Azriel: The Black Sheep

“Alpha… the King requests your presence in the funeral,” James, the elderly beta turned father’s butler, stands at the doorway with his head bowed. I don’t bother to turn around to face him. Instead, I lean against the brown high-back chair, closing my eyes. The reminder of Kaizen’s absence makes me angry. 

Kaizen is dead. 

“Idiot,” I mutter under my breath. 

“Alpha?” James calls again. 

“Nothing. Just… let me be. I’ll be there soon,” I reply. James closes the door quietly without giving any verbal acknowledgment. 

“That idiot,” I mutter again before standing up. The funeral — an insincere show of gratitude. I clicked my tongue in annoyance as I left the office, locking it behind me. On my way, I meet my step-sister, Alessia, the daughter of the former Luna of the Timber Pack. She was leaning against the wall, clutching a locket in her palm, the golden chain dangling. 

“Why are you standing in the middle of the hallway?” She startles at my voice and hastily shoves the chain inside her jeans pocket, but her red-rimmed amber eyes tell me that the locket isn’t just a normal one. Alessia is a good girl, amiable, and the only person I am fond of. 

“Uh… I was... Waiting for you? Yeah, waiting…” she stutters, being a terrible liar. I gaze at her dubiously, but she takes hold of my hand and tugs me forward.

“Let’s go. We’ll be late and father will not let us go unscathed,” she mutters, a tad bit bitterly. 

Her black hair curtains her face, barring me from seeing her expression. But she looked gloomy. 

“Are you sure you want to attend?” I ask her as we cross the corridor to enter the hall where the funeral will be held. 

“As if I have any choice,” she murmurs. I sigh. Father is not caring towards any of us, slightly on Aiden, but that’s because he is the ideal prince who could have been the future King, but alas…

We walk into the hall and are met with father’s beleaguered look and Aiden’s disapproving one. I bow to them briefly before going to stand beside Luna Dakota who only acknowledges her daughter. 

“Beta Kaizen was appointed as your beta and you are the last one to enter the hall,” Father hisses loud enough for me to hear. I glance at Dakota and see her lips tug upward. 

I dutifully remain silent, training my gaze on the small back box in the middle. I am sure if Kaizen is somehow able to watch or if all the bullshit that Elders say about a person’s spirit wanders the earth unless a prayer service is held then he would be grunting and groaning at the stupid show of grief, especially from my Father who more or less loathed him for being from a nameless pack.

My gaze wanders around the hall. Not many are here. Only the ministers, the doctor, and…

This girl looks unfamiliar. 

Father clears his throat and begins his usually perfectly rehearsed speech. “Royal beta Kaizen  Knight, who was relentless and a diligent subject, who had always given his best service and protected Alpha prince Azriel, has unfortunately left us earlier than he should have.” He gives a dramatic pause, but unlike other times when the deceased’s family members sniffle and stifle their sobs, nothing of that sort happens. Instead, there’s oppressive silence. 

I give a side glance at Alessia, who remains silent as well. But I can see that she is tense. 

“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to retrieve his body. We are still investigating. I only hope we could bid him farewell in a better way,” he concludes with a sigh. 

“May Goddess Diana give him peace,” Luna Dakota adds, closing her eyes and bowing her head. 

I stare at the black box situated on the high wooden table like a showpiece before my gaze strays back to the woman. She is staring at the box too. Her face looks pale, wisps of brown hair framing the heart-shaped frame. Her grey eyes hold grief. Is she Kaizen’s relative? His sister? He once told me that his sister is the only living person he can call family.

“Aysel, dear, would you like to add something?” Dakota asks softly. I want to scoff at her gentle tone, which is as false as her personality that my father somehow fell for. 

The girl shakes her head. “Thank you. For everything.” Even though the words are uttered sincerely, I am certain there’s no true sincerity behind them.

Dakota nods, satisfied before turning to father. I glance at him and see him give a subtle nod. Their non-verbal conversation irks me the most. It reminds me of my mother and her silent pleas going unheard. Father’s negligence and refusal to acknowledge her in public. But here he is, speaking silently to his dearest wife. A woman who brought more wealth with her to add to the riches he received from his first wife. My mouth tastes bitter with disgust.

Dakota’s eyes fall on me before she is about to turn back to Aysel. Her lips twitch whether to sneer or leer, I don’t know but she quickly shows her back towards me. 

Alessia snorts softly. I look at her to find her annoyed as she watches her mother treat Aysel the way she should treat her daughter. 

“I wish to… step in my brother’s position. To honor his last wish,” Aysel speaks softly but firmly and the room falls into a deadly silence. I can almost feel my father seething quietly because he loathed Kaizen even if he never show it outwardly. After all, he had an image to keep up with. 

I feel my gut twist unwantedly. This place isn’t for someone like Aysel. She looks like she will break if someone so much as hit her on the arm. Her slender frame clad in a knee-length black dress doesn’t leave any suspicion that she has neither been trained as a fighter nor has trained herself to become a beta of any pack. 

I regard her curiously. Would any sister actually want to become a beta without training, without any skills? 

“Ah…” Dakota gives a soft, uncomfortable laugh, her gaze darting toward her husband.”That… I guess isn’t possible. You see, dear, you need to prove first that you are a worthy beta just like your brother did only then…”

I watch as Aysel’s eyes grow wide as if she had not realized this before, but then it clouds with desperation and just a little bit of anger. Oh, this is going to be interesting. Rowan growls in agreement. 

“But…” Aysel bites back whatever she was about to blurt out. I glance at my side and see my father silently growing angrier while Aiden looks every bit concerned like the perfect alpha should. 

“Don’t be scared, tell us what you wish to,” he speaks like I was expecting. His concern irks me more so than it should. Here we go… another poor girl falling head over heels for the Alpha. I force myself to not roll my eyes. 

As expected once again, I see Aysel’s gaze flicker toward Aiden, softening slightly. She nods and says, “I have a letter as proof.” 

I hear Alessia gasp softly and look to the side to find her shoulders trembling slightly. 

“You okay?” I murmur. She looks at me and gives a taut nod. 

“Let us talk about this at my office, Miss Knight.” My father’s voice reverberates across the room. My eyes dart towards Aysel who looks a bit worried but then her eyes flicker past my father and lands on Aiden. She nods then and I know it’s because of the golden boy’s reassuring look that has managed to make men and women alike swoon. 

“We are done then? I am off,” I say a little too loudly. Aysel’s eyes lock with mine again before she lowers her gaze. 

“No. You will be a part of this discussion.” My father’s voice has no room for argument and my wolf almost obeys like it used to for the past few years, but not anymore. I turn back walking towards the door, but before leaving I stop and say, “You have your perfect son to deal with that.” 

I don’t wait for his response which will be predictably something taunting and leave for my office. 

~~~~

Once I close the door, I walk to the bookshelf, and after sliding out and sliding in a few books hearth whirring noise that makes the shelf slide to the left revealing a smaller room. I walk inside and close the shelf. Switching on a small bulb I walk towards the small closet situated in a corner. 

I take out the letter from inside, bare of anything else. I sigh because now I know what he meant by the last lines. 

“You are irritating, Kai. Won’t leave me alone even after death will you?” I mutter under my breath. 

[To Alpha Azriel,

I don’t know when you will find this letter, but if you are reading this then I am already dead or missing or both. Nothing seems to be right around you. Please beware. I am not certain whom to warn you from, but you should be alert. You are going to become the next king, so be more cautious. Please don’t be reckless. 

Also…

Someone might come looking for me. Please allow them to be by your side.

Regards,

Kaizen Knight]