventures to strengthen our pack. With the royal family gone, it's time for us to move forward, to bring in new opportunities."I leaned back in my chair, feigning interest. "And what exactly are these new opportunities?"The elder's eyes gleamed, his excitement barely contained. "We're planning to establish brothels within the pack. It's a lucrative business, and with the demand from neighboring packs, we can-"I didn't let him finish. The disgust that surged through me was immediate and overpowering. These men were despicable, willing to sell out their own people for profit. They were weak, and weak men had no place in power. Not in my world.I stood abruptly, the chair scraping against the floor. "You're going to sell out your people to make money?" I asked, my voice low and dangerous. "Is that how you lead?"The elder blinked, taken aback by my sudden aggression. "It's... it's a strategy to bring in more wealth-""Enough." I cut him off, my eyes narrowing as I felt the heat rising in my chest. "You're all a disgrace. You've lost your way. You think you can profit from your own people's suffering and call it leadership?"The room fell silent, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife. I could feel the eyes of the other elders on me, but I didn't care. I had heard enough. I was not going to sit back there while I watched them talk about exploiting young women for their bodies. I had thought I would not make it hurt if the men had any type of respect, but that was clearly not the case. I could not explain how happy that made me, because I had a lot of pent up anger that I wanted to exert.Without warning, I allowed the beast within me to take control. My body shifted, my bones cracking and rearranging as I transformed into my Lycan form. The pain of the transformation was familiar, but I liked it, knowing that what came next would be satisfying to me. The elders barely had time to react. Their eyes widened in horror as they watched me shift into the massive, hulking form of a Lycan. I let out a low growl, feeling the power coursing through my veins, the raw strength of my beast.And then I attacked. The first elder didn't even have time to scream. My claws tore through his chest, ripping him apart in one swift motion. Blood splattered across the room, and the other elders scrambled to their feet, panic setting in. They started to yell out for the guards, but they too were too scared to come forward. I didn't stop. One by one, I ripped them apart, my claws slashing through flesh and bone with ease. Their screams filled the room, but I barely heard them. I was lost in the frenzy, the primal need to assert my dominance, to show them what real power looked like.Within minutes, the room was littered with bodies, the once-powerful elders now nothing more than torn, bloodied corpses. I stood in the center of the court, my chest heaving as I looked around at what I had done. Blood dripped from my claws, pooling on the floor beneath me. The few lords who had witnessed the massacre stood in stunned silence, their faces pale with fear. I had decided I was not going to kill them. They did not hold any real power, and I was going to need them if I wanted to take the pack to be mine. I just needed them to be a little more terrified of me so they would know what would happen to them if they ever betrayed me.I shifted back into my human form, the adrenaline still coursing through my veins. I wiped the blood from my hands with the handkerchief in my pocket, my eyes locking onto the remaining lords who had dared to watch."I am the new alpha of this pack," I announced, my voice cold and commanding. "And I will not tolerate weakness. If any of you question my authority, you will meet the same fate as these cowards."The lords nodded, their fear palpable. They wouldn't dare challenge me now. They had seen what I was capable of."I will join this pack with another," I continued, my eyes burning with determination. "The Blackstone pack will be mine, and when I am done, the Seven Isles will once again bow to me."The lords exchanged nervous glances, but none of them spoke. They knew better than to question me. I knew I said I needed the lords, but I did not need all of them."You will prepare for my coronation," I ordered. "I am the alpha now, and you will show me the respect I deserve."One of the lords, an older man with trembling hands, stepped forward. "And what if word gets out about what you've done here?"I smiled, though there was no warmth in it. "If word gets out, I will kill every last one of you."The room fell silent once more, and I could feel the weight of my words hanging in the air. They knew I wasn't bluffing. I would do whatever it took to maintain control, to take back what I have declared as mine. I turned to leave, satisfied that I had secured my position here. As I walked out of the blood-soaked room, a sense of pride washed over me. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I was in control again. I had been too scared of behaving like my father, of doing something like this. But now I knew that it was truly the only way to keep things as yours.When I was done with all of my plans, Jaime wouldn't stand a chance against me. The Seven Isles would be mine once again, and I would stop at nothing to reclaim my throne.