And with that, Dacre shifted into his beast and attacked Khaos.
The smell of blood was very thick and the palace, which used to be a very meticulous and magnificent place, where everyone, who stared at it would be in awe, right now was nothing, but felt like a huge, fancy graveyard.
So many people died by the end of the war, their dead bodies were piled on one corner of the palace, they were going to burn them, which meant, for a few days ahead, this place would be filled with the smell of burning flesh.
Obviously, it was not the most exciting thing to know. The sky was so bleak, as if it mourned the death of so many shifters, as new order was put in place.
“This is not right,” Logan said. He frowned deeply, as if the furrow would be forever etched on his face. “This is not right.”
“What is not right?” Rose came from behind him. She hugged him and pressed her face against his back. She looked so sweet and fragile, people wouldn’t have known that she was the one, who suggested the idea for Logan to deflect.
“I should have died with them,” Logan said with a murmur.
The last minute, once Rose and Khaos had established the agreement between them, Logan had pulled all of his warriors from the crossfire and they stayed inside the pack house, staying away from the massacre.
They lived, but Logan couldn’t help, but felt the humiliation. He was a warrior too, but he was hiding when the battle happened only a few meters away from him. He was embarrassed, especially when he was the traitor for the kingdom.
“Why do you think so?” Rose knew this conversation would happen, the fact that they deflected would weigh on Logan’s mind. “You have saved thousand of your warrior’s lives. You have made the correct decision.”
Rose turned his body around, so he could look at her. She cupped her hands on his face. “You will be the new king of Celeste kingdom for the lycan empire. You can’t show this side of you. People follow you…”
“They resented me.” Logan cut her off grimly. This was Rose’s idea, this was not his idea, but why she phrased it as if it was his idea and that it was the right decision?
“You don’t understand, don’t you?”
This was why, Rose didn’t like those betas. Only an alpha, who suited her, because an alpha was a visioner, they could see beyond the situation and took the advantage of it, while the beta was a strict follower, they would follow their alpha to their death, which was stupid in Rose’s opinion.
And right now, Logan was being stupid. Yet, it didn’t matter. Rose managed to put Logan on the throne, as the king of this kingdom. Even though, he would work for Khaos.
If Rose couldn’t get a king as her mate, then she would make her mate a king.
However, she couldn’t show what she was thinking blatantly. It was a good think that he had not yet marked her, so he couldn’t feel anything through the mate bond.
“Come here, I will show you.”
Rose’s voice was soothing, it could calm Logan’s nerves. She could be very sweet and understanding as a mate if she wanted to.
Rose then took Logan outside of the pack house, where they saw their warriors were having their moment with their family. Their mates and their children. Khaos ordered them to stay inside the pack house until further notice, or else, a warrior who stepped out would be killed immediately.
Therefore, thousand of warriors were staying in the same place, having their family came to see them.
“See that?” Rose pointed out to the scene. Under the bleak sky, there was this warm union of the warriors and their families. “If you led them out there, all of them would die. Do you think how many children would grow up without their father? Or how many women have to endure the pain when the mate bond was severed when their mates died?”
Logan watched what Rose showed him. He said nothing, thus Rose continued with her monologue.
“You saved them. You saved those poor women and children from losing their mate and father.” Rose pinched Logan’s chin and made him looked at her. “If you kept fighting the lycan, you would have driven them to their death. See those women and children’s face, if that what you decided to do, instead of seeing their smile, you will see their pain, as they wailed in agony. Is that what you wanted?”
Logan could see her point. In a way, Rose was right. What he did was justified and Rose wanted him to think that it was indeed justified.
“You saved their lives. You saved them from the heartache. You need to be proud of yourself.” Rose tiptoed and kissed his lips. “You will be the king now, you need to act like one. Saving your warriors’ lives is not a cowardice act, but it’s benevolence act. A good leader knows when to retreat and advance.”
Logan didn’t say anything, but he hugged her. He was not sure how to feel about this, but he indeed felt better when he heard what Rose said.
“Thank you,” Logan said in small voice against the crook of her neck.
“You don’t need to thank me. You are my mate now, you are my king. I will be there in every step of the way. I will be by your side.” Rose intended to do so. She was the one, who had put them in this situation. “Wolfdale kingdom will be by your side. I will guarantee that. You will be a great king.”
Rose closed her eyes, feeling satisfied, because she had Logan wrapped around her fingers, though she was sorry for how Dacre’s life ended, but it was his fault to choose her stupid younger sister instead of her. The king should have chosen her in the first place.
It was his lost…
‘I am sorry for what I have put you through. I am sorry that I couldn’t give you the life that you wanted. I will set you free. Live your life, my queen.’
Nycta remembered. She remembered what Dacre said to her when she was in and out of consciousness. She also remembered his conversation with Rose about their dead baby.
Dacre could choose to have her died and he would have the baby that he desperately wanted, the last piece of Killian and also a chance to save his kingdom.
Yet, he didn’t choose that. He chose to keep Nycta alive. He couldn’t bring himself to kill her.
Called her young and stupid. She was stupid to choose to go back to the palace to be with him. She was young, reckless and impulsive.
Nycta shouldn’t have shifted into her beast after she gave birth to her dead baby, but she ignored what they said and shifted into her beast to march back toward the palace, when she was supposed to be safe on her way back to Wolfdale Kingdom.
She betrayed him when she slept with Killian, when she thought he was unfaithful to her, therefore, she was not going to betray him now.
Nycta learned that they were going to burn him alive. Dacre lost the final fight against the lycan and now his battered body was on pyre. They were going to burn him at noon.
She still had a few hours left. Despite the pain, she pushed further and by the time she reached the capital city, she was no longer able to maintain her beast form.
“Get back!” Nycta roared at Khaos’s warriors, who tried to block her way toward the palace. “Stay away from me! Get back!”
Blood trickled down from her private part, since she shouldn’t have exerted herself, neither she could shift during a few weeks after giving birth, yet the pain was nothing.
She had endured hours of pain when she had a problem in her first labor. This pain was nothing. She was going to get to her mate.
She needed to tell him how sorry she was. She was not going to betray him in his last moment. She was an idiot indeed, yet it didn’t matter. What mattered the most for her was him…
“SCRAM!” Nycta growled at them. She was having a hard time to stand, her legs were trembling, but she lifted her chin proudly, like the queen she was.
One of the warriors went to report this to Khaos, asking the alpha what his order to deal with this situation.
Actually, they could shun her away or they could capture her and took her back to their alpha, but there was something inside Nycta that demanded their respect, after all, she was a princess before she was a queen, even when her kingdom fell, she held higher position than these warriors. She was a highborn from a respected royal family.
And it was Zuri, who allowed them to make a way for Nycta.
‘What could she do? If she tried to do something funny, can’t you handle her? A fallen queen, who couldn’t even fight? Let her in.’
That was what Zuri said when one of the warriors tried to contradict her and suggest otherwise when the alpha didn’t even come out to listen for their report.
And after they got the permission, the warriors, who blocked Nycta’s path to the palace, stepped aside, allowing her to enter the capital city.
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