Chapter One

"Where on earth were you doing while Tamera was being stolen?" Tommaso, one of the elders and the oldest of the ten elders seated in the council room, thundered his displeasure.

The room was bright, but the atmosphere was filled with the elders' rage.

They were all seated on large chairs arranged in a curved pattern, and he stood staring at them dully.

Seeing that he wasn't responding to them, they all glared at him threateningly and yelled out his name. "Caspian Alessandro!"

Caspian sighed exasperatedly, ran his fingers through his dark hair, and casually shook his head. "I was preoccupied." That was all he said, and it did nothing but fuel the elders' rage.

"I'm going to disregard your ignorant behavior." Garrett, another elder, muttered rubbing his beard in disappointment.

"Tamera is a magical mirror; I'm not concerned with its demise; I'm concerned about the children." Caspian spoke flatly, his thick crimson glimmering darkly, and he took a gold pocket watch from his coat pocket, staring at it dully. "Still.." He paused and looked at Tommaso, who narrowed his eyes at him.

"You don't want to know who the perpetrators are?!" Fernando, another elder, screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Calm down, you're going to harm your breathing organs." Caspian spoke in his usual flat tone, but it was tinged with sarcasm for the elder, who grimaced at his words. "I do want to know, but it's not everything I'll say out loud," he added, taking his gaze away from the pocket watch and putting it back in his pocket.

"How stupid!" Garrett scoffed and spat at Caspian, clearly annoyed. "Not in the least bit different from your father."

Caspian couldn't help but roll his eyes at the nagging elders as they began talking, mumbling, and pouring out their anger towards him.

"Bad quality!"

"I can't believe he claimed to be busy!"

"He thinks it's all about looks."

"Look at how he is staring at us! so disrespectful."

"He'll complain soon that we're bothering him, but he won't think about what he did."

"I'll keep saying it! He's not ready to be alpha; he's just too young!"

"Come on, you're only saying this because you're mad at him. You are aware that he is a powerful ruler."

"Alright, enough of your nagging." Caspian groaned, waving his hands at him, suppressing his annoyance at the elders words.

Despite knowing what he was doing, they never stopped nagging him. They knew he was killing and exterminating the last magical beings that lurked in his vast empire, and he had not anticipated the news of children mysteriously disappearing in their playground.

He sighed in frustration once more and licked his lips, which gradually curled into a chillingly serene smile. "I'll be back," He then walked out of the room while putting his hands in his pocket.

...

In no time, Caspian and his two guards arrived in the field, expecting to find it completely deserted. Instead, he saw parents hugging their children and asking if they were hurt in any way, which caused his brows to raise in slight surprise.

"What happened here?" Without glancing at the guards standing behind him, he asked angrily while clenching his fists.

"They vanished, sire, but it appeared that they had returned." One of the guards nervously reported and Caspian turned to face them with his burning gaze set hard and his aura wildly oppressive.

They immediately bowed their heads, and Caspian gritted his teeth in fury—not because he didn't believe them, but rather because he felt the presence of something extraordinarily potent in the air.

"Alpha!" Caspian heard a call in the pauses between breaths and turned to see Justice, his Beta, coming toward him. "All of the children are saying the same thing." Caspian turned to face him and glared impatiently as he reported.

"That is?" He raised a brow.

"They claimed to have never left the field, but a parent claimed that when she went in search of her daughter, she discovered the field to be completely empty." Justice revealed and Caspian hummed. "Should I bring them to you?" Observing Caspian's lowered mood, Justice questioned.

"No. Tell them to go home and you, meet me at the castle." His voice came out rigid and authoritative, and like the loyal Beta he was, Justice bowed his head and turned away, returning to the field.

Caspian's eyes narrowed as he scanned the field. It was cold and strangely eerie, indicating that something out of the ordinary had occurred. "Dark magic." He hissed deeply, his wolf-red eyes growing sharper and more menacing than ever.

Lavender. A magnetic scent was lingering in the air but it had already faded making it impossible for him to trace it.

...

He returned to the council room with a deep scowl on his face, while the elders looked at him with curiousity.

Caspian had returned to the council room with a darkened expression, indicating that something was wrong, and he had not said a single word since his return, which piqued their interest and confused them.

The elders all looked at Tommaso telling him wordlessly, only with their eyes to question ​the alpha king what the problem was.

As they could feel the young Alpha's anger, none of them had the courage. They were aware of his strong will and hot temper, and when they sensed his smoldering rage, they knew he was capable of doing the unthinkable and could kill them without hesitation. They had nagged him earlier, and he might even add that to their list of crimes before killing them out of rage.

Tommaso sighed deeply and turned his attention to Caspian, who was lost in thought, after realizing what the other elders were trying to tell him with their eyes and facial expressions.

"What happened on the playfield?" As calmly as he could, Tommaso asked.

"I believe it's dark magic." Caspian responded almost instantly, raising his darkened gaze to the elders. "The children did vanish, but they were completely unaware of it."

The elders all murmured in surprise, and Fernando was the next to speak, his face stiff and solemn. "The perpetrators must be Dalerie's enemies! We need to figure out who they are and why they felt the need to steal Tamera."

Caspian scoffed. "Using that spell as a distraction to steal a magical mirror. Repulsive." He grumbled.

At that precise moment, sounds of chains began echoing and as the sound got louder, so did the murmurs of the elders, prompting Caspian to glare at them murderously, effectively shutting them up.

They were adept at nagging, but he was their alpha, whether they liked it or not.

A short while later, two guards walking beside a man who appeared disheveled and had chains around his wrists and ankles brought him into the room. Behind them was Justice, who had a wry smile on his face.

When the elders recognized the haggard-looking man, their eyes widened in shock, and they all stood up at the simultaneously, slamming their hands on the table, which thundered in the room.

"Caspian!" Tommaso exclaimed.

"How dare you drag that mage out of the dungeon and into our midst!" Garrett exploded.

Caspian turned to face the mage, and Justice approached and stood beside him. "Do you think this is a good idea?" He asked in a hushed tone.

"Gwydion. There was a strange incident on the field today, and I want you to find out who was responsible." Caspian immediately spoke up and pointed a piece of grass at the mage, tilting his head to the side whilst peering at him dangerously.

Gwydion sighed deeply and closed his eyes, saying, "Yes sire."

The grass was instantly engulfed in a faint glow and vanished from Caspian's grip and from view.

Caspian lowered his arm, putting his hand in his pocket, and looked impatiently at the mage, whose brow creased with pain.

Caspian felt compelled to kill after seeing the mage. He despised magic, anyone who practiced it, and even the word itself. He had lost everything because of them, he had lost his entire family in the hands of dragons and mages in the blink of an eye, and ever since then, he had gotten rid of anything and everyone connected to magic, and not a single regret lingered in his heart.

He wanted to rule his empire peacefully and safely, without involving anyone who wielded magic, and he had been doing well until today.

"A seer and a mage." Gwydion suddenly revealed, his eyes flew open.

The atomsphere plummeted dramatically in tandem with Caspian's already enraged mood, and everyone in the room felt it.

"What?" Justice asked in utter disbelief.

"It was the work of a seer and a mage." Gwydion replied. "I can't see their faces... I'm unable to identify them."

"Useless!" Caspian yelled and stormed out of the room.

...

Crows' cries echoed in the dark part of the playfield where Caspian appeared. He wanted to investigate the incident himself but that scent was still lingering. He'd followed the scent, which led him to a dark part of a forest shrouded in a thick grey mist that reeked of black magic and blocked out any light from the moon.

Caspian's steps slowed, his crimson eyes burning as he continued to follow the scent while still conscious of his surroundings.

The sweet lavender scent was so alluring that both his body and his beast were drawn to it.

Suddenly, he heard a faint beating heart and Caspian's eyes sharpened on alert, his steps became quicker following the direction and soon, he arrived at the middle of the mist where he found a petite girl covered in small fresh bruises standing still, completely immobile.

Her white dress had become dirty brown, and her dark hair was ruffled as if she had just fought off something much larger and stronger than herself. She had bruises on her cheeks and brow. Her arm was also injured in a few places. He stood still, his gaze fixed on her expression of utter terror.

She blinked at him, tears falling on her cheeks and rolling down slowly. "W..who are you?" Her voice was small and weak, and he just stared at her, wondering what had happened to her.

Her chest heaved heavily, her eyes barely open. He saw her tremble a little and his eyes widen when he realized what was happening.

She was fainting!

Without thinking about anything else, he appeared behind her and caught her before she could fall to the ground holding her tightly.

His beast growled, "Mate," but he was unable to speak it aloud.

His mate was a strange girl who wasn't a wolf. He wasn't even sure what she was, but he felt compelled to shield her from any harm.

He was completely at a loss for words, and to make matters worse, he wasn't even sure whether he was happy or sad to see her.

Had he gone completely dumb because he had unexpectedly met his mate?! It was a good thing, though, because he could feel the mate bond and hoped that she could as well. He was relieved to have finally found his mate because the elders would stop bugging him about finding a mate who could tolerate his anger issues.

No! He shouldn't be happy, this wasn't how he wanted to find his mate, she wasn't even a wolf! He wanted to reject her there and there.

Caspian cocked his head, noting how his shadow completely engulfed her. "What are you doing here in the woods by yourself?" He had to ask, and she closed her eyes, as if she was thinking hard.

Caspian scoffed in disbelief. "Seriously?"

"I.." Her eyes fluttered open. She gaze at him with her black pearl orbs. "I... all I remember is being attacked by her... an old woman." She kept stumbling over her words, and Caspian couldn't help but sigh as he gently wiped her tears away without touching the injury on her cheeks.

"Is that all you can remember?" He inquired, noticing her flinch at his touch and her eyes focusing unblinkingly in his.

"Y..yes," she said slowly, nodding.

"Can you tell me your name?" He asked calmly, taking his thumbs away from her face and keeping them to himself.

What was he doing? He was supposed to reject her! Toss her away!

"I..." Her small, dried lips remained parted, and she shifted her gaze away from him, her forehead creasing with discomfort as she tried to recall her name.

"You don't recall?" He cocked his brow.

She was joking right? She had to be. It was official, he wanted her.