Chapter 5: Motives

Eric POV

I couldn’t stop the anger from eating me up. I felt totally angry. I can’t even bring myself to think it through.

Stepping inside the room and I took the first thing my hands could get. I threw the vase against the wall angrily.

It broke and scattered around the floor.

I don’t know why it took me a long time to find my mate and when I do, she’s being so stubborn. Why must the moon goddess mate me to Kahlan?

I've just spoken with Sonia and she seemed to be aware of how stubborn her sister can be. Though, she did tell me something very important.

Sonia told me Kahlan loved to be forced and dominated. I'm supposed to show her the steel I'm made up of and she would concur.

But why does it have to be so difficult? If I wasn't so bothered about having an heir, I wouldn't seriously be here. I give no damn about mates and I'm not going to. I just need to keep the Lycan race running.

The thought of it was giving me headaches. Yes, I know she was probably angry at me because she thought I killed her pack but I didn’t do that. Though, I’m yet to discover who did it.

Hardin only came to me and informed me about her. But wait a minute, how come it happened at the same time? It wouldn’t have been a coincidence or does Hardin know something about this?

“You are too angry at her, she’s your mate after all,” a deep voice broke through my thoughts, shattering them because I knew who the speaker was even before turning around.

“What are you doing here?” My thick voice bounced off my anger.

Hardin laughed and moved to the table. “Calm down, brother,” he teased. “It’s not always bad.”

I turned to look at him. “What do you want, Hardin? What do you want from me?” I yelled.

He regarded me for a moment. “It’s a great day, you know. Meanwhile, I didn’t know that your mate was so stubborn.”

I clenched my teeth harder. “Tell me the truth, Hardin. Why did you urge me to visit the crest pack last night?”

He went silent for a moment as he continued to watch me. “Well, you caught me,” he laughed. “It was actually fun deceiving you. I knew it would be a lot of fun to watch the love bird get involved in a fight,” he explained.

I wasn’t getting it. “Do you mean that you have something to do with Crest pack? Kahlan's parents?" I felt more skeptical.

Hardin regarded me for another moment. Then, he whirled around and headed toward the mirror. His hand slowly went over his face. Then, he turned around to look at me.

My eyes went wide and dark with shock. For some minutes, I couldn't comprehend it. Wait, hope what I'm thinking of wasnt actually what happened.

Hardin was looking at me as well but not as how Hardin looked. In fact, if I had seen him elsewhere, I would be in doubt of who I was. He looked so much like me. Well, I didn't know my brother had gotten the power to take the form of anyone he wanted.

"You went to Crest pack? Like this?" 

He smiled. "I went there as you, brother. You know how much I love to be like you!" He teased me. Even his smile was suddenly like mine.

" How dare you, Hardin!" I yelled as I felt another surge of anger. "How dare you pretend to be me! Why did you go to the Crest pack after alerting me to go there as well?"

He took two strides towards the desk. " I wanted to rescue your mate. And guess what? Your mate wasn't around. I got so angry and I killed everyone, for your sake," he smiled as if he just won a trophy.

Angrily, I lurched towards him in an attempt to punch his face off. He vanished anyway but I felt a hand touch my shoulder immediately.

I turned around quickly to look at him. "Are you playing me?"

"No, dear brother. You have always been the one playing me," his voice went deeper as he vanished again and appeared on the bed. "You have always been my father's favorite. You have always been witty and sly! How could you get everything that belongs to me?" He snarled and his face took his form immediately, shedding mine off like scales.

" I didn't take anything from you. You pushed it all out! Why did you seek for powers? You had a lust for power and you couldn't quench it. Why?" I retaliated.

Hardin laughed, a rumble of laughter lacking the major elements. "I was born as a shapeshifter. I had no power as you do and I knew father would make this mistake! So, I decided to get more powerful! You call that sought for powers?" He screamed in anger and stood. " You made me who I am today."

I shook my head slightly. "You are very wrong. I didn't do anything. I didn't ask you to be born from your mother's blood. I know nothing of this!" I argued.

" Then," he took a step closer. " Why did you accept to be the alpha when you knew this belonged to me? It's my seat!" His eyes went red as a burning furnace and black flames emanated from behind him. I knew my brother was working with real dark power and it was affecting his mind already.

I clenched my teeth. "And so, you decided to kill every wolf in the Crest pack? To cool your rage? To take revenge on me?"

"Yes! But I didn't kill everyone. I left Sonia and Kahlan," he smiled and it seemed weird because his face was changing slightly. He was becoming scary and not the brother I used to know. "But my rage still burns. It hasn't cooled yet and it won't until I've seen you get ruined."

" I will stop at nothing! I will do everything to stop you from having an heir. Don't worry, I won't kill your beloved mate but she will kill you herself," he laughed and vanished again.

His laughter left a sound in my ears that continued to replay even after he was gone.