When the Alpha saw the king's smile, he drew back his sword. At first, he wanted to kill the king but he stopped his intention after hearing the arrogant words of the man who led the Armeria.
"What did you say? Did you call us lowly beast? Humans will always be at the top of the food chain?" Alpha Elias snorted.
He wanted a pathetic death for the king. If he killed the king now, then the king would die proud of having died as a warrior. He would be remembered as the king who died defending his country.
No!
Alpha Elias wanted the king to die a loser. The Alpha wanted the king to suffer. The King of Armeria loved his people very much, and it looked like it could be put to good use.
The Alpha wanted to see how the king would react if he was tied up like a dog and his subjects were tortured before his eyes. Elias thought it was going to be a lot of fun.
"You will live long. I will make sure of that," said the Alpha coldly. Then he turned around. "Likaios, you have come at the right time, I want you to take care of this man, don't kill him."
"From now on, he's your pet," he added when he saw Likaios enter the room. He threw away his sword and walked out.
He walked gallantly down the red carpet to the throne of the King of Armeria. The Obsidian Sand Pack members sat lined up on two sides of the red carpet and they all howled as the Alpha ascended and occupied the throne of the kingdom of Armeria.
After that day, the suffering for the people of Armeria began.
Alpha Elias from the Obsidian Sand Pack had successfully carried out his plan. He attacked the capital of Armeria and took over power from the king and the royal family.
His new luna, Elois the witch came to join him and his pack one week later. Together, they ruled Armeria with terror. They killed and punished the nobility of Armeria and placed lycans to rule in every city and village.
Humans became second-class citizens and had to accept being treated badly by the new government. Many people left Armeria to find a better life and protection in other kingdoms that were safe from lycans. Everywhere in Armeria, there was pain, suffering, and terror.
***
Elias got himself comfortable quickly, sitting on the throne of Armeria. In the presence of the king, just as he said, Alpha Elias tortured the people who could not pay tribute.
The former king of Armeria who was now Likaois' pet was forced to witness it and soon reacted exactly as the Alpha expected.
SLAP!
SLAP!
The king screamed hoarsely as his subjects were flogged with chains. He wept as an old, frail woman was flogged.
"STOP! I BEG YOU PLEASE STOP! STOP!" He screamed like crazy. His heart shattered into pieces when he saw his people being tortured, and he couldn't do anything about it.
When he saw the king scream in despair, the Alpha was satisfied. He crouched beside the king, whose neck was tied to a pole, and his hands and feet were nailed to the floor to make a pose resembling a shackled dog.
"Now, who is at the top?" Elias asked, then smirked. His expression was cold as ice and his eyes were filled with wickedness.
The king looked at the iron embedded in the back of his hand with tears in his eyes.
"You can do anything to me but don't hurt them. Please spare them," he said and sobbed softly. His tears fell like rain.
"If you caught us, did you spare us?" asked Alpha Elias coldly.
The king could not answer.
Alpha Elias stood up and looked down on the king then said, "I didn't cut off their hands and feet and doused their wounds with a hot melted iron. Nor did I burn them alive like you did when you captured us. If I didn't spare them I would have done the same."
The king was still silent and he seemed to contemplate on the words spoken by the Alpha.
***
<In Frisia>
In her room, Sophie helped Jan and Luciel learn to walk on their own two feet. She sat on her knees on the floor and held out both hands towards Luciel and Jan who were slowly walking towards her.
"Come on boys, you can do it," she said encouragingly.
Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right.
The two children raised their legs slowly in turn and occasionally they seemed to lose their balance and were about to fall, but they did not give up.
Even though they were already five years old, they needed time to get used to walking on two legs. They had to learn what two-year-olds learned. To walk and talk, and not howl.
Left. Right. Left. Right.
Jan started to do well and took a step away from Luciel. Luciel, who didn't accept losing, then nudged Jan naughtily but because he didn't have a good balance, he fell too and hit Jan, and then, as usual, they started a fight and both rolled around on the floor.
When she saw the behavior of her two sons, Sophie let out a tired sigh. She then asked Jan and Luciel to stop, but the two children turned into their wolf forms and quickly ran out of the room.
"Hey! Don't go!!" Sophie turned around to chase them but she bumped into someone. "Ouch."
She grimaced and held her forehead.
"Sorry Leland, I didn't know you were behind me," she said when she saw the person she hit happened to be her husband.
"No problem, I like being run over by you." Leland smiled.
"..."
"Does it hurt?" asked Leland. He touched Sophie's forehead. The Luna shook her head and said it was no problem.
Sophie intended to catch up with Luciel and Jan, but Leland pulled her hand away and in an instant, she was in Leland's arms.
"You've been very busy taking care of them lately. I want to be taken care of too," said Leland and he brought his face closer to Sophie's.
Sophie couldn't help but smile. Leland's words made her feel a little ticklish. She wrapped her arms around Leland's neck.
"Oh, I'm sorry about that. I forgot that I also have a big baby to take care of," she said and then stroked Leland's right cheek affectionately.
Leland's face turned red. He propped Sophie's chin with his index finger for a kiss, but he suddenly broke away from the kiss because Lucas came.
Lucas, who was in the doorway and accidentally saw the intimacy, immediately turned around.
"Ah… Uhm, I'm sorry. I'll be waiting for you in the meeting room," he said and quickly left.
"He ruined the mood," Leland complained.
Sophie laughed at Leland's annoyed face, but then she asked, "Is there a problem?"
She was curious when she heard Lucas would be waiting for Leland in the meeting room. Leland explained that he didn't know either. He would know after meeting Lucas, who looked like he wanted to report something.
"We'll continue tonight." Leland kissed his wife's forehead briefly then walked out to meet Lucas.
.
.
______________________
From Missrealitybites:
As I said, I will give a mini mass release since I have got the smut scene out of the way... HAHAHAHA. I am very sleepy now though. It's 2 am here. Maybe I'll publish the rest of the chapters after I wake up.
PS: In case you forgot what Nicholas looks like, I posted his picture (from the first cover I commission for this book) in the comment. The boys' appearances take after Nicholas, right? So, just imagine that's what they will look like after they grow up.
Updat𝓮d from freew𝒆bnovel(.)com