296- The Judgment of the Alpha
POV Viktor Averwyn:
The young man was tall and talkative. He had arrived in my pack as a baby, coming from southern Romania with his widowed father.
Bloody battles between packs there had killed Vlad’s wife and family, and he asked for refuge among my people. I accepted him with his son, and the man always proved honest, loyal, and hardworking. A shame Felix had shattered that trust by becoming frivolous. A lovesick fool.
If he was capable of breaking my trust by revealing such a dangerous secret to my daughter, he could betray me for far less. Knowing that did nothing to ease the rage and guilt that attacked me when I grabbed him by the nape of the neck, not even giving him time to turn around and see me.
“But what the—”
With a violent swipe, I tore the gun from his hand, sending it flying. Other guards nearby stopped and stared, caught off guard. Felix struggled, but when he faced me, he froze.
I lifted him off the ground, even though he was strong. As if he weighed nothing.
“Alpha Viktor…”
He managed nothing more than a grunt of pain when I started running back toward the center of the village, practically dragging him along. He grabbed my wrist with both hands, confused and nervous.
Curious villagers came out of their homes, leaving their tasks, whispering among themselves. All fell silent when they saw us, and I shoved Felix to the ground between the buildings, the transmission tower, and the women’s cemetery. He rolled, scraping his palms and knees against the dirt full of little stones, then sat up to stare at me standing above him, far taller.
His gaze was full of terror.
The scratches began to heal, since wolves possessed superhuman healing abilities. But he would have no such luck recovering once I finished with him.
I looked around and saw Adelina clinging to Daciana, crying without pause. The confused and tense expressions of the three duchesses as they stepped out of their house. Children stopping their games to watch.
“Call his father. And everyone who is free,” I snarled.
“Now.”
Some guards ran off, scattering. So did other curious onlookers. I did not retract my claws or my fangs as I stared at Felix again.
His gaze shifted from me to my daughter, understanding everything.
Regretful, he pleaded, “Sir, I swear it was an accident! She was determined to discover who her destined one was, and I was afraid. I thought if she knew, she would give up, would notice that I was there! I always was!”
“Father, please!” Adelina sobbed and made as if to run to her friend, but Daciana held her in her broad arms, stopping her.
I breathed deeply, containing the fury over what I would be forced to do to someone I cared about. Veins bulged in my arms and temples, my heart pounding fiercely.
Katarina, Georgeta, and Anica, in their flashy dresses and loose hair, linked arms. The beta she-wolves who owned the Duchesses’ Nest, where they entertained the pack’s males, looked at me with pity and fear. The youngest, Anica, whimpered as she stared at Felix still on the ground.
He would have been luckier if he had returned the whore’s love instead of setting his sights on my daughter—and betraying me in the process.
The center of the village began to fill. Then Vlad suddenly appeared, coming from the mine with other miners. He was the manager of an entire wing. Just over two hundred years old, always composed and steady.
But his control faltered when he saw his son.
“Alpha Viktor… what did he do?” He approached me humbly, holding back his emotions.
“Father, I didn’t—”
“Silence,” I ordered, and Felix obeyed at once, lowering his head.
I turned my attention to the older man.
“Your son disrespected one of my main rules.”
I swept my gaze around so everyone could hear. The silence was broken only by the whistle of wind through the trees and the growl that followed, loud and violent. Many of them stepped back in fear.
“I trust every one of you here. Averwyn Village has always been prosperous, with freedom and abundance. I guarantee everyone’s protection, a plentiful life. And what do I ask in return?”
“Respect,” Vlad murmured.
“Was that what your son gave me? He told Adelina how she was found and brought here. The legend that she was promised to Lucian—and the truth that he ordered her death.”
“My lord…” Daciana murmured, devastated.
I roared, growing even larger, beyond what any of them there could achieve. My shirt tore at the seams, my claws grew infinitely longer, an extra layer of fur covered my sparse beard, thickening it across my face along with sideburns, my hair lengthening. Yes, it could be even worse before the full transformation.
Murmurs escaped from the crowd. Some could not bear to look into my golden eyes blazing with fury, unaccustomed to seeing me like that. Judgments and punishments had not occurred there for a very long time.
Felix shrank further into the ground, terrified. There was no need to explain anything more. Everyone knew the penalties for disobeying the laws.
His father, ashamed, proved braver. He stepped closer to me and pleaded.
“You are right, Alpha Viktor. But please, condemn him to the Elders’ lifelong imprisonment.”
“I have never resorted to them. They may think they rule everything, but here I am the one who rules. The rules are mine,” I growled, my voice thick and thunderous against the air.
“I know.” The man lowered his head, pain reflected on his face. He stepped away, moving out of my path and opening a way toward his son. “I’m sorry.”
Not more than I was. But if I showed weakness there, others would feel entitled to break the rules, would see me as a fool. I had fought hard to earn their respect and admiration. It was a difficult and urgent situation, one that demanded real measures.
Everyone grew tense, waiting for the attack. My claws and teeth destroying once and for all the young alpha most of them liked and had watched grow up since he was a baby.
Pain tore through me as I advanced toward him.