Chapter 5

Damon

I leaned back in my chair, letting the silence stretch just long enough to make her uneasy. “For the progress of this deal to move forward, we need to set some rules.”

Her brows lifted immediately. “What rules?”

“The first is that you have to move in and live here," I replied.

She actually took a step back. “I... I don’t think that would be possible.”

I tilted my head, studying her. “Were you planning on traveling back and forth between both realms to take care of my child?” I asked. “Because, as it stands, you don’t have another place in this world. The werewolf realm isn’t letting you back until you bring evidence, and you cannot get that evidence until you’ve done a good job with Pearl.”

Her throat bobbed, but she stayed silent.

“So yes," I continued. “You will live in the palace and take care of my daughter.”

“The Lycan realm is vast," she  argued quietly. “I could find somewhere close to the palace.”

“No.” My voice cut through. “No one who works in the palace lives outside it. So, you have to follow the rules.”

She just stood there, absolutely still, for several seconds, like she was wrestling ten different demons at once. Eventually she exhaled, and asked. “Are there more rules?” 

“Of course,” I replied. “And you’ll learn many of them day by day. But for now, there are three you need to keep in mind.” I lifted a hand, counting them off. “For one, do not trespass in places you’re not allowed to be…”

“What places am I not allowed to trespass?” She cut in.

“Don’t interrupt me while I’m speaking.”

She swallowed and looked away.

“Secondly," I continued. “Do not ask questions about or show curiosity regarding Pearl’s birth.”

Her eyes widened, but she didn’t speak this time.

“And third…” I leaned slightly forward. “Never let Pearl out of your sight. You have to be with her twenty-four-seven until she’s truly asleep because she can be… tricky.”

At my right, Damian made a noise of amusement. “You forgot something.”

I sighed. “Please, enlighten us on what rule I forgot, Damian.”

“You forgot to tell her not to gossip,” he said. “And what would happen if she does.”

I rolled my eyes and as if on cue, Donald tapped the table with his fingers. “I’ll handle that.” Then he turned to Lizabella, his tone suddenly serious. “In this palace, gossip is treated as treason.”

Lizabella stiffened.

“And it’s quite easy to locate the source of a rumor," Donald went on. “Because when gossip starts spreading, everyone is pressured to confess or everyone goes down together. And since nobody wants to go down, they always rat the culprit out.”

I watched fear flicker in her eyes and amused me more than it should have.

“So if you ever get caught in something you shouldn’t be involved in," Donald continued, “Normally, we would have you sentenced to death. But knowing what you’ve gone through, everything you’ve lost, and everything that’s happened to you, death wouldn’t exactly be a punishment. So instead, we’ll just cut off the deal.”

“What if…” she began. “What if I just want answers to certain questions? Does that mean I’m not allowed to ask about the rules? Or the place? Or anything at all… or else the deal is cut off?”

“No.” Damian shook his head. “If you have questions you shouldn’t discuss with the maids or workers, you come to us. If they’re normal questions, stuff about the palace that’s allowed to be shared, then ask the staff.”

I crossed my arms on the table and leaned forward slightly. “So," I said. “With everything laid out… are you in? Or are you going to get scared and back out?”

She actually chuckled. “Why do you sound like I have a choice?”

“You do.” I shrugged. “The door is wide open, so you can leave the same way you came in because we won't force anyone to be our daughter's nanny. Besides, you walked into this room with your two legs.”

“You didn’t force me directly,” she said quietly. “But you coerced me indirectly into making this decision. So I have no choice but to accept whatever rules are set for me.”

“So be it,” I said.

I stood, my brothers rising with me, but before I reached the door, I turned back to her.

“Wait here," I said. “A maid will come to show you to your room, introduce you to Pearl, and explain more of the palace rules.”

With that, we started toward the door, but her voice called out behind us. “I have a question.”

Donald stopped and looked at her. “Go ahead.”

“What are the places I am not allowed to trespass?”

“The maid will tell you.” I said simply. “Do you have another question?”

“Yes.” She nodded. “How long do I have to work as your daughter’s nanny?”

Damian answered before I could. “Depends on how good of a job you do.”

With that, the three of us stepped out.

The moment the door shut behind us, I looked at my brothers. “Don’t do anything stupid with her. She’s only going to be here until we find a permanent nanny Pearl actually likes.”

Damian lifted his hands. “I’m not planning to do anything crazy.”

Donald snorted. “When have you ever not done anything crazy?”

Damian side-eyed him. “Speak to me with some respect. I’m older.”

“By four minutes,” Donald shot back.

I hissed under my breath and left them behind, heading toward my chambers. The day had been long, and I needed at least an hour of quiet before resuming work as ruler of the realm. But as I walked, my thoughts spiraled.

Several centuries ago, all realms lived peacefully together until the human revolution in 1616 where they insisted that realms should be built to divide species from humans. Werewolf created the werewolf realm, and Lycans which were few also followed. But soon enough, Lyncans also wanted their own freedom because they were tired of being slaves to the werewolves because they were weaker.  

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‎Long before anyone understood what Lycans truly were, they were dismissed as the bottom of the supernatural food chain, brutish, unpredictable, and supposedly inferior to werewolves in every way. That belief shattered the day their father's great-grandfather discovered a rare genetic anomaly hidden deep in Lycan blood. When exposed to certain herbs, that dormant trait awakened and in no time some Lycans evolved, unlocking a stage far beyond the Alpha Stage and they called it the Enigma Stage.

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‎After that, the hierarchy shifted overnight with Omegas becoming the new bottom while Lycans rose to a much higher level than Alphas. In 1712, the Great War erupted and everyone expected the werewolves to win, after all, Lycans were few in number. But the evolved Lycans were something no one had prepared for. They crushed the enemy and seized control of the werewolf realms. 

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‎Yet when the werewolves begged for peace, the Lycans relented. Twelve years of negotiations followed until the Lycans finally chose separation, thus began the age of two realms, werewolf and Lycan. Still, Lycans who were now ten times smarter, never truly disconnected. They planted human spies everywhere, infiltrated councils, and even installed secret CCTV cameras in the forest that divided the realms. That was how they knew everything that happened in the werewolf realm, and that’s how they got Jerry’s number at the exact right moment to send those photos without ever being noticed. 

‎But even power recognized danger because years ago, the werewolves realized that with him being the ruler of the realm. Damian, commander of the realm and Donald, the Arch-Medic of the realm, were dealing with something unstoppable. So the werewolf realm swallowed their pride and sent an Alpha and his wife to the Lycan realm as ambassadors of peace, which caused their deaths.

But now, years later their daughter would be working as Pearl's nanny. What an irony.