CHAPTER 268: _JUDGMENT FOR THE ALPHA KING

"The Alpha Kings can wait," I growled after Layla’s report, glancing at Odessa.

She seemed calm now but I could easily tell it was a front. A mask.

Her mind was still reeling with a plethora of emotions, many of which she was intentionally locking away from me. I could feel their intensity but I couldn’t feel it like it was mine.

’Odessa...’ I whispered through the mate bond, but she looked away from me, clearing her throat and gesturing at Layla, who watched us silently.

"Please, lead the way, Layla. We can’t keep the Elders waiting... Not with something this grave." She said with a firm voice, turning her gaze to me. "I’m fine, Kaelos. I just... I need time to process everything."

I remained still, watching as she barely brushed her hand past my shoulder before walking past me and into the hallway, nodding at Layla.

Layla’s face was solemn as she cleared her throat. "Sir?"

I let out a light breath before I nodded at her and stepped out of the room with them.

.

.

We arrived in my throne room where the Elders of the pack were already waiting, standing in front of my throne.

The throne room was dimly lit as usual but the air of solemnity and tension was hard to miss. The five Elders of the pack had their backs facing us, each of them wearing ceremonial red robes.

Those robes... They never wore them unless during emergency meetings that could decide the fate of the pack. Like appointing a new Alpha King.

"Alpha King Kaelos." A male voice spoke among the elders before the owner of the voice spun around to face me.

He was a man who seemed to be in his early eighties with greying white hair and a face carved by years of power, grief, and judgment.

Elder Memphis.

The others turned around shortly after him.

Elder Harkan, Elder Vesta, Elder Kelor and finally, Elder Yune, the only woman among them—her emerald eyes assessing me from head to toe like she was watching a long-prophesied storm finally arrive.

"Do you know what you’ve done?" Elder Harkan asked, skipping any form of niceties. His words sliced through the air like a blade.

"Apparently, I’ve murdered my father again—this time, publicly," I said dryly, crossing my arms in front of my chest after drawing in a deep breath.

Elder Menphis stepped forward, his voice cold. "The video has gone viral, Alpha King. Not just in North America... The entire globe saw it and the Global Alliance Council of werewolves is already calling for a summit. The other Alpha Kings want your head... or your explanation."

My head, eh?

How fascinating.

Odessa stood beside me, remaining silent and unreadable. But I could feel her emotions like a tidal wave pressing against a dam.

"What explanation do you expect from a son whose father tried to maim him on record?" I replied, trying not to raise my voice.

"We expected you to contain your secrets," Elder Yune interjected, furrowing her eyebrows. "Or at the very least, not let them be weaponised against your reign."

"Madame Greyheart is the one who leaked it," I said quietly, causing all heads to turn to me. "She recorded it thirteen years ago. She waited until now... until she could cause the most damage."

Elder Vesta arched his eyebrows. "And why would she do that now, after all these years? Not to mention the fact that she’s dead."

I narrowed my eyes before speaking yet again. "Maybe because she’s working with the Lord of the North."

Gasps rippled through the room.

"We have no proof of that," Elder Kelor said cautiously.

"Yet," Layla added, stepping forward. "But I’ve been monitoring chatter from the witches of the high covens. Rumours have spread, and some believe the Haven of the lost has Artificial hybrid moles within its ranks."

"And what of the people?" Elder Yune asked, turning to me. "How do you plan to address them? Some are already demanding a public trial. Others think you’re the beast the prophets warned of."

I stiffened but still managed to speak. "I’ll speak to them. In time. But first, I need to make sure my house isn’t crawling with vipers."

"Your house?" Elder Harkan sneered. "You mean the very one you tore down when you killed the last Alpha King?"

"Enough!" Odessa snapped, speaking for the first time as she stepped forward.

Everyone looked shocked, including me.

She inhaled. "Kaelos did what he did to survive. Whether you agree or not, he has ruled justly for over a decade. He has protected this pack, this continent, and has earned your allegiance. What happened in that throne room was brutal but it was between a father and a son. Not a king and his people."

My heart stuttered. It didn’t feel like forgiveness from her at least, not entirely. But it was something.

Elder Yune tilted her head with short grey hair, seeming intrigued. "Spoken like a Luna Queen finally coming into her own."

Odessa bowed slightly but didn’t smile. Her fingers brushed against mine, hesitant and barely there.

Elder Memphis stepped back, his face grim. "Very well. You have twenty-four hours to release a statement. If you do not, we will be forced to gather the Continental Tribunal of Elders. And they will not be as lenient as we are."

"Understood," I bit out, already planning my next move.

The elders turned and exited, their red robes sweeping over the cold floor.

Only Layla, Odessa, and I remained.

"You okay?" I asked Odessa quietly, but she didn’t answer, only resorting to looking at me.

Her eyes were tired, and her voice was small. "Tell me... Is there anything else you’re hiding from me?"

There was silence once again as I stared at her briefly, glancing occasionally at Layla who tried pretending like she wasn’t in the throne room, parting aside strands of her braided brown hair.

But eventually...

"No. No, I’m not, Odessa." I whispered reassuringly, placing my right hand on her shoulder with a wry smile. "And I would never. Not intentionally."

She stared at me for a few seconds before stepping forward and wrapping her arms around my body, letting out a heavy breath on my chest.

.

.

I thought the silence in the mansion would give me peace.

But peace was a lie.

It had been hours since the elders left.

Layla had retired for the night, though I knew she’d stay up monitoring the media in case another leak happened. Odessa was in her chambers, and despite the hug earlier, her mental walls were still up.

My mate was protecting herself from me and I couldn’t even blame her.

I lay sprawled on my bed, fully clothed and staring at the ceiling. My thoughts ran in spirals, coiling tighter and tighter around my chest.

The video clip. The look in Odessa’s eyes. The judgment in the mall. The tribunal of elders loomed like a guillotine.

It didn’t matter that I had been barely eighteen when I killed him.

It didn’t matter that Balthazar was a sadistic tyrant.

The world didn’t care about any of that.

I sighed, my eyes finally slipping shut.

But the moment I fell asleep, I knew I wasn’t in a dream...

No, this wasn’t a dream.

This was something darker.

The air was thick, like tar coating my lungs. I stood barefoot in the middle of the old Bloodoak throne room, but it wasn’t the way it looked in the past or in the video.

This version was twisted. The torches burned with black flames and the stone walls bled.

Literally.

The floor beneath me was damp and reeked of rot. I could hear whispers, thousands of them, overlapping in every direction.

Then I heard a slow clap echo from the shadows.

Clap.

Clap.

Clap.

"My son."

I turned sharply, my claws extending on instinct.

And there he was... Balthazar Bloodoak.

But he wasn’t exactly... him.

He looked the same as he had the day I killed him, silver eyes sharp and his muscular frame coiled like a predator. But his skin was greyish, his veins bulged black beneath the surface.

His smile was all shades of wrong.

"You finally return to the scene of the crime," he said, stepping out from the darkness.

"This isn’t real," I muttered, flexing my fingers. "You’re dead."

"Dead? Oh yes. But death is never the end for a Bloodoak." He echoed with a deep sadistic laugh.

I felt it then... A pressure behind my eyes. Damon snarled inside me, unsettled.

Balthazar began to circle me, his boots echoing.

"Tell me, how did it feel?" he asked.

"What?"

"Tearing through my chest. Feeling my ribs snap. Smelling my blood on your claws. Tell me, Kaelos. Did it excite you? Did you finally feel powerful?"

"You tried to kill me," I snapped. "You called it discipline. You would have skinned me alive if I hadn’t shifted."

"So dramatic," he sneered. "Is that what you told your little witch? Is that what you told your people when they looked at you like a monster today?"

He stopped in front of me.

"I made you. And now you wear my crown. You rule from my chair. But you don’t have my strength. You don’t have my darkness."

His voice deepened into a snarl. "You have her. That soft, pink-lipped Hybrid. And you think she makes you better. But she’s your weakness."

My anger burst like a dam as I surged forward, grabbing him by the collar only to feel my fingers pass through it like air.

Illusion.

But the smell of his sweat, the echo of his voice... That was real.

Was this a spiritual projection?

"What the hell do you want from me?" I hissed.

His smile widened unnaturally.

"I want to show you what happens next."

He snapped his fingers, causing the world around us to melt like candle wax.