Lycanthropy
Chapter Thirty-One

The Kingdom in the south:

It has been months now, ever since Emerson has rejected me as her mate. The pain of it, was constantly present, reminding me, each and every moment of the day, how stupid I have been.

As a result, I have been doing nothing but making up for my lost time, and slack. My elite warriors, were trained by me personally, in a way that no other Alpha trained theirs, besides Emerson that is.

So far, they have been at it, for forty days in a row, where on Mondays and Wednesdays they went hiking a thirty mile trail, through the forests. Every Friday, they trained in hand to hand combat, in both human and wolf form. And the days in between were used for strengthening their muscles with weightlifting, punching bags, and doing all sorts of exercises.

I know I’m tough on them, and even a few warriors had bailed out, and joined other packs, to not have to endure this kind of severe training. At first I was furious, but then I thought, that I should have done this before, as now I have an army of meticulously strong warriors, that can’t compete against anyone.

The eight remaining councillors, are still seated and have their jobs accordingly. They told me, that they knew that Emerson was my mate, as it turned out, Drake had set up listening devices, all around the palace. Of course, the devices were removed instantly, and after many, many meetings, the council came to trust me again.

They understood, what kind of person Drake was, a corrupt and manipulative snake. Although they didn’t agree on me killing him there and then. Even though he had made my mate reject me.

I didn’t like that they weren’t completely agreeing with me, but I can’t have it all. They do accept more arguments from my side now, and won’t force me to get something done anymore. They consult, as they should.

My Beta Michael and Amy, have taken on the job to do finances, arrange transfers and sign small contracts. So, I can solely focus on the training, meetings, and any other variety of work. I even been to a grand opening of a new shop, had helped in delivering a premature cub, and joined in on several contests, that were arranged on the city square.

Upon knowing that I didn’t have a mate anymore, women have been throwing themselves at me, but I didn’t want them. They smelled awful, and looked ugly, as none of them came even close to what Emerson represents. My heart yearns for her body, as that night, where we had sex in the showers, never seems to leave my memory.

I didn’t care, that she had taken the lands in the north, and crowned herself Queen. Most councillors suggested that I should take back, what belongs to me, with force. But I know that if I chose to start a war against her, a lot of wolves would replace their deaths. Because she trains her warriors, just as ferocious as me, only she has been doing it for almost two years now. Besides, we practically have the same amount of warriors, so it would be an endless battle.

Of course, I could gather up all the other packs, and use their warriors as well, but I know that she treats the wolves in her pack with respect, love, and generosity. More so than I can say from other Alpha’s around the continent. So, I’ve decided to not go and attack her.

“Alpha? We have more reports coming in, from all the packs along the eastern coast.” One of my Deltas said, when he got permission to enter my office.

I had made good changes in my way of ruling and had a pack that truly accepts me now. Everything was going just fine, except for these odd attacks.

It weren’t rogues, as they didn’t smell like it. They just came in groups of twelve wolves, attacked at broad daylight, killed all the pack members that attacked them, and after exactly ten minutes, they left again.

It was strange, to say the least. And the number of attacks kept growing. No one knows where they came from, and why they did this.

Of course, all packs were informed, and all their members were walking on egg-shells. Putting up curfew for all the children and non-warriors, and making sure that they are in their houses, unless emergency requires differently.

Besides me feeling guilty that I haven’t acted up as a King, these attacks were another reason as to why I am training my warriors so ferociously.

“Which pack has suffered the most?” I asked my Delta.

“Sea Side Shore.” He replied.

Shit, that was a small pack, to even begin with. If they have suffered the most casualties, then they are done for, if another attack comes in.

“Alright, gather up the Gamma, and a squad of wolves. I’m going to visit them, personally.” I said to my Delta, at which he nodded and went his way.

“Frank, if you screw up again, I might have to demote you. Is that clear?” I said to my Gamma, who got caught by Emerson, when he was supposed to spy on her.

His eyes grew wide in horror. He definitely didn’t want to be demoted to Delta, to be publicly humiliated in front of the pack and so on. Immediately after realisation kicked in, that he has to be determined to succeed at this mission, his eyes turned black, notifying me that his wolf was stepping forward.

“Yes Alpha! I won’t let you down!” He stated and began to command the warriors to unload, and get into the packhouse of Sea Side Shore.

While talking to the Luna of the pack, it appeared that the attackers, only attacked the male wolves, and ran past any female ones. And as all the reports said, they left after exactly ten minutes. I asked about tactics and fighting skills, they might have used, to replace out how well they were trained and prepared.

They were fast, faster than the warriors of this pack are, and much stronger and slightly larger than normal too.

“King Alpha, may I speak?” A young male wolf asked me.

“Lucian, no! There is no time for your nonsense!” The Luna of the pack scolded her son, and pulled him back.

“Mother, he needs all the information to get those attackers, even if it is strange and just intuitive!” He whispered to her.

“Please, let me hear him, Luna. I’ll say if it’s nonsense or not.”

The boy Lucian stepped forward, and hesitated for a moment to start his explanation.

“Well, obviously I can’t know for sure, but I have a feeling that they are searching for something. They have been attacking us for three times already, and all they ever did, was ransacking the place, running around and only killing those that attacked them. I mean, if they were going to take over our pack…”

“They would have killed you all, already.” I finished his sentence, and the boy nodded.

He was ashamed that his father’s pack could be diminished so quickly. And I could see the sadness in his face too, for losing him, in one of those attacks. If the boy was right about his assumptions, then his father would still be alive if he hadn’t attacked them, head on. Those twelve wolves would have only rummaged through their stuff, and maybe smashing some things and break a wall or two, but no casualties were caused.

And all those three times, they left after ten minutes exactly. It looks like they want to draw out someone. To agonize the pack, to see if their target would show itself. It is all so strange, that I can’t wrap my head around it.

“Well, I’ll take your information into consideration, especially about the part where they might search for something.” I said to him and patted his shoulders.

“Luna, You have quite the smart young Alpha here. Make sure to raise him with strength and wisdom, so he can take over the pack when he is ready.” I said to her, and she looked at me with pride in her eyes.

She nodded, and I told them that my squad of warriors would stay with them for a while, until they got everything sorted.