Rendall and Montague had reached the Alpha's court and Rendall peeped at his mother's room and he saw young werewolves surrounding her. She was telling them the story of what had happened on the day of his birth.
Rendall groaned. He was tired of hearing the same story over and over again.
"....at Khron, the land of werelions, a witch was present. Leander, Alpha of the werelions had invited her. Since he had no child, he asked the witch to conjure one for him. Nyx, the witch began to chant ancient words and she conjured a female heir for Alpha Leander. The child was so beautiful and the witch watched her creation with admiration. Nyx requested to keep the child but Alpha Leander's eyes had desired what it had beheld so he declined her request. He took the child from Nyx forcefully and locked Nyx in his dungeon. Nyx was very angry at how Alpha Leander had treated her so she laid a curse. This curse affected the werewolves too since Nyx was extremely angry. Now, the werelions can only be in their lion form during the day and at night, they could only be in their human form. Nyx knew that werelions hunted more at night." She sighed and her face fell. "As for we the werewolves, we can only shift to our wolf when the moon is full and we can only be in our human form when it is not the full moon."
"Do not generalize mother," Rendall said as he walked into the room.
"Rendall!" A child called out and all the children ran to Rendall and hugged him. He smiled at them, lifted the two smallest ones, and made them sit on his shoulders.
"Children, storytime is over. You can all go home," Rendall's mother said softly to the children. Rendall dropped the ones on his shoulder and their faces fell since the time for them to spend with their favorite werewolf was cut short.
"My stubborn son," She called out as she saw that the little werewolves had left. "Which werewolf do you know of that is an exception?"
Rendall smirked.
"Well, this is new. I had been out the whole day but when I came back, I met you telling stories. I honestly thought I would meet you at the doorstep waiting for my return so that you can scold me."
"You've refused to heed my warnings so I have left you to the mercy of fate." Evelina frowned and Rendall smirked.
"Mother I can never be left to fate. I am more capable of taking care of myself than you think."
"Son," Evelina called out softly. "We only go out to hunt in the wild during the full moon. When the moon is full, we possess all of our werewolf powers but when it is no longer full, we are as weak as humans. During this period, we can not go out to hunt in the wild because we are in our weak form and the forest is too dangerous."
"What if we could shift to our wolf whenever we liked?"
"Then we can hunt whenever we want to. Since we can't, we have to wait till the full moon."
"Then you do not have to worry mother," Rendall said but it was audible for only himself to hear.
"Mother, why don't we find a way to break Nyx's curse so every werewolf will be like they use to be?" Rendall asked but Evelina wore a sad look and shook her head.
"If your father, the Alpha comes back to see you here, he would punish you. Go to your room quickly. When he comes back, I would feed him with his favorite food and I'd please him so that his heart will be in a good place. Then, you can appear before him and your punishment will be less brutal or he might not punish you at all."
"Mother, don't try to change the topic. We should find Nyx so she can reverse the curse." Rendall tried to convince Evelina but she began to walk away from him without saying a word.
"Mother, you and father should think about it." Rendall continued despite seeing how much his mother disapproved of his words. She looked at him like his words were making her have a migraine. "We can talk to the werelions and ask them to return the child to Nyx. This can make Nyx reverse this curse."
"If the situation was as simple as that, most werewolves will be at the forest hunting. Son, the werelions and werewolves are not on good terms and you know this fact. If any werewolf is found at Khron, the werelions will kill the werewolf and if any werelion is found here in Wulfe, we werewolves will kill the werelion."
"Mother we can invite them over for a feast and we can sign a peace treaty." Rendall tried to convince his mother but she was adamant.
"That can never happen. Your father can never invite them over to sign a peace treaty and I support him."
"Then how do we break this curse? Should the people of Wulfe remain cursed?" Rendall was annoyed that his mother was not seeing things the way he did.
"Son, do you realize that being a werewolf itself is a curse? In our wolf form, we kill brutally."
"I see it as a gift and this gift has been taken away from Wulfe. Should we not find a way to get our gift back?"
Evelina sighed.
"The only way we can get what we want is by using force. The werewolves are always in their weak form except it is the full moon. The werelions are always in their strongest form except at night. Because of this, waging war against them now is like going on a suicide mission. This is why your father, Alpha Janus has recruited talented werewolf scientists to develop deadly weapons that can wipe out the whole existence of the werelions. When the weapons are ready, we will strike."
"War?" Rendall was shocked at what the Alpha and the Luna had in mind. "This is a very stupid idea."
"That is your problem, Rendall. You think you're always right and that any idea far from yours is trash. This is why you would always hunt in the wild despite my warnings." Alpha Janus said hoarsely as he stepped into the room. Evelina shook her head and looked at her son with pity written all over her face. As if disobeying his father, the Alpha was not enough, his father arrived to see Rendall talking about how stupid the plan he had for the werelions was. Evelina knew that her son was in big trouble as she knew how hot-tempered her mate, Alpha Janus could be.
"Waging war against the Werelions is a reckless way to try to solve this. There is a great chance of losing everything. Lives would be lost and we might end up going back to square one. We can solve this with a peaceful negotiation with the werelions. We should learn a lesson from the popular story of the beginning of our doom. If the werelions had not fought with Nyx and had had a peaceful negotiation with her instead, we would most likely not be in this situation. If we follow in their footsteps, we might end up losing. War is not always the answer. We should not trouble the werelions." Rendall spoke boldly not minding the Alpha's reaction.
"We should not trouble the werelions? We got cursed because of them." Alpha Janus was very much annoyed.
"But why would Nyx curse the werewolves because of the mistake of a werelion? I think there is more to the story the werewolves know. We should talk with the werelions to know the root of this problem and know why Nyx had cursed the werewolves. Then, we can plan on how to break this curse."
"I, Alpha Janus of Wulfe will never sit with a werelion to talk." Janus scoffed.
"Then as the heir of Wulfe, I will."
"You are crossing the line," Alpha Janus glared at him. Rendall was supposed to be threatened but he returned the glare without flinching.
"No, I'm not. I am doing something different and better. I'm breaking boundaries," With this, Rendall fled the room toward the forest.
"After him!" Alpha Janus thundered and the guards that were present in the room ran out of the room and followed Rendall.
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Rendall looked down from the tall tree at the werewolves his father had sent after him. He watched as they looked around trying to figure out which way he had gone. After a while, they gave up and left. Rendall frowned at how they had let him escape easily. "My people are beginning to lose their hunting instincts," Rendall muttered with a sad sigh. "Tsk tsk," Conri, his wolf said disapproving of the werewolves that quitted. "I can sense how weakened their wolves have become. The decreasing amount of meat hunted every full moon is proof. Their wolf side is weakening as the day passes and if nothing is done..." "It'll vanish," Rendall completed his wolf, Conri's statement sadly. "The fact that Nyx curse on the werewolves is heavier than that on the werelion has left me perplexed. Even if she wanted to curse the werewolves for the sin of a werelion, why should the curse be as heavy as the werelions' curse?" Seeing that the coast was clear, Rendall climbed down the tree. He sat on the
"Nyx is dead? How? When? How?" It was hard for Rendall to believe that Nyx was dead. Helia gave a sad sigh. "When Nyx came for me, two guards had tried to stop her but she turned them to stone. Leander, Alpha of Khron, my father knew that defeating Nyx would not be easy but he loved me so much and was not ready to let me go. So, he pretended to have agreed with Nyx. He made her feel like he was ready to release her to me. He invited Nyx to have a feast with the Werelions and during the feast, father tried to talk her into asking for something else but Nyx was too adamant. She needed me to make a spell. Seeing that Nyx was not ready to let me go," Helia paused and then added with a fallen face. "He decided to lace her food with one of the deadliest poisons in the world." Rendall gave a sad sigh. "When Nyx realized that she was poisoned," Helia continued. "She laid a curse on both the Werelions and werewolves that Alpha Leander tried to save initially and then she died on spot." "T
"Did you just say a thousand gold pieces?" Pamela wanted to be sure of what she had heard. She could not believe that a girl as young as Helia could have such an amount of money. Who was the girl before her? Pamela suspected that she was no ordinary werewolf. Was she even a werewolf? It was hard to detect but Pamela noticed how much she radiated an aura similar to that of royalty. It was so obvious from the way she spoke and walked. "You heard me right. I'd give you a thousand gold pieces. All you need to do is hand over your clothes to me and speak of this to no one." "Who are you?" "You've surely heard of me from folklores told in Wulfe. Anyways, knowing my identity is of less importance to you. What is more important is you giving me your uniform." "I want your gold but the reason behind paying such an amount for the uniform of a maid is what baffles me." "It is not your cup of tea and I do not have much time to waste." Helia was visibly pissed. She was runn
"There's a spy in my room," Rendall yelled and Helia froze. "Why do you want to get me killed?" Helia regretted why she had visited him. "Do you think I will let my visitor get killed?" Rendall smirked. "My room is soundproof so you do not have to worry. I was only pulling your legs." Helia sighed in relief. She frowned when she saw that Rendall had begun to laugh. "Why are you laughing?" "I never knew Helia could get scared." "I'm Helena, not Helia and Helia... I mean Helena can never get scared." After saying this, she left the room and Rendall did not try to stop her. He knew she would stand her ground no matter what. Immediately she left, Montague walked into his room. "The Alpha demands that you grace his presence this very moment," Montague announced. "He locked me up and now he wants me to see him. Pathetic!" Rendall scoffed. "You would have to see him." "I'd only be leaving this room to find a way to break Nyx's curse. I refuse to leave this room to see an Alpha who
Everyone present froze. They were all surprised to see that Rendall was able to transform into his wolf even when it was not the full moon. Rendall ran to Helia and they both ran out of the Alpha's court. Nobody tried to stop them. Not even Alpha Janus. They just stood, transfixed and unable to decipher what had just taken place. Helia and Rendall both ran till they got to the forest. The Sentinels at the border were not able to stop them. When they got to the forest, Rendall stopped but Helia kept on running. He ran after her, hoping she would stop but she did not. She ignored Rendall and ran faster until she got to a strange-looking tree that differed from other trees in the forest. Rendall stopped to watch her. Under the tree were a lidded container and a bag. She brought out a dress for herself, glanced at Rendall, and gave him a small twisted smile. She brought out a dress for him too, threw it at him and it fell on his shoulders. He frowned but she ignored him, reached out fo
"Take a chill pill. Would you? Why the outburst?" Luna's eyebrow furrowed in confusion. What was going on in her head? "I'm sorry." Her voice softened. "Let's forget about the outburst. I don't know what came over me." "Oh! Okay." Rendall wondered what was on her mind as he studied her. Was she thinking of rejecting him? He sighed. If that was what was on her mind, then it was good, right? The feeling was mutual, wasn't it? He wondered if she even knew he was her mate. Helia had always seen herself as someone who was always in control but this werewolf was making her lose control easily and she hated it. She knew that she needed to do the needful fast and make sure she does not cross paths with the wolf again. "We should go to Alecto now." Helia feigned a smile and Rendall nodded in agreement to what she had said. Helia led the way and Rendall walked behind her. It had been hours after sunset, yet, they had not gotten to Alecto's house. Helia's hair was jet black already and h
Rendall heaved a sigh of satisfaction as he walked with two dead antelopes on his shoulders. He could have hunted for more but Alecto had infuriated him by scolding him for not leaving earlier. Hello seethed in anger as he remembered how Alecto had driven him out of Helia's room and out of the house. Well, two antelopes were more than enough for the old man, he thought to himself and smiled as he saw Alecto's house from where he stood. Rendall dropped the games in front of the house when he got there. The door was opened and he could see Alecto and Helia drinking tea and discussing heartily. "I'm back," he announced as he walked into the house but neither Alecto nor Helia spared him a glance. "So my father loved chicken as much as I do when he was younger?" Helia asked Alecto, ignoring Rendall. "Yes and then he was nicknamed ‘the chicken Alpha’. Oh, my days! Then, at night, all the werelions will gather and everyone will display how fiercely they shifted. Of course, your father w
Rendall stared blankly at the wooden door. He had not been eavesdropping. He just wanted to show Helia the chicken he had caught for her."I did not want her as my mate too. This is good. The feeling is mutual," he reassured himself and feigned a smile.********************"Checkmate," Alecto announced and Helia cheered. Rendall stared in disbelief at the chess board on the table. Alecto's black queen had checked his white king. This was like the hundredth time they had played the game but, at the end of each game, Alecto turned out to be the winner."Again," Rendall said wryly. For the past hours, that word had been his catchphrase while the word ‘checkmate’ had been Alecto's."I am tired, young wolf," Alecto whined. "Just face it. Even though you would be ruling a kingdom soon, you suck at the game of Kings.""I won't give up easily. We will play the game again.""Young wolf," Alecto called out with a smirk, "you would be leaving for the human world very soon and when you get there