CHAPTER 279: _THE PRICE OF LOYALTY IS DEATH

Kaelos’ POV

*****

I swear to the goddess, sitting in this throne room under the scrutiny of these Alpha Kings was agitating.

I could barely hold back my anger as each of them dared open their mouths to pass judgment as if any of them were saints.

Alpha King Maddox of Australia especially.

That bastard had run conquests during the war that led hundreds of his soldiers to their unnecessary demise while he sat in the comfort of his high throne... But no one batted an eye.

But now, when it came to the murder of an Alpha King who had threatened the stability of peace among werewolves, not just in this continent but the others... It became a problem.

"What I’m saying is... We let Alpha King Kaelos defend himself and share his side of the story." Luna Queen Janelle muttered calmly, sipping her cup of tea before adding. "Then we can pass judgment."

I clenched my jaw, resting my hands comfortably on the armrests of my throne.

The other Alpha kings stared at me with hidden disdain, silently waiting.

"Well, go on, Alpha King Kaelos." Alpha King Soren of South America said with a scoff, placing his hand on his jaw expectantly. "How do you hope to defend yourself against such a grave crime?"

I stared at the young man with a small smirk threatening to twitch at the corner of my lips. I could tell he was enraged about his parents’ deaths at the hands of the Lord of the North.

But the last thing I’m going to do is make myself a scapegoat for that as well.

"My father, Alpha King Balthazar, gave the word ’ruthless’ another meaning." I began, scanning my gaze through the faces of everyone on the large screen. "Many of you must have heard of his... Exploits. When the war began, he was just a new Alpha King but managed to lay waste to several human settlements on this continent, escalating the war worldwide."

"The humans allied themselves with the witches first, last time I checked." Alpha King Mwansa spoke up with a bored tone. "Besides... Didn’t you soon follow in your father’s footsteps in the approach to the war? The most known being the slaughter of hundreds of human soldiers in Mexico."

I raised an eyebrow. "Are you suggesting you don’t have skeletons in your cupboard as well, Alpha King Mwansa?"

Mwansa’s eyes blazed with anger. "Do you think I want this war? Didn’t you see that clip from the Lord of the North’s broadcast? The one from Nigeria?"

My mind went back to the video in question.

I could still remember the screams of the werewolf villagers, women and children, as human soldiers rained bullets on them, killing them in a church of all places.

"And then there’s the witch who slaughtered hundreds of my wolves in Paris as shown in that same broadcast." Luna Queen Janelle chimed, rubbing her forehead with a sigh. "Let’s not deviate from the main point here, gentlemen."

Silence.

I nodded at her, drawing in a breath.

I could feel Odessa glancing at me from the corner of her eyes but I tried to ignore that as I spoke up.

"My point is, my father tried everything to instil his brutal beliefs into me. As soon as I got my wolf at thirteen, he deemed it a sign from the goddess that I was destined for greatness. And that ’greatness’ included furthering the slaughter of witch and human civilians."

"It’s war, Alpha King." Alpha King Soren blurted all of a sudden, his eyes squinting with impatience. "That’s usually what happens."

I parted my lips, ready to put the boy in his place but Luna Queen Janelle beat me to it.

"For the last time, Alpha King Soren. Let him speak or I’ll log you off this meeting since you’re so impatient." Her voice was sharp and left no room for rebuttal.

The lad’s jaw tightened but he didn’t argue, folding his arms in front of his chest.

I nodded at Janelle. "Thank you, Luna Queen. As I was saying, my father began getting impatient when he saw that I wasn’t fulfilling his desires for destruction the way he wanted... Even after dozens of military raids I led on human cities and covens. The abuse, scoldings and beatings from him... I bore them all."

I felt Odessa’s guilt and concern beside me and also a deep longing that made me glance at her.

It was the kind of longing I felt from her whenever she wanted to hold me. Or kiss me. Or touch me.

But I couldn’t show that vulnerable side here.

Not in the presence of these morons.

"So when my father wanted to use me as a pawn to infiltrate South American territory... I knew I had had enough." I finally dropped the bomb that I hadn’t revealed to anyone before.

Gasps echoed among the Alpha Kings as they all adjusted their sitting positions.

"Your father wanted to conquer the South American packs?" Alpha King Maddox asked.

"That’s preposterous! How greedy does a man have to be to want to conquer another continent during a war against our species?" Alpha King Mwansa spat with disgust.

"Where’s your proof?" Alpha King Soren asked with a cold tone, his voice reverberating with anger.

As for Luna Queen Janelle... She was silent, tapping her cup of tea with an unreadable glint in her emerald eyes.

But I could tell she was hiding her irritation behind that mask.

"For thousands of years, the Bloodlines of the Alpha Kings of each continent have made sure to keep their legs within their respective territories." Luna Queen Janelle muttered, her tone solemn as she continued.

"Even when the humans warred amongst themselves for land, we never joined them. And now you’re telling us your father wanted to break that millennia-old balance... During a global war?"

I nodded slowly. "He believed his ’friend’, Alpha King Leonardo, was getting soft. And he was confident that if we took control of the ancient nature magic of the South American packs, we’d be able to tip the scales of the war in both continents and wipe out the witches and humans."

Alpha King Soren’s jaw was clenched on the screen.

It was his father we were talking about after all.

There was a drawn-out silence, and all the Alpha Kings seemed to be in deep thought. It was clear that none of them agreed with my father’s methods... They just didn’t want to state it bluntly.

"The matter you’ve brought before us is... Nothing to just blurt casually like it’s a cafe gathering, Alpha King Kaelos." Janelle spoke with a sigh.

I smiled bitterly. "Yes, I know. I didn’t want to bring it up once I took over the throne because... Well, it was in the past. I didn’t want any of you to mistrust me because of my father’s sins."

Alpha King Maddox muttered under his breath, but it was still very audible. "The past has a funny way of coming back to bite us in the ass."

I ignored him and so did everyone else.

"Very well." Janelle nodded, dropping her cup of tea. "I have a suggestion. At another date, Alpha King Kaelos will have to prove to all of us that he indeed doesn’t wish to continue in his father’s footsteps."

I frowned. "My continent is currently under a truce with the witches and humans, Luna Queen."

She shrugged. "And while I commend you for that development, we can’t deny the fact that the Lord of the North is rotting that truce from the inside out. Your territory is falling apart, Alpha King. Who knows if you’d decide to take up your father’s idea of conquest to give yourself an upper hand?"

I ground my jaw but I held myself back.

I understood where she was coming from.

I might not fully trust myself either if I were in her shoes.

"The blood moon festival is coming up in four months." Alpha King Mwansa’s eyes lit up. "It’s always been a time for wolves around the world to gather. We could use that day."

A cold shiver ran down my spine at the mention of that.

It never made sense to me how an event that made the inner wolves of werewolves go haywire or dormant became a call for celebration worldwide.

"It’s settled then." Luna Queen Janelle nodded with a small smile. "We’ll use the blood moon festival to check in on Alpha King Kaelos again. We haven’t had a festival since the war started anyway."

I kept my expression stoic, waiting for her to continue.

"In the meantime, address your people. You don’t need me to tell you that the Lord of the North is trying to stir something with that video he dug up." She stated with a heavy tone.

With that, they all logged off simultaneously, leaving the throne room in silence.

But after a few seconds...

"Well, that went much better than I expected." Odessa turned her gaze to me, placing her right hand on my shoulder. "Are you okay?"

I swerved my head to her, about to say something when Layla suddenly rushed toward me from a corner of the throne room.

"My lord, there’s a report of a coup in one of the packs in North Carolina." She reported hastily. "The Alpha of the pack was killed after making a speech to his people supporting you."

My blood ran cold.

The price of loyalty was death now?