Chapter 189
Chapter 189
Killian’s POV
“Having a family makes me look like a turtle in a ridiculous shell, doesn’t it?”
How melodious the cracks of those fingers sounded. Then, the screams of agony burst forth, adding to the symphony of torment I had composed for my enemies. How dare they meddle with all my plans. Two days had been torn apart by distance, leaving me no chance to utter a few words of love or share a longing kiss that would have been my provision for this trivial journey.
These filthy vermin.
“Ah no. Perhaps I am just a clown wearing a tutu before you.”
There was snickering in the background. I did not feel offended, for they were my own people.
“Well then, my comrades. Do you have your own opinions?” I asked with both hands spread wide, glancing around.
“I still cherish my head, leader.”
“No comment.”
“You ask us that only to give us extra military drills. We refuse to be honest.”
And then another string of words erupted into a great burst of laughter.
“As if you didn’t already know what your reputation is like now.”
I snorted. “A repentant tyrant who has become a gentle father figure, as soft as a dish sponge. Add that to the headline of today’s article.”
With another stomp, red liquid choked out from the throat of the dying man. My eyes widened, heat from hatred spreading through every cell of my body. I felt insulted for being deceived so easily by his insolence. Worse than filth, this man had been the very gate to rebellion that nearly cost me the two most important people in my life.
Hell had become like a second home to me whenever I recalled the greatest sins of my career as the most ruthless Lycan in the history of beings on this earth. I refused even to utter his name in my heart because it felt like rat filth. I considered stabbing this vermin’s body and parading it through the capital. Too bad Ruby would not appreciate such an act of vengeance.
Besides, I needed to face her mood. I had already broken one of our rules: that neither of us should act without the other’s consent, unless pressed by dire urgency.
“I’m afraid! I never meant to stain your noble trust, my king!”
I let out a sorrowful sigh, my face softening into a mask of disappointment. My inner wolf let out some curses.
“Suppose were willing to accept that excuse,” I said, taking a spear from one of my men. “Then, can you explain truthfully why the funds and donations for the smaller packs in remote towns stray so far from the numbers reported each year?”
Terror filled his eyes. His skin flushed into an ugly shade of purple. A few hushed whispers slipped out as mocking jeers.
“I have never liked you!”
The coarse wood fibers scraped against the calluses on my palm. “My reason, as your king, was to give one of the races closest to my own lineage the chance to carve its name honorably in the public eye and serve society well.”
“Your task was simple, you greenhorn. I staked four state vaults on the chance that they would come to love you. And now, what have you done?” My teeth ground together.
1/3
14:34 Mon, 25 Aug AD
R
Chapter 189
*.56%
“You’ve neglected your duty for false hopes. And that’s not even counting the five atrocities you’ve committed.”
I leveled the spear’s sharp iron tip against his throat, tempted to pierce him a dozen times over.
“Hosting auctions of living beings, Seriously, boy? Do we live in the age of pharaohs?”
“No, please don’t. Give me another chance! I’m innocent!”
I clicked my tongue. “Rest in peace. Accept the mercy of your King.”
In the end, the traitor in sheep’s clothing perished, his skull shattered by my strike. A flicker of satisfaction spread through me, sweet as a freshly plucked strawberry. Cheers of victory and words of gratitude poured in. Now, only the fugitives remained. They would never escape my wrath.
There was no safer place left for them.
“Gather all the treasures and assets, bring them to our court,” I commanded, glancing at four of the younger members whose names I had already forgotten. “And you record and report to me every region struck by crisis.”
I hurled the spear to the ground, stepping on the corpse as though it were nothing more than the carcass of a bird.
“What kind of king would I be if I failed to tend to the lands I conquered?”
The young men bowed in unison. “At once!”
“Go.”
I dismissed them with indifference. I had no desire to linger there and quickly hurried back to my hiding place. My body was sticky with sweat, the sour and metallic stench clinging around me until it churned my stomach. I loved battle, but not its tokens. I longed for a bath, to feel the coolness that might neutralize half of today’s turmoil.
I could never erase in an instant the sense that my soul was elsewhere. The letters and emails sent by my firstborn never answered my questions. If Elias kept ignoring my counsel, then I would be the one to take action. From what I’d heard, my wife’s old pack had approached him during my absence.
When I finished bathing, one of Leonidas’s men burst in with a worn parchment in his hand.
I tied a towel around my waist. “Your rudeness will be forgiven if you truly have the power to amuse me.”
“A short message from the Beta, Your Majesty.”
“And the point?”
“You are summoned back to the kingdom.” The dwarf’s knees trembled, unable to lift his head beneath the venom dripping from my tone. “Queen is unwell. She still tends to the Second Prince and continues her duties, but we fear the change in her demeanor”
My heartbeat faltered, the ground beneath me seemed to shift.
“What caused all this?!”
“No one in the palace knows, my King. It only began after your departure and the visit from her old family,” he reported, trembling.
The only rational thought amid the storm of madness screamed for me to hold Ruby. Damn all these traitors and foolish rebels. Yet I could not simply leave before tearing out every root of their schemes. I have sworn to myself that I will never get tired of working to make this world as safe as possible for
her.
That ambition sounds better than anything I’ve ever written. Therefore, why does the universe not make it easier for me?
“Connect me to Leonidas now.”
2/3
