Chapter 202 A betrayed King

Chapter 202 A betrayed King
I couldn’t stop hearing Calder’s final words.they repeated themselves endlessly in my head like something alive.

Even hours later.

Even after the tunnel was cleaned.

After the dead were counted.

After Darius ordered every surviving hybrid corpse secured for analysis.

After Vincent nearly shattered a concrete wall arguing with Tessa about ancient bloodline myths and whether Calder had manipulated us deliberately before dying.

None of it silenced the feeling crawling beneath my skin.

Aurelius Kade.

The first Alpha King.

Darius’s ancestor.

The man every wolf child learned about before they learned combat forms.

Hero of the Lycun Blood Wars.

Murdered centuries ago by his younger brother after internal betrayal shattered the early kingdom.

That was the official history.

I stood alone in the library inside the pack house long after midnight while storm clouds pressed dark against the enormous windows outside.

The room smelled like dust, old leather, candle smoke, and ancient paper.

Safe smells.

Normal smells.

But my pulse still wouldn’t settle.

Massive shelves towered around me filled with territorial records, war histories, bloodline registries, and ceremonial texts collected over generations of Alpha rule.

I’d been searching for nearly two hours already.

Every mention of Aurelius.

Every fragmented account.

Every contradictory record buried beneath revised histories.

The deeper I dug

The worse it became.

Because the official story kept changing depending on the archive source.

Some texts described Aurelius kade as beloved.

Others described him as terrifying.

A conqueror.

A reformer.

A king obsessed with “purity of blood.”

One old handwritten account hidden inside a damaged military ledger described him differently entirely:

The King beneath winter.

The phrase made my stomach twist.

I turned another brittle page carefully beneath the library lamp.

And finally found it.

The betrayal.

The official assassination record.

Aurelius kade, first united Alpha King, slain during internal succession conflict by his younger brother Cassian kade.

Overthrown.

Murdered.

His body supposedly sealed beneath sacred northern burial grounds to prevent territorial civil war.

A knock sounded against the library door suddenly. Sharp enough to drag me violently from my thoughts. I looked up instantly.

One of the Blood Guards stepped carefully inside.

Young.

Tense.

“There’s a package for you.”

Every instinct in my body sharpened immediately.

The guard crossed toward the table carrying a small black box wrapped in plain brown paper.

No markings.

No return seal.

Just my name written across the top in careful elegant handwriting.Everything about it felt wrong. The Blood Guard hesitated slightly before setting it down.

“We already checked for explosives.”

Comforting.

I stared at the package.

Something cold coiled beneath my ribs.

“Who delivered it?”

“It arrived through secure courier channels about ten minutes ago.”

My pulse slowed dangerously.

Secure channels.

Which meant someone bypassed headquarters screening deliberately.

The guard shifted uneasily.

“Do you want me to call Alpha Darius?”

No.

Something inside me already knew this wasn’t meant for him.

“It’s fine.” I lied.

The guard lingered another second before leaving quietly, shutting the library doors behind him.

Silence swallowed the room again.

I stared at the box.

Rain tapped softly against the windows.

The library lights hummed faintly overhead.

And slowly

I reached for it.

The paper peeled away too easily.

The black box beneath looked expensive.

Elegant.

Almost beautiful.

Which somehow made the dread worse.

My fingers hesitated over the lid.

Then opened it.

The smell hit first.

Blood.

Old blood.

Familiar blood.

My entire body went rigid instantly.

No.

No no no

Inside the velvet-lined box rested a single claw. A long black sharp claw.

Broken at the base.

Covered in dried dark blood.

My breath stopped.

Recognition slammed into me so violently pain shot through my chest.

My sister.

God.

I knew her scent instantly.

Even through blood.

Even through decay.

My twin.

The room tilted slightly around me.

I reached toward the claw slowly with shaking fingers.

And beneath it

A folded note.

I unfolded it mechanically.

Keep asking questions and the next package will contain more.

For one horrible second

I couldn’t breathe.

Rage.

Fear.

Guilt.

Everything crashed together violently enough my vision sharpened. someone wanted me to know they could reach her whenever they wanted.

My hands shook hard enough the paper crumpled beneath my grip.

I should have called Darius immediately.

I knew that.

Instead I sat frozen staring at the claw while terror hollowed out my chest from the inside.

Then my phone rang.

The sound exploded through the silent library violently enough I almost dropped it.

Unknown number.

But somehow

I already knew.

Slowly, I answered.

Silence greeted me first.

Then smooth familiar amusement.

“Did you receive my little gift?”

Faruk.

Ice flooded my veins instantly and I gripped the phone tighter.