The maids who followed him were silent in the doorway. The maids were surprised when they saw the state of the room, which was very messy.
"Father, I won't let them get together," said Karenina as she sobbed. Before he gave his response, Viscount Verhoven first took a look and gave a warning look that sent the maids standing in the doorway to run away.
"Karenina, calm down. Right now the king doesn't remember anything about his marriage to Sophia. Besides, Sophia is now the wife of Duke Romanov. So they won't be able to be together again."
Karenina rose from her father's arms and said that they could still be united because the child with Sophia that night was the offspring of the king, not Duke Romanov.
She knew, when the king's memory recovered, he would definitely do his best to get his family back.
Karenina stood up, as did her father.
"Father, I need to get pregnant soon and get the king to marry me. After that, even if his memory recovers, the king won't be able to return to Sophia Hansley."
Karenina had made up her mind. She would do everything to get Sophia Hansley out of Nicholas' life. She then asked her father to get his hired man to go back to bed with her.
Viscount Verhovent was taken aback by Karenina's words, but they had come this far, so he complied with his daughter's request. "As you wish."
Karenina didn't say anything. After her father left, she clenched her jaws and got up to get a bottle of liquor. She had asked her maid to get some from her father's liquor cabinet. She knew she would need a lot of it in the coming days.
***
When Sophie and Leland finally arrived back in the manor, they were shocked to find the manor was damaged and some of their men died, Lucas was heavily injured and Jan was unconscious.
"Oh, my god...!!!" Sophie immediately jumped down from Leland's back as soon as she saw the damaged gate and the rubble on one side of the manor. She almost fell but Leland immediately shifted into human and caught her.
"Be careful," he said, still in a calm voice, even though his heart thundered at the sight. From what he saw, there must be an attack or a fierce fight happened in the manor. He wondered who came and attack his people.
"Luciel!!!" Sophie staggered and stepped back from Leland and continued running inside. She immediately saw Luciel running out to her and hugged her.
"Mommy..!!" He started crying and this made Sophie's heart skip a beat. She instantly had a bad feeling about Jan. Usually, Jan would always be around Luciel and he would also come running to her like this. However, the boy was nowhere to be seen.
"Where is Jan?" She crouched down and asked Luciel seriously. "What happened here?"
"Something happened last night," Luciel sobbed. "Lucas was fighting against Uncle Nicholas and their battle destroyed some parts of the manor... a big rubble fell on Jan's head and he's been unconscious ever since."
"Oh my god...." Sophie didn't know where she got her strength. She picked up Luciel and ran inside the manor. She screamed and asked anyone where her other son was being treated. Tears streamed down hard on her face.
Gosh... she shouldn't have gone.
Leland immediately wore his pants and ran after her. He reached Sophie right before she entered the room where Duncan said Jan was treated. His sharp eyes observed their surroundings and tried to guess the fierceness of the battle from last night.
Did Lucas die? Leland suddenly felt so sad because of the thought. He liked Lucas. The Beta was the closest Leland ever had to for a friend. He cared about Lucas and didn't wish to see him die.
He had heard Luciel mention Nicholas' name. So Leland immediately assumed it was Nicholas Hannenbergh, the king of Riga.
Anger filled his heart. He wanted to go after Nicholas and make him pay for what he did. However, he knew he must check Lucas' and Jan's conditions first and make sure they were saved before he could do anything else.
When the door was opened, Leland and Sophie found Jan was lying down on the bed with his eyes closed and his head was bandaged. His chest was heaving up and down so softly from his weak breathing. His face paled.
"Oh, Jan..." Sophie ran to the bed, put down Luciel, and sat by Jan's side. She looked up toward the old healer who was standing nearby. "How is he doing? Are his injuries serious?"
"Luna... he is hurt in a vital part of his head," the healer said apologetically. "He is in critical condition and lost a lot of blood. Right now, we can only wait."
Leland felt his heart drop to the floor when the healer spoke. It sounded really bad. His heart ached for Sophie and Luciel who looked devastated. Soon, the room was filled with her despondent sobbings.
Leland stood by the bed, unmoving. He was really angry and wished he could just go out and chased Nicholas and kill him on the spot.
Didn't he know that they should never fight near children? They would be in a vulnerable situation when adults were fighting because they could become collateral. Exactly like what happened to Jan.
He wanted to hear what exactly happened from Duncan, checked Lucas' condition, and determined his next steps. So, Leland quietly slipped out through the door and motioned Duncan to follow him.
He strode toward the courtyard and stood like a statue, waiting for Duncan to reach him. When the lycan came and bowed down, Leland asked him what happened.
"The king of Riga came here every day since three days ago," Duncan reported. He looked distraught and tired. He was so stubborn even though Lucas chased him out. After three days, Lucas finally lost it and attacked him. They had an intense fight."
"Here?" Leland asked to confirm. Duncan nodded. "How could Lucas be injured? How bad are his wounds?"
Duncan sighed. "Lucas told us not to gang up on the man, and..."
Leland knew Lucas would do something like that. He was not a coward who would rely on his numbers to attack the enemy. Normally, it was fine, it was what a real man would do.
However, just for this once, Leland wished Lucas let the others help him. Nicholas Hannenbergh would be probably dead by now and their mission in Riga would be accomplished.
Once the king was dead, it was only a matter of time to kill the others and destroy the royal family's grip on Riga. He could take over this kingdom and... secure Sophie and the boys for himself.
Gosh... Leland really wanted Nicholas dead. Why must the man return and ruin everything all of a sudden? Leland would rather Nicolas die and stay dead.
"What did he do here every day before Lucas fought him?" Leland asked again.
Duncan rubbed his temple. "He kept saying he wanted to meet Luna. He had something urgent to talk about with her. He claimed to be Luna's old friend. He insisted to come every day until he could see her."
'Old friend, my foot.' Leland scoffed. He asked Duncan more questions. "Did he talk to the kids?"
"Yeah. They actually played together. Luciel and Jan seemed to like him a lot."
Duncan's response made Leland feel so irritated. Duncan noticed the change in the Alpha's expression and could tell he was increasingly angry. He felt Leland's cold aura was intimidating him. The killing intent was scary.
"Do they know who he is?" Leland asked again. "What did he tell them? Did he tell them who he is?"
"No. I don't think so." Duncan started to feel uncomfortable. he was not blind and could see the similarities between Nicholas and the twin boys. When the three of them were together, anyone could see that they were father and sons. The facial features and their smiles were almost identical.
Duncan suspected that was the reason why Lucas challenged Nicholas for a duel. He was angry on Leland's behalf. That's how loyal Lucas was to their Alpha.
"Take me to Lucas," Leland finally said. "Tell me how bad his condition is."
Duncan walked with Leland to the east building and showed the Alpha where Lucas was being treated by their healers. The beta sustained so many injuries and was in a lot of pain, but he was still awake and was even trying to sit up on his bed when he saw Leland enter his room.
"Alpha... I am sorry I failed you..." Lucas looked embarrassed disappointed in himself for his failure to defend Leland's honor.
Leland said, "Just lie down and rest. I need you to be stronger so we can get back at them when the time comes."
"I will recover in no time, Alpha. Don't worry about me."
Leland nodded. "Thank you for protecting my family. I will always remember what you did for me."
He patted Lucas' shoulder gently and then turned his gaze to the healer. "Tell me his condition."
The old healer bowed down a little. "Lucas got extensive internal injuries. He will need weeks to fully recover."
"Weeks??" Lucas was startled by the statement. "No, healer. I will be fine in days."
Leland didn't listen to him. He trusted his healer more. The Alpha took a deep breath. "We should find a new place to stay and avoid the royal lycan hunter and the royal family temporarily."
This chapter is updated by freew(e)bnovel.(c)om