Chapter 160 Chapter 159
"Yeah..." Xenon murmured, grimacing slightly.
"Why would he do that!?"
"Nobody knows for sure. Many suspected he did that to spite her father. Others speculated his desperation for a child caused him to make that decision. However, she was taken to his territory and made to live there."
Xenon's expression darkened as he continued recounting the tale, grief and anger mixing to become a maelstrom of destructive energy within him. "During that period, her family did everything they could to get her back. Fights, ambushes, threats, you name it. But when she returned, she had already been defiled and was pregnant."
Rayena gasped in horror. "No way!" she mumbled, shocked. "That must have been devastating."
"It made her father, King Rowan, very furious. He disregarded the peace treaty they had signed just years prior and attacked the weretigers, killing thousands. The rest he couldn't kill, he captured and enslaved. Aeron was killed during that battle as well," he growled, his voice thick with pain.
When he glanced at Rayena, he saw she had tears in her eyes, her lower lip already trembling. "Why are you crying?"
She sniffed, hurriedly blinking them back. "That must have been horrific. So many innocent lives..." She trailed off, choking on a sob.
Torn on what to do, Xenon shrugged and continued with his story. "Just like that, the weretiger kingdom was wiped out. But Annette here was still pregnant with his child and was too far gone in the pregnancy to have it removed, so she had to deliver the child. But a shifter's pregnancy is a very delicate and dangerous situation to be in, and since she didn't get the regular assistance she would have received if Aeron was still alive, it led to complications during childbirth. She lost her life, but her child survived. The child being the king now," he finished.
"That's so tragic. I'm so devastated for him," Rayena muttered, cleaning away a stray tear. She let out a breath and glanced at him. "But, how did he become king? I'm sure it wasn't easy."
Xenon gave a dry chuckle even though his body was already trembling with fury. "Yeah, it wasn't. He had to lead a rebellion for that." He heard another horrified gasp from Rayena but didn't turn to look at her.
"He was treated like an outcast for so many years within the royal family, and when he had his first shift, unfortunately for him, he turned into a tiger. He was then labeled a traitor and sentenced to be killed."
"Did they succeed?" Rayena asked with dread.
"No, of course not," Xenon grumbled with a scoff. "He escaped and managed to free other weretigers while at it too. They went into hiding and returned a decade later to fight the retaliation war, killing every existing royal werewolf and finally freeing the rest of the weretigers."
A heavy sigh escaped Xenon's lips then. "But that left him as the only surviving royal from both the werewolf and weretiger clan. With no one else to fight a claim to the throne, he was crowned king and has been ruling ever since. He was the one who united both clans under his rule, but they still haven't gotten along yet."
"Hmm... That sounds tragic," Rayena muttered quietly.
"It does?" Xenon asked, glancing at her.
"Yes. All of that bloodshed so they could have a shot at freedom, and even now he's still running into problems," she muttered, looking at the portrait with a forlorn expression.
Xenon glanced at it as well, a wave of sadness crashing over him. "I suppose that's tragic."
"I never thought that the king's history would be coated in that much bloodshed. It must be weighing so heavily on him. I wish I could give him a hug," she muttered gently.
He's standing next to you right now.
Eventually, she sobered up, managing a small smile as she glanced at him. "Is there more you would like to show me?" she asked, staring at Xenon.
Xenon shrugged, thinking it through. "There isn't much history anywhere else because this palace was just recently rebuilt with more wings added, and most of them still sit empty. So I think this is all I can show you for now."
“I see…” she murmured, her gaze lingering on him longer than it should have.
He caught the look. “Why are you staring at me like that?”
A faint blush stained her cheeks as she fiddled with her fingers, looking back at the portrait. "It's just, you have the same eyes as the werewolf princess," she mumbled.
Xenon's heart stuttered. In disbelief, he pointed to himself. "I do?"
"Yeah, it's really beautiful. Really catches the sunlight." She muttered softly, her fingers inching upward to touch his face. She stopped herself just in time, immediately clasping them behind her back.
"Umm..." Xenon coughed, scratching his neck. "Thank you," he mumbled, still flustered by the compliment. An awkward silence settled, and Rayena cleared her throat to dispel it.
"So, there aren’t any other places?"
Xenon thought hard. "To be honest, even I don't know my way around the palace. There are too many corridors," he whispered, and Rayena giggled, shaking her head.
"That's a valid statement. I think we should stop here for today. I'm trying not to bump into the king either," she said as she started walking away.
"Huh, why?"
'Can you believe it, I've been here for close to a month now and I haven't laid my eyes on him? What if he's a scary man who hates to be disturbed?" A slight shiver overtook her. "Even thinking about it makes me frightened. Come on, let's go!"
Suppressing a chuckle, Xenon followed her, and they checked out other places in the palace. He soon noticed the more time he spent in her presence, the more his restlessness and agitation lessened, until all that was left was that simmering lust that needed to be dealt with.
Peering at her neck, his traitorous eyes slid to the ample bosom accentuated by the gown she was wearing, and his wolf purred with lust. Xenon swallowed the saliva in his mouth, trying to put a clamp on his desires. It was best if she returned now.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so tired of walking!" she announced suddenly, flailing her hands. He forced himself to look at her eyes, his senses slowly returning.
"It's past lunchtime too," he growled, his voice huskier than normal. "I think it would be better for you to return to the harem."
Rayena seemed disappointed. "Is the tour over already?"
"Well, you have seen all there is to see," he murmured, raising a brow.
"Everything except the king."