73__Kneel

Cyrus sat silently in Raiden’s office.

He’d been listening to the noises of disaster further on in the castle, feeling no desire to stop it.

When Raiden got angry, he needed to let it out or it would bottle up and then explode.

A calm sigh parted his lips.

He felt so light, it was like he could fly. He didn’t particularly feel happy. He never felt happy after revisiting his past, but today, it wasn’t that usual heaviness that filled his gut and made him want to throw up.

He felt like he could curl up on the floor and have the best sleep of his life.

A slow, uncertain smile touched his lips. Perhaps, he would get better from now on?

Perhaps, he could live normally. The smile faded from his mouth.

Perhaps.

He was about to stand when the doors suddenly burst open.

Startled, Cyrus looked up. Raiden stood before him and Cyrus was in shock.

There was barely an inch of him that was not covered with blood! Oh, God. Had he really? Had he really killed them all?!

Before Cyrus could overcome his shock and ask, Raiden was stalking towards him.

He came to a sharp stop before Cyrus and stared down at him. Slightly terrified, Cyrus only stared back up at him, fisting his hands against the urge to raise them in defence.

Raiden reached for him and Cyrus lost to the urge, his hands shooting up to shield himself.

Raiden paused at that gesture, his frown darkening as he stared down at his brother’s palms. Clenching his jaw, he gripped one of Cyrus’s wrists, tugging him to his feet.

Confused, Cyrus wanted to ask what he was doing, but remained silent as Raiden dragged him out of the room.

They didn’t stop walking until they came to Raiden’s den where Cyrus understood where he was being taken to.

The first thing he saw when they reached the room was all the blood.

Cyrus had never seen anything like it.

“Too late,” Natalia whispered, watching them enter from the top of a chair.

Cyrus wondered what she was talking about, but couldn’t dwell on it. He vaguely saw all the bodies scattered about in blood and quickly averted his gaze. He didn’t want to see all that.

His heart thumped rapidly in his chest and he gathered Natalia’s cloak around himself, wanting to cover every scar. Why had Raiden brought him here?

Did he think seeing these men a hair’s breadth away from death would make Cyrus feel better? Tugging his hand out of Raiden’s, he lowered his gaze with a scoff.

It wouldn’t.

Raiden stopped walking and stood in the centre of the room.

All the alphas that had survived his wrath looked on with trembling hearts and falsely brave expressions.

“Now…” Raiden said, his tone dark with the remnants of his rage. “Every one of you bastards… kneel before your Beta Prince.”

Natalia watched from on top of her chair, both intrigued and delighted by the turn of events. That was exactly what they ought to do!

Kneel, bitches!

The room was dead silent as the alphas looked at Raiden in cold shock.

He’d just ordered a room of Alphas to kneel? Before a Beta?! They exchanged looks amongst themselves.

The hesitation only lasted a few seconds, but Raiden’s hand already curled into a trembling fist and he felt his wolf start to lose its mind again. Clenching his jaw, he held it down.

“I said, Kneel!!”

His voiced thundered through the room and Natalia was shocked that the walls hadn’t cracked.

Slowly, stiffly, they began to move. Every alpha who had survived went to the centre of the room, standing before Cyrus who wouldn’t even look at them from this up close.

Walking away from Eroz, Arroe came and stood before the other alphas. With a face tightened by determination, he dropped sharply to one knee. That wasn’t all. Natalia watched as he lowered his head, both kneeling and bowing to Cyrus.

The other alphas followed suit, dropping to one knee and bowing their heads, their faces red with shame at what they had done.

Cyrus was stiff with shock, his throat too dry to even breathe through as he stared at all of them.

With a growl, Raiden marched towards the others and grabbed Eroz first, lifting him by the collar and dragging him over.

He dropped him besides the others. “Kneel!”

Barely able to raise his head, Eroz kneeled, both knees on the floor because one knee would see him falling over.

Raiden stalked off and came dragging Brian back.

Natalia watched in awe as he dropped him before the other alphas.

“I didn’t kill you, you fucking bastard. Long as you’re alive, today you will all kneel before your Beta Prince. You understand me?”

With one eye swollen shut and his wounds bleeding, alpha Brian forced his stiff limbs to kneel, hanging his head in shame.

Raiden wasn’t satisfied until he had all the alphas kneeling, even those who were half dead.

He looked at them, his silver eyes cold today. “Good. Now beg.”

Cyrus looked at him. “Brother—”

Raiden raised a hand, silencing him. His gaze darkened on his alphas. “Apologize and beg. I said, beg! Beg him for your lives or, I swear to every god, I will kill you in this room.”

“Forgive us!” Arroe whispered desperately. His shoulders were shaking with both sobs and trembles of fear. “Forgive us, our Beta Prince! There is no atoning for our sins, but please… please forgive us!”

Natalia hugged herself as she watched.

“Forgive…” breathed Brian, his mouth barely able to move. “Forgive us… forgive me.” A trembling breath left him. He’d always known his sins would catch up to him one day. The day had come sooner… *much* sooner than he’d thought. He deserved it. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

Only Eroz didn’t speak and Arroe urgently shoved his shoulder, wanting to slap him instead. There was no time for pride! The least they could do was apologize. Sure, their actions had been forced, but that fact wouldn’t erase the effects of what they had done to the Beta.

The fact that they had broken him… it was unforgivable. He shoved Eroz again.

The action sent pain flaring through his body and Eroz groaned deeply from it. “Fuck…!” Stiffening himself against the pain, he bowed his head deeper before Cyrus. His alpha pride quickly dissipated. There was nothing left today, nothing but remorse. He sighed. “I beg… your forgiveness… Beta Prince.”

The younger alphas followed suit and Cyrus heard each one beg his forgiveness, even the ones he’d never seen before in his life. It was surreal.

His face was pale with shock, his jade green eyes wide as he stared at all of them. The alphas… apologizing to him.

He looked at them. Arroe was crying, Brian looked deeply ashamed and so did Eroz. Cyrus’s gaze lingered on Eroz. He’d treated Cyrus the worst of all of them. Most of the humiliation had been done by Eroz. Cyrus felt a tremble run through his body. He didn’t really want to be in the same room with them or even see them right now.

“Well?” Raiden said quietly, softly. “If you say I may kill them, Cyrus, I will not hesitate. Tell me to kill them. Let me…” He clenched his jaw. “Oh, God, let me *kill* them....”

Cyrus swallowed hard and raised his gaze to his brother’s face, studying it. He saw rage there, he saw fury and outrage.

Outrage on *his* behalf.

Raiden hadn’t known, Cyrus understood. He hadn’t known, if he’d known he would’ve protected him. He would have fought for him, just like now. Just like he’d always done.

Cyrus hadn’t lost his brother after all. Cold drops of tears streamed down his face.

Raiden’s hands fisted and when he started moving forward, Cyrus grabbed his wrist.

He didn’t want to see their faces… but he didn’t want them dead either.

“No.”

Raiden tensed, curbing the destructive anger boiling inside him. “They deserve it.”

“I…” Cyrus glanced at the alphas. “I don’t know if I forgive them, but don’t do it. Don’t kill them. I know how much you hate to kill, Raiden. They are the alphas of our kingdom, let them be. Their conscience will torment them enough.”

Raiden released a calming breath. To be honest, he didn’t hear even one thing of all those things that was a reason good enough to let them live, but he decided to do whatever Cyrus wanted.

He hated to kill, but when it came to those who hurt his family, Raiden refused to show mercy.

Just this once, because his Beta had asked him.

He glared at the alphas. “Your lives have been spared. Now, answer me this.” His eyes narrowed. “Who led you?”

The room was silent.

Raiden raised a brow. “Who led you when you were betraying me by hurting those closest to me? The Queen ordered you, but she is dead already, her evil heart led her to her grave, who amongst you led?”

The sound of those questions rang into Brian’s ear like the slice of the executor’s axe. It sounded like death, inevitable death and he was next in line to face the executor’s knife.

Unable to stand the silent room, knowing the alphas wouldn’t sell him out, as was the unspoken code of Alphas, Brian raised his head.

He turned his battered face to Raiden. “Me, Alpha King. I… I led.”

Raiden looked at the smashed face before him and felt double the anger rise up within him.

Brian. His most trusted alpha. His jaw clenched. The bastard.

“Stand up. You will take everything and everyone that is yours and you will leave my Kingdom. Zaire is no longer your home and neither you nor your decedents can return here. If I see you here…” A sigh of rage left him and Raiden gritted his teeth. “If I ever set my fucking eyes on you ever again… I will kill you. I swear it.”