Justin’s POV
After wandering for days on the end, I found myself standing in front of the Ice Palace. Dense wisps of fog seeped through my chattering teeth as I entered the cold hall.
“Daciana” I called out, my gaze drifting around the room. “Ana? Are you in there?”
The only reply I got was the resounding echo of my own voice. Had she returned to the Lycan Palace?
Pressing the circular protrusion, I activated the mechanism. Moments later, the wall slid open. A strong gust of wind brought along a strange, bloody scent, making me gag.
F***! What exactly had happened here? Covering my nose and mouth, I hurried down the stairs. When I reached the last step, my foot landed on something squishy.
With a shriek, I stepped back. My heart pounded against my ribs as I looked down slowly. I clenched my eyes shut the moment my gaze landed on the decaying bundle. It was a corpse.
My stomach clenched, and I was tempted to run out of the dungeon. But I had to make sure that Daciana wasn’t here. Clenching my fists, I jumped over the body and forced myself to walk along the corridor. Several corpses were strewn along the way They were all in a similar state as if they had all been killed at the same time.
The sight that met my eyes upon entering the cell was even more gruesome. There was a pile of bodies lying in a corner. I gagged and spun around. I was about to bolt out of this damned place when I heard a soft groan.
Following the sound, I reached behind the pile of corpses. There, huddled in a corner, was a guard. His face was pale, and he looked like he had turned into a skeleton, but he was breathing.
Supporting his weight against my body, I half dragged, half carried him to the top floor. Setting him down on the cold floor, I got some water and made him drink it.
He snapped open his eyes the moment the cool liquid wet his lips. The horrified expression on his face softened when he realised it was me. He guzzled down the liquid hurriedly; spilling most of the contents over me.
“What exactly happened here?”
He raised his hand and unclenched his fist slowly. A red scroll of parchment slipped through his fingers. He gasped and managed to speak a single word through his parched lips, “Waiting.”
He licked his lips and patted his pockets; pulling out another cylindrical object. He thrust it into my hands and muttered, “Signal.”
Then, his body went limp in my arms and his head rolled to one side. With trembling hands, I pressed my fingers against his neck. There was no pulse. He was gone.
My heart pounded against my ribs as I opened the parchment. The words were written in gold and it bore the seal of the Lycan King.
‘The situation has become dire and I don’t think I can hold out for long. In case something happens to me, Justin Hemming will take over my position as Justin Lowel.
He is my son and the sole heir to the throne. I had to keep his identity a secret to keep him safe.
Let this decree be carried out as my last wish.
Signed_
Edon Lowel
(His Royal Highness)
I ran my fingers over the golden seal. Was this really happening?
Bits and pieces of memories flooded my mind; the way he got upset when I staked my life to prove Hera innocent, the look of resignation when he allowed me to hunt Hera, his reluctance to let me accompany Hera; the tears….
My hand flew to the locket around my neck, and I clenched my fingers around it tightly. If he was really my father; why didn’t he ever tell me? What about mom? She had to know about this, right? Why did she hide something like this from me?
I tore my hair, and a shouted at the top of my lungs, “Why? Why did you do this to me?”
‘Stay back, Justin. Stay back and protect Daciana like a brother.’ His words flashed in my mind all of a sudden, filling me with a sense of dread and panic.
Where was Daciana? Was she alright? I grabbed the cylindrical object given to me by the guard and rushed outside. Twisting it, I held it in the air. With a soft whir, a mass of blue light rose into the air and exploded.
Moments later, the ground shook with the thundering footsteps of guards. About a hundred of them appeared from different directions and surrounding me.
They were dressed in white uniforms and carried a variety of weapons strapped to their bodies; guns, stakes, crossbows, arrows and God knows what not.
“I am Boris Lowel, the commander of the royal guards.” A man said, stepping forward. He was dressed like the others but had the badge of a royal wolf pinned to his chest. He bowed to me and stated, “We are waiting for your command, your highness.”
I held my head and staggered a bit. “What exactly is going on?”
He placed his hand on his chest and lowered his head further. “I have to inform you with regret that his highness has left for the land of the moon goddess. As the sole heir to the throne, you will succeed him.”
My ears rang with his words. How could I become the Lycan King when I didn’t even have a wolf? Letting out a deep sigh, I stuttered, “I don’t think I can do this, Boris. I… I just can’t….”
His head snapped towards me in astonishment. His face flitted with complicated emotions. Lowering his gaze, he bowed again, “I am afraid that you have no choice.”
“What about you, Boris? Can’t you take over the throne? You are well trained and have lived in the palace all your life. Moreover, you are betrothed to the princess.”
“I don’t deserve to even think about the throne, your highness. I was merely adopted and don’t carry the Royal blood.” He dropped to his knees and looked at me with pleading eyes. “The Lycan King has already decreed that you are to take over the throne. If we go against his decree, it will be considered treason.”
“What about Daciana?”
“I am afraid that is not possible either. She is missing.”
The news hit me like a bolt of lightning. My mouth went dry and my heart went numb. I should have stayed back to protect her; my sister. But, what did I do?
I clenched my eyes shut and tried to swallow the lump that had formed in my throat. The constriction in my chest intensified and I gasped. My knees grew weak and my body swayed.
“Are you alright?” Boris grabbed my hand before I fell. He grabbed me by my arm and looked into my eyes. “I know this is difficult, but you have to be strong.” His eyes flashed with desperation. “We can’t do anything without your orders.” He pulled away and smacked his palm in frustration. “Do you know what it is like to feel so helpless?” He gulped and tore his hair, “My fiance has been missing for two days and I can’t even search for her. I am crazy worried about her, but her so- called brother can’t even pull himself together and give the command to find her!”
“Captain Boris!” Two guards stepped forward and pointed their swords at him. “You are our Captain but if you insult our king, we will have to kill you.”
“Go ahead, kill me.” He shrugged in annoyance. “That is better than waiting helplessly.”
Letting out a deep sigh, I tried to speak in a firm voice. “Lower your swords. Boris didn’t mean to insult me. He was just expressing his concern.”
They followed my command but didn’t step back; their grip firmly clasping the hilt of the sword. “I command all of you to go and search for my sister this very moment!”
“Your highness, we are your personal guards…. We can’t leave your side…”
“Are you trying to rise in rebellion or something?” I snapped angrily. All this was driving me crazy.
Boris walked over and squeezed my shoulder. “Half of you go and search for the Princess. I will escort his majesty to the palace with the rest of the guards.”
Nobody moved a muscle. Their gazes remained fixed on me. I nodded and stated, “Just do what he is saying.”
There was a shuffling of footsteps as they trotted away. I cleared my throat and looked at Boris, “If you want to go and search for Daciana, you….”
“I swear I am so tempted, but I don’t think that is a good idea. You are absolutely clueless and the officials will try to take advantage of this.”
“You are right. I am absolutely clueless.” I held his hand and pleaded, “Can you please help me? At least, till we find Daciana?”
“It is my duty to assist you, your highness.”
“I don’t mean it like that… I want you to help me like a friend; help me process whatever is happening.”
“Fine, but we must first go to the palace and enthrone you. The court has become exceedingly chaotic after The Lycan King’s sudden death. They are all sitting with their mouths wide open to usurp the King’s position.”
“Don’t you think it would be better to let them do that? They will be able to manage stuff better.”
“Do you even know what you are saying? If anyone else comes into power, the first thing they would do is kill you and Daciana. Then, they will go on to kill every single person even remotely associated with you. Is that what you want?”
I didn’t mind dying myself, but I had to protect Daciana. I shook my head slowly. He patted my back before stepping away. “If you want to protect the ones you love, you will have to take over the throne and learn to handle everything real fast.”
A long, deep sigh left my lips as I followed Boris. Within just a few days, I had gone from being the future Alpha of the Moonmist Pack to a criminal. And now? Now, I was supposedly the king of the Lycan world; a king with no wolf….