TWO

The union between werewolves is not the same as the union of other creatures. As an Alpha, the Lycan King should approve of the union first before they can proceed to the Marking Ceremony, which will be held at Bresmont.

Some wolves have mates and some don’t have one. As for Liam, he married Natasha, who was not his mate. Or maybe he hasn’t found her yet. But Liam didn’t actually care about that mate thing, he only wanted Natasha, and no one else.

After the approval and blessing from the Lycan King, Liam and Ember went straight back to Bresmont, where the marking ceremony should be held. Liam had requested that it be private because he didn’t want to have a huge celebration.

“Congratulations to both of you.” Esmeralda, Liam’s mother, greeted the two as they stepped out from the walls of the King’s Castle. “Ember, dear, you look exceptionally beautiful with that dress. Congratulations on being the new Luna of Bresmont. As the mother of the Alpha, you can always come to me whenever you need help.” She lovingly touched her face.

Esmeralda extended her slender arms and hugged Ember. She liked Ember from the very beginning. Her courage to stand in front of the council and had spoken up what’s on her mind, Ember earned the respect of not just the councilmen but also the former Alpha and Luna of Bresmont.

“Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind.” Bree offered a tight smile to the couple. She's glad that the former alpha and luna of Bresmont were civil to her despite what she did.

“Welcome to the family, dear.” Alpha Chris hugged Bree before he faced Liam. “Take care of your new Luna, son.” He tapped his shoulder, but Liam didn’t show any response.

Liam pursed his lips to avoid lashing out. He had to draw a lot of self-control not to burst into anger. He felt like he was being manipulated.

“C’mon, let’s head back to Bresmont. We have a ceremony to witness!” Esmeralda clapped her hands in excitement. What she didn’t know was that Liam ordered to have a simple celebration, instead of having a grand one.

He made it clear yesterday that he’s not going to have a flashy celebration since it was against his will to be married to a traitor’s daughter. In Liam’s mind, he was already plotting how to get rid of Ember and her clan. He's not going to be a puppet for these treacherous bastards.

Liam pursed his lips into a thin line when he arrived at Bresmont. He blinked twice to make sure that his vision was not altered. Anger rose when he realized that he was once again fooled!

There was a huge make-shift stage in front of their mansion and the place was swarmed with different people. Foods were being served on the spot and the booze was pouring like rain.

Anger bubbled inside of him. He made sure that there would be no celebration being held after the king’s approval. There is no need to celebrate such an event that made his life more miserable. He dreaded this very day, and yet these people had the audacity to celebrate, defying the orders from their alpha.

Liam walked past the visitors who greeted him, he didn’t even spare them a glance. He is furious, and there’s only one person who did this, Ember Jacobson. That wench! She had all this planned!

He went straight inside the mansion, ignoring the sea of people. His eyes scanned the crowd and his ears strained to hear every voice in the vicinity, searching for hers.

He found her talking to his mother. She wore a different dress from the one she used at the castle. Liam’s eyes flared at the sight of her having a good time.

“Mother, can I have a minute with her?”

“Oh, yes dear! I'll just be outside.”

Liam’s hand gripped Ember’s arm tightly so that she winced at his strong hold. Liam does not actually care if Ember gets hurt by his grip. He knew how strong she really is, and it irked him to death.

“Wait! Can you, please let go of my hand?! You can’t just drag me!”

He didn’t listen to her protest and he continued dragging her until they reached a secluded place. That noisy crown from the party disappeared.

Liam slammed the door, shot and pushed Ember. His hands automatically circled her creamy neck and pushed Ember even harder on the wall, making a loud thud as Ember’s back hit the concrete wall.

Ember groaned in pain, but Liam could only care less.

“What the fuck is this?” he demanded.

“What?” Ember looked innocent, but Liam knew that she was only feigning innocence to get to him.

Liam grew even more pissed at her reaction. She clearly planned all of this to spite him!

“I made it clear that there will be no celebration for tonight. I do not want to celebrate my union with you because you are not my desire, Luna. You will never be!” Liam spat those words in front of Ember, and he didn’t care if she would be offended. He had just told her that ugly truth about this union.

“Really? And who was your Luna? My dead cousin? Is she of use in this pack? Now that she’s dead, could she still bear your heir now that she’s nothing but ashes scattered everywhere.” Ember smirked as she enumerated those things.

If this alpha thought that he could scare her away, then he thought it wrong. She will prove to him that she’s way better than Natasha, and that she is more capable of ruling this district. Ember will make sure of it.

Liam let out an angry growl. His eyes turned pitch black and his sharp nails elongated. Without any warning, he gripped Ember’s neck and slammed her on the wall once again, which created a loud bang. The walls cracked as he pushed her even further, not giving her a chance for an escape.

Blood dripped down her white dress. But Ember didn’t even flinch. Her emerald eyes looked straight at his golden brown ones. The tension was too strong between the two of them.

“No matter what you say, Alpha, I am the Luna now. Whether you like it or not, you should suck it.” Ember uttered. Her face was void of any emotions.

Her father had thought that emotions could be used as a weapon against any creature. One should not display any emotions if one wishes to survive in this cruel world. Ember imprinted those words inside her head.

“Fuck you! You will never be my Luna, and you will never bear my heir. I will make sure of it. Tell that to your father!”

Ember was about to open her mouth when the door suddenly slammed open, and Aron stood there breathing heavily, his face was full of worry and his clothes stained with blood.

“Alpha, there’s an ambush in the west forest. We have wounded and casualties. Hunters.”

Liam’s blood had gone cold. His body shook in rage as he digested the report. His soldiers were wounded, and some are even dead. How dare those lowly hunters!

He left Ember in the room without any words.

“Who did it?” Liam asked Aron, as they paved their way to the mansion’s infirmary.

“It was the hunters, Robert’s men. Three of our best soldiers were dead on the spot, while we had more than a dozen wounded.” Aron explained.

Laim fisted his hand.

Ever since the very beginning, the war between the hunters and wolves has already existed. Liam knew that there was no way that this could be fixed, only by blood-bathing war.

The celebration was halted. All were frantic as doctors attended to the wounded. When Liam saw the damage, he cursed inside. The infirmary was bathed in blood, and his soldiers were grunting from pain.

Ember was right behind Liam. Her eyes widened in terror as she witnessed the pain and agony of those wounded soldiers. They were crying in pain as wolfsbane-soaked arrows were being removed from their bodies. Blood. There were lots of them.

The hunters use wolfsbane to weaken them, and if it’s struck on a vital part, then death will come.

Ember didn’t waste time. Though she was new to the place and never had any friends or acquaintances, she volunteered to help. She couldn’t just stand there and watch. She's the luna of the pack now, she needed to do something.

“Send tropes to every boarder. Close the north and south gates. I do not want anyone to get in or out of the district.” Liam commanded.

“Yes, Alpha.”

He chose to bring twenty elite werewolf soldiers to scan the area. These elite teams were hard-trained werewolves who specialized in hand-to-hand combat.

Liam left with the tropes to search the whole area. More soldiers were dispatched to every boarder of Bresmont.

Liam wanted to shout in pure rage. The stenching smell of blood filled the air, a mixture of hunter’s and werewolves' blood. His eyes turned pitch black when he smelled something that was not familiar. Something that does not belong in the pack.

“Someone’s here.” Aron declared, in a low, hoarse voice, but it’s enough for every werewolf to hear.

“Fucking hunters. I’m going to rip their bodies into pieces and smash their heads.” Rudson, one of the elite soldiers, gritted his fangs as he imagined those brutalities in his mind.

They continue to sniffed the air, searching for that hunter who was hiding in the dark of the night. They could smell his blood and his fear, and it made them more excited.

Liam, together with his troops, they spread out in the dark forest on the border near the east gate.

“That fucker was just around here. I can smell his fear, I can sense his trembling body. He knew that we were going to kill him the moment we caught him.” Fulker let out a growl as his hands itched to scratch the flesh of their most heated enemies.

Liam kept his senses heightened as he listened to the rustles of the leaves, the hoot of the owls, and the flapping of the nightly birds. Liam halted in his tracks and closed his eyes. His nose sniffed through the cold breeze of the night, he wanted to know which way the smell of the human hunter came. He trained his ears to where the erratic beating of his heart came.

His eyes snapped, and without any word, he flew at full speed to the direction his senses have pointed. He has not fully shifted yet. Using his bare feet, he jumped from one tree to another, leaving marks of his own claws.

Aron and the tropes followed him.

In the silence of the night, a loud scream echoed through the woods.