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He looked on the verge of ripping into the she-alpha. She was pale and just as tall as me, with muscular arms and spiky black hair. She kept her expression blank, but her eyes held too much fire for her to be considered calm.
I crossed my arms over my chest, each wolf turning to look at me. Byriel gave me a quick nod, and no one challenged me for intruding on their conversation. Byriel was clearly the highest-ranking alpha here.
"The time has come," the female said, her tone respectful but still commanding. "This is your birthright. And your people demand it."
Byriel shook his head. "This is my sister's birthright, and you damn well know it. Not mine."
"We understand, Sir," a familiar alpha said. He had a thick scar down one side of his face, and long, brown hair fell over his eyes. He placed a hand on the she-alpha's shoulder, silently urging her to submit to Byriel. She relented, lowering her gaze to the ground.
I stared at the scarred alpha, realizing how I knew him. He was the cocky guard from the Vaesen gates. I remembered how he leered at my mate as if she were a decadent meal at the end of a long journey. Now he just looked aged and worn. His mouth turned down at the corners, and dark circles made his eyes appear sunken. Life had apparently been unkind to him in the few months since I last saw him. But then again, it hadn't been kind to any of us.
"Change is coming, Sir," the scarred alpha said. His voice matched his appearance. Rough. "A transition to a nobleman, whose royal blood could easily take the throne, will keep the stewards in line and will keep the peace. No one would dare to challenge your claim and destined purpose." He met Byriel's red eyes and leaned in, talking softer. "To leave the throne empty will start a war among the village Pack Alphas to claim it. So many more will die."
"I don't fucking believe this, Dane," Byriel growled in a harsh whisper. The tendons in his neck flexed with his restrained fury." You cannot seriously be talking about overthrowing the throne. It's treason. Hell. This entire conversation is treason.”
"Haven't you been committing treason since the moment we met?" I asked Byriel, smiling wide at the anger in his eyes. The she-wolf jerked her blazing glare to me and then to Byriel, gauging his reaction. Dane squinted, a hint of recognition in his eyes.
"Shut the fuck up, Joon," Byriel snarled before turning back to the shocked alphas.
"Alpha Byriel," a dark-haired female beta whispered. The alphas around her dwarfed her tiny form. She had a nervous, submissive edge to her voice. Judging by her uniform, she was a palace service-beta, probably a valet or caretaker for the royal family. "The mood within the palace has shifted. The King's actions cannot be ignored anymore. It's only a matter of time before the people demand his blood."
The she-alpha stepped closer to Byriel, clearly struggling to keep her tone and expression polite. "The King's reign is over. It's time for new blood in Ossory." Her voice dropped to an urgent whisper, "Do you really want your sister to lead these lands? Strayton is completely—"
"It doesn't matter what I want," Byriel snapped. He looked to be on the verge of shifting into his wolf. "This is simply the order of things. When the King passes, Strayton will inherit the throne, and there is nothing I can do to fucking change it." He turned, pacing. He was so wound up, it was hard not to feel it too. The thick, angry energy pouring off him, made my wolf itch to run.
"And not to mention," Byriel spun on Dane, teeth flashing as he spoke, "you are talking about killing my fucking family!" His voice dropped as he closed the space between them. "You took a fucking oath."
"So did he," Dane said, looking Byriel right in the eye. "He took the oath that all Kings pledge: to protect the packs of Havre and lead his people. Not to kill them without mercy or thought."
"Are you meaning to challenge me, Dane?" Byriel squared his shoulders, and Dane immediately broke eye contact, bowing his head.
"No, Sir.”
A slow growl pushed from Byriel's chest as he moved his gaze over each wolf.
The beta shivered and immediately showed the back of her neck in submission, but the she-alpha took a few more glaring breaths before finally bowing her head. Byriel didn't even bother looking at me, knowing full well I wouldn't submit to him.
"I understand your concern about Strayton," Byriel said, his words more controlled but still filled with authority. "But there is no helping the way of things."
"Sir," Dane whispered, keeping his eyes averted. "The King has ordered the guard to kill all wolves with anything resembling a red birthmark. It's happening all over Havre. Even in the villages you and Hida already searched."
My mouth fell open. My arms heavy at my sides.
I couldn't have heard the alpha correctly.
Even after seeing what had happened with Blue's pack, I didn't want to believe him. My mind immediately drifted to my village, my parents, my brother and his mate.
Thick silence pulsed in the air while we all waited for Byriel to react. His scent edged into a mixture of grief, distress, and violent rage. It was so fucking sharp I had to turn my head and beg my wolf to settle. My beast's desire to whimper at the intense emotions made me want to curse out loud, but I remained quiet and still.
I didn't bow to Byriel's status and wouldn't cower to his rage either.
When Byriel finally did speak, his words were controlled and deep, filled with so much fury. "I have spent the last year murdering innocents in the name of my King," he said, taking a slow breath before continuing. "I have destroyed our people and killed my soul. I have killed myself repeatedly for my family and my pack. But it's still not enough. Is it?"
No one spoke.
They all kept their eyes down as wave after wave of restrained violence and grief poured off Byriel's dark skin.
A sharp growl burst from his chest before he spoke again. "The horrors I have been forced to inflict. The pain I've pushed into the earth." He shook his head. "I am sick and fucking tired of innocent wolves dying!" His eyes darkened with a jarring sadness. Almost as if the words he spoke physically hurt. "And now you plan to kill my family, and you expect me to rejoice and join you."
