Lyall
Since Aria and I had that magical moment in the garden, it has been blissful. We began to talk and laugh more and we even shared inside jokes to Sheila's dismay. She tried to come between us several times and her insults to Aria had become more vicious than ever but I was always there to defend her.
And sometimes, she told me to stay out of it and it seemed to me like Sheila's insults had begun to bounce off her. She simply didn't care anymore. And I didn't care about anything else. Only Aria mattered to me.

I was only fixated on her and I knew it was dangerous. I was the King and Alpha of a kingdom and nothing should distract me from my duties but I couldn't help it. I couldn't help how strongly I felt about her.
I was currently in my study and I had some documents in front of me that urgently needed my attention but they lay there untouched while I daydreamed about Aria and our little dance in the garden with a lazy smile on my face.
I was jolted out of my reverie by a knock on the door. I groaned slightly. It was Trenton again. Of course.
“Come in,” I called out reluctantly but what I did not expect was Trenton storming into my office in a fit of rage— almost breaking the door down. Mildly surprised at his strange behavior, I sat up immediately. “What now?” He paced around the room, agitated and I rolled my eyes.
“What is it, Trenton?!” I snapped, clearly irritated.
Trenton took deep breaths and turned to me. “Alpha, I respect you a lot but I need to say something to you that you wouldn't like.”

I scoffed, getting up from my seat. “Oh, really? And what's that?”
He let out a frustrated sigh, running his fingers through his hair.
“I know you have a lot of stuff going on but could you stop getting so fixated on them and maybe focus on more important things like your duties?” He said and it was hard to miss the passive-aggressiveness in his tone which I didn't appreciate.
I would have taken serious offense if I hadn't heard this sermon before. “What are you talking about? I’m focused on my duties.” I said, defensively and he snorted.

“At the moment, I'd say you're more focused on your mistress than your duties.”
“You told me to get her pregnant! According to you, the Lycan Confederate comes first!” I exclaimed in exasperation, feeling the blood roaring in my ears. “What do you want from me?” I growled.
“Alpha, you made a suggestion to bring in the rest of the Blood Moon and Yellowstone pack into the kingdom and we've been waiting for your orders to bring them in but it looked like you were too busy to give them,”
I let out a low growl and his face turned apologetic but he continued regardless. “I figured that you forgot so I gave the orders myself.”
I felt completely silly at this point and rubbed my hand uncomfortably over my neck. “Er— thanks, Trenton.”
He shot me a glare. “That's not all. There's a rumor going around, Alpha.” His face turned grave. “Movement from rogues have been detected just outside the kingdom.”
My eyes went round. A couple of werewolves without a pack ran amok and had been causing chaos for a while. We've been trying to catch them but our efforts have been in vain but suddenly, they are close by. It didn't sound right.
“There's no way the rogues would come so close to the kingdom. That's all they are— rumors.”
“But Alpha, we should at least have a couple of our guards stationed at the border to make sure.”
“There's no need. It could be a trap by the enemy packs. We are safe within the walls. I won't risk my men on a fool's errand.”
“But Alpha, if we send the guards now, they could still—”
“Enough!” I thundered, truly irked that Trenton wasn't seeing the big picture. This was a strategy by our enemies. If my men crossed the border, they would be dead and I wouldn't give my enemies that satisfaction. “Leave!” I seethed.
“But Alpha—”
“Now, Trenton,” I said sternly.
He let out a sad sigh before making his way out of the room. I pressed my fingers to my aching temples. My good mood had been ruined completely. I stood, pacing around.
Was it possible that the rogues were roaming around the border? Was that even possible? Would they dare? Didn't they know they were being hunted? Of course they did, it was public knowledge.
I placed my hand on my chin, the wheels in my head turning. Could this be a tactic by the enemy packs to cause unrest in the kingdom? Or were the rogues working with the enemy packs? I shook my head. That couldn't be possible. The rogues worked alone.
My eyes widened and I stood still as a thought suddenly filtered itself into my mind. Could it be true? I let out a gasp, suddenly figuring it out. It was all true! They were not rumors! The rogues were truly at the borders.
They anticipated this response. They knew that we wouldn't believe that they would dare come close to the kingdom. It was all a distraction. For all we know, they could already be inside the kingdom!
The doors suddenly flung open and Trenton rushed in looking disheveled and harassed. “Alpha! The rogues have invaded the kingdom and are on their way to the palace.”
I paled instantly. How did I let this happen? I fell right into their trap. I feel for their tricks— hook, line and sinker. I shrugged off my coat, grabbing my sword off the wall. It wasn't too late. I could still fight. I would fulfil my duty as king and protect this kingdom or die trying.
Trenton, who had two swords strapped to his back and a dagger in his hand, looked at me eagerly.
“Let's go,” I growled, rushing out of the room with Trenton hot on heels. The hallway was chaotic as maidservants and guards scurried frantically, colliding with each other as they ran.
My thoughts went to Aria straight. I couldn't leave her alone. I needed to make sure she was safe. As if sensing my thoughts, Trenton spoke.
“I already informed the elite guards to protect the royal family via mind-link,” I opened my mouth to speak but Trenton cut me off. “Yes, yes. Aria is heavily guarded too.” He smirked despite the situation and I let out a sigh of relief. Now, I could fight without distractions.
I gave Trenton a small smile and he nodded, totally understanding my gratitude. I gripped the sword tightly in my hand increasing my pace. Even though I knew I might not need a weapon as my wolf was a lethal weapon itself, the sword provided a sense of security and it came in handy sometimes.
We could have shifted to move faster but if we did, we could end up destroying the palace and killing the people in it. So instead, we ran with a couple of guards following us and soon, we were outside the palace walls.
We didn't need to look for the rogues. They found us. Men and a few women dressed in black from head to toe with their faces masked. A number of them fought a couple of our guards and it looked like our side was losing. Some of my men were already injured and bled all over the ground and some were dead.
Trenton let out a battle cry and charged head first into the first, leading the guards behind us with him. One of the rogues, a freakishly huge man charged towards me with an axe and I dodged swiftly, cutting him down with one blow. Two other rogues lunged toward me and I evaded the swipe of their blades.
I struck my blade into the back of one of them and landed an elbow on the face of the other, completely shattering his nose. He removed his mask, crying in agony as blood streamed down his nose. The pain didn't deter him as he lunged once again. I shook my head. What a fool.
I severed his head from his body in a swift motion. How dare they come into my kingdom and kill my people? I was not ready to show any mercy. I was going to kill them all. A couple more rogues showed up from goddess knows where and we gutted them one after the other.
Seeing as we had the upper hand here, I motioned to Trenton who was drenched in blood which was not his. “Take care of things here. I'll head into the square and fish out the rest.” I said and he nodded.
I took a few of the guards and together we raced through the kingdom, cutting down all the rogues in our way. But it seemed that the number of rogues was unending. The square was in total commotion as the common folk tried to escape from the clutches of the rogues. Some attacked as men and others had already transformed into wolves.
My men and I jumped into action, saving as many people as we could while slaying the rogues. I looked on with pride as a
few of my people fought back but the rogues never relented. I furrowed my eyebrows, genuinely puzzled. When did they get so many?
I had no time to get distracted as more rogues intercepted. They were too many for my men to handle and a number of them were killed but I kept going. I kept cutting through the rogues and I wasn't going to stop until I killed them all.
The sun was at its peak and beads of sweat streamed down my face. The battle went on for a while and my muscles and joints began to ache. I knew I couldn't go on for much longer. Not in this form anyway.
My eyes darted around and after I was satisfied that innocents were not close, I shifted. The transformation was slow and excruciating and I let out a loud growl, my sword clattering at my side till I completely transformed into what I truly was.
An Alpha.
I stood tall, sizing up the rogues. The few guards left also began to shift and the sounds of their bones cracking and their screams of agony filled my ears. It must have been a terrifying sight as the rogues paled in fear. But fear didn't stop them from charging and when they did— we were ready for them.
I snarled loudly, catching a smaller wolf with my mouth as it foolishly lunged at me. I bit a large chunk of flesh off its neck and it convulsed heavily before going completely still. Another wolf lunged and I tackled it mid-air, slamming it with full force onto the ground.
A group of wolves attacked at once and bit through each one, my maw dripping with blood in the process. I savored my kill, letting out a powerful howl and all of my pack in the vicinity equally reciprocated.
Our howls attracted another batch of rogues— a much larger group than the previous ones and I wondered if all the rogues in the continent had banded together.
The pack of wolves rushed toward us and although we fought back ferociously, the rogues were too many and one by one— my wolves went down till I was the only one left standing.
It was just me against more than a dozen more rogues and the more I fought— the more weary I felt. I was so busy fighting four wolves at once that I didn't see a powerful one barreling toward me. It slammed into me, pushing me against a concrete wall and I heard a bone snap.
I growled in pain as the other wolves rushed at me like savages, biting and ripping at my skin. A wave of pain and agony enveloped me and slowly, the world faded to black.