Tyrant's in us all - Chapter 5
995 Words
Aziza’s POV:
“Aziza, I apologize for not being present to greet you properly earlier, welcome to my territory,” Cyrus said coolly before trailing off.
I remained silent as I stood before him with Kyson standing impatiently beside me, I couldn’t see what Cyrus saw in him but I couldn’t careless at that moment. All I could think about at that moment was the golden eyed woman who I had encountered within the woods. Something about her seemed otherworldly, almost surreal.
“Its fine,” I said after a moment as I attempted to focus on the man before me.
I wasn’t sure why Cyrus summoned me here as I was no one special, I was simply a refugee seeking protection in a place that wasn’t my home, a place that was on spiritual grounds and yet the inhabitants were grossly oblivious to it.
My pack held a deep remorse towards Cyrus and his pack as his ancestors had taken over the territory generations ago. It was because of them that the spirits of the forests had receded within the abyss, a mysterious place where they originated from, a realm placed just outside of time, where the spirits remained in blissful ignorance of the changes that befell their beloved home.
Werewolves were forbidden from entering the timeless realm, a place beyond our knowledge. We held no way of passing through the rift that divided our worlds, a rift that only a select few could sense. Those select few were hunted down decades ago until nothing remained of them, the last remaining was my younger sister Alaia.
Their golden eyes always gave them away, I thought to myself as I thought back to the mysterious woman who I had encountered within the woods.
Alaia, I thought pitifully.
She was a pitiful soul who was meant as a sacrifice to the world of Mara, she was a way for our people to repent for my fathers sins, and yet the night she was meant to be sacrificed she was torn from our arms by the ruthless Alpha who ended my bloodline within a night.
She is better off with the Tyrant of the South then Titus who was going to slit her neck open and bleed her into the pool of Souls, I thought as I bit my tongue until I tasted blood.
Thaalea was once the only land on this world that held a vast and rich connection to the spirits, my people were once the vessels of knowledge, only we knew of the spirits existence with other packs having their own theories.
“You are welcome to remain in my pack,” Cyrus said with his words breaking through my thoughts.
I looked up at him with surprise as his words sunk deep within me, it was true that our packs had always been friendly and yet his offer came as a surprise to me. I hadn’t expected him to allow me to remain on his territory permanently even if I had no home left to go to.
“Thank-" I started to say only for him to interrupt me.
“There is a condition of course,” Cyrus said as he looked at me with his piercing hazel eyes.
He was quite handsome for a man in his mid thirties, those of Thaalian blood grew older at a slower rate as there was something within the soil that slowed the passage of time upon this island. Others seemed to ignore this fact and simply thought it was normal to live a longer life then others who live on other parts of our world.
“What is the condition?” I asked simply.
There was no way that I would be able to survive the lands of Thaalea on my own, not when Rogues were scouring the soil.
“You must mate with someone within my pack and acknowledge me as your Alpha,” Cyrus said the last part while carefully eyeing me.
I was meant to be the next alpha in my pack and yet that was now an impossibility as they had been wiped out. I nodded slowly as Cyrus studied my expression carefully in search of any signs of defiance, he had no children and thus no heirs, he always avoided the subject of taking a mate as it’d never interested him.
“You can choose any woman who isn’t mated yet, provided that you compete for it if other men are interested,” Cyrus said with a slight smile.
I stared at him incredulously for a moment as his words took a moment to sink in.
He must be kidding.
I knew what Cyrus's pack was like, incredibly competitive, thus I knew what he was asking of me. In their culture you had to fight for the woman that you wanted if there was another wolf interested in her with the intent of becoming mates. It had struck me at that moment that there surely was no way that I would be able to meet his agreement.
I was never trained to be a fighter, but Cyrus's men were.
“Cyrus…” I started as he smirked at me.
I stopped before my next words came out, he knew there was no way I would be able to compete for a mate. The population rate within Thaalea was low enough as it was, the number of available mates would be extremely low. It was rare for pups to be born within these cold and barren lands, those who survived through the eternal winter had to grow up within violent lands.
There was a reason why those who were born within Cyrus's pack were trained until they could no longer stand, until blood bled through their palms and they dropped from exhaustion. Those who survived through birth were either accepted within the pack or born to those who were shunned.
Rogues, I thought to myself as my stomach sunk.
If I didn’t find some way for Cyrus and his pack to accept me then I would be thrown out.
I will never become a murderous tyrant. I thought to myself as I nodded my head reluctantly at Cyrus.
- Writer
