Chapter 232: Karma
"What’s happening to him? Is he having a stroke?" I asked curiously as I watched Alpha Thorton slump on the floor.
That man was trying so hard to peel himself off the ground, but it seemed like his body wasn’t cooperating. Meanwhile, Dahlia shook him repeatedly, her voice becoming increasingly high-pitched the longer Alpha Thorton spent at her feet.
"Daddy! Daddy! Get up! You’re scaring me!" Dahlia screamed as she tugged at his arm frantically.
Alpha Thorton could only let out wrecked groans of pain in response. I wondered if he was going to die right there and then.
"He’s getting punished for his crimes," Damon said nonchalantly, but I detected a hint of satisfied smugness in his tone. "Thorton Elrod, the pain will persist so long as you insist on remaining an Alpha. I wonder, how much can you possibly endure before the Moon Goddess forces you to abdicate by force?"
My mouth fell open in understanding.
"I see, so if he doesn’t abdicate, he’ll die from the pain." The crowd murmured between themselves, discreetly angling themselves to take a closer look at the proceedings.
If Alpha Thorton was his usual haughty self, he would have never let himself be gawked at by an audience as though he was nothing more than a zoo exhibit, but he clearly wasn’t himself now, his face shiny with sweat as he gritted his teeth to withstand the pain.
Right now, Alpha Thorton was in no condition to even sit upright unsupported, let alone launch a second attack.
"Will he lose his wolf as well?" I wondered out loud.
Damon and Blaise turned to the closest oracle, who showed no sign that she heard my question. She continued to stare impassively at Alpha Thorton’s twitching body.
Dahlia let out a horrified gasp. "Daddy!"
"He should lose his wolf in addition to his position as Alpha," Luna Cassidy said frankly, sounding delighted at Alpha Thorton’s suffering.
I had a feeling if she could record his moans of pain to make her smile during sad times, she would.
"He needs to feel what he did to his son multiple lifetimes over. That old bastard deserves a long painful life!"
Dahlia grew more distraught at her words.
"Daddy! Just abdicate already!" Dahlia exclaimed, "Why are you so stubborn― the position isn’t worth your life or your wolf! Just hand over Thunderstrike to me or you’ll die!"
Blaise whistled. "Wow, to think you would use this chance to get your hands on Thunderstrike! Dahlia Elrod, I have to hand it to you!"
"Shut up!" Dahlia turned back and yelled at him, her eyes wet with indignant tears. "Thunderstrike was meant to be mine to begin with, from the moment Darach failed to win over Damon. Daddy promised me that he would pick me to succeed him!"
I raised an eyebrow. Imagine losing your birthright and getting abused for the rest of your life because you failed to make friends with Damon Valentine, an impossible task to begin with.
"This family is a mess," I muttered.
Blaise snorted in agreement. "If he wanted to win over Damon, Thornton Elrod should have just sent over Dahlia instead. It wouldn’t have crashed and burned so terribly then. Foolish man."
I shuddered at the thought of Dahlia sinking her claws into Damon at such a young age. Damon might have let her comfort him, further fuelling her delusional fantasies, and then I would have to deal with an even more unhinged version of her.
"Thunderstrike is mine! Daddy, give it to me!" Dahlia demanded, as though she was a child who wanted a new toy at the store.
I said a mental prayer for the members of Thunderstrike; they were going to have stormy days ahead with their new tempestuous leader.
"It’s not possible." To everyone’s surprise, it was Milo who spoke instead of Alpha Thorton. Dahlia squawked at his reply.
"Who are you to stop me!" Dahlia screeched, jabbing an angry finger in his direction. "You’re just bitter that I’ll never let you become my mate!"
Ouch. Her insensitive words triggered Luna Cassidy, who rolled up her sleeves, preparing to shed blood. Milo tugged her back with a gentle shake of his head.
"It’s not me who will stop you," Milo said evenly, "It’s the oracles."
"Huh?"
"Since the issue has been raised in the Forest of Selene, it is the Council of Oracles and the present werewolves that will decide on Alpha Thorton’s successor, in the event of death or abdication," Milo recited dutifully to Dahlia’s gobsmacked face.
I did not look any less confused; if Milo was bullshitting, he was doing a stellar job of it.
"You would have known this if you did more reading about the protocols," Milo scolded her, and then he turned to see everyone’s incredulous faces.
"Did none of you study this?" Milo asked with a frown, shaking his head in disapproval. "You came into this meeting unprepared?"
"Milo, I’m so glad you are on our side," Blaise said fervently, his hands clasped in prayer. I had a sense that Blaise wasn’t entirely joking. Milo was terrifying in an unassuming way, and he had a wealth of knowledge deeper than the ocean’s trenches.
"Now, let’s put it to a vote." Alpha Burke clapped his hands, drawing everyone’s eyes back to him.
"Wait! You can’t! Daddy hasn’t abdicated yet!" Dahlia protested.
"It’s only a matter of time," Alpha Burke smiled cheerfully as he gazed down at the shivering Alpha Thorton. He was once a mighty tyrant, now he was nothing more than a sniveling wreck. "So Alpha Thorton, would you mind abdicating while you’re still able to talk?"
Alpha Thorton raised his head, and his throat muscles strained with effort. By now, his face was paper-pale and his pupils were shaking. I thought he might be stubborn enough to die without giving his position away, but finally, there was a look of grim acceptance in his eyes as he reluctantly spat out his words.
"I... Alpha Thorton Elrod, hereby... abdicate my position... as the alpha of Thunderstrike."
