Chapter 59

Chapter 59: Chapter 59

Chapter 59

KAI’S POV

The machine, with a semblance to a cyborg, grumbled as it opened its lid. Freezing air oozed out from within, exposing me back to life. It hit my skin like a slap. My lungs did not remember how to take it at first.

As my chest heaved with its first breath, I clutched the threshold and pulled myself out. Somebody caught me before I could trip. My legs had gone soft. The floor felt farther than it should have.

I had nearly forgotten how to walk.

Marcellan whispered, "This is some shit lapse, man."

My senses were coming back, and thus I laughed at his approach toward the last ritual. The sound came out rough. My throat still belonged to the cold.

Count Skye and my Father shared a mutual gaze before she approached, her eyes glinting with pride.

"You’ve passed every test, Alpha Kai. You’re indeed best fit for your role." She began.

Father chimed in next.

"The tombstone carries the essence of every past Alpha King, infused with their past lives, both memories and actions, and now that you’ve seen through all of them and overcome the challenges, you are indeed fit."

It was true I had been lost in the vast space of the cyborg... or tomb, whatever it was they believed it to be.

I wasn’t even warned before I entered, which made me believe they knew what I was to expect. I guess this last ritual was one without a manual and was required to be figured out by myself.

Though I don’t make it sound as dreadful as it really was, it was meant to kill me. I had lived across the lives of my ancestors, and when I was faced with the memories of their deaths, I could have died along with them as it all felt immensely real. The blades. The poison. The last breath taken on some old battlefield. Each one had tried to take me with it.

However, I triumphed. I came back. That was the only part that mattered now.

Marcellan came back with a towel. He helped wrap it around me as I shivered and my muscles constricted, making it a struggle to move. The cloth scratched. My teeth would not stop knocking together.

Minutes slipped past and I was recovering. The Jury was in attendance and so was Father. I was seated on the throne, but even as I faced my subjects, my mind was distracted.

The person I truly wished to see wasn’t here yet, and it was taking forever. It was beginning to tighten my sternum. The seat under me was stone. It held no warmth.

The warmth I needed, and the one meant to sit next to me as I familiarized myself with the rest of my Court.

More men I hadn’t seen in a long time came over, from every crook and crevice of the Pack, to see their Alpha King. Faces I knew. Faces I had forgotten. They bowed. They waited. I barely saw them.

And in the middle of the boredom, a guard ran in.

"Sire, there is a matter of urgency I must discuss with you."

My Counts were the first to tackle the guard.

"Have you no respect for the Court? How dare you barge in like that?"

I was entirely disinterested in the matter, both of the guard and of the power being exerted by the Counts. Their voices sat far away.

"Please, forgive my abrupt intrusion, but it’s concerning an ambush."

My brows twitched before my hands grasped the seat and my attention became entirely undivided.

I raised my hand, and the room fell silent.

"Go on."

The guard breathed easier.

"One of our weapon stations has been attacked."

Now that’s funny, judging by how Count Barry had wanted to have the guard dismissed. He paid unmistakable attention too. His whole body had gone still.

"We don’t know from what Pack. However, the rivals were trained assassins, and they were swift with their movements. They killed all the guards at the base and took the weapons. All of them. And they set fire to some of our farms. The livestock suffered damages."

My brows knitted.

Fuck...

My first day as Alpha King, and this is what I had to face.

Hell, no wonder Father gave up the post before his death. Perhaps he was just tired of dealing with this shit, and it never had to do with what I usually thought...

Who knows?

The entire Court turned toward me, waiting to hear my response. The air thickened and my head hazed as I thought about what was best. The words had to come out clean. They had to come out now.

Then I made my order.

"Increase security at the other bases. Have the tech system investigate the first warehouse that was ambushed and the entire Pack. Every wood and hidden site must be searched, and these men must be caught. I’ll deliver the final punishment once they are caught. Until then, keep me informed of every finding."

The guard nodded and fled, his breath held as he sprinted out of the throne room to execute my order. His footsteps faded fast.

My chest heaved with heavy breaths.

Fuck, I really needed Alex close right now.

I needed to call him again.

I stood from the throne, having every eye accompany me as I moved toward Marcellan and snapped my fingers for his phone.

"I need to call..."

My eyes went blank for a minute. When I came back to myself, my chest tightened so hard my sternum felt as though it would crush.

Something great had just left me.

It was snatched out of me with violent intrusion, and it was fucking excruciating. I gasped for air and fell to one knee, having Marcellan support me. The Court fell into hushed worries and questioning. Their voices were noise. Nothing in them helped.

My face went pale, blood suddenly draining from my skin, and my body tingled with adrenaline. My soul was in pain, and nothing else could cause this pain other than the one I shared my soul with.

My soulmate.

Fuck!

I grabbed Marcellan by his shirt.

"Alex..." My voice was barely a breath.

My senses went blank, and my wolf whirled to the surface. I had barely any consciousness as my inner self unleashed itself, and the next moment, I was out of the palace. Stone became dirt. Light became trees.

The air struck my face with fierce resistance as I sprinted into the woods. My nails had turned into claws.

From higher ground, I jumped into the air and when I landed, it was on all fours. Scooping a handful of wet earth, my feet did the rest of the job, propelling me forward.

A human in animal form, I ran through the woods on all fours.

I hadn’t shifted, yet my movement was inhumanly fast. Hurried thunderous steps were behind me. The scent was evidently Marcellan’s, yet I was deaf to his calls. His voice broke against my back and died there.

My speed increased, jumping over thorned branches and marshy ground as my limbs carried me past every obstruction. Thorns tore cloth. Water soaked my hands. I did not slow.

My nostrils flared as I sniffed the air and let our mate bond lead the way. My wolf was on the outside. I could feel him right under my skin, like a different existence I’d locked down for so many years that he was ready to tear his way out if his mate was hurt in any way.

My heart thundered.

I hadn’t felt this way in decades.

It was just like when they died. When my brothers died. I could feel the bond slowly flickering, fading in and out.

The realization was crushing and malicious. It sat in my throat and would not go down.

And then, I slid across the earth, my feet dragging sand with me as I came to a stop. I recognized the car. I’d personally sent it for Clawface to take Alex in.

My jaw twitched and my tongue was caught between shaking teeth. I didn’t want to see what had happened, yet my body moved forward. To the left side of the deserted road, the car was flipped over. Smoke poured out from the bonnet and fire burned along the left tire. The smell hit first. Metal. Burnt rubber. Blood.

My stomach turned as I neared, and my gaze caught Clawface. Behind me, the air strengthened, signaling the arrival of Marcellan. However, I paid no attention.

Crouching, I turned Clawface over and gagged at the truth before me.

Half of his face down to his right shoulder was burned. An arrow was stuck in the rear of his neck. From the heat radiating from it, it was a flaming arrow.

Clawface had been fighting the attackers, and they had weakened him with that. His body was still. Too still.

"Kai, please don’t..."

Marcellan dared not stand in my way. From the side, he pleaded as I moved to the crushed side of the car, where Alex would be. My fingers trembled as I yanked it off, and there he was.

He looked flawless. He was a beauty to behold, but he wasn’t moving.

Not even an inch.

It hurt to even touch him, to look at him, yet I carried him in my arms and sat on the ground. His weight was wrong. Too light. Too quiet.

I listened for a heartbeat. I waited for a pulse. I checked our bond. I patted his face.

Tears slid down my face, my vision blurring as it brimmed until I couldn’t hold it anymore.

My chest rumbled with both a growl and a laugh.

The reality wasn’t one I understood or could make sense of.

I blinked up at Marcellan.

"He’s not... he’s not breathing, Marcellan."

"They were attacked... it was targeted."

"I said he’s not breathing!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

The air was hard to breathe.

With a dry throat, I gagged as I shivered, chills striking my soul.

"He can’t..."

Oh, my sweet peach. Please, my sweet peach.

"Please, please, please..." I cried harder into the sunset. "Oh, please, my love. Oh, please..." My words muffled into silent pleas.

Please...

Sweet peach... please.

I couldn’t form another word.

My head was empty and all I felt was Alex in my arms, unmoving and not breathing.

And the worst of it all, I couldn’t feel our mate bond.

"Kai..."

"What do I do without him? I can’t... I can’t survive... oh, God. No. No!"

The realization was like taking a sip of a drink.

Slowly, the intensity of the pain reeled in.

My wolf shattered from the inside.

The pain was too much.

I wanted escape.

There was no bearing it, and so I let go to the chaos it brought and untamed him for the first time in decades.

My bones snapped. My muscles deformed as every limb crushed into a different shape.

My true form.

And so, I shifted.

I shifted into my wolf.

Chapter 59

KAI’S POV

The machine, with a semblance to a cyborg, grumbled as it opened its lid. Freezing air oozed out from within, exposing me back to life. It hit my skin like a slap. My lungs did not remember how to take it at first.

As my chest heaved with its first breath, I clutched the threshold and pulled myself out. Somebody caught me before I could trip. My legs had gone soft. The floor felt farther than it should have.

I had nearly forgotten how to walk.

Marcellan whispered, "This is some shit lapse, man."

My senses were coming back, and thus I laughed at his approach toward the last ritual. The sound came out rough. My throat still belonged to the cold.

Count Skye and my Father shared a mutual gaze before she approached, her eyes glinting with pride.

"You’ve passed every test, Alpha Kai. You’re indeed best fit for your role." She began.

Father chimed in next.

"The tombstone carries the essence of every past Alpha King, infused with their past lives, both memories and actions, and now that you’ve seen through all of them and overcome the challenges, you are indeed fit."

It was true I had been lost in the vast space of the cyborg... or tomb, whatever it was they believed it to be.

I wasn’t even warned before I entered, which made me believe they knew what I was to expect. I guess this last ritual was one without a manual and was required to be figured out by myself.

Though I don’t make it sound as dreadful as it really was, it was meant to kill me. I had lived across the lives of my ancestors, and when I was faced with the memories of their deaths, I could have died along with them as it all felt immensely real. The blades. The poison. The last breath taken on some old battlefield. Each one had tried to take me with it.

However, I triumphed. I came back. That was the only part that mattered now.

Marcellan came back with a towel. He helped wrap it around me as I shivered and my muscles constricted, making it a struggle to move. The cloth scratched. My teeth would not stop knocking together.

Minutes slipped past and I was recovering. The Jury was in attendance and so was Father. I was seated on the throne, but even as I faced my subjects, my mind was distracted.

The person I truly wished to see wasn’t here yet, and it was taking forever. It was beginning to tighten my sternum. The seat under me was stone. It held no warmth.

The warmth I needed, and the one meant to sit next to me as I familiarized myself with the rest of my Court.

More men I hadn’t seen in a long time came over, from every crook and crevice of the Pack, to see their Alpha King. Faces I knew. Faces I had forgotten. They bowed. They waited. I barely saw them.

And in the middle of the boredom, a guard ran in.

"Sire, there is a matter of urgency I must discuss with you."

My Counts were the first to tackle the guard.

"Have you no respect for the Court? How dare you barge in like that?"

I was entirely disinterested in the matter, both of the guard and of the power being exerted by the Counts. Their voices sat far away.

"Please, forgive my abrupt intrusion, but it’s concerning an ambush."

My brows twitched before my hands grasped the seat and my attention became entirely undivided.

I raised my hand, and the room fell silent.

"Go on."

The guard breathed easier.

"One of our weapon stations has been attacked."

Now that’s funny, judging by how Count Barry had wanted to have the guard dismissed. He paid unmistakable attention too. His whole body had gone still.

"We don’t know from what Pack. However, the rivals were trained assassins, and they were swift with their movements. They killed all the guards at the base and took the weapons. All of them. And they set fire to some of our farms. The livestock suffered damages."

My brows knitted.

Fuck...

My first day as Alpha King, and this is what I had to face.

Hell, no wonder Father gave up the post before his death. Perhaps he was just tired of dealing with this shit, and it never had to do with what I usually thought...

Who knows?

The entire Court turned toward me, waiting to hear my response. The air thickened and my head hazed as I thought about what was best. The words had to come out clean. They had to come out now.

Then I made my order.

"Increase security at the other bases. Have the tech system investigate the first warehouse that was ambushed and the entire Pack. Every wood and hidden site must be searched, and these men must be caught. I’ll deliver the final punishment once they are caught. Until then, keep me informed of every finding."

The guard nodded and fled, his breath held as he sprinted out of the throne room to execute my order. His footsteps faded fast.

My chest heaved with heavy breaths.

Fuck, I really needed Alex close right now.

I needed to call him again.

I stood from the throne, having every eye accompany me as I moved toward Marcellan and snapped my fingers for his phone.

"I need to call..."

My eyes went blank for a minute. When I came back to myself, my chest tightened so hard my sternum felt as though it would crush.

Something great had just left me.

It was snatched out of me with violent intrusion, and it was fucking excruciating. I gasped for air and fell to one knee, having Marcellan support me. The Court fell into hushed worries and questioning. Their voices were noise. Nothing in them helped.

My face went pale, blood suddenly draining from my skin, and my body tingled with adrenaline. My soul was in pain, and nothing else could cause this pain other than the one I shared my soul with.

My soulmate.

Fuck!

I grabbed Marcellan by his shirt.

"Alex..." My voice was barely a breath.

My senses went blank, and my wolf whirled to the surface. I had barely any consciousness as my inner self unleashed itself, and the next moment, I was out of the palace. Stone became dirt. Light became trees.

The air struck my face with fierce resistance as I sprinted into the woods. My nails had turned into claws.

From higher ground, I jumped into the air and when I landed, it was on all fours. Scooping a handful of wet earth, my feet did the rest of the job, propelling me forward.

A human in animal form, I ran through the woods on all fours.

I hadn’t shifted, yet my movement was inhumanly fast. Hurried thunderous steps were behind me. The scent was evidently Marcellan’s, yet I was deaf to his calls. His voice broke against my back and died there.

My speed increased, jumping over thorned branches and marshy ground as my limbs carried me past every obstruction. Thorns tore cloth. Water soaked my hands. I did not slow.

My nostrils flared as I sniffed the air and let our mate bond lead the way. My wolf was on the outside. I could feel him right under my skin, like a different existence I’d locked down for so many years that he was ready to tear his way out if his mate was hurt in any way.

My heart thundered.

I hadn’t felt this way in decades.

It was just like when they died. When my brothers died. I could feel the bond slowly flickering, fading in and out.

The realization was crushing and malicious. It sat in my throat and would not go down.

And then, I slid across the earth, my feet dragging sand with me as I came to a stop. I recognized the car. I’d personally sent it for Clawface to take Alex in.

My jaw twitched and my tongue was caught between shaking teeth. I didn’t want to see what had happened, yet my body moved forward. To the left side of the deserted road, the car was flipped over. Smoke poured out from the bonnet and fire burned along the left tire. The smell hit first. Metal. Burnt rubber. Blood.

My stomach turned as I neared, and my gaze caught Clawface. Behind me, the air strengthened, signaling the arrival of Marcellan. However, I paid no attention.

Crouching, I turned Clawface over and gagged at the truth before me.

Half of his face down to his right shoulder was burned. An arrow was stuck in the rear of his neck. From the heat radiating from it, it was a flaming arrow.

Clawface had been fighting the attackers, and they had weakened him with that. His body was still. Too still.

"Kai, please don’t..."

Marcellan dared not stand in my way. From the side, he pleaded as I moved to the crushed side of the car, where Alex would be. My fingers trembled as I yanked it off, and there he was.

He looked flawless. He was a beauty to behold, but he wasn’t moving.

Not even an inch.

It hurt to even touch him, to look at him, yet I carried him in my arms and sat on the ground. His weight was wrong. Too light. Too quiet.

I listened for a heartbeat. I waited for a pulse. I checked our bond. I patted his face.

Tears slid down my face, my vision blurring as it brimmed until I couldn’t hold it anymore.

My chest rumbled with both a growl and a laugh.

The reality wasn’t one I understood or could make sense of.

I blinked up at Marcellan.

"He’s not... he’s not breathing, Marcellan."

"They were attacked... it was targeted."

"I said he’s not breathing!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

The air was hard to breathe.

With a dry throat, I gagged as I shivered, chills striking my soul.

"He can’t..."

Oh, my sweet peach. Please, my sweet peach.

"Please, please, please..." I cried harder into the sunset. "Oh, please, my love. Oh, please..." My words muffled into silent pleas.

Please...

Sweet peach... please.

I couldn’t form another word.

My head was empty and all I felt was Alex in my arms, unmoving and not breathing.

And the worst of it all, I couldn’t feel our mate bond.

"Kai..."

"What do I do without him? I can’t... I can’t survive... oh, God. No. No!"

The realization was like taking a sip of a drink.

Slowly, the intensity of the pain reeled in.

My wolf shattered from the inside.

The pain was too much.

I wanted escape.

There was no bearing it, and so I let go to the chaos it brought and untamed him for the first time in decades.

My bones snapped. My muscles deformed as every limb crushed into a different shape.

My true form.

And so, I shifted.

I shifted into my wolf.