55. The Girl in the Room

Fenris was in a rather good mood. He just got a message from the spies he had sent to the Craggy Mountains; they reported that they had seen Thorn die with their own eyes, lying in bed and as his knight mourned. However, unbeknownst to him, it was a fake message—Hugo had forced the spies to write it with swords pointed to their necks before he finished them off for good.

James and Serlon had escorted the crossbred girls back to their homes and had made sure any remaining Green Robes had surrendered or were executed. Unfortunately, Luca had died. The pain of losing one eye to Leila and further torture from Thorn was even too much for him to withstand.

*This city is soon to be mine*, Fenris thought. He had dreamt of this moment for a long time. He strode across the damp ground, and the scent of the night seemingly became sweeter. The moon’s light was fading. It’s almost time to for their final strike. In high spirits, he entered the tent where his big brother was waiting.

To his surprise, Olcan wasn’t as sullen as he’d expected. For the past few days, the wolf king had been distraught over the loss of his son. It seemed like nothing could bring him out of his pain, except for the crossbred girl in his bedroom. His eyes had lost their spark. But Olcan had suddenly changed. He looked alive again.

The scar-faced dragon prince entered the tent after Fenris. His face was flushed with excitement. *This fool still believes that the wolves will help him take the throne, thought Fenris.

“What are you waiting for?” Remus asked, a slight impatience in his voice. “The moon is high, and the dragon fire at the Ironedge was extinguished”

“That’s marvelous news.” Fenris’s cool facade showed no surprise. The fire had been put out for days now. Its power was much weaker than before. It was impossible to maintain the heat amidst the northern cold. He moved his gaze toward Olcan, who was seemingly angered when Remus let himself into his tent.

“Do you have anything to tell us before our men help you steal the dragon throne?” Olcan asked rather implicitly.

“What do you want to know?” Remus said, sensing his foreboding tone.

“I’ll put this way,” Olcan pasted a fake smile on his tough face, “Did you lie to us?”

“Not that I’m aware of,” Remus said affirmatively.

Olcan eyed his guard and brought an old man in. Fenris recognized him as the greedy owner of the orphanage where he found the prince. The old man was dressed in fancy, expensive looking silk, yet his clothes were torn and stained with blood. It was clear that he had been tortured.

“Please recount to this gentleman what you just told us.” Olcan said plainly, “Help him refresh his memory.”

The old man slowly lifted his eyes to Remus, slumped his shoulders, and said weakly, “I’m sorry, my lord. I had to! These brutes are… horrible. They beat me… I had to confess. I told them that you brought the boy to me years ago, and sent me gold every season to feed him.” Tears welled in his hooded eyes, “Please let me go… I’ve already told you every—”

But Olcan didn’t give the man a chance to finish his sentence. A knife had been precisely tossed, penetrating his throat neatly.

Remus, acting as if he had lost a hand of cards, raised his hands up in surrender. “Wait. Please let me explain.”

Olcan marched over to him and grasped Remus’s neck, “You bastard! You were behind this. You took my son right out of his crib!”

Remus face reddened as he began to choke, but he still managed to deny the accusations. “That man was lying… You trust him over me?”

Olcan gritted his teeth and tossed Remus to the ground, “You had this planned out, all those years ago. Didn’t you? You kidnapped my son so that one day, you could use him to gain what you actually wanted.” He pulled the knife out of the old man’s throat, and blood bubbled at the wound. Cleaning the blood off by wiping it on Remus clothes, Olcan crouched down beside him. “But the truth is, that boy was never my son. The mark on his back was fake.”

Fenris and Remus’s eyes widened in unison.

“I thought the lunar eclipse had caused his mark to emerge earlier,” Olcan continued, “But after his death, the mark remained on his skin, instead of fading away with his life. He wasn’t my son, nor was he a royal. He wasn’t even a werewolf—just a useless grey dragon without a fucking spirit.”

“I—I swear, I didn’t know!” Remus faltered.

“Of course you didn’t. You were blinded by your ambition.” Olcan traced the tip of the knife along Remus’s jawline. “What do you reckon we do with him, Fenris?”

Olcan’s eyes met those of his little brother. Fenris knew he needed to remain calm, rather than show his true emotions on his face. He broke away from Olcan’s stare and walked over to Remus. He kicked him in the stomach, then gave him a hard blow to the face. “Kill him if you want. We don’t owe him anything.”

“No!” Remus shouted hotly as he tried to get up on his feet.

But he was pulled back down by the wolf king, who took out a heavy Frost Stone and put it on Remus’s chest, “Don’t move a muscle, little dragon.”

The stone had instantly stopped Remus from turning back into a dragon to protect himself. Dagen was locked in a cage, and Rina was paralyzed in the cabin. Even if he yelled for help, no one could help him.

Olcan took the stone and smashed it into Remus’ face. He was knocked unconscious right away. Olcan repeatedly struck him with the stone until Remus lay dead on the floor.

“He’s already dead!” Fenris shouted at his brother, reminding him to control himself. Remus’s brain matter was all over the tent.

Olcan finally got off of Remus, as if he was awakened from a trance. “The plan is still in effect. The palace will be ours.” He picked up a badge that had fallen out of Remus’s cloak, then walked toward the curtain door of the tent, “Get ready. We’ll set off in exactly half an hour.”

The beast inside him was ignited by the ruthless and bloody kill. His son might be still alive somewhere. After he conquered the palace, he would search for him all across the dragon realm. He had a reason to live again. He could feel his body becoming reinvigorated, a feeling he had long yearned for. Olcan’s desperately needed sex to temper his overflowing emotions. A raw desire led him back to the cabin.

All in all, Remus had done one thing good; he had picked a woman that perfectly fit the wolf king’s taste, which had also come as a surprise to Olcan. He kicked the door open and flung himself on the woman, who was bolted to a pillar, naked.

“Lily, my sweet Lily,” Olcan said, while unlocking her cuffs and gliding his hands all over the crossbred girl, “I need you before the fight.”

Lily had been relentlessly assaulted by the brute for the past few days. When she was from the Jubilee Inn to her home, she’s been captured again by a green robe. They said she’s rarity because of her virginity. She’s chosen and delivered right here at the bed of the wolf king.

She was pinned down on the hard floor by his beastly strength. Her legs were soft and tender like willows, spread wide open by him. It’s not that they starved her, quite the opposite, she had never eaten so well. But the violent sex were too much for her, at least ten times a day. Olcan was ruthless with her. When he wasn’t around, she would cry, but never when he was present; the tears would make his thrusts even stronger.

He was on top of her still, with his clothes on. Lily smelled blood. The rusty scent made her stomach turn. She just wished that he could finish soon so she could sob alone in the room. She put her hand on his waist, feeling something hard and cold in his pocket. She took it out carefully and grasped it tightly inside her palm.

Luckily, even though the sex was as aggressive as always, it was quick. The wolves were planning a big move tonight, and it was time for them to set out.

“Wait until I return,” Olcan said and kissed her bare breasts.

Lily nodded obediently and inched back to a corner of the room, leaning against a side door. She hid her hands behind her back, in case Olcan found out that she had stolen from him.

Olcan walked to the window and studied the sky. “It’s time.” He muttered and left the room.

When the sound of his footsteps disappeared, Lily took the object out and observed it. It was a gold badge with dragon totem engraved on it. Suddenly, she noticed that the side door wasn’t closed. Instead, it had been cracked open the whole time. She peered in, spotting a beautiful woman with long, silver hair paralyzing in the bed, staring back at her. Her eyes sparkled when she saw the golden badge in Lily’s palms.