Chapter 34 34

Chapter 34 34


KAEL.
The room fell into hushed silence the minute I stepped inside, each of the alphas from their packs finally present and seated. Their eyes shone with eagerness and anticipation, watching like hawks and assessing me as I walked to my chair and took my seat. I let my eyes drag through every one of them, recalling their packs and their names.
I counted them—twelve packs in total and twelve of them present.
I could feel their wolves, fear and wariness in them. For the past ten years that I have been the alpha king, I’ve never called for any alphas’ meeting, never sat down at the same table to even speak. When I picked up the mantle, it had been war, and there was no time.
Yet the same thing was approaching now.
“There have been attacks,” I started flatly.
They all exchanged glances, low whispers and murmurs in their voices. No one looked at me or said anything, and I cleared my throat before continuing.
“There have been two major attacks in the past two weeks. One from the lycans and the other from the vampires.”
“Those night bastards,” I heard one say, and I snapped my gaze to the man who spoke.
He swallowed, his fear coating the air as he zipped his mouth shut. I turned back to the rest of them before continuing, “I’ve sent word to the queen and the lycan king, and both of them have denied that they did this. They also said they’ll check into it in their territories and find out if there’s anyone in charge of this.”
“But before then, is there anything any of you have been doing towards this attack? Last I checked, three of your packs also suffered in this attack.”
Awkward silence filled the air as they all looked at each other again, not knowing who to go first. They were all useless, most of the alphas. The only thing they probably knew how to do was use their title and not do anything. But that was for another day. One of them suddenly stood up, and I recognized him as Alpha Ryan from one of the major packs.
The room fell silent again as he stood up. “Your Highness, I’m from the Redding pack. We were attacked last week by the vampires.”
“And what step have you taken?”
“We’ve started training more of our warriors with the silver you produced, teaching them how to coat it on their skin. More patrols are being done, and more guards are placed on standby to make sure any attack is seen instantly before it gets too much.”
I nodded. His words made sense, but they were basic things. In times of war, none of this would suffice besides the metal for vampires. “Border patrols are something that should be done normally. You should extend it further—to the forests, the surroundings beyond the packs. But I want more things, Alpha Ryan. What have you found out?”
“According to our pack doctor,” one of the alphas said, and I turned to him. He was from a smaller pack, “there’s something different about the lycans that attacked us. They didn’t look like the normal ones.”
“Good. Send that file to my beta immediately.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” he replied, and the other alpha sat.
“But why is this happening?” another one joined in. “I thought a treaty was signed between you and these people. Why are they suddenly attacking once again?”
“Maybe it’s because the alpha king doesn’t have time for the pack anymore.”
The room went cold as I turned my gaze to the alpha who just spoke. My wolf awoke inside of me, annoyed by the disrespect. The man’s face looked familiar, like I had seen him somewhere before, but I could not recall. The other alphas were also in shock, all eyes fixed on the man.
“What did you say?” I asked in a low, lethal tone.
The alpha looked sideways, as if wanting someone to back him up, as he laughed dryly—nervously—but he didn’t cower. “I said maybe…” I watched as he swallowed down, “maybe you’re not taking us as seriously as before, because if you did and you cared about the pack, you wouldn’t take that cursed girl as your mate.”
If the room went cold before, it dropped to another degree, the air murderous and dangerous. My wolf snarled inside of me, ready to rip someone into pieces.
Ilyana. I didn’t need a soothsayer to know he was referring to her. A low growl slipped out of my mouth, my jaw clenched.
“Repeat yourself.”
He grew more confident, his lips moving rapidly. “The girl is cursed. Every single one of her mates has rejected her, and she’s always mated to alphas alone. A stupid, pathetic omega like her, lowest in the ranking but only mated to the highest. And yet you took her, my lord. We warned you, and then you took her. And immediately after, attacks have rolled in.”
“For years, the treaty has been maintained. The vampires and lycans have not broken their word, and they’ve still not, according to what you said. But the great alpha king mates a cursed one and immediately—bam!” he added, making the sound effect.
“So pardon me if I believe you’re the cause of this, and that pathetic girl is the beginning and end of our problems. Your foolishness has brought this grave danger to all of us.”
Anger surged inside of me. Shock followed. First, he had the audacity to talk back to me, then insult Ilyana, then me. I suddenly remembered him—he was one of the alphas who said something the day of the mating ceremony. He had also insulted Ilyana that day, calling her petty names. I growled inwardly, hot air simmering inside of me.
I leaned out of the table, my body swelling with insurmountable rage as I stared at him.
“Carius,” I called out.
The door opened and my beta entered the room, bowing. “Yes, my lord.”
I didn’t look away from the man, letting him match my glare and think himself the smartest in the room. I would show him instead, let his words come back to bite him, then punish him after.
“Bring Ilyana in.”