Chapter 26 The Icy Beast
Sebastian knew something was wrong the moment he left Fernanda's chambers but for the meantime he decided not to dwell on it. He had something he needed to fix immediately.
He had gotten word from one of his soldiers that there were Infiltrators in the palace. That was one of the reasons why he went to see Fernanda. To ensure her safety, but she had proposed something different and he had fallen for it. He had been willing to do whatever she wanted.
Now wasn't the time to correct his mistake, he had to contain the situation at hand.
The wielder's quest, an annual celebratory festival, was ordinarily meant to celebrate the werewolves that acquired the ten wielder's stones during the quest in the moon forest.
And this applied to the four main werewolf kingdoms in Lunareth.
Not all elemental wielders were born with their abilities alongside lycanthropy, some had to fight for it during the bloody wielder's quest in the moon forest. Wielding was a sacred gift from the moon goddess, so every werewolf wanted to wield, even if it meant dying to acquire the ability.
Not all werewolves could wield but all wielders are werewolves too, making them one of the most strongest beings in the realm.Those who were born with the ability were always considered lucky and chosen by the moon goddess to fulfill a greater destiny than non wielding werewolves.
Sebastian wasn't born with the ability to wield. He was mostly human while growing up till he reached the right age to turn.
While Heiran, his elder brother and eldest son, on the other hand, had been born with everything, the ability to wield, intelligence to rule and their parents love. He was the lucky one, the perfect son and the heir to the throne.
The two brothers shared a very strong bond despite their father's harshness towards Sebastian. They loved and prioritized each other's well-being much to the annoyance of Kirill Kozlov.
Kirill hated Sebastian's weakness. He was always hard on him, he wanted his sons to be the best in everything and Sebastian wasn't.
Sebastian spent his entire childhood trying to earn the favour of his father. He trained extra hard and twice as intense as any werewolf soldier despite having not turn into one. He always snuck into the wielding put to go see how it was being done and watch his brother fight also.
A small part of him envied Heiran's powers and strength. Sebastian couldn't just accept defeat with his inability to wield. He volunteered to join in the quest of the wielder's stones just a year before his first shift into his wolf side.
Sebastian claimed three stones out of ten, making him the first ever in the realm to do so. He was rewarded with not just the ability to wield water but also any form of liquid. The stones made him enhanced in strength and fighting skills too, making him able to do what other werewolves can't.
Sebastian became the strongest, fastest, and most powerful in the whole continent. The respect for him came fast and easy, everyone held him with high regards. He thought his new achievement would make his father, the King, at least proud of him and begin to see him in a new way.
But Kirill only got more disapproving of his son. His insecurity made him hated Sebastian's powers. Wanting to show his son how weak he truly was, Kirill challenged Sebastian to a duel. "A fight to the death. What makes a warrior is his kill count, not some measly stones." He had told Sebastian.
Sebastian didn't want any of that, he couldn't kill his father. His elder brother tried speaking some sense into their father but Kirill was far too deep in his delusions and anger. He taunted Sebastian non stop for being weak and running away from a fight.
One night, during dinner, Sebastian decided he was going to fight his father. It wasn't just a random decision, Kirill had provoked him. "You are the reason your mother died. She couldn't stand having birthed a weak son. The thought alone had killed her, poor Layla." Sebastian recalled destroying the table just to get to his father to give him a punch in the face. He recalled crying for the first time after his mother's death.
He recalled Kirill's laughter, and the way his eyes glinted in a sickly way, rejoicing that he finally got underneath his son's icy skin.
They all knew the truth about the death of their mother. She was sick, and died with her arms tightly wrapped around both of her children. Sebastian could still feel her touch.
Heiran didn't try to stop Sebastian, he was equally raged but couldn't do anything as it was a duel between his younger brother and father. Sebastian recalled the duel and how he won by almost killing Kirill in the blink of an eye after hours of holding back. His father laid on the ground writhing in pain.
"Kill me now!!" He had yelled at Sebastian.
Sebastian recalled standing above his father writing body and scoffing, "Let me disappoint you once more father," He told Kirill.
"I won't kill you. I want you to live knowing every single day from now, that your weak son beat you in a measly duel." Sebastian had said.
He recalled going away that night into the wilderness, where he shifted into his Lycan for the first time. He spent days wandering in cold forests in his Lycan form, unaware of how huge and threatening he looked. Because of that, he encountered and fought so many rogues and other kinds of beasts, who saw him as a threat.
He came back home after a month to find Clawshire a chaos. War had ensued after he left. His father had been killed and his brother was nowhere to be found. Sebastian had come back to a burning kingdom.
A frown settled upon Sebastian's face as he kept recalling parts of the memories he has tried so hard to lock away. His father, mother and brother. He hated the memories and wanted to forget every single thing.
He had a wife and a Kingdom to protect. And now, he has to prioritize both at the same time. Sebastian didn't give a damn about the festival. Infact, he wanted to use it to lure out the infiltrators because he knew the other kingdoms would send their spies.
His prediction had been accurate, but what he didn't understand was how they got Inside his palace. What do they want?