The Alpha King's Nemesis-Chapter 21: A Missive ()

Askel strode down the the woods at a casual pace, he had not realized how deep into the woods he had gone this time,

It would not be the first time he had ventured so deep that he had lost track of time.

It was one of the things Askel favoured about taking long walks through the woods, surrounded by nature in it’s purest, most untainted form.

The fact that it kept his thoughts at bay, at least until he needed them.

The sun was still high in the sky and Askel was grateful for it, as enchanting as the moon was, Askel quite preferred the sun.

Perhaps because it was bright and cheerful and beautiful, all the things opposite to what he truly was within.

Or perhaps it was because the bright rays of the sun kept the darkness and the shadows at bay and in some ways, Askel wished it could do the same for him.

But then, Askel had learnt a long time ago, perhaps at an age too young that he could not rely on the help of anyone, no man, entity nor thing could save him and neither could any be trusted, no one else but his ownself.

Askel hummed a tune quietly, he could not quite remember where he had heard it from or the words attached to it, only that it was an ancient wolven melody whose meaning was long lost to time.

Askel found it rather strange that he had taken a liking to the tune even when he did not know the words.

But then he guessed the fact that he favoured it so could only mean the words would most likely fall within the lines of battles, and claws, canines and bloodshed... everyone seemed to believe he favoured those too, and Askel admitted they were not awfully wrong.

The closer Askel approached the palace, his sensitive ears twitched at the sounds of excited chatter, rushed movement and simply the hustle and bustle as an array of activities were carried out in preparation for Askel’s coronation as Alpha King, most of which Askel deemed unnecessary in his own opinion.

Askel sometimes or rather at every time felt the entire world was more excited for his own coronation than his ownself and Askel could not really cast blames, he was after all one who was hardly excited by anything at all.

The Ethereal palace as well as the entire Ethereal domain had been in complete uproar since Askel had concluded the Alpha challenge and was deemed worthy of succeeding his father.

With the sudden passing of Askel’s father, the previous Alpha King and with his only son and heir Askel away representing the Werewolf specie on the supernatural council,

A sombre mood had rested over the Ethereal domain as the leading pack of the domain, the Royal Lycan Pack seemed to have hit an end in it’s heritage of successors.

The situation had taken a complete turn around upon Askel’s return,

With the Prince’s return, the legitimacy of the Royal Lycan blood was preserved and the future of the Royal Lycan Pack as leading pack of the Alpha domain was secured.

Askel could understand his people’s excitement and relief at his return, after he had left the Ethereal palace all those years back, vowing never to return nor see his father again,

The wolves of the Ethereal domain had most likely lost hope of his return and the fate of the legitimate line of succession had been bleak, up until Askel defied the expectations of everyone and returned on his dying father’s summons.

Askel’s ears twitched as he picked up his mother’s voice as she hurled orders this way and that.

Askel was still so far away from the Ethereal palace that it was rather astonishing that he could still hear from so great a distance.

However Askel had always been more gifted than even a werewolf shifter or any supernatural creature had any right to be, gifts that Askel had never asked for and would rather have never had.

"How bothersome." Askel whispered to himself in a distasteful tone, lifting his hand to cradle his temple as his mother’s loud voice echoed in his mind, yelling orders through the pack mind link.

Askel wondered how his mother could tell orders both verbally and through the mind link without having a headache herself when the slightest noise ticked Askel off in the wrong way as he had always favoured a quiet and solitary existence.

As much as Askel found his mother’s overbearing actions bothersome, he was grateful that he did not have to personally see to the details of the coronation.

Askel admitted he had many diverse interests, however organizing a ball for hundreds of dominant and egotistical Alpha wolves was not one of such interests.

Askel would rather not have to deal with them at all and had it not been for the demand of propriety, he would have never allowed this charade of a coronation.

To Askel, the grandeur of the coronation did not matter, what mattered was if the head was worthy of the crown to be laid upon it.

Askel knew he was, he had been raised to be and he had trained for it every single day of his life for the past twenty five summers and Askel did not need the consent or approval of a bunch of proud Alpha wolves to deem him fit and witness him swear his oaths and take his crown.

However amongst the many unseemly duties of royalty, indulging the more prideful and influential lot of the supernatural world and hosting events such as this one and particularly hosting it in the most grand fashion possible was sadly one of the most significant.

It was a matter of nobility and status and also an indirect manner of exhibiting dominance and prestige.

Using the opportunity of the gathering of so many leaders of the supernatural realm, the Alpha King was expected to display his wealth, dominance and prestige for if he faltered in any way... an overthrow was unavoidable.

Amongst the supernatural species, the Wereshifters were known to assert hierarchy by dominance and prestige, it was the kind of world were the strongest ruled and no one would question it.

It was why the Alpha challenge had been a necessary hurdle for Askel to overcome before he could claim his rightful throne despite being the sole heir.

The final stage of the Alpha challenge gave the once in a dynasty opportunity for the strongest and most influential Alphas and leaders of the Wereshifters to battle for the rights to claim the throne as Alpha King.

The rightful heir would be open to challenges for a duration of a few months, sometimes a year, depending on just how many challenges were posed and to retain his rightful throne, he was to emerge victorious from each challenge.

Of course Askel had not received that many challenges, as the representative of the Werewolves on the supernatural council, he had already established his status as one of the most powerful Alpha wolves in the Ethereal domain.

There were hardly any of the Alphas foolhardy enough to challenge him as sadly, the Alpha challenge was a battle to the death.

Most Alphas deemed it a risky and foolish gamble to throw their lives away over a slim chance of claiming the throne of Alpha King.

Still, a good number of daring challenges had come Askel’s way and he had taken pleasure in ripping the heads off of those daring enough to covet the throne.

Askel did not believe he was the most suitable for the throne, but he did believe one would have to have the ability to defeat him in order to be more suitable than he was.

For it took great strength to claim the Alpha King throne and even greater strength to protect it in the midst of thousands of covetous eyes and ambitious hearts.

And considering he was still alive, it seemed to Askel that there was no such person.

After the Alpha challenges, Askel had already established his superiority and proved his worth to succeed the throne as was demanded of him and now, the coronation would finally take place in a few days.

"Urrrggh." A groan escaped Askel’s lips as another string of orders were yelled through the pack bond by his mother.

This time, it seemed the she wolves assigned to assist the kitchen staff were the unlucky victims.

Askel immediately blocked off the pack mind link, frowning in distaste as he considered retracing his steps and returning to the peace and serenity of the woods, however Askel knew he had duties to attend to.

Askel continued on his way to the Ethereal palace and he soon arrived, walking down the path through the courtyard,

The wolves of the Royal Lycan Pack who moved this way and that, stopped and bowed deeply till Askel had passed by,

Askel was a highly revered presence in the Royal Lycan Pack, even to the point of being idolized, right from his days as a young prince with exceptional talents.

"My King, The elders have been awaiting your arrival."

Askel heard the voice of his second in command Luther who stood outside the palace doors awaiting him.

"What do they want?" Askel asked in a blank tone as Luther stepped to the side, allowing Askel to move past and falling into step behind him.

"A missive has arrived from the Crimson Moon Pack, the elders have gathered in urgency to discuss it." Luther reported.

"Crimson Moon?" Askel asked in surprise, pausing in his step and passing a glance at Luther.

Luther nodded once in affirmation and Askel quirked a brow before he continued down the hallway of the Ethereal palace at a faster pace, heading for the Royal hall