Chapter 129: Now, Apologize To Your Alpha.

Gasps swept through the air as Vincent’s father and brother hung suspended above the ground, their bodies twisting as they struggled against the invisible force holding them there.

No matter how violently they fought to free themselves, they could not break Bryce’s hold.

"Put us down, you witch creature!" Vincent’s father shouted furiously.

Even suspended helplessly in the air, his voice carried the same arrogance and fury. He turned his attention toward Vincent. "You dared bring a witch into wolf territory! This is too much! How many laws are you going to break?!"

Bryce could hardly believe how the man was still talking.

The anger burning through him intensified, and for a moment, his mind filled with thoughts of the worst things he could do to them.

Instead of acting on them, he simply increased the force beneath them, sending their bodies higher into the air.

That finally seemed to terrify them completely.

Their struggles became more frantic as they realized how completely Bryce controlled their movements.

"For the last time, apologize to my mate or you’ll spend the rest of your lives up there!" Bryce’s voice carried a dangerous edge, leaving no room for further exchange.

"Sorry," they blurted out at the same time.

"No," Bryce said, even more irritated. "That’s not an apology."

Vernon swallowed, his earlier defiance fading, "I’m sorry, Vincent," he said, his voice shaking. "I’m sorry for everything I’ve done and said to you."

Bryce could tell that the apology was not sincere. It had been dragged out of Vernon by fear rather than remorse, but at least he had said it. It was a first step, even if it was not the one Bryce had wanted.

His gaze shifted toward the older man.

One look was enough.

The man immediately spoke.

"Sorry for what I said," he muttered through gritted teeth.

Bryce said nothing.

He simply continued staring at him with a dangerous expression.

The man’s jaw tightened, but when Bryce’s gaze remained fixed upon him, he finally forced other words out without gritting his teeth.

"I am sorry. I apologize for insulting you."

A small measure of satisfaction settled over Bryce.

"Good. That was my mate you just apologized to. Now, apologize to your Alpha."

The order drew another wave of confusion from the crowd.

Everyone present looked as though they wanted to speak, but Bryce’s power still held their voices captive. Their mouths moved, their expressions shifted, but not a single sound emerged.

"What do you mean?! I am the Alpha of Moonlight Pack!" Vincent’s father yelled again, confusion now dripping from his voice.

"You’ve gone too far!" Vernon shouted as well.

Bryce felt his patience thinning again.

For a moment, he considered forcing them to submit, but he stopped himself. He wanted their submission to come naturally, after they had known who he was and exactly what he was capable of doing.

"You’ve proven yourselves incapable of being real leaders. You’ve caused chaos around here and caused the deaths of many. From now on, Alpha Vincent Walker is the Alpha of Moonlight Pack."

The words fell over the compound with an authority that left no room for argument.

"As for you..." His words faltered briefly before he turned toward Vincent who standing beside him. "What do you wish for them to become?"

Vincent did not hesitate.

"I really don’t care what happens to them, as long as they are not in Moonlight Pack anymore. After all, you’re the one to judge each and everyone."

Vincent’s words sparked another reaction throughout the crowd.

"The one to judge? What are you talking about?! You want to tell me the stupid prophecy of a powerful wolf capable of ruling even Alphas is actually true?! What nonsense!"

Bryce ignored the voices, and so did Vincent.

"Well, since your Alpha says he doesn’t care what happens, then it looks like I’m going to be the one to decide." Bryce’s gaze returned to the two men suspended before him. "I don’t do deaths, especially instant deaths after you have spent your lives making other people miserable, so you’ll have to live in the dungeon as you suffer your wrath until life drains out of you itself."

Bryce turned toward Vincent as though to confirm his reaction, but Vincent’s face gave away nothing.

It was completely neutral, almost unreadable, and Bryce found himself watching him for a moment longer than necessary, trying to determine whether the decision he had just made had affected him in any way.

In that moment, an unexpected thought crossed Bryce’s mind.

How had the three of them ended up with no reliable parents?

Now, standing here with Vincent and thinking about their baby, Bryce could not help wondering whether their baby would grow up without any grandparent.

"Where’s your mom?" Bryce asked Vincent.

He had never heard Vincent talk about her.

Vincent remained quiet for a moment before answering.

"She died long ago. No one really knows what happened to her. Father said she was gripped with sickness overnight and it killed her. It was confirmed that she was actually sick, but still, I’ve never believed it."

The moment Bryce heard the explanation, something about it struck him as wrong. He was almost certain Vincent’s father’s hand was involved.

Bryce did not say the thought aloud. He simply kept it to himself, his attention returning to the matter before them.

"What do you think of the dungeon idea?" he asked after a moment. "Tomorrow night... If I find out that someone did something unforgivable, instead of instant death, they could just stay in the dungeon. No food, no nothing, with the disease, suffering their actions and dying slowly. I’ll seal the dungeons myself."

"Sounds satisfying," Vincent answered.

There was no hesitation in his voice.

With that answer, Bryce turned toward the crowd. The two men still suspended in the air were continuing to speak, their mouths moving as they attempted to throw more words at them, though Bryce had no intention of listening to them any longer, so he muted them as well.

The compound fell into an unnatural silence.

"I’m releasing everyone from here, and once you can walk, go back straight to..." Bryce paused and turned toward Vincent. "What did you say the place where the Alpha family lives is called?"

"Packhouse," Vincent answered.

Bryce turned back toward the crowd.

"Go back to the packhouse. Tonight, you build at least six dungeons, large enough to accommodate ten people. I can see through everyone’s actions. If you don’t want to find yourself in something you cannot save yourself from, then be sure to do as asked without any conflict."

His words carried through the entire compound with enough authority that no one could mistake them for a suggestion.

Bryce released them.

The instant his power loosened its hold, the people around them scattered. Some ran, others shifted into their wolf forms and disappeared across the grounds.

Soon, only the members of Moonlight Pack remained, along with the two men still suspended in the air.

The remaining pack members looked uncertain at first.

Then, almost hesitantly, they began to move.

One by one, they approached Vincent and bowed slightly.

"Long live the Alpha!" they spoke in unison, as though they had rehearsed it.

An older man stepped a little closer.

"Alpha Vincent, I personally am glad that you came back. Your presence has saved us more than you can understand. At the point where we had reached, I was terrified that we had no future anymore. We could not do anything or control the former Alpha and your younger brother."

Bryce watched the man carefully.

He could immediately tell that he was speaking honestly. There was no hidden intention behind his words, no attempt to flatter Vincent simply because of how things had turned out.

The relief in the man’s voice was genuine, and he was genuinely glad that Vincent had returned.

Vincent seemed to recognize him as well.

"Mmh..." Vincent merely made a sound before looking toward him. "Then conduct the task given by His Majesty, so we can make our lives better."

"Yes, Alpha," the man answered respectfully.

He bowed slightly again before turning toward Bryce.

"Your Majesty."

He bowed once more, this time to Bryce, regarding him with clear respect.

The others followed his example.

One after another, they bowed before hurrying away.

"Two guards, remain behind," Bryce called.

Two men stopped immediately.

Bryce turned his attention toward Vincent’s father and brother. He drained the energy from both of them before releasing his hold.

Their bodies dropped heavily to the ground.

Bryce had no intention of allowing either of them to retain enough strength to fight back, escape, or cause more chaos.

"Drag them to the dungeon, if there’s one."

The two guards obeyed at once.

They seized Vincent’s father and brother and began pulling them away. Both men’s lips continued moving angrily as they resisted, but no sound came from either of them.

Vincent and Bryce followed behind them.

Once the two were thrown inside, Bryce stopped at the entrance. Then reached into their actions and replayed what they had done.

He wanted to be certain.

He had already judged them, but he did not want to condemn anyone wrongly.

Once he was satisfied, he sealed the dungeon.

The entrance closed under the force of his power, locking the two men inside.

It was the kind of seal that allowed no one to enter or leave.

There was not even a need for guards to stand watch over it.

Afterwards, Vincent showed Bryce around the place.

As they walked, Vincent told Bryce stories about how he had grown up there. He took him through different parts of the property, explaining what each place meant to him, until eventually they reached his room.

There was something different about seeing the place through Vincent’s eyes rather than simply looking at it as an unfamiliar estate.

This was where Vincent had grown up. These were the surroundings that had been part of his life long before Bryce had known him, long before they had become what they were now.

Eventually, the two of them left.

They returned to the palace, leaving everything in the hands of Marcel, the older man who had spoken to Vincent earlier.

Vincent said he was trustworthy, and Bryce confirmed it in his own ways.