1 Prolog (Barlow)

'There's a big bad werewolf in the forest, don't ever go there!'

He remembered the warning, but then he fought with his father, subconsciously his two feet dashed towards the forest, he ran and ran until his legs weakened, tripping over a small rock causing his knees to hurt. He wept under a large tree, sobbing shamelessly with snot running down his nose. He hated his father, a cold and cruel man, he refused to be like his father when he grew up. His beloved pet dog that he adopted was thrown away by the old man, his father said that the dog was dirty and the Barlow family should not play with dirty things. He hated being born into this family.

'I want to play like anybody else, why can't I? Why can't I?'

He sobbed, burying his face in his arms, it was the first time for him to cry this freely.

If his father saw him acting weak like this, he would be punished again.

Why was he chosen?

Why was he living like this?

What's wrong with the dog? He could take care of the dog, take care of it and feed it, if his father said it was dirty, he could bathe it. He knew his father didn't want him to have normal days like other kids.

His father's voice constantly telling him that he was someone special and he should have learned a lot from such a young age, always ringing in his ears— if he kept studying and learning, when would he be able to play?

The rest of his siblings were free to play, there was no limit for them to have fun out there with their friends, only he was constantly in the training room, learning things over and over again, the small body was forcefully pushed to be stronger and stronger, it was almost inhuman.

He knew why his father treated him like that, it was because he was a pureblood alpha descendant— an alpha prime, considered as the incarnation of a god, so many strict rules for the successor to the kingdom, unfortunately out of his four children somehow he— the youngest was chosen as the successor. This didn't make any sense, he also wanted to play like any other normal child, wanted to experience a normal childhood.

A sound from the bushes made him stop crying, he turned his head to the side, a small child about his age came from behind the long thick grass. He looked at him with a puzzled look, the boy drew closer and closer until they were only inches apart.

'What are you doing here? Why are you crying?' He asked with a face full of curiosity, the boy's black ears were twitching. He looked at those two ears and the black tail that swayed to the right and left.

Was he a werewolf? But why a small boy?

'You are crying loud, are you hungry? You can't hunt yet?' the boy asked again.

He shook his head, wiping the tears off his cheeks. 'I'm annoyed with my father.'

The wolf boy sat beside him, glancing him up and down with his amber-golden eyes, which kept him focused on them. 'Are you a human?'

Hearing that, he nodded, the boy's hunch was half right, he looked like a human but wasn't an ordinary human, to be more precise he was an alpha prime.

They spent time talking, the boy teased him, saying he was a weak boy and a crybaby, even though those words often came out of his father's mouth, somehow he didn't take offense when the words are coming from the wolf boy's mouth.

'If your father is cruel I will save you when I become an adult,' he said, puffing out his chest. 'When I grow up I will be stronger than you as a wolf.' He added and they both laughed.

He smiled 'I will wait for you, may I know your name?'

'I am the strongest and scariest wolf in this forest, Adam Reyns!'

'Adam,' He quietly mumbled his name.

The two of them linked their pinkies, an innocent covenant of the two little boys.

*

The death of King Jonas two years ago resulted in a new revolution in the magnificent kingdom of Barlow, the crown prince of the noble Jonas was predicted to bring good fortune to the country of Barlow.

'I see a bright future in prince Jacob.'

News from the most famous fortune-teller swirled in every street, after the death of King Jonas, Prince Jacob did not officially occupy the throne immediately, there were important ceremonies that he had to perform to win over the hearts of the citizens, and because Jacob was the youngest son chosen— the Barlow land waited for Prince Jacob to turn twenty-two.

Many of the people wondered why King Jonas chose Prince Jacob as his successor, of his four children Jacob was the one he was always proud of to ascend the throne, at that time many citizens disagreed with this decision considering the first prince— Johan, also popular, a talented man, renowned for his hospitality and down-to-earth personality, so many of his supporters wanted to encourage Johan to become their future king, but King Jonas repeatedly refused to listen and kept saying that his youngest son would be the heir.

Seeing that some people became bitter towards Prince Jacob, even though he never showed any negative attitude towards the citizens but because of the way the king treated his youngest son in a special way— causing some people to use this to hate Prince Jacob —'spoiled brat', 'young people can never lead'— and other gossips, there were many who insulted and bad-mouthed Prince Jacob after his father's death, the haters seemed to feel freer to spread rumors after his father's death.

Apart from the haters, of course there were also many loyal supporters of Prince Jacob, they trusted him, they couldn't wait until the day Jacob turned twenty-two years old, they were ready to serve and support the next king. They believed in the words of King Jonas who said 'there is something special in his youngest son', something unique that many alphas didn't have so they couldn't wait to see Prince Jacob rule, to see him prosper, many fortune-tellers also said that prince Jacob would be a new light for Barlow.

Of course the news about Prince Jacob who would become king of Barlow spread to other areas, many other regions had grudges and wanted to destroy Barlow, the death of King Jonas invited many of these areas to try to attack Barlow, assuming this kingdom was weakened because it was in a power vacuum, however, the young prince proved once again that he deserved to be king. He had always won wars easily at a young age, bringing pride to the Barlow kingdom.

Rumors of the powerful young prince winning the war time and time again made many neighboring countries want governmental cooperation, but the terms of the cooperation were not easy, Barlow knew how rich and powerful their territory was so couldn't carelessly trust other regions to form an alliance.

Smart Man, Cunning Prince, Bloodthirsty, Lunatic Prince, Madman, Inhuman Prince.

Many new nicknames came out of the mouths of residents of neighboring areas.

And it was all because some of them had witnessed firsthand how the young prince won successive wars

A distant sound of trumpets, the great gates of the Barlow frontier opened, with a group of soldiers on horseback returning to their homes, ahead— there was Prince Jacob, seated proudly on a black horse smiling faintly at the crowd. The blood stains on his armor were not his blood— stained with the blood of his enemies. His face was slightly soiled with dirt, a clear view of a man returning from the battlefield.

Platinum blonde hair fluttered in the wind, sharp blue eyes like jewels shining under the scorching sun, the prince looked like an angel, his beauty would leave you speechless. The screams of the residents who called his name made Jacob slow down his horse's pace, greeting the residents who looked at him with proud eyes.

Soldiers of Barlow returned home in one piece— back in the same numbers as they had left, no soldiers got seriously injured, yet again Prince Jacob's fifth perfect victory.

He stopped his horse in the middle of the plaza, raised his sword causing the crowd to fall into instant silence. "We won the war against the Argün region."

Cheers echoed from the crowd, several knights ordered the citizens to give way, Jacob smiled riding his horse calmly until he arrived in front of the royal gate.

He dismounted from his horse, ordered the servant to bring the horse back to its stable and didn't forget to order it to be fed. He walked inside, feet stepped straight into his room, but before he could open the door a hand blocked him.

"Look at my little brother, he looks like a beast!"

Julia— his older sister, wiped Jacob's cheeks which were soiled with dirt with her handkerchief, Jacob clicked his tongue, this one older sister still treated him like a child.

"Julia, I'm tired. I want to sleep."

"Have you heard the rumors? people are calling you a lunatic prince, a human butcher, should we kill them?"

Jacob had heard those words of course, but he didn't really care, taking them as a passing, unimportant matter. "Julia, I'm tired."

As if not hearing his protests, Julia pinched his cheek hard, Jacob groaned but to be honest it didn't hurt that much. "Why did you let them disrespect you? They have to learn a lesson that they can't speak dirty to royalty!"

"Do you really care about that, Julia? You're not someone who thinks that way. Also, I'm not like father."

He knew his sister wasn't someone who thought that nobles were higher in the hierarchy than commoners, his sister wasn't that arrogant. Julia still couldn't shake her overprotective nature towards her younger brother.

"Okay, I've ordered the maid to prepare warm water for your bath."

"No, I want to sleep," he grumbled but Jacob still let his sister clean his face.

A smile graced Julia's sweet lips, seeing that made Jacob raise an eyebrow. He knew this smile all too well, the smile of his older sister when something good happened. Seeing Jacob who kept staring, Julia also raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"No, it's just that you're smiling."

"I'm happy my little brother came home intact after the war, am I not allowed to smile because of that?"

"It is not like that-"

Julia took his brother's hand, leading him to go to the bathroom. "When you've showered, and you've eaten, I'll tell you something."

Jacob could only sigh, obeying his sister's request that he couldn't refuse, more precisely, he couldn't go against this one older sister, he knew Julia's characteristics very well, if Jacob didn't comply— whatever Julia wanted to say, even a word wouldn't come out from Julia's mouth.

A childhood memory suddenly came to his mind, where Julia baked him a cake, and at that time Jacob refused to eat it, he appreciated his sister's kind gesture but he didn't really like sweets. Julia hid his favorite book, Jacob kept asking for the book to be returned however Julia stubbornly didn't want to tell where she had hidden it. Until Jacob finally gave up, he agreed to eat the cake, the next day she baked a cake for him— a carrot cake. Julia then returned his book with a satisfied smile.

"It's scary how stubborn she is—"