FATED TO ALPHA HUNTER BY VENNEH LISAH

𝗛𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥'𝗦 𝗣𝗢𝗩:

We got back home from Ivan's pack, and after freshening up, I followed my mate to bed. She snuggled up on my chest, and I held her close, but soon, she was sleeping, and I couldn't sleep. Ania had told me about Richie being referred to as 'king,' and I was trying to wrap my mind around it. It was Joe's voice in my head that jolted me upright in bed, taking me away from my thoughts. I looked down at my sleeping mate, who was wrapped tightly in my arms. I slipped my arm out from under her, trying not to jostle her awake.

"I finally found his files," Joe told me.

"Good. You and Lemmy can meet me at my office and wake up Ben. Tell him to meet me there too," I said.

Joe and Lemmy had been digging, trying to find Richie's files so we could get to the bottom of this. So when he said he had them, I wanted to know right away what I was dealing with. Opening the door, I went straight to Richie's room. I knocked twice before he came to open it, rubbing his eyes.

"Richie, you're coming with me," I said, and he nodded before closing the door behind him. We walked into my office, and I needed answers immediately - I couldn't wait. After stepping inside, I motioned toward the chair on the opposite side of the desk and took my seat. Richie sat down and folded his arms across his chest, appearing quite relaxed and unconcerned.

"Why are you here, Richard? Should I consider you a potential threat to my pack and my mate? Because if you are, you won't leave this office alive," I said, getting straight to the point.

"I'm not a threat to anyone, especially not Ania, because her blood runs in my veins,I am sired to her." he blurted out.

I furrowed my brows, confused. "Excuse me?" I asked. Did he mean he was sired when someone turned him into a vampire? I growled and stood up, making it clear that I would not share Ania and would kill anyone who dared to look at her in that way.

Richard sighed and leaned forward, rubbing his palms together. "I'm sired to the Devonshire bloodline," he spat out, cutting to the chase.

"I need you to explain what you mean," I growled at Richie.

"You don't want me to explain that, my alpha," Richie replied, but I persisted.

"You will explain, truthfully. I need to establish if you are a risk to my mate and why you are here," I snarled at him.

"I am a king, just as you are Augustus, after our parents died. But before my father died, he told me that I was sired to the Devonshire princess," Richie answered. I looked at Joe, but he was watching the principal, just as curious.

"Yet Devonshire and Avril were so close and always fought Augustus. Could it all be linked?" Lemmy asked, just as confused.

"Augustus was growing very powerful, and if care wasn't taken, he would have overthrown both Devonshire and my father, King Avril. So Devonshire made a pact with my father for him to help him win the trials, and in return, his first daughter Ania was promised to me when she came of age. This would merge the kingdoms into one and make Augustus Kingdom a thing of the past, never to be spoken of," Richie explained. My inner beast rushed forward at his words.

As I flung the desk towards Richie, it flew towards the ceiling, narrowly missing him. Ben quickly grabbed Kim and pulled him away as the desk upturned. In a matter of seconds, I had my hands wrapped around Richie's throat, and my Lycan side took over as I shifted, my claws slicing through his skin. I flexed my fingers, tightening my grip.

"I told you that you didn't want to know!" Richie snarled, his nostrils flaring with anger. "That's why I'm here! I need Ania's hand back." Despite my hold on him, he remained unflinching and undefensive. His face turned purple as I squeezed his throat.

"He is the king, he has immunity," Joe reminded me as he gripped my shoulders and lifted me away from Richie. I lifted Richie up before slamming him onto the floor. He groaned before picking himself up as Joe and Lemmy stood in front of me, ready to defend me. However, I noticed that Kim and Ben were reluctant to come to my side.

"You're here to awaken an old sire?" I asked Richie, my voice low and menacing.

"It's more than just loyalty, the sire bond not only prevents me from harming Ania but it also causes us pain when we're not near our sire. Even years after Ania was kidnapped, I still felt the pull of my sire's blood in my veins, which made me believe she was still alive. It wasn't until I could no longer feel that tug that I gave up hope, until recently when the bond was awakened and led me to this city," Richie explained as I paced around the office before leaning against the wall.

Richie looked up at me, and I snarled, but he held his gaze steady. "Ania is already marked and mated," I said as a last-ditch effort. "I know that, my alpha. But we both know that the Devonshire bloodline is different. She is not bound by the mate bond like the rest of us. She can choose to leave you and be with me," Richie countered. Ben, in a vampire's speed, poured mountain ash around me, locking me away from Richard Avril just as I was about to attack him for wanting what is mine.

"She is mine," I snarled in frustration. "For now!" Richie snarled back. "But I am willing and determined to make her see me more than just her principal through the sire bond. She was mine way before she became yours, and she will be mine again," Richie added.

"Richard, you don't love her. You only want her so you can make a name for yourself as a king by merging both kingdoms. You only want to be the king of the most powerful kingdom there is. I love Ania for who she is. I loved her even before I knew she was a princess," I yelled.

"Yet I didn't start this. It was our fathers. Don't blame me, and I won't stop until I make her mine again," Richie yelled back. He was being damn selfish, and I would have snapped his head off and dealt with the consequences later.

"Pack up and leave this house. Never show yourself here again," I ordered him, but he just laughed in a mocking way.

"I will do no such thing. I won't go anywhere. I will remain here and make her fall in love with me. And if you insist I go, then I might as well tell her who I am to her and let's see how this ends," Richie threatened. I slumped in my chair. Could Ania really pick this prick over me? I asked myself before roaring, "You can tell her if you want to, but you are leaving the pack house."

"He is not doing any such thing, he isn't going anywhere!" Ben barked. "My niece deserves better than you, and yes, the sire bond is true. One drop of Richie's blood in her mouth, and the bond awakens in her. But Richie doesn't want that. He wants her to accept him by herself," Ben added. I couldn't believe the man was taking Richie's side. "Now!" he roared. Kim and Ben changed their regalia in a split of a second.

They changed into full armor, holding their crest. Lemmy, Joe, and I watched them warily as they approached Richie. Lemmy and Joe instantly shifted to their lycan form for defense.

Ben held his hands out to Richie with a sword in his hands. He knelt before Richie in front of me, and Kim did the same. I knew what he wanted to do and snarled at the thought, mind-linking my men not to do anything. Richie held his hand out for Ben, and Ben ran his blade across Richie's palm. Richie's eyes glowed like beacons as the steel sliced him.

"We hereby revoke our allegiance to Hunter Allan Augustus of the Augustus Kingdom and pledge our loyalty to Richard Avril, King of the Avril Kingdom!"

Ben and Kim stood up, each lifting their swords. They gripped the hilt with one hand and the blade with the other, wiping their hands down the sharp edges until blood coated them. Together, they pledged their loyalty in unison:

"We pledge our allegiance to Richard Avril, the King of the Avril Kingdom. We bleed for Avril, we fight for Avril, we die for Avril. We are with Avril."

As we looked on in shock, Kim and Ben turned against us. These two men we had trusted to be on our side had brought them in, and now our own men were betraying us for the sake of power. But my hope remained with Ania; I hoped she would remain loyal to me.

They dropped their arms and fell to one knee, swords at their front before continuing. "The King rises, we rise with him and when he falls, we too shall fall," they committed their lives to protect Avril, and I jolted as their tethers to me snapped. Richie inhaled deeply as they tethered to him.

I gritted my teeth as I watched Ben rise to his feet and bow to me. Honestly, I had never thought this would happen and I didn't see it coming. I never anticipated such kind of betrayal. Ben bowed and said, "My alpha, we mean no disrespect, but the Devonshires and the Avrils have known of this pact from time immemorial. We want to uphold it. We are vowed to it; we just never thought this day would come, but here we are now."

"We appreciate your generosity in taking us in, but still, we always stand behind the Avrils. We just needed to be sure, and when her power vibrated through the sires, we knew she truly was the lost princess of Devonshire, the one Avril was sired to," Kim said, bowing his head.

My brows furrowed at his words, and I looked toward Avril, who nodded to Ben, which made me wonder how far back Avril and Ben went. Ben cleared the mountain ash, and Avril said, "Well, my alpha King, I hope you're ready for a little competition." I snarled. How dare he speak of my mate as if she were a game or trophy to be won?

"Why don't we fight here and now or go for trials and see who would win for her?" I growled, confident in my abilities. I was Augustus. We were born warriors. Richie snubbed me and strolled to Kim. He told him, "Your position is with your future queen, and I am taking over this pack house and pack as the alpha." Richie snarled, and I laughed. "Over my dead body, that happens. I took over the pack house over someone else's dead body as the alpha, and if you want to take it, you'll have to do it over my dead body." I bellowed.

"Very well. Ben, finish him. We can start making his funeral arrangements. But before that, please know that everyone in this house has already pledged their allegiance to me, except for you, Lemmy, Joe, and Ania. Ben, kill the alpha, his gamma, and the beta. Be prepared to console and comfort your future queen after their terrible demise," he ordered. My eyes widened in horror as I watched Ben splash mountain ash before pulling out a gun and loading it with a silver bullet.

"Tomorrow, the story that will be circulating everywhere will be that Alpha Hunter Allan Augustus of the Augustus Kingdom killed his beta and gamma before finally taking his own life due to the immense pressure he faced," Richard scoffed. I could already envision my Luna crying herself to sleep every night in my absence, never knowing the truth. "Now, Ben, you're wasting time," Richie snarled, and Ben cocked the gun. The sound of a bullet going off reached my ears, followed by another and then another.