Cast her into the dungeon

Luciano's POV

Anger boiled through my veins as I watched the omega wench close her eyes.

I could hear the sound of my own heartbeat pounding in my ears, and the odor of my mother’s blood lingering in the air.

At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to rip the omega’s head off her body, but I repressed my murderous instincts because I didn't want to further annihilate the palace's tainted purity.

A venomous pretender like the omega didn't deserve to die in a luxurious place like my palace.

Freya or whatever her wretched name was.

"I order you to look at me." I spat, basking in manic satisfaction as she whimpered like a cornered kitten.

Immediately, she squeezed her teary eyes and gazed at me.

"Why did you kill her? Which rogue wolf sent you? Is it that worthless Abram Norwich of Ice Fire pack? Who exactly is it?" I yelled, disgust building up within me, the more I stared at her expressionless face.

"I think you've got the wrong person, Luciano. She doesn't seem like she can hurt a fly." My wolf, Killian, tried to negotiate as I felt every bit of reasoning I had left slither out of me.

"And you know this how?" I snapped.

"I-I have no idea what you're talking about, Alpha. I implore you to please believe me. I-I woke up with the dowager luna lying beside me. I-I have no recollection of how I got here either. I k-"

A cynical chortle escaped me as I listened to her gibberish lies.

"Do I look stupid? Why do I even bother asking? I must seem doltish enough for you to lie so unabashedly in front of me." I chuckled mirthlessly and shook my head.

"Something is clearly wrong somewhere, Luciano. But, I suggest you tread carefully, so you won't regret this in the future." Killian wafted into my thoughts again and I growled in frustration.

"Whose side are you supposed to be on, huh? Are you her wolf or mine?" I retorted.

I didn't realize that people had started converging in mother's room until the familiar smell of earth after rainfall siphoned through my nostrils, before I felt a hand on my shoulder.

Beta was here.

"Calm down, Luciano. I will take it from here. Your subjects are watching you. Get a grip." Darius, my beta and elder brother whispered, causing my wolf to grunt in agreement.

"This omega wench murdered our mother, Darius. Yet, she has the guts to fib to my face." I snarled, snickering at the omega as her face turned pale and she tried to pry my hands off her jaw with her feeble ones.

"I will take care of it, brother. She was also my mother as much as she was yours, so I definitely know the sort of wrath that must be bristling inside you." He said, to which I scoffed.

Scowling, I let the omega's almost-lifeless body slide down to the ground, before turning to face Darius as my eyes reverted to its natural green.

"No, you don't. She wasn't your biological mother, so don't you dare try to downplay my frustration!" I hollered, clenching my hands into fists, to withhold myself from saying something more drastic.

Nineteen years ago, my father, the late alpha king of our pack, had gone on a peacekeeping mission to a nearby pack, and had returned with a scrawny ten year old Darius who he had declared his new son and my future beta.

Although it had taken a while for Darius to open up to me, he eventually did, and we became best friends and brothers.

He was level headed while I was irrational, so we struck a perfect balance.

Darius just smiled and nodded. "You're right, alpha. I shouldn't overstep my boundaries. As much as I wished she was my mother and loved her as much as I'd have loved my biological mother, I know I would never be able to relate to your pain. But, we have to properly investigate her death, for all we know, the true killer may be out there plotting another evil."

"Why the hell are you so sure the omega didn't murder her? Are you in cohorts with her or something?" I glowered at him.

"Never. I wouldn't dare do such an abominable thing. But, my gut keeps telling me that we're barking up the wrong tree." Darius responded, and for a split moment, I was tempted to agree with both him and Killian.

"See, even your beta agrees with me." My wolf bragged.

I shook the skepticism off and glanced at the omega.

The whole thing felt like a fever dream to me. 

It seemed as if the moon goddess was playing on my intelligence and torturing me for an innominate reason.

First, she had fated me to a lowlife omega, even though for eleven years after my first shift, I had waited and hoped for a formidable she wolf to be my mate and luna.

Omegas were at the bottom of the wolves ranking, so it felt insulting for an alpha like me, to be mated with a skunk like her.

Lastly, not only was the said omega a plebeian, she was also a killer who murdered my mother in cold blood.

"I have to think about this," I muttered to myself more, than to Darius. "Summon the guards."

"Guards!" Darius barked, and immediately, five guards trickled into the bedchamber.

I watched their stoic miens morph into shock as they surveyed my mother's body.

"I wonder why I feed, clothe, and tend to your families' needs, if you can't do your jobs properly. You were hired to guard the dowager luna, yet a worthless omega outsmarted you all and did this to my mother!" I roared at them, and they all ducked their heads in shame.

"We're sorry, Alpha and we will accept any type of punishment you decide to give us." One of them uttered, to which I huffed.

"You all have no choice but to accept the punishment anyway. And to be honest, the only punishment I seem fit for you useless morons is death." I spat, and Darius placed his hand on my shoulder again.

Shaking his hands off, I steered my attention to the guards once more. "But I won't do that, because mother seemed to value you imbeciles."

"Kill us, Alpha. We don't deserve your mercy at all. We are too vapid and unfit for your kindness." The tallest guard among them said, crouching at my feet.

I was beyond irate at that point. 

Literal fumes of rage emitted from my ears as I unclenched my fists and pointed at them.

"Take her to the pack's dungeon. Make sure her limbs are properly chained, and don't feed her anything, not even a single drop of water, am I clear?" I instructed.

"Yes, Alpha." They bowed in unison before dragging the omega out of the bedchamber.

"I will see to it that they do as you say, alpha." Darius bowed to me and left.

Finally, I was left alone with my mother.

A visceral groan forced itself out of me as I knelt in front of her body and tenderly stroked her pale face.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, mother." I whispered before lifting her from the floor to the bed.

Afterward, I pressed a kiss on her forehead and draped her cold body with a blanket.

"But I promise you something, mother. Whoever did this to you will definitely not go unpunished. That I can assure you. I will make them pay for this, even if it costs me my life." I vowed, holding her hand and planting a kiss on her icy knuckles.

Thereafter, I left her bedchamber to go for a run in the woods.

I needed to clear my head.