Clarity (Part One)

THE LYCAN KING 

CONSTANTINE DEMONICUS

Clarity.

The thick fog that had surrounded the majestic beauty of the mountain range for a century, a home for a beast that had rivaled its harshness and brutality suddenly dispersed.

What had remained was the howling wind; a different kind of music to the almost uninhabited place.

The creature raised his face to the white clouds and responded to the familiar melody.

Long and mournful, he paused. Listened. He had no idea why he kept acknowledging, kept on hoping. Yet he did. 

Hope. It was all he had. A possibility that one day his call would be answered.

An eerie silence followed his signal. And showed something else.

The animal began to circle his territory. He knew every inch of land, know what was underneath, covered in snow and dirt, his markings had never failed to warn other predators roaming the land.

He was a supreme being, accorded with fear and respect.

Shaking his massive shaggy head, he crouched low and sniffed the ground. Paused. Growled. Then took a deep whiff. And again.

Octavius.

It had been a century but his senses were as sharp as before. He knew the scent of his people. Especially his loyal and dear friend. The Royal Beta. 

Why was he here? He was specifically ordered to stay away. 

However... Something didn't feel right these past few years. His gut was telling him to go back.

Constantine couldn't even if he wanted to. He was keeping to himself for a reason.

His long strides were bringing him closer to his cave, barely making a sound on the thick snow covering the earth. His shadow was persistent. Mentally shaking his head in amusement. He had taught his second in command well.

If you need me, you know where to find me.

His parting words before he disappeared in the darkest of all nights.

Moon Goddess, what is happening to my kingdom?

He looked up at the clear sky, howled, seeking answers. None came. He was not surprised. She had not disturbed him since his exile.

Remaining at a distance to let her creature live in peace.

Peace. Not once had he felt it.

He roamed the alps. He hunted. He hid.

His only enemies were the polar bears but even they grew afraid of him. He had also respected them and stayed away.

From a distance, with his sharp hearing, a tree branch snap.

The monstrous predator halted, looked around him, crouched low. Ears tucked behind his shaggy head, he listened carefully.

Satisfied no other creature was hiding, he turned to face the lone wolf following him.

Growled in a warning.

'You have been following my trail for a while now.'

'My king,'

'Why are you here, beta?' They were still separated by a few distances. A sign of honor. He would never invade his Alpha's domain without permission. 'Shift.'

A man did in a blink of an eye, impressive and remarkable, tattoos covering his massive chest, beautiful arts on his dark skin, walking tall, slowly making his way towards his estranged leader.

Not much had changed over the decades. Two powerful beings. One in human form, the other one a beast standing proudly like he owned the world.

Silence ensued while they assessed each other.

'I've been tasked to bring you home.' The Royal Beta broke the silence first then he bowed low. His dark gaze was on the ground.

'Who by?'

'Our people.' He looked up to level his gaze with his king. "The kingdom is in a dire strait, min kung." The grit and growl that followed the voice were filled with uncertainty. And disappointment. It means both of them were still mateless.

At least his beta could shift. He on the other hand...

'What about my Alphas? What has become of them?'

'They fared well despite the odds. But they need our help.'

'Why?'

"We are on the verge of extinction, my king. The blood-sucking leeches are the stronger race now."

No words could convince him more. The Moon Goddess' mortal enemies were his responsibility. 

His foes.

'Why hasn't she called me home?'

Octavius didn't know the answer. His gaze returned to the white earth and he shook his head.

Constantine had to let his most trusted ally understand something very vital.

'I can no longer shift to my human.'

That he was more beast now than the human he remembered himself to be.

He could still govern. He could fight and kill.

But he had to do it in the comfort of shrouded darkness.

------------

Octavius

The Royal Beta

' I can no longer shift to my human.'

His king's admission made him curse inside.

Standing a few feet from the Royal Beta was his king. His best friend. In his lycan form. This may seem ordinary for him but ordinary humans would run as far away as possible from the Moon Goddess's creation.

A beast from one's worst nightmare. Built to annihilate and protect under the glimmering moon.

Min kung

As majestic as he had remembered. The perfect son of Selene. Her most treasured masterpiece. A guardian. a warrior. A killer.

In the past, Constantine Demonicus roamed his territories in his human form. Villagers feared him at the same time respected him.

Feared because of his ruthlessness towards his enemies. Respected because he has a heart of gold. Though he never showed it. His actions did.

Constantine drove the vampires away from his kingdom and human territories.

No longer hunted for blood their population grew. Prospered during his rule. They knew peace.

Their kind respected his beasts. He was their ruler after all. Those who knew him, the Alphas, would support him without question.

The younger generation might be wary but in time, they would accept that their king has returned to their fold more of a beast than a human.

"We will stand by you, min kung.'  Octavius answered with faith.

'Of that, I have no doubt, my friend.'

"It is a long journey home." He had been tracking his Lycan leader for weeks. Only when the winds and snow stopped its deadly dance was he able to get a whiff of his almost untraceable pack scent.

'It's a good thing I have rested enough. Lead the way.' They were about to join the old world they had left behind.

He was not a fool and took everything in stride. There was a lot to renew. A lot to learn. He had to do it fast for the sake of his king.

When he joined the monks, the glimpses of the changing world made in weary. Of wars and destructive inventions. Of traditions being broken and ignored. Of the modern civilization and how it was being destroyed by its inhabitants.

He only hoped, that when they returned, both he and Constantine would be able to save what was left of their small world.

--------------

Constantine Demonicus

During his musings about the day he might be able to return to his kingdom, he knew that the way home was not that simple anymore.

The constant change was relentless. Cruel and necessary.

Some of the old roads and mountains he had passed by on his journey to the Himalayas were no longer accessible.

Many were converted into cemented roads. Valleys and hills into commercialized estates.

More and more tourists come and go. Bringing destruction to gloriously untouched havens.

People had been greedy. 

'The world as we know it has changed.' An understatement.

"It has. And still is." Octavius had found them a cabin at the foot of the mountain.

After traveling for a few days, they had to stop and hunt. Though they had limitless strength, immortal as they were, the two of them were not as ready as they thought they would be to face their kind once again.

Moreover, it was time to talk. To plan.

Constantine needed to know more. He had a feeling his friend was holding something from him.

'Who found you?'

"Alpha North."

'Where?'

"Right where I told you where I would be. With the monks." The beta was cutting huge chunks of deer meat, rubbed some salt and spices, then skewed the flavored meat before setting them on the makeshift grill by the fireplace.

In Henan, China. 

He remembered owning a place for retreat in that part of the world and later donating the land to a peaceful tribe. One of his alphas, Alpha East, was governing the continent for the Lycan Kingdom.

Comfortably lounging on a warm pelt, his belly fully after a good hunt, he stared at the dancing flames. Thinking.  'What happened, Octavius?'

"Orion." The name alone caused violence coursing through his veins. He remembered burying the filthy bastard beneath the earth hundreds of years ago.

'How did he escape?'

"He was fated to an oracle. While we are enjoying the peace we had fought so hard to achieve, they started to strengthen their army underneath the earth. Bided their time until we left."

'I didn't know.' He should have. Instead, his people were left vulnerable.

"No one did. They were not blaming you. Or me. Our forces were strong. They fought and survived. But the leeches hit us where it will create irreparable damage. They hunted and killed fated pairs. Women. Girls. Innocent humans. Until the Alphas were forced to close our borders and send them to their world. Memories of our kind were erased. As of the moment, we only have twenty mated pairs left. We protect them at all costs."

'Fuck!' Octavius' recant of the brutal happenings of the past decades left a bitter taste in his mouth.

The Lycan King growl savagely. He rose from the pelt he was comfortably lying on and began to pace. Anger and recrimination made him want to kill Orion right that very moment.

'I should have known better.'

"We could never foresee the future, min kung."

'How dare she kept this from me?' He was created by Selene to protect the earth from Vampires, especially innocent humans yet she left him in the dark.

A beast wandering the mountains. Feeling so useless all these years.

"I am sure she has her reasons. You are her son. She will appear when it's time."

'I hope you are right or I will never forgive her if my kingdom will be at the mercy of our enemies.'

His eyes, red-blood orbs, unrelenting, stared at the flames. Planning his revenge. 'I want the Alphas waiting for us when we get there.'

"They already are, Constantine."