Months passed. The king had fallen severely ill and passed, and Prince Eli was now King Eli. Another unfortunate thing that happened was Queen Arya giving birth to another Beta, making it two Beta sons.
The kingdom was even more unstable at this point, and Lord Zealot's foothold was stronger since he could even control Eli more than he did the previous king. He was a powerful man with gold and armies, and it wasn't until his death that King Eli could fully be in control of them.
But Richard could see how worse Wilder had become. And as much as Lord Zealot felt he wielded enough power, he could never control Wilder, and he couldn't even use Eli to control him.
Wilder's anger seemed to have increased too, even killing people for the most insignificant of reasons.
However, Wilder had found a new hobby-- finding the witches' hiding places.
When he agreed to do this months ago, he hadn't thought it was going to be like this. Wilder wasn't used to losing. He always won. And the longer he didn't find them, the crazier and more excited it made him. He looked forward to the euphoric feeling he would get after finding them.
Also, the longer he didn't find them, the more tense the noblemen were in the palace because they felt the witches were still planning to attack them.
"Message from the palace," a guard said.
Wilder gave him the nod to go on.
"Our queen has put to bed. A Beta Prince."
Wilder looked like he was confused and asked, "Our queen?"
Richard tried to communicate with his eyes to tell the guard to correct himself. Wilder hated that family and didn't like being associated with them. But rather, the idiot had nodded and repeated, "Our queen."
Unfortunately, that was the last of him, but not before Wilder promised that his queen was going to take care of his family.
"Will you be going to the palace for his birth celebration?" Richard asked him.
"For what reason? I doubt anyone is excited about his birth." He chuckled, as though finding it amusing.
"Queen Arya must be devastated. I heard she was convinced she was carrying an Alpha. She kept talking about how the baby made her feel exhausted and also powerful at the same time, so she believed it was one."
Wilder scoffed. "The moon goddess is not crazy. Making an Alpha out of that bloodline. They can only keep dreaming."
"But... are you really not going to get married at all?" Richard asked curiously. Two years ago, when it had been newly announced that they were going to find a bride for Prince Wilder, he had boldly announced in the assembly that anyone who offered their daughter was going to be gifted their daughter's head on the wedding night, and everyone had taken him seriously. Very seriously.
"Are you asking me that because you were recently betrothed to Lord Colton's daughter?"
Richard laughed. "I just think you should build a family. You are getting old."
"I'm only 21." Wilder reminded him.
Richard knew him to an extent. Wilder would never allow anyone to come close to him. If there was one thing he didn't have, it was weakness.
If something was beginning to seem very important to him, he got rid of it no matter what it was. That was why it was impossible to get to Wilder.
He had no flaw.
So it was almost impossible for someone like him to think about getting married or having kids. It was like a prison. One he would never welcome for himself.
They went out that evening. It was when they believed witches usually operated--in the evenings. First, they dropped by the restaurant to eat.
That was the second time they saw her.
She passed by them, heading forward.
She was looking around her in awe, and beside her, a dog followed happily. The dog was neither a puppy nor a big dog. Just in between.
Like a tour guide, she pointed things out to the dog as though he were a human enjoying the sights with her.
She squatted in front of the dog, asking, "Would you like to go with me to my place?" She asked the dog and beamed when it looked like the dog nodded.
"Do not worry; it's not this pretty, but you will love it there. They will love you too." She assured the dog, patting its head. "I told Beck I made a friend here, but he thought I was lying. Maybe I should take you with me to show him? But would that make me a bad person by taking you with me there? Is it even possible for you to enter?" She looked thoughtful.
"She doesn't make any sense," Richard remarked.
Wilder neither agreed nor disagreed. He just stared at her.
She went on her way, and the two focused on their meal.
As Richard and Wilder were done and about to leave, they heard a commotion ahead, and lo and behold, it was her, running toward their direction again. Behind her was the dog also running at full speed, and another smaller black dog behind them, chasing after them while barking.
While running for her life, she looked back and was surprised to find her dog now beside her, and even more surprising was the fact that the dog ran past her.
"How can a smaller dog be chasing me and you!? What is wrong with everything here?" She cried breathlessly as she kept up her pace while calling for the dog ahead to wait for her, but the dog seemed even more scared and just disappeared.
Once again, she ran past the two of them and bumped hard into Wilder again. Without looking, she apologized and ran for her life.
People just stared at the commotion, some asking themselves why the dog that seemed to always be calm was chasing her and only her in particular.
Wilder looked at her running figure again, frowning. But then he scrunched his nose.
"Smells different." He muttered just as the dog got closer to him.
Richard was surprised when Wilder moved a bit to the roadside, standing on the path the dog was racing toward.
As soon as the dog saw him, it came to a halt, whined, and hid its tail before he turned and ran off.
Wilder looked back again at the direction she had run in and looked at Richard, instructing, "Catch her."
"Eh?" Richard was a bit lost, but then he chased after her. However, he never found her.
*****
A/N
Thanks to all those who commented. I'll try to end this book as soon as possible without leaving any stone unturned.
One of the readers suggested I use PayPal for gifts (just like a donation for the book). I don't know if it's allowed but I'm trying it out.
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