Chapter 54: Chapter 54
Kael
I stared at the report in my hand for what felt like the hundredth time.
The parchment crinkled beneath my grip.
Every line I read made the irritation simmering beneath my skin burn hotter.
"...Patrol Squad encountered two rogue groups near the eastern forest. Hostiles eliminated successfully..."
I scoffed. "What nonsense is this? Those mother fuckers had completely ignored my orders."
The room fell silent except for the crackling fireplace behind me.
I planted both hands on my desk and inhaled slowly, trying to keep my wolf from taking over my temper.
My instructions had been painfully simple. My jaw had become so tight that I could hear my own teeth grinding.
Scout the surrounding territories, watch for vampire movements, investigate unusual activities and report anything suspicious.
That was my instructions but Instead... They had abandoned their assignment to hunt rogues.
"Rogues!!! What has it got to do with my instruction to them?" A bitter laugh escaped me before I could even think of stopping it.
Did they truly think I would believe this? Months ago, I had personally led the campaign that wiped out every major rogue den surrounding Blackbourne.
The memories still lingered. Their bloods had soaked the earth. I had burned every one of their hideouts as their bodies littered the forest.
I had made certain every surviving rogue carried the same message.
They were never to return. Never step near Blackbourne again because fear was a better wall than stone.
Any rogue foolish enough to approach our borders after that massacre deserved death.
But they rarely did because they knew better. Which meant this report was either exaggerated... Or the patrol had deliberately ignored my orders.
Still, neither possibility pleased me. Without hesitation, I opened the mindlink. "Beta Bastian."
His voice answered almost instantly. "Alpha."
"What criteria did you use to select the patrol squad?" I immediately asked.
There was only a brief pause before he responded.
"The standard requirements, Alpha. Experienced warriors. Good trackers. Reliable fighters. The same criteria we’ve always used whenever an elite patrol is assembled."
Reliable? The word irritated me. "If they’re so reliable, why can’t they follow a direct order?"
Silence met my question. Even through the link, I could sense Beta Bastian choosing his words carefully.
"Perhaps they believed eliminating rogues would still benefit the pack."
"Belief wasn’t part of my command." I snapped as my voice became colder. "I gave them one assignment! Just one simple instruction and they just couldn’t follow it! They decided to do whatever was in their minds!"
Another pause from him before he finally responded. "I perfectly understand, Alpha. They didn’t exactly follow instructions."
"Bring me their squad leader." I suddenly ordered.
"They haven’t returned yet. They are still outside the western route."
"Recall every single one of them." The office seemed colder as my anger continued rising. "Immediately because I’ve got no time for bullshit!"
"Yes, Alpha." Beta Bastien said as the link closed.
I stared at the report for another second then I threw it across the room and the parchment struck the wall before falling onto the floor.
"Worthless! Completely worthless!!!" I leaned back heavily in my chair and rubbed my temple.
The room fell silent again as my eyes wandered across the shelves to see the maps, old scrolls, weapons, trophies collected from battles.
Then... they settled on the framed portrait of my father hanging behind the desk.
His expression remained exactly as I remembered. It was sharp, unyielding and demanding.
Even in paint, his eyes seemed capable of judging every decision I made.
For a long moment... I simply looked at him then the memory came so vivid it almost felt real.
...
I was younger. Much younger and perhaps fifteen. The excitement of that morning had been impossible to hide.
Some boys from one of the farming settlements had invited me on a hunting trip beyond the eastern woods.
Mother had smiled when I asked. "You should tell your father first." She said,
"I’ll be back before he notices." I said giving her one of my sweetest faces.
She laughed softly. "He always notices."
I had ignored her warning and the hunt had been exhilarating.
We chased deer through thick forests, climbed rocky cliffs, and competed over who could shoot first.
For several glorious hours... I wasn’t the Alpha heir. I was simply another boy.
By the time I returned... The sun had already begun setting and Father was waiting while standing exactly where the entrance opened into the manor courtyard.
His hands rested behind his back, his face showed nothing but somehow... That frightened me more than shouting ever could.
"Where were you?" His voice remained calm as he asked.
"I..." I stammered not knowing what to do.
"I asked where." He snapped.
"I went hunting." I managed to say.
"With whom?" He asked again.
"The village boys." I said with my eyes mainly on the ground.
He stepped closer. "I had lessons prepared for you today."
"I only wanted—" I started saying but the slap came before I finished speaking.
My head snapped sideways as pain exploded across my cheek. For several seconds... Everything became quiet.
Mother rushed forward immediately. "Enough!"
She grabbed Father’s arm. "He’s just a child."
Father shoved her away so forcefully she stumbled backward then my chest tightened as he snapped at her. "Stay out of this!"
Mother regained her balance, refusing to move. "He made one mistake."
Father ignored her completely as his eyes returned to me. They were cold, hard and disappointed.
"You wish to play with peasants while responsibilities pile before you?"
"I only wanted one day."
"One day becomes two." His voice hardened further. "Two becomes a habit!"
I lowered my gaze. "I thought—"
"That is precisely your problem." His words struck harder than the slap. "You think like a child."
Then came the sentence that buried itself deep inside me.
"If you cannot carry responsibility..." His stare pierced straight through me. "...then perhaps I raised the wrong son."
Mother gasped. "Don’t say that."
Father walked away without another word leaving me standing there with my cheek burning and my heart shattered.
...
The memory disappeared as quickly as it had arrived.
I blinked as the office returned and the portrait remained exactly where it had always been.
I exhaled slowly. "No. That wasn’t the kind of Alpha I intended to become. Discipline was necessary but cruelty wasn’t."
I reopened the mindlink. "Beta Bastian."
He answered immediately. "Alpha?"
"Abort my previous order." I immediately said.
"Sir?" He asked, clearly confused.
"I no longer want the squad brought before me."
Another pause before he finally answered. "Understood, Alpha Kael."
"I have another assignment for you." I rose from my chair and walked toward the large map hanging beside the window.
My finger rested on the southern border, where the road leads directly toward Nightbane.
"The patrol squad is now reassigned to a different duty. They are border wardens now."
His surprise reached me instantly. "Border wardens?"
"Yes. They are to inspect every owned piece of land along the southern border."
I traced the line carefully as I continued speaking. "I want the names of every landowner, the boundaries, the acreage, every occupied property and if a structure exists... I want to know who owns it."
Beta Bastian remained silent while memorizing every instruction.
"They’re not to engage anyone unnecessarily. They’re not to chase rogues. They’re not going to leave their assigned route. They will gather information only and after that, they wait for my next command."
"Yes, Alpha."
My voice dropped another degree. "And Bastian..."
"Yes, Alpha Kael?"
"Warn them not to go against my order again."
His tone became serious. "I will Alpha."
"If any of them disregards my orders again..." I allowed a moment of silence before finishing. "...they will face oblivion."
The words echoed through the link. "Permanent oblivion."
"I’ll make sure they understand." He said again before the connection ended.
I stood motionless for several moments. Outside my office window, clouds drifted slowly across the afternoon sky.
Eventually, I pushed myself away from the window as another responsibility demanded my attention.
Selena’s training had just crossed my mind. Kieren would already have started preparing today’s exercises.
If she was going to survive what lay ahead... Every lesson mattered.
Leaving the office behind, I walked through the stone corridors of the manor as servants stepped aside the moment they saw me, warriors saluted respectfully.
As I approached the wing leading toward Kieren’s chamber, quiet voices drifted from one of the nearby rooms.
At first, I ignored them but the conversations between warriors were hardly unusual.
Then... A familiar word reached my ears and I stopped just outside the chamber.
The wooden door remained slightly open as their voices slipped through the narrow gap.
"Things have changed. The Alpha isn’t the same anymore."
A second warrior snorted. "He’s gone soft."
More laughter followed. "Would the old Alpha have tolerated all this?"
"No! He would’ve crushed anyone standing in his way."
Another voice joined them. "Our Alpha now keeps showing mercy."
Someone scoffed. "What a weak ass."
The word settled heavily inside the corridor then another followed. "He is now weak to be our Alpha."
