Chapter 8

"Yes, your Majesty." The guard bowed his head in front of the prestigious man towering over him.  "You requested to see me."

"Did you manage to track down the rouge?" His powerful voice thundered throughout the room. 

"N-no your majesty." The man stumbled over his words. "Before we could corner the animal we lost clear sight of it, your majesty." 

The other guards trembled under their armor in fear of the powerful being standing in front of them.  In their eyes, he was a heartless and brutal monster. He didn't care about the well-being of his guards or anyone around him. He wasn't afraid to cut down anyone standing in his way. Even those closest to him. The man was cruel to an extent that even if a child crossed his path they would also face his wrath. The King was feared throughout the kingdom far and wide. No one was brave enough to cross his path. Until a rogue decided to perform the task that even his worst enemies were scared to say and do. Even his very presence would make the wise tremble in fear.

Another one of the guards stepped forward with trembling hands. "We have men surrounding the perimeter in which it was last..." 

The room erupted in utter silence. No one dared to mutter one single word to the king. He could hear their spiked heartbeats and how much they reeked of fear. He wiped the blood from his sword onto the corpse slumped in front of him. He managed to keep a calm composure. But he could feel his inner beast clawing at him to be released. The beast wanted to protect his beloved king. It urged to demote destruction on anyone who ever thought of betraying him.

"I expect results, not excuses!" His voice was like thunder to the guards' ears. It was odd that one man could have such a profound effect on people. 

No one muttered even a single word. Their eyes wandered to their fellow college's corpse on the cold pavement. They knew the same fate awaited each and everyone who couldn't please the king.

"Clean this garbage off the floor." He scrunched his nose in disgust. "Order the rest of the men to stand down."

"B-but your majesty the town folks will be in great danger of the creature."

"They are not my responsibility." He said coldly before he departed the throne room. He hated the villagers ever since he was a boy. They are responsible for turning him into the cold monster he is after they slaughtered his father. As night creatures they were more fierce and strong, it was solely their

responsibility to protect the humans. But they were seen as a threat. The humans pretended that the night creatures did more harm than good. In his eyes, the humans were considered to be more of a monster. He was tugged from his thought by one of the guards.

"Are you certain your plan will exceed?" The woman said.

He looked up and was greeted by a woman in her early thirties. Her forehead was creased with wrinkles and her green eyes were as cold as a block of ice. He frowned. "You were listening to my conversation."

"Well, that's what mothers do." She smiled showing her pearly white. "What do you plan to do about this creature?"

"I was thought by a brave man that if you want things to be done properly you do it yourself." 

"You just killed one of our best guards Kaleb."

She frowned.

"I didn't kill a guard I killed a spy. He was collecting information and reporting back to someone. I'm just not certain who it is as yet. Now if you could excuse me I have urgent matters to attend to."

"Kaleb!" She called after him. " Princess Adeline will be here in a few hours. You are expected to be here when she arrives."

"Adeline can wait. This beast being on the loose is more important." 

"Kaleb! You need to be here to greet her when she arrives. It would be an insult to her family." 

"I didn't ask for her to be here. She is not my responsibility." He stated.

"Kaleb she is your wife."

"I never asked for a wife!" He wasn't fond of the girl mainly because of her attributes. He despised females that relied solely on makeup and expensive clothes to portray their beauty. He liked women that went natural and liked their selves the way they were born. He also wanted a female that was strong and was able to rule alongside him. He believed if both the king and queen were strong so would their kingdom. 

 She approached and whispered so only he could hear. "We both know Adeline's family has the best guards that could protect this kingdom from being infiltrated. Don't be a selfish boy." Her voice was toneless as she spoke. She gripped onto his shirt and pulled his head down to look into her eyes. Her green orbs were cold as a block of ice and threatening. She didn't have to use words to scare Kaleb. She was the only person who could make the man tremble in fear. She was older and way stronger than he would ever be. "I don't care how you feel about this girl. I cannot afford for this kingdom to lose its power. They already think we are weak."

She stormed off leaving an angry man. He sulked as a child would. His jugular veins were visible to the naked eyes. He despised the woman for having so much power over his life. He wished he had a father figure in his life. He hated the fact that the majority of his attributes came directly from the woman. While his father thought him about love and peace. His mother thought him otherwise. To hunt those who hunt their kind. She thought him being too kind always gets them killed. The woman even used her dead husband as an example. The funny thing about it was that Kaleb believed her words. Those words made him the most feared and hated being in the world.