"So we finally have a face to one of them." The new king said when he saw Noel's face.
Nicholas felt like he was with kindred spirits… or perhaps he was simply feeling restricted. If he could have changed roles with the man in front of him, Nicholas would do it in a heartbeat.
"I can finally thank you and your men with much more ease." Nicholas thanked the hunter and smiled somberly. "It does not seem much, but I will also be holding a memorial service for all those who have fallen that day."
Noel bowed his head. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Nicholas watched the expression and slowly asked. "Do you know their names?"
Silence came at that moment and a look of hesitation flickered in Noel's face. "Hunter. Ross. Lilibeth and many others. I remember all our fallen members, Your Majesty."
It was Nicholas' first test of character to Noel. It gave him a chance to see if the Head of the Royal Lycan Hunters was someone he could trust.
So, from his response, Nicholas could see that Noel Gastrell was a leader who remembered his men. That was the sign of a good leader.
Nicholas believed Noel, even though the truth of the situation was too grim.
Far too many had died.
***
A howl of pain pierced through the dead of the night. There was a ceremony for the death of Alpha Zaros and it was something that the entire Obsidian Sand Pack mourned for.
However, no one else was more pitiful than the young woman who kept weeping. Isolde saw Isla crying by herself in front of her father's body that now laid peacefully on top of a stone.
The late Alpha Zaros' body was recovered by his men who came searching for him.
A multitude of the Obsidian Sand Pack's members and shamans all paid their respects and also offered up prayers to the Moon Goddess. It was all in order for their Alpha to finally rest in peace in the arms of their goddess.
It was a time where everyone was crestfallen and in despair.
What was supposed to be a time of celebration for Isla's birthday suddenly changed into a funeral.
"You shouldn't have gone up the heights, Father!" Isla's shoulders shook and trembled.
In the Alpha Zaros' hand was none other than the promised flower that he wanted to give to his beloved daughter. Isla didn't want to take it and she only continued to cry and didn't pay attention to anything else.
Many other lycans came to comfort Isla and help her up from her father, but she refused to budge.
Far away from the rather depressing atmosphere was one woman with a heart that didn't seem to be moved. Isolde helped organize the rites, but mostly let others attend to the needs of a funeral ceremony.
If there was any sort of guilt, she did not show it.
A lycan who decided to give up on their ambitions and chose to lower their guards were nothing more but people who would die sooner than later. At most, Isolde probably delivered a quick death to her brother.
It was the little things that mattered.
There were too many things that Isolde needed to prepare and take care of. Some certain interesting developments that she didn't even expect but worked in her favor. She wasn't alone right now.
While most of the lycans were mourning, she was accompanied by a particular lycan that didn't fit her side right now. He had dark hair, beautiful tanned skin and a physique similar to that of an olympian.
This handsome man was one of her brother's hand picked warriors and who worked well for him. Alpha Zaros mentioned him several times and for the first time, Isolde finally had the opportunity to speak with him alone and uninterrupted.
His mate, Isla was easy pickings for Isolde, but what about this man?
Had her dear brother, Alpha Zaros chosen well and presented a final challenge to Isolde's ambitions or was this nothing more but another potential person she could control?
"Are you not going to comfort your mate?" Isolde glanced at the man standing beside her. She adopted the tone of a chiding and even slightly concerned aunt. Curious and probing.
She was testing the atmosphere.
"I do not know how to do it," the male lycan said with an uncomfortable expression. "When it comes to Isla, she is too emotional and I cannot handle her at all."
"Oh, really?"
He caught himself and changed his tone immediately. "I appreciate Alpha Zaros a great deal and he entrusted me with his daughter but…"
Isolde's lips curled into a smile as she found a way to take advantage of the situation. These people were all too vulnerable and she saw something to twist and pull about this man.
The man appeared powerful on the outside, and Isolde knew she couldn't defeat him in a physical battle except through cunning. However, he was still unguarded. His emotional defenses were too weak and completely exposed.
"So I take it that there is no love between the two of you," Isolde said in a sympathetic tone. "Even with the mate bond?"
The male lycan sighed and looked down ashamedly. "Please do not tell anyone. But Alpha Zaros did not trust anyone else in the pack to be with his daughter except me, and I decided to take it."
"I consider that as a great honor and pride, young man." Isolde smiled at him. "You have given up a chance for love for the greater benefit of the pack. There is nothing to be ashamed of."
"Alpha Zaros cared a great deal for his daughter," the lycan confessed. "I think that he would have preferred that I love Isla and make her happy. However, I truly fail in that regard."
Isolde raised a brow. "I do not wish to demean my brother in any way, but when one's personal wishes finally go against that of the pack, that is where one's downfall comes. I heard that he allows Isla to go to Armeria?"
"Alpha Zaros only did it for his daughter's sake, but I truly don't understand that woman for wanting to go there." the lycan frowned.
"What does she even like there?"
"I used to guard her before when she visits the place and she seems to like books." He snorted. "There is a seller of books there that she frequents and she even buys products from merchants. She has made friends among them… humans."
Isolde sighed. "She may get herself in trouble if she continues that. What has my brother done? Now there is no one to admonish her."
The lycan shook his head. "I believe she is too spoiled by her father, but can anyone fault Alpha Zaros for it? Do not worry about it though, I will take care of her as I have sworn to the Alpha. I will bar her from visiting Armeria."
Isolde noticed how much this lycan warrior idolized her brother. However, that made it all the easier for her to understand how the man thought. A man with good intentions, possibly.
Still with flaws.
"That is good," Isolde said with a practiced smile. "I am quite sure that my brother will be proud of you. Actually, it does not escape my notice that one day, you may surpass Alpha Zaros."
"Really?" The lycan turned to Isolde and looked at her intently.
"Why, of course." Isolde nodded. She cleared her throat. "Your name is... Elias, right? You will be our next Alpha once we finish the burial rituals for my brother. I would love to help you to be a greater Alpha than Zaros."
Elias looked at Isolde intently. He saw how much this woman look like the late Alpha. She looked tough, cunning, and overbearing.
She was still much more beautiful than the female lycans around them who were younger than her even though she was now in her late forties. It seemed age was kind to her.
His sight went back to Isla, his mate. She was a sweet woman and she looked like a younger version of Isolde. It must be that their family had good genes. Elias thought he could see what his mate would look like in twenty years if he saw Isolde. He actually liked what he saw.
"I don't need your help, Auntie," the man replied flatly. "I know I will be greater than my father-in-law."
Isolde was taken aback by Elias' response. A faint smile curled up on her lips. So, she was wrong about this man. He was not as gullible as she thought initially. He was actually... a bit hard to predict.
"I can make you become the next werewolf king," Isolde said firmly.
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