Chapter 38 Varkon's Betrayal

Chapter 38 Varkon's Betrayal
Chapter 38

Vexhood's POV.

"Damn!"

I slammed my totem hard against the cold stone floor of my chamber.

The totem hit, and a strange green glow emanated and spread across the room. My hand quivered with anger, and my breath turned rough.

A prey I had waited for so long had just walked right into my den. Like a lion whose evening food had just trespassed into his territory.

And yet he left without a single scratch. He walked out alive and well. How could this be?

I should have struck him down here, but wouldn't that make Asheteroth and the seven holy ones angrier?

This made no sense to me; why would they be protecting that fool?

I paced back and forth across the room. My boots made heavy thuds on the floor. Each step matched the angry beating of my heart.

So the gods wanted to protect him from my destruction, did they? They wanted to keep him safe from my power. But they would leave his pack to crumble and fall. They would let his people suffer.

I would destroy him in a different way. The way I hunt down Knox, his father. I would hunt down every member of the Redmane family. I would wipe their entire bloodline from the face of the earth. No single one among them would remain.

The gods might be under some spell to protect him. Maybe they were bewitched or tricked somehow. But I was not bewitched. I was not under any spell. My mind was clear, and my purpose was strong.

Everything that belonged to the Redmane bloodline would become mine. Everything that belonged to the Stormfang pack would fall into my hands. It would all be under my control. I would claim it all for the Clapperthorn family. For my generations, who are yet to be born. For the future generations of my bloodline.

If Asheteroth and the seven holy ones believed the crown was only meant for the Redmanes, then I would tell them to their faces that they were liars. Big liars.

I remember their words clearly. It scourged my heart like a hot iron pressed against my chest.

They said I should forget being a king over a stormfang pack back then when Knox Redmane wanted to be king.

They claimed I and my bloodline long before I was born have been anointed only to be a kingmaker.

Kingmakers! The words still make my blood boil to this day.

I even bargained with the hypocrite gods that the promised child should come from my lineage. They refused, telling me that the child must have royal blood in him.

Then in the spirit I had to trace the bloodline the promised child is coming from. It was from my two best friends, Knox Redmane, the alpha king and the father of Jax, and Kael, the father of Mila.

I had to quickly eliminate Kael because he didn't have a royal tie, and the gods won't be angry with me for taking him away quickly from the land of the living.

Then I struck Knox with a debilitating disease that killed him slowly. So that gods would not label me that, his soul falls from my hand. Knox died, a slow but painful death.

Then I thought I had won the battle when I saw in the spirit that Jax and Mila are fated mates. Mila is the daughter of Kael from her first Luna.

And through her the promised One would be born. I had to look for ways to eliminate Mila too. Then Jax will soon follow in his father's steps.

So don't blame me. Blame the gods.

They wanted me to make other people kings but never allow me or my bloodline to be one. They wanted me to have all the power but none of the glory. They wanted me to have all the strength but none of the crown.

Never. I would never accept that.

I even went ahead to negotiate with them. I told them that if they would not make me king, then at least let Ryder be the next king after Knox. Let my son wear the crown.

They rejected my offer. They said no without even thinking about it.

That was when my anger grew into something bigger. That was when I knew the battle line had been drawn. If they were not going to give me what I deserved, then I would take it by force. If they did not like my ambition, that was too bad. I would forcefully take what belonged to me and my family.

Now Ryder had tasted power. He had worn the crown. He had sat on the throne. And there was no going back. Once you taste power, you can never give it up. It becomes part of you, like air or water.

I had called on Varkon, one of my closest gods, to help me out. He is never part of those biased ones. We were like living spheres; he stayed in heaven and controlled things on earth.

Varkon, the god of the forest. I asked him to get involved in this fight. I begged him to strike down that idiot Jax before he could reach the palace. I should have killed him right here in my den. I had the chance. But I did not want any more trouble with the other gods. I had already made them angry enough.

I marched quickly into Varkon's shrine. The shrine was in a dark corner of my house. Candles flickered on the walls. The smell of old incense filled the air. I bowed low and paid the necessary homage to Varkon. I spoke the ancient words. I gave the proper offerings.

Then I reached out and took the Varkon shield from its place in the shrine. The shield was heavy and cold in my hands. It hummed with power.

"Telio! Come here and hold this for me!" I called out to one of my servants.

Telio was not far away from the shrine, making fruit juices.

He quickly heard my voice; he dropped what he was doing and rushed towards me.

I instructed him to take hold of the mirror and let it reflect to me in such a way that I would be seeing my image. I promise Jax that today will be his end. He tried enough; he should go join Mila in the afterlife.

I began to communicate with Varkon in the language he understands.

The ancient words rolled off my tongue. They were words that humans were not meant to speak. Words that made the air itself vibrate. Words that could bend reality.

Then I jammed my totem down hard against the floor again. The greenish light exploded even brighter this time.

In the mirror that Telio held, an image appeared. It was not our reflection. It was something else. Someone else.

I saw Jax. The real Jax, not just a picture of him. The mirror showed me where he was right at that very moment. He had just gotten home.

He had just gotten to the palace. At the main gate everyone bowed for him. No better time to strike than now.

I lifted my totem high above my head. Sparks of godly power danced along its length. The sparks were green and white and crackled like lightning.

I stretched my hand out with the totem clasped in my hand to Jax's image in the mirror.

I wish to strike him down with all my strength. Let this madness end for once.

Lightning struck from the sky with a tremendous sound that was huge enough to uproot the shrine from its foundation.

Lightning came down, rapid, like a spear thrown by a seasoned warrior. It struck the mirror.

But then something strange happened.

The lightning, instead of hitting Jax’s image. It hit poor Telio, who had held the mirror in front of him like his life depended on it. It drove him backward, striking him against the wall.

Like I was dreaming, Talio vanished. He disappeared in front of me. Like the gods had taken him away.

"Talio!" I roared.

The mirror fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.

My eyes opened wide, and my mouth was wide apart too for a moment.

I quickly looked around to see if anyone was watching through the windows. Thankfully, a toddler who came with one of the guests was the only one around, playing. Our eyes locked on each other as she cuddled his little toy. The young pup, too, ran to meet her mother.

I quickly changed my gaze to the calamity in front of me.

What just happened?” I asked myself.

I stepped closer to the shattered mirror on the ground. I needed to know what went wrong.

Varkon never failed me.

What I saw made my blood run cold.

In the broken pieces of the mirror, I saw a face. But it was not Jax's face.

It was Mila.

"Mila!" I let out with horror. “You again? What do you want?”

Her face appeared shattered in the glass.

“You are dead and forgotten; deal with that.” I uttered with contempt.

No response. From her. Instead, a tear started to stream down from her cheek. Not a normal one, the one filled with blood.

I laughed out wickedly, “Ahhh!”

Then I saw a young pup beside her too, crying out loud.

“Is this the golden child whose birth was long prophesied?”

My totem dropped from my hand in shock. My legs wobbled.

Then heavy footsteps behind me.

“Father, yesterday makes it three days that you promised to deal with that fool, but he is still working about. I am going to that palace to take what belongs to me.”

I paused a bit, startled.

“How come?” I let out, “was Mila not a virgin before she slept with Jax during the Passover week?”