Scarlett
I stood amidst the gathered pack members, my heart pounding loudly in my chest. I had known that attending this ceremony would be a test of my strength, but nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to witness.
The atmosphere was charged with tension as Samuel, the power-hungry bastard held my mother captive once again. My mother, the Lycan Queen, was bound and gagged, her eyes filled with a mixture of fear and defiance. Samuel's grip on her was unyielding, and his sinister smile sent shivers down my spine.
I still couldn’t comprehend how this happened when all of my people had accepted me as their Queen and pledged their loyalty to me. There must be a snitch who informed him about my mother being here or there was no way that he could find her here.
My eyes searched for the culprit who dared to betray me but shock was written all over Damon and Jasper’s faces. They couldn’t betray me when they loathed Samuel, too.
“Did you really think that I would trust you?” Harold’s voice was dripping with mockery and his eyes were narrowed at my mate.
The fucking Alpha King.
“I knew that you would renege from your promise and you must be a fool to believe that I didn’t notice you leaving for your Beta’s house where I found this bitch in hiding,” Harold pointed his finger toward my mom who was in so much pain and looked pale.
“I knew that you would stoop so low, Dad,” Amber shook her head in disgust.
“Shut up, you ungrateful bitch or I will kill you myself,” he barked at his daughter and she gasped, not believing what her cruel father just said. “I put my everything at risk to provide you a good life. I never should have accepted you. I should have left you to die because your bitch mother married someone else and is living happily with her family.”
While they argued, I grabbed this opportunity to free my mother from Samuel.
‘The time has come. Samuel will pay for his sins tonight,’ I told my men who nodded slightly.
‘Damon, you will free my mother and send her safely to the Blood Moon pack.’
‘Jasper, it’s time to put the syringe my mother gave you in his hand. The silver will weaken him,’ I informed them and they followed my instruction.
“You fucking bastard,” Samuel growled as the silver burned inside him and pounced at Jasper. Damon held my mother and they started running toward the woods.
I looked at Klaus and the smirk on his face made me smile. I didn’t have to explain anything to him, he did let go of me, understanding that I needed to deal with Samuel for once and last. Shifting into my Lycan form, I galloped toward my cousin whose neck Samuel was strangling.
“Leave him alone, asshole,” I roared in my animalistic voice.
“You fucking wench. You turned my people against me,” Samuel spat, his eyes blazing with fire.
Jasper kicked him in the guts and he staggered slightly as he was the Lycan King now so he had the powers and was too strong for my cousin.
“We were never your people,” Jasper barked. “People fear you. They don’t love you or respect you as their King, Samuel. You were the cruelest King in history and cared about only your benefits.”
“I am the King,” My uncle growled thunderously, using his command that forced Jasper to submit but he fought his command and didn’t let his knees bend to that fucking bastard.
‘The King who has to tell the people that he is the King is not the true King, Uncle. You tend to forget my words,’ I provoked him through the mind link and his eyes widened in surprise. He hadn’t expected me to be able to mind link with him or the other people of my kingdom because he, being the Lycan King, hadn’t passed me the link but he was forgetting the fact that I had my father’s blood in my veins which gave me all the powers and rights which were mine since my birth.
Fury was etched on his face and he tried to take it out on Jasper but before he could land a punch to his face, I stepped between them, pushing Jasper behind me.
“I, Scarlett Lockwood, the daughter of the late Lycan King and the rightful Queen of the Lycans, challenge you for a duel,” my animal’s voice reverberated as I used my Queen’s command.
“No. You shouldn’t have challenged him for a duel,” Elbert rushed over to my side. “He will try to win by hook or crook. Duels have some specific rules which need to be followed and Samuel is notorious for cheating people.”
I didn’t care about anything else at that moment. All I cared about was that we both were getting an equal chance to prove ourselves and I knew that the Moon Goddess would bless one of us whoever deserved to be the ruler. I trusted the Goddess’s will and decision so I challenged him for a duel.
No one in the future will be able to raise a finger at me that I killed him for power. History should remember this moment as the justice, a daughter and a Princess fighting to avenge her father’s death and take back what rightfully was mine.
Samuel smirked before shifting into his Lycan. “Let me kill the threat who escaped from me years ago. You should have been dead with your father.” His words enraged me and I was ready to unleash my anger at him when I heard two ferocious growls and found Todd fighting with a wolf.
I remembered that blue wolf very well. It was Alex, Amber’s brother but he had a golden aura around him which only a King or Queen could have… Did Harold crown his son as the new Alpha King in private?
Before I could figure it out and go to my mate, Samuel pounced at me with his claws and aimed to get my throat. Both of us fell to the ground and he was upon me, his claws gnawing at my furs and causing the blood to pop out from my flesh.
‘I guess it was a plan of Harold and Samuel. Don’t let yourself get distracted again, my love. Fight. Fucking kill him. Fight for yourself. Fight for your parents. Fight for me,’ Klaus encouraged me while dodging Alex’s attacks.
‘You better focus on your fight, dear mate because after this fight, I will not let you sleep,’ I teased him and the next thing I heard was Alex’s howl in pain.
‘I’m not planning to let you out of bed, baby girl,’ my mate taunted playfully.
My body jerked as a powerful jolt ran through my blood and a sharp cry escaped my mouth. After a second, my head went light and I could feel stronger than ever. The Moon Goddess had blessed me with the power because of which Samuel’s weight seemed like a feather to me now.
I grabbed his arm and pushed him away. His animal whimpered as his head collided with a stone and his eyelids grew heavier. A silver hue radiated through my neck and everyone around us gazed at me in disbelief.
For the first time, I saw a glimpse of fear in Samuel’s eyes. I had read the books of old in which whomever The Moon Goddess blessed during a duel would have a silver tattoo on their necks. Everyone’s gaze on my neck, including Samuel’s, told me that it was me and I was grateful to the Goddess.
I promise you, Goddess, I will never misuse the power you have bestowed on me and I will think of my realm and people before me. I will always put their interests before mine. I might have not become a mother yet but I will treat all the members like my own children.
There was a different unfamiliar emotion of motherhood inside me tonight which I never experienced before. Perhaps it was due to the blessing I received.
Getting back to my unhinged feet, I walked toward Samuel with contempt but as I saw the sign of fear on his face, I suddenly got flashbacks from the past before my eyes as if I was witnessing those moments in the present.
Flashback :
“Todd,” a beautiful young woman shrieked when someone killed that man in front of her and from the pained look in her eyes, I anticipated that it was her mate.
The man didn’t only kill her mate but also, pushed him down the hill. The lady started crying loudly, collapsing to the ground. The killer chuckled mercilessly while that girl got up from the ground and walked to the spot where her mate was standing a second ago, close to the hill.
“I will come back and kill you, Samuel. I will avenge my mate’s death and that day, you will beg me. I will snatch everything away from you. The powers that you have misused for years will be gone. I will hold more power than you and rip your heart out,” she rumbled before jumping down the cliff.
End of the flashback.
“It’s the reincarnation of Freya. The girl who killed herself after not being able to tolerate the pain of her mate’s death,” the words escaped my mouth, startling me.
I took a step back when I realized that I didn’t have any control over my body. I was trembling with anger that boiled my blood.
‘Freya, my love,’ Todd’s mind link calmed me down and the pieces of the puzzle began to fit together.
My animal turned to look at Todd who had blood splattered all over his body and I found Harold and Alex’s lifeless bodies lying on the ground.
“Freya,” Samuel’s whisper gained my attention and a grumble resonated through my chest.
He had fucking killed many innocent people. The asshole didn’t deserve to live. Asher was right. Klaus and I had some history that we needed to explore together because I was sure that there was more to it.
“I’m more powerful than you today, Samuel,” my animalistic voice made him shiver and he crawled backward, not daring to even get up from the ground.
“Don’t kill me. Please. I will leave this place and go to the human town to live with them. I don’t want the throne,” he begged me after shifting back to his human form.