“Your Highness,” The king’s groom tapped him gently. Alpha Cyrus rolled on his bed, turning in the opposite direction. His groom tapped him again, “your highness,” this time, Alpha Cyrus got up.
He had a devilish look on his face, he was angry. The clock had just struck 3.00 am so why was he been disturbed in his sleep.“What is it, Sule?” He barked, his tone conveying the irritation he felt at that moment.“Your, highness, good morning sir. I’m sorry to wake you up at this time but there is a matter that needs your urgent attention.” Sule curtsied as he spoke. His voice carried a trace of fear in it.Alpha Cyrus sprung off his bed. He grabbed his coat and threw it on his body. What could it be this time? He thought to himself. His kingdom had been suffering some misfortune recently. His farmers were losing crops, their animals were dying, and a neighboring pack of wolves was brewing for a fight with him. A fight that was unnecessary in his opinion but the clan had refused to bow to him, their King and Alpha. So, he was set to take them down. And that was an easy task for him, he was, after all, the strongest wolf and Alpha in the entire country.But none of those things could warrant an interruption in his sleep. He treasured his sleep, and Sule knew that, so what could it be?Alpha Cyrus strolled to his giant wolf seat that was in his bedroom. That was his mini throne. no one could address him if he wasn’t seated properly, like the king he was.Sule followed him. Sule was the king’s Beta, his right-hand man. Sule wouldn’t dare wake him without reason.Cyrus beckoned on Sule to come forward, “tell me, Sule, what is it?”“Your highness, it is Darius. He is in a bit of a problem.”Cyrus sat up.“What do you mean Sule?”“You need to come with me, your highness.”Cyrus threw himself down from his throne and followed Sule out of the room. Sule led him, straight down the hall and through to the left wing of the palace and straight to the crown prince’s bedroom.They marched into the room. But the sight that greeted Cyrus, sent shock waves through his body.There, laying on the bed, his son’s bed, was Rochelle. Lifeless.Cyrus didn’t need to touch her to know she was already dead. His wolf already sensed it. His son, Darius, sat in the corner of the room. His knees folded up, like a coward.“What happened?” Cyrus asked.“Your highness, he …” Sule started to speak but Cyrus cut him off.“He can speak for himself,” Cyrus barked, throwing a stern look at his son.“Father, I was…” Darius started but Cyrus cut him off immediately.“On this matter, you shall address me as your king and Alpha.” Cyrus wasn’t here to play any games; he took no chances with his son. Darius was one day going to be the leader of his pack and of the Lakewood kingdom, so Cyrus took no chances. He had raised the boy to be the best he could possibly be.Darius got up, inched his shoulder, and started to speak again. “Your highness, my mate, Rochelle is dead.”“I can see that, Darius. How did she die.”“After the mating ceremony, I asked her to come to my chambers. And she came, willingly. But as soon as I entered her, she started to convulse and she died, in my arms.”“You mean to tell me she simply convulsed and died? You didn’t harm her? In any way?” Cyrus barked.“Father, I would never hurt her.”“you are known around the kingdom for your terrible temper. Please tell me the truth, did your temper get the better of you? Did she refuse you? Did you force yourself on her? Did you kill her?”“No father, I did none of those things. Rochelle came to me herself, of her own will. And I wasn’t rough on her, I was just starting when I noticed her convulsing.”Cyrus was quiet for some minutes. It didn’t look good. They had performed a ceremony in front of the whole kingdom, she wasn’t just any girl anymore. She was the mate to the crown prince, and she had died on the prince’s bed. It was bad news, and they couldn’t just make it go away.Cyrus turned to Sule, “please take care of this. And get me the palace writers. We need to make a statement to our people once the day breaks. As for Darius, see to it that he is taken care of. He looks distraught.”“Yes, your highness.” Sule bowed and Cyrus stormed off.Darius paced his bedroom, running his hands through his hair. He was finding it difficult to accept what had happened. One minute, she was on the bed, laughing, and the next minute, she was laying down dead.After the ceremony, they had both gone for a run and talked a little. And then, they had started to make out, in the woods, he couldn’t take her there and that was why he invited her to his bedroom. Only for her to die minutes later.Darius growled, still pacing.Sule looked at the young Alpha and shook his head. Darius was a striking resemblance to his father. Just like his twin brother, Lucious. Sule shook his head again, Lucious, he wondered what was happening with the young prince, who was shipped off to America on his tenth birthday.Darius grabbed a tee-shirt and threw it on his body frantically. He shot Sule a look, as if seeking his permission to leave, not that he needed it anyway but he was in a state of confusion. Sule bowed to him and Darius ran out of the room, down the left wing, and out of the palace. He needed a run, he needed to clear his head. He didn’t make it far from the palace gates before shifting to his wolf form and going for a desperate run.After the death of her mother, Yemanja had been the sole guardian for Emelda and the two had bonded in deep ways over the past years. If there was anyone who knew what Yemanja was up to and what she was capable of- that person would be Emelda. But there was one thing that Emelda still struggled to get used to even after all the years she spent with her grandma and that was the ability to have her grandma cutting right to the chase.Yemanja wasn't the person who would beat around the bush or who struggled with words. She always went right to the point and even after all these years, that attitude from Yemanja still surprised Emelda.And it was the same surprise that took over Emelda the minute her grandmother asked her the direct question.But instead of answering the question, Emelda tried to avoid it. And the only way she knew how to avoid the question was to tell a lie.“Yes, grandma. That was why I left the palace. I couldn't stomach what w
Emelda sat on a little stool in her grandma’s kitchen as Yemanja put on a pot of soup on the stove. There was an awkward silence growing between them and soon, Emelda found herself drawing little imaginary circles with her index finger all over her grandmother’s kitchen table.Yemanja had her back turned to Emelda but she could almost tell what was going on. The energy from Emelda was consuming and Yemanja didn't need to be an all-powerful witch to notice it.“What troubles you, my child?” Yemanja asked as she stirred her soup slowly with the wooden spatula in her hands.“Nothing!” Emelda shrugged and sighed at the same time.Slowly, Yemanja placed the spatula aside and turned to Emelda. She stared at her granddaughter keenly as she wiped her hands with the kitchen napkin.“Don't lie to me, child. You know we have been through a lot these past few months. I do not want there to be any secrets between us. Yo
Yemanja was at the back of her house, tending to her garden when she heard a noise that resembled the sound of a carriage. Slowly, Yemanja placed her garden fork on the ground as she closed her eyes and listened closely. At first, she had thought the carriage was passing through her house but she soon realized she was wrong when the noise from the carriage stopped in front of her house.Gently, Yemanja pulled herself from the ground and dusted her dry hands on the front of her apron. She straightened her back and walked to the front of her small house, using the sidewalk.“Grandma.” Yemanja heard the excited voice before seeing who it was but she didn't need to see who the person was to realize that it was her granddaughter, Emelda.“Emelda,” Yemanja called her granddaughter’s name in the same excited tone as Emelda had called hers.Emelda came down from the carriage and ran to her grandmother’s side, throwing her s
All the guests started to exit as well, starting from the royalties that were seated on the front rows, and soon, the hall which had been filled to the brim was suddenly empty.The crowd marched to the battle filled and Cyrus took a seat on the podium.There were five seats on the podium and Lucius helped Emelda to one of the seats as he and Darius took the next two seats beside her. There was only one seat left on the podium and Sir Sule joined them on the stage, seated close to his King and Alpha, Cyrus.“Bring in the traitors,” Cyrus commanded and the gates of the battlefield opened up.Six hefty men dragged in the traitors- Gedoni, Tobias, and Barroc. Holding each of them by their arms and aggressively they flung them on the floor, right there in front of the podium.Cyrus got up from his seat and took a few steps till he reached the edge of the podium.With utmost disgust, his eyes turned from one man to the other as the men loo
Minutes after Darius, Lucius, and Emelda entered the hall, the ceremony began with a short cleansing session performed by the chief priest.The hall was filled with royalties from all the nearby kingdoms who paid their allegiances to the Lakewood Kingdom. The presence of the kings, queens, princes, and princesses could not go unnoticed. Everyone felt the presence of the distinguished guests as they all took their seats ceremoniously.But more than the royalty, another group that stood out, even more, were the different werewolf packs that had turned up for the event. The hall was equally loaded with different Alphas to Betas and down to Omegas. Anyone who was considered as an important personality, werewolf, human, or witch, was present for the greatest ceremony of all time.It wasn't every time that king and Alpha got to take the throne a second time, it was a historic event. One that had never occurred before and anyone who had the privilege of getting an invite
Darius noticed Emelda and Lucius walking towards the door to the hall even before they saw him. It was a mere thirty seconds of watching them-her to be precise but that was enough time for Darius to take in every inch of Emelda’s beauty. She was beautiful and even more graceful as she walked towards the door to the hall where the ceremony was being held and Darius could very well see that the Palace life suited her perfectly. It seemed like she had been born for royalty and he couldn't help but appreciate her gratefulness.But then, he was reminded of the awkward position he was in with her by how his chest tightened and his breath almost seized. In an instant, Darius had gone from admiring her to feeling like his very essence was being choked out of him. It all happened so quickly and even though Darius hadn’t meant for it to happen, he found his eyes wandering towards her, and the next thing, their eyes were locked!Emelda on the other hand, locked eyes w