Evelyn~
"Too far?" Theron turned his head toward Marek, his dark eyes locking onto him. "There’s nothing wrong with doing whatever it takes to take back what belongs to ."
Then, in a blur of motion, Theron moved so fast I barely caught it. His hand shot out, grabbing the barrel of the rifle in Marek’s grasp. With one brutal yank, he pulled it so hard that Marek stumbled forward, dragged along like a ragdoll.
Theron’s other hand shot up, wrapping around Marek’s throat in a deadly grip.
He looked like he was about to snap his neck in seconds, but before he could do that, Marek lifted both legs and kicked the Alpha King right in the chest with all his strength.
The kick landed with a loud thud, forcing Theron to take a step back. Marek dropped to the ground, coughing hard as he scrambled to put distance between them, one hand still clutching his throat.
I guessed Marek had been preparing to shift into his wolf form, but before he could do it, the shadow beneath Theron’s feet slithered across the ground, wrapping tightly around his neck.
Marek’s fists swung right through it, hitting nothing but air. The shadow only tightened its grip, lifting him higher until his feet dangled helplessly above the ground. His face began to redden, his breaths turning into harsh, strangled gasps.
With a flick of his wrist, the shadow whipped Marek’s body through the air and slamd him hard into the ground several ters away. The impact was so loud it sent a shock through my chest, and the ground beneath us trembled.
Marek groaned in pain, curling instinctively as he clutched his side, but the shadow slithered toward him again, ready to strike.
"THAT’S ENOUGH!"
Rael set down and, in seconds, had pulled Marek out of the battlefield.
Honestly, I didn’t expect Marek, the second strongest in the Nocthra Pack, to be beaten so quickly.
It seed Theron hadn’t earned the title of Alpha King for nothing.
"He’s not," my wolf said firmly. "To beco the Alpha King, he must have killed the previous king and challenged every Alpha in that region."
"If he’s able to defeat all the Alphas, then—and only then—he earns the title of Alpha King," she explained.
I asked out loud, "Has he ever defeated Rael?"
"I don’t think so," she replied. "Usually, Alphas who have been defeated by the king carry a mark on their arm, a symbol ant to tarnish their dignity."
But Rael didn’t have one.
There wasn’t a single tattoo or mark on his arms, which ant Theron had never defeated him.
Maybe it was because Rael’s pack constantly moved from place to place, so Theron had no obligation to challenge him officially. Or maybe the Nocthra Pack simply hadn’t arrived in the Valedorn Kingdom when Theron began his rise to power.
"But Marek has the mark," my wolf pointed out, drawing my gaze to his arm.
The mark wasn’t very obvious. It was just a simple, jagged crescent burned into the skin, the edges slightly raised as if it had been branded there long ago.
It was the color of old ash, the kind of scar that never truly faded, no matter how much ti passed.
I think every Alpha in the Valedorn knew what it ant.
It wasn’t just a symbol of defeat, it was a public declaration that they had once knelt to the Alpha King.
It was a mark that stripped away their pride, a constant reminder to the pack that their leader had been defeated in battle.
So ... Marek had been an Alpha back then? If that was true, why would he suddenly beco Rael’s Beta?
Alphas didn’t just step down to serve under another Alpha, not unless they had lost everything.
Even then, most would rather die fighting than live with the humiliation of kneeling to soone else.
My wolf’s voice was calm, almost too calm. "Maybe Rael gave him a reason to live, or maybe Marek saw sothing in Rael worth following."
There was a chance Marek’s last pack had been destroyed, or maybe they still existed but were on the brink of collapse when Rael found them.
Judging by how close Rael and Marek seed, it didn’t look like Rael had used brute force to make a forr Alpha like Marek bow to him.
I wanted to think more about it, but sothing else pulled my attention away.
THUD!
The sound startled . When I snapped my gaze back to Rael and Theron, I saw Rael gripping Theron’s shadow—actually holding it—before pulling it so hard that Theron’s body was slamd into the ground.
The impact was so hard that dust and shards of broken stone shot into the air. The ground beneath Theron even cracked, making wonder if his head was still alright after that hit.
He let out a low, animalistic growl, his golden eyes burning brighter, but before he could move, Rael’s boot pressed firmly against his chest, pinning him down.
The shadows spilling out of Theron’s body slithered toward Rael’s legs, wrapping around them like living chains before pulling hard, trying to drag Rael away from their master.
Rael gritted his teeth, muscles straining as he fought against the pull. The ground beneath his feet scraped and cracked as the shadows dragged him back inch by inch.
With a sharp growl, Rael grabbed the shadow with his bare hand, anchoring it into the ground.
"How is he able to hold Theron’s shadow?" I asked my wolf in disbelief. "Didn’t Beta Marek just fail to grab it earlier?"
"I’m not sure," my wolf replied. "Maybe he has the ability to neutralize Theron’s power."
I narrowed my eyes, realizing just how little I actually knew about them. I didn’t even know Theron’s favorite food, despite living in his palace for weeks.
Then again, that wasn’t really my fault because every al in the palace was prepared by the royal chefs, so it’s not like I ever saw what he personally chose to eat.
"Shouldn’t you be trying to stop them before they kill each other?" my wolf reminded .
"Oh, you’re right." I quickly pressed my palms together in front of my mouth like a makeshift gaphone, then spoke softly instead of yelling, "Please, stop fighting~"
Once I lowered my hands, I nodded in satisfaction. "There."
My wolf imdiately scolded . "What the fuck was that?! You didn’t even try to yell!"
I shrugged. "If they really want to kill each other, yelling isn’t going to stop them."
Besides, what could I even do when two Alphas were busy slamming each other around like that?
I hissed when Rael started kicking Theron’s head over and over again. "Rael! Don’t hit his head!" I finally shouted at him.
Rael didn’t even look at , his boot coming down once more with a dull thud. "Why not? He’s got a thick skull."
"That’s not the point!" I yelled, waving my arms like that would sohow stop him. "You’ll scramble his brains, then he really will be too crazy to listen to reason!"
I was also afraid that if Rael kicked Theron too hard, his wolf would take control of his body forever.
Before Rael could respond to , Theron suddenly grabbed his foot and, with a powerful heave, flung him so far that his back slamd into a massive boulder with a heavy CRACK.
While Rael was still trying to push himself back up, Theron rushed straight toward , his golden eyes blazing.
"Evelyn! How dare you speak to that bastard so kindly?! You only belong to !"
That was definitely Theron’s wolf, not Theron himself. It was because the way he looked at , it was like he wanted to lock in the palace dungeon right this second so I could never see another man again.
Fortunately, before he could reach , Rael pulled hard on the back of Theron’s collar, jerking him away from like he was dragging a disobedient dog.
Theron stumbled from the sudden pull, but quickly twisted around and swung his fist at Rael.
Rael blocked it with his forearm, the impact echoing like a crack of thunder.
The two of them collided again, teeth bared, growls rumbling deep in their chests as they fought like wild animals.
Their claws slashed through the air, each strike sparking or tearing into the stone around them.
If I’m being honest, they were basically fighting like little kids—well, if little kids had claws, supernatural strength, and zero concern for property damage.
Rael finally managed to shove Theron backward, slamming him onto the ground so hard.
Without hesitation, Rael straddled him, pinning his shoulders down before raising his fists.
Then, with each punch that crashed into Theron’s face, his voice roared in sync with the blows.
"Bring."
"Back."
"My."
"Brother!"
My eyes went wide, and I scread inside my head. "Who?! Who does he call brother?!"
Did Theron kill Rael’s brother? Or ... was he his brother?!
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