Chapter 72 Code Death

Chapter 72 Code Death
Coriander’s Point of View

“Beta Lief…” I whispered in disbelief, my eyes fixed on the familiar man who had stepped out from the shadows in the garden. His voice was enough to stop Elder Mara’s attack in its tracks.

I glanced over at Mavros. He too could not tear his gaze away from the newcomer, and shock was written clearly across his face, as if he could barely believe his own eyes.

What in the world is happening here?

Now that I thought about it… in all the time we had been gathered here tonight, this was the very first moment I had actually seen Beta Leif. That was so unusual; he was almost always by Mavros’s side or close beside Gamma Fengk and Delta Gun, never far from the King.

My heart rate slowed a little, but I never once lowered my guard.

After five years spent living under constant threat, fearing for my life and my son’s, I had learned to stay alert at all times, even in my sleep. Trust was not something I gave easily anymore, not when one wrong choice could cost us everything.

“H‑How?” I heard Gamma Fengk whisper, even from where he stood some distance away.

My brow furrowed even deeper. Why were they all so shocked just to see Beta Lief? And why was he getting involved in this matter anyway? This is just between me, the leader of the Hundi Pack, and Elder Mara, who belongs to my pack.

Beta Lief let out a light chuckle, then swept his gaze slowly over every one of us standing there. “Are you surprised that I’m alive?” he asked casually.

Alive?

I wanted to speak, to ask what he meant. Confusion was swirling so thickly in my head I could barely think straight, but my mouth felt heavy, sealed shut, and I could not bring myself to voice any of the questions crowding my mind.

“Lief… how are you alive?” Mavros asked with disbelief, barely above a whisper, yet Beta Lief didn’t respond to him as if he hadn’t heard the king.

Beta Lief arched an eyebrow, then let out a loud, hearty laugh that carried clearly across the quiet garden. He swept his gaze slowly over every one of us, clearly enjoying the stunned attention he had drawn, until his eyes locked directly onto mine.

He smirked knowingly. “Long time no see, Miss Coriander,” he said. Yet for some reason I could not name, my tongue felt heavy and useless because I could not find the words to reply.

“He is dangerous, Master!” Imus’s voice rang out sharply inside my mind, only deepening the confusion swirling through my thoughts.

“What do you mean? How can you say that?” I asked silently.

If my memory served me right, Beta Lief had always been one of Mavros’ most trusted and loyal allies—someone who had stood by me time and again, always there to shield and protect me.

“There is something… off about him, Master,” Pip added, her tone gentle yet laced with sharp warning. “I cannot put it into words exactly, but the three of us can all sense it. Something is very wrong. Please stay on your guard.”

I remained silent and rooted where I stood. I felt it too, that faint wrongness clinging to him, but I could not explain what it was or where the feeling came from.

“I am asking you, Lief… how is this possible? You were clearly…” Mavros’s voice cut off unfinished, and that only stoked my curiosity even more.

“I was clearly what?” Beta Lief’s challenge.

Even Elder Mara seemed to have forgotten all about her hatred for me and her attack. She stood perfectly still, watching calmly as if she already knew what was happening. There was no denying it—the man standing before us looked like Beta Lief, yet he was nothing like the man I had known.

His hair was still that same vivid shade of green, his build as strong and striking as ever, but now his arms were covered in dark tattoos I had never seen before. It is an unfamiliar pattern that seemed to pulse faintly with a faint energy I could not recognize. And his aura… it had shifted completely. It was nothing like the calm, go‑with‑the‑flow presence I had used to.

Not a single one of them spoke to explain. They simply stood locked in silence, staring at one another, yet I could feel the heavy, suffocating tension rippling through every member of the Obsidian Fang Pack.

My gaze drifted and met Luka’s—he had moved to stand near Gamma Fengk at the back of the group. He said nothing, but I understood immediately what he was trying to tell me with that look.

“I’m fine…” I mouthed silently.

I saw his shoulders drop as he let out a breath he seemed to have been holding, visibly relieved by my reassurance. I truly appreciated how much Luka cared—not just for me, but for my son as well.

I need to end this mess. I need to finish this quickly so I can get back to my waiting son.

“We all watched you die three years ago, Lief…” Delta Gun cut in, his voice trembling slightly, making me gasp softly. “We buried you ourselves. So how… how are you standing here alive now?”

He died?!

Beta Lief turned his head slowly toward Delta Gun. I couldn’t make out the expression on his face, for he had turned his back to us.

“Oh, yes—I did die,” he said, as if brushing off Delta Gun’s words as nothing more than a trivial misunderstanding. “But that doesn’t mean the one you buried three years ago was actually me.”

“What?” Gamma Fengk blurted out, his voice shaking with shock, taking a step forward as if he needed to get closer to make sense of what he had just heard. “What are you saying? If that wasn’t you… then who was it?”

The silence that followed was even heavier than before. Every pair of eyes turned toward the man with green hair—toward the stranger wearing the face of someone they had mourned and laid to rest.

He swept his gaze slowly over every single one of us standing there, a knowing smirk playing at the corners of his lips. The kind of smirk that held not a trace of warmth, only cold certainty and dark amusement at the chaos he was about to unleash.

“It was Alpha Donald Hanger,” he said plainly, as if revealing something as simple as a name on a list.

His words hit us like a physical blow, instantly silencing every voice in the garden. Even the wind seemed to die down for the mean time. I myself stood frozen, my mind reeling as I processed what he had just said.

From the corner of my eye, I caught Mavros turning his face toward me, his gaze searching my face. He is desperate to find any sign of how this affected me.

But I kept my expression perfectly still. I did not look back at him. My eyes remained fixed steadily on Beta Lief, because one thing was clear beyond doubt: he was not joking. There was no hesitation, no flicker of doubt in his stance or his voice. Every word he spoke was absolute truth.

Then I saw it—Elder Mara’s lips curving into a satisfied smile the moment the name left his mouth. That single gesture told me everything I needed to know.

There was only one conclusion I could draw: she had been involved in whatever had really happened three years ago. She had known all along that the body they buried was not Lief’s, and she had kept this secret alongside him. That was almost certainly why they were not attacking each other now—why they seemed to share some unspoken understanding. They had been partners in this deception from the very start.

I was certain now; Beta Lief had been the one to help Elder Mara slip away from the Hundi Pack that very day my son had let her go.

Everything fell into place. Piece by piece, the tangled web of lies and secrets finally began to clear.

“Tell me, Lief, what is it you truly want?” Mavros asked gravely. “Why do you keep making trouble? Were the sins you committed three years ago not enough? Must you add more to them now?”

“I have done nothing wrong, King!” Beta Lief shot back. “Everything I did was for your own good, for the good of the Obsidian Fang Pack—you just refuse to see it, all because of her!” He pointed a finger straight at me, his eyes blazing with unmasked anger. “I did it all to restore the fear other packs once held for us! To make them respect our power again! And you all turned it into something evil, something to be ashamed of!”

“That is exactly why you are wrong,” Mavros replied firmly, stepping forward until he stood shoulder to shoulder with me. “I do not need fear anymore, Lief. I need peace. Coriander taught me that. A rule built on terror will never bring true calm—it will only breed greater conflict, deeper resentment, and bloodshed in the years to come. That is the lesson you have never understood and never will.”

Lief’s face twisted into a mask of pure rage, his earlier playfulness vanishing completely.

“Peace? Respect? You sound like a fool, King! Since when did kindness ever keep our enemies from sharpening their knives?!” he roared. “You think the other packs will show mercy just because you ask nicely? They will crush you the moment you show weakness! And she—she has you wrapped around her finger, twisting your mind until you’ve forgotten what it takes to rule!”

He took a menacing step forward, the dark tattoos on his arms beginning to glow with the same violet light that clung to Elder Mara.

“I didn’t just help her escape. I spent three years preparing, building power, gathering allies, and uncovering secrets you were too blind to see! And now… now we have everything we need to take what is rightfully ours.”

Elder Mara stepped up beside him, her smile cold and triumphant. “Exactly, Code D,” she purred. “The Solar Sigil, the bond, the throne… all of it belongs to those brave enough to seize it. You two are too soft, too bound by sentiment. You would let the world burn just to hold onto your little fairy tale of love and peace.”

Lief’s eyes burned as he looked straight at Mavros. “I am not the traitor here, King. I am the only one who stayed true to what this pack should be! And tonight, I will prove it—by taking the Sigil, by removing your weakness, and by making sure no one ever dares challenge Obsidian Fang again!”