Cruel Fate

Kendrick's POV

"Good day, Alpha king", a guard greeted me as I walked into the dining area of the palace and I nodded in response.

The maids greeted me also and I gave them a general nod before taking my seat at the head of the table. The table was already laden with the array of meals prepared for today and once I was seated, a maid immediately walked over to fill my plate.

She was just opening the bowl when I felt my wife walk into the room and turned around to confirm what my wolf had already detected. The maid paused to look in the direction I was facing and drew away from the table on seeing her Luna had arrived.

"Good morning, Luna", I heard the maids greet but she ignored them as usual and smiled at me.

"Good morning"

"Good morning, Jenni", I replied just as she stopped beside me and noticed that I was in the middle of being served.

"Sorry I was late", she apologized and continued what the maid had been doing.

I preferred having my wife serve me breakfast and only let the maids handle that when she wasn't around. That was why the maid knew to shift away when Jenni arrived.

"It's no problem"

"So how was your walk alone?", she enquired.

We usually took a walk through the royal garden after waking up every day once we had freshened up and then came straight from the garden to have breakfast. Today however, she had still been asleep as at when I finished preparing for the day so I left our chambers this morning to take the walk alone.

"Fine", l shrugged.

"I'm done", she announced and dropped my now filled plate in front of me.

"Thank you"

Jenni had been a good Luna throughout the time we've been together even though our marriage had been arranged by our parents. Sometimes she got possessive since she was always worried I could leave her since we didn't have a mate bond but once that was excluded, she was a perfect partner.

Speaking of the mate bond though, sometimes I still thought about Audrey... I still didn't know whether to believe that she was dead like everyone had assumed. Her body wasn't found in the river even though everyone presumed she had been pushed into the water from the cliff.

I knew it just seemed like I was in denial but there was really a part of me that felt she was alive. I even felt the mate bond tingle sometimes; that wasn't proof enough though. I had to move on with my life without holding on to a half-hearted belief that she was alive.

I didn't have the right to try hoping she was alive after what I had done to her. I had disgraced her badly even though it went against my conscience.

But she had deserved it. She was a weakling and the reason my mother was dead, I couldn't be with her even if she had miraculously survived the fall.

"What are you thinking about so deeply?", Jenni's voice broke into my thoughts and I brought my attention back to the food in front of me only to notice I hadn't taken a single bite of food.

Jenni had even served her own meal and was presently sitting beside me. I hadn't noticed her crossing from my right-hand side to sit at my left-hand side.

"Nothing exactly", I exhaled and began eating.

"So what do you have planned for today?", she questioned cheerily as she raised a filled spoon to her mouth.

"Well, I don't have much in mind but I'll have to see Jake first to be sure", I replied and she nodded.

Jake was the Beta of Blood pack so consequently, my right-hand man. He was usually the one who arranged all my meetings and activities. It wasn't really compulsory that he did that but he had gladly taken up the responsibility and I was glad that he had given me more time to myself.

His undivided loyalty was relieving but it also made me feel guilty sometimes as he had been Audrey's close friend. I wondered so many times if he would still be so helpful if he found out that I was the reason why she was no more.

She wouldn't have been outside and wouldn't have gotten pushed if I hadn't rejected her so spitefully. That was what I thought on the days when my guilt was on an average level. However on bad days, I told myself that she hadn't been pushed but had jumped and it was all my fault.

"Greetings, Alpha", I heard Jake's voice hail minutes later.

"It's good to have you here, Jake, would you mind joining us for breakfast?", Jenni smiled.

"Did you think I came so early for nothing? Of course, I want breakfast", Jake answered and Jenni chuckled.

Her laugh was so beautiful... Her entire composition was as if she had been raised to be a Luna and since she had been given the title, she had never ceased to perform excellently well.

I always found myself staring at her whenever she acted this way and feeling guilty for taking such an amazing woman into my life without feeling a thing for her. It was really surprising but it was the truth.

Even though we've been married for a while, I didn't see her as anything more than a good partner or to state it plainly, I had never felt a single string of attraction to her. I could see why other males would find her enthralling but that allure had never been felt by me.

"We'll be having an emergency meeting with the werecouncil of the pack today", Jake announced shortly after taking his first bite of the meal and I frowned.

"Is something happening?"

"I have no idea. They just came here yesterday night requesting to see you immediately but I told them that meetings didn't work that way and convinced them to wait till today when you'll be free to attend to them", Jake explained.

"So what time are we having this meeting?", I inquired.

"They said they will be here by sunrise but I warned that it was possible you wouldn't be able to see them by that time and they agreed that they would gladly wait till you were ready"

"That case must be very urgent", Jenni commented.

"That's exactly why I'm going to meet up with them once we're done with breakfast", I decided.

"Good thinking", Jake supported and continued eating his food. "I can never get over how tasty the food served here in this palace is", he mumbled and Jenni chuckled.

Minutes later, Jake and I were walking to the room which Jake had instructed the guard to usher the members of the werecouncil into. Once we entered the room, all the men in the room stood up to their feet and bowed their heads in reverence.

"Greetings, Alpha", they chorused.

"Good day", I replied and they raised their heads.

I found the scent my wolf was picking up from the men quite strange but couldn't deny that it seemed like the feeling of fear was running rampant in the minds of the men.

"What's happening? What's this strange mood you all seem to be having?", I questioned directly without attempting to mince words once Jake and I were seated and the men sat hurriedly.

"Alpha, there is a huge problem in the pack!", one of the men immediately voiced out.

"It's obvious there is else you wouldn't be in my presence right now so go straight to the point", I snorted.

"Few weeks ago, a man shifted into his wolf form in my territory of the pack and was unable to return back to his human form", another of the men spoke up and I frowned.

"Isn't it just one of the young werewolves who just discovered his wolf but lost control?", Jake asked voicing out the exact thought I was having and the man shook his head furiously.

"Not at all, sir. It was a grown man!", he argued.

"So is that the only reason why you all are so scared?", I wondered.

"More people kept on suffering the fate of that man, Alpha", the man revealed.

"And he's not the only one who has had a case like this, my Lord", another man chirped in.

"You all have had cases like this?", Jake grimaced.

"Yes!"

"How many cases have you had in each territory?", Jake pondered.

"About three scores in my territory", the first man quickly spoke up.

"A dozen, my Lord"

"Just a few cases"

"About twenty-five people have suffered this fate"

All the men kept mentioning figures but I soon noticed one man sitting sullenly who hadn't said a single word since the start of the meeting.

"How about you? You haven't had any cases at all?", I challenged and he looked up at me.

"There have been about a hundred cases, if not more in my territory", he croaked and my mouth nearly fell open.

"You are the one in charge of the territory where the priests live, aren't you?", Jake inquired.

"Yes, sir", the man answered weakly and I almost smiled due to surprise at how Jake could manage to remember the territory which each of these men were in charge of.

The situation was too severe for me to attempt smiling though…