2 The betrayal
The Perdio castle stood at its height, the victory of the past shown in its glory across the night. The legacy dug inside its stone brick walls, legacies of past rulers from generation to generation.
A few years ago, I ruled after my father who had died during a war at the border. A war that lasted for decades. Decades of constant bloodshed, agony, and death of fallen soldiers.
Tonight wasn't any different.
I stood tall before my window, my hands behind me as my eyes scanned my pack house. I couldn't stop the sense of impending doom that seemed to watch over me anytime I remembered the last council meeting. I breathed out heavily, knowing exactly what was coming but there was no warning bell now, nothing to tell my people what was about to happen.
My eyes glided over the pack house again, over my people and I sulked in a sharp breath. I wished I had my mate beside me, a Luna to comfort me, and my pack members. Maybe I could have avoided this humiliation. After losing the war to the Blue moon pack a month ago, the talk had never stopped, the fear, the agitation.
During the last council meeting, the talk had been all about my mate, and the war we lost. My Beta Jamie had made sure of it.
"We lost to the bloody Blue moon, that's the problem, Alpha" He had roared, veins popping out across his forehead and neck.
I was just as pissed as Jaime was but he didn't have the right to be so blunt about it. I had clenched my hand in anger, about to give a befitting reply when I heard someone speak up.
"We lost a war, Jamie, we didn't lose our home, and it was our Alpha that made sure of that."
"So, it's until we lose our homes and the rest of our clans? Uh?" Jaime retorted, his facial expression was filled with displeasure.
"And what do you suggest, Beta?" Chris has asked him, obviously tired of his edgy attitude.
"I suggest that we take the blue moon pack by surprise. Tonight"
"That's enough, Jamie." I finally cut him off. This caused him to turn an angry look at me, but I looked away from him. I was irritated by his eagerness to start a war as the minutes passed by.
"We will not start a war that-."
"I think it's clear enough, Alpha," Elder Jeffery interrupted, "We need a Luna. It's high time, don't you think? We'll never be feared without one. We aren't strong without her by your side." He was the oldest of all the council members.
I opened my mouth to reply, but when I saw the expression on my council member's faces, I instantly knew that the topic of getting a Luna had been agreed upon by all of them. I wanted to tell them that it was just bullshit, that I- that we could survive without a Luna, and not how he made it out to be, that we could actually win a war without a Luna's support but instead I shut my mouth because I realized I wanted her just as much.
I also needed my mate to fill the empty void in me, to accompany me, and rule the pack with me. For ten years, I have been searching for her. Before I became the Alpha, but as far and wide as I searched, I realized she wasn't anywhere near me. I didn't know where she was, but I knew I would find her one day.
The pack members had become restless and worried about this. The fear of doom for not having a Luna by their side. It was said that a pack without a Luna was like an orphan, easily bullied, and destined for destruction.
Thinking about it now, I realized it had been another month, and the war was still waging somewhere, and yet, I still hadn't found my chosen mate.
I heaved a deep sigh to escape the clutches of the past months as I heard the clicking sound of the unmistakable high leather boots of my sister, Liana and turned around to see her walking in.
Liana was three years younger than I was, but at twenty-four, she still didn't believe in dressing up like a woman. Typical daughter of a powerful Alpha. I didn't blame her though, she'd been trained to be a warrior just like I was, and when our last parent died, she'd been forced to keep to herself and assumed the role of a warrior.
She had had many marriage proposals in the past years but she'd never had any interest in them. She believed her place was here in the castle, with me. And until she found her mate, she wasn't going to settle with the "scumbags" who lost their mates, only to make her a replacement.
"Are you still bothered about Jamie?" Liana flashed me a knowing smile as she got closer to me.
"No, Lia. I'm not."
She heaved a sigh and placed her palm on my shoulder, then looked into my dark eyes which I knew were filled with unmistakable concerns. "You know it wasn't your fault, right? What happened at that battlefield. And it isn't because you haven't found her. You will find her, okay?"
I watched my little sister and wished things had turned out differently. She was always looking out for me, forgetting about her own self. I wished she could set herself free and be happier, but she was too stubborn.
Plastering a fake smile on my face, I raised my hands and gently rubbed her fair cheeks. "I am fine, Lia, " I tried to be as convincing as I could. "Now go to sleep okay?"
Liana opened her mouth to talk but when she saw my brother's expression, she knew better than to push. She knew there was more than I was willing to tell her, she could sense it, but she was not about to bother me tonight. I needed all the rest I could get.
She planted a firm smile on my lips before she nodded and turned towards the door.
Liana walked out into the dimly lit passageway away from her brother to where her maid stood, waiting.
"Princess, is everything alright?" Her maid curiously asked the moment she saw Liana's troubled expression.
Liana looked back to give Luke's room the last glance before she heaved a long breath. "Let's hope everything is fine."
There was an eerie feeling about the night, about the unusual darkness. She looked past her maid and saw the guards that lined around, guarding the Alpha's room.
She couldn't shake off that feeling that there was something terribly wrong somewhere. She turned around and started walking out of the hallway, eyes moving to the sides, watching for any slight movement. She walked poised, ready for a fight anytime.
Meanwhile, back at the Alpha's passway, the guards stood attentively, their spheres and weapons held tight on each hand. Then from behind, assassins came out from their hiding spots, quickly putting a knife at their throats and slicing them open before the guards could even detect their movements.
Fifty of the Alpha's guards had been slaughtered like lambs in his throne room, and nobody noticed anything. It was as silent as a graveyard.
A blond-haired tall man walked to his door, having finished off Luke's guards, a long sword in his hand. He was 'Jaime' the Beta of the Cayon Moon pack. He looked to the side again, a big grin on his mouth as he leaned, and pushed the door open.
Liana suddenly stopped walking the instant she got to the second hall that led to her room. She carefully listened, and heard her maid pull out a sharp knife from her robe. She spun around, a bit quicker than her maid. Her swift move protected her before her maid could stab her with it, then she slit her throat first with an arm knife.
She watched in shock as her body fell limp to the floor, just in time for more men to emerge from nowhere, men she couldn't quite recognize. She knew things were going down tonight.
She knew something was wrong. Luke knew about this, but he never told her. She sensed how tense he was, yet he never told her about it. Luke. Why didn't he? Anger fueled her and she screamed. She rushed toward one of the men to stab him multiple times on the neck before seizing his sword from his hands. She didn't give him a second glance as he slipped to the floor. She continued fighting the other assassins, the thought of Luke running through his mind.
What had started as a mere fight had turned into a bloodbath as the time went by, and more assassins came out of nowhere.
While she fought mercilessly, she wondered who had planned this betrayal. Who had planned the assassination of the Alpha?
She fought them as fast as she could, eyes mostly trained at the hall leading to her brother's chamber. She had to be there. The thought caused her to scream louder as she cut through the men.
Luke's POV
I stood at the end of my bed, watching my Beta walk towards me, a sword in his right hand, bloodstains on his long robe. He had a sadistic grin on his lips, like a grim reaper, ready to take my life. I watched him, perplexed, a poker look on his face all the same. I had seen this coming. But I hadn't expected that it would be a sword fight instead of fighting in our true form.
"Alpha. . . " Jamie called out with a smirk as he took slow calculated steps toward me.
"I always knew you'd overthrow me one day," I uttered in a cold voice as my hand clenched into a fist. "I just never thought you'd do that tonight."
"I didn't think I surprised you."
"I just said you didn't."
"I'm not here for chitchat, Luke," Jaime replied, clearly annoyed by my arrogance, but I couldn't care less.
"You're here to take over Perdio castle, the throne. But you'll never take over the Cayon Moon Pack. My pack members will never recognize you as their Alpha, Jaime."
"You're just all talk, Luke. You were never worthy of this pack! You were never worthy of ruling this pack!"
"And you are?" I laughed hard, I made sure to remain as calm as possible.
A part of me was surprised Jamie would ever do this, would ever betray me this way but a bigger part of me knew all along. This was who he was.
"You're bad blood, Luke. You don't deserve to be a leader. You don't have a mate. You're only gonna lead us to our doom. A pack without a Luna for 10 years. Perdio is the only castle that has this diminishing status! For how long do we have to suffer with you? How long do we have to wait for you to find your mate? To find our Luna?"
"You don't know what I do for this pack, Jamie!" I retorted; I was starting to lose my cool.
"I know everything, Luke! I'm your Beta! I know every fucking thing! But you're so pathetic, you don't even know what's wrong from right."
"You think you can run this pack better than I? Is that it?"
"The council members are all in support of that."
"Since you got their vote already, why did you go this extra mile? Still, need me out of the way?"
Instead of replying, Jamie pointed his sword at me, aiming for my chest. I smirked and watched the tip of the sword pointed to my heart, I looked back at Jamie's face and said, "You are a coward, Jamie. You've always been. This isn't how to fight; this isn't how to win."
"Maybe it isn't," Jaime crooked a smile at the corner of his lips, "but I don't wanna die. That's the whole point of taking over this pack anyways. So everyone wouldn't die because you cannot find yourself a Luna."
I tried to reach for my sword that hung on the wall next to my bed, but Jamie caught up with me before I could. He swung his sword toward me till I moved away, dodging his swing.
"I want you to remember my face while I kill you, Luke," Jamie said, "because that's what you truly deserve."
"You are. . ."
Jamie swung his sword again, striking me on the side of my stomach and I yelped in pain. He strikes again and I dodged, awarding him with a blow on his jaw and striking him on the wrist, but he didn't drop his sword. Instead, he stumbled back, touched his bleeding mouth, and looked back at me furiously.
I took the opportunity to reach for my sword and took a stance.
Jamie smiled in amusement, "I knew it wasn't gonna be easy getting rid of you," he said amidst laughter.
"You bet it isn't."
Jamie launched for me again, our swords clashing. How I wished we were fighting in our wolf form, but I was already too injured to shift. Jaime must have planned this because he knew he was better than me with swords, but he can't ever win against my wolf.
I looked at my Beta's eyes, saw the hatred in them, saw how he wanted to get this over with.
I pushed him back, and knocked his sword out of his hand. But I knew this was it, there was no saving my pack, my dignity, my throne.
I already lost.
I felt a sharp pain erupt through my stomach as Jamie picked up his sword and plunged into me, causing me to choke on blood.
I had lost.
At that moment, I suddenly realized so many things. I realized I was never prepared for any of this. Never prepared to be an Alpha, or make decisions about who to rule Perdio. I couldn't even save my life, and I called myself an Alpha?
I felt the blade yank out of me, and I stumbled back. I staggered before I supported myself with the wall. But when I saw Jamie aiming at me again with a purposeful scream, I knew I had to live. I knew I had to save myself. I knew I had to defend him, and put him in his place. I wanted to have him pay.
I had never wanted something so much before, but the pain was excruciating enough to knock me out, and I tried to keep my eyes open as I saw his blade reaching me.
