Marked

02

Chapter Two

Surprises are always meant to be something good.

Third Person’s Point of View

Today was the day that Blayze hated most.

    For years of his serving and being the King of Wolves, today was the only thing that he had seen as something that was enraging his beast into killing those who will be in the room. He needed to calm himself, knowing that he could not just blindly kill those people. Especially knowing that those were the elders, the advisers of the King.

    As if he needed those imbeciles. 

    They only wanted nothing but his power, and nothing else. 

    Having to be an elder in the years of his reign was a good position for everyone since he had been improving the structure and the financial state of the whole palace. Everyone wanted to transfer into his pack and warriors are swarming into becoming his warrior.

    So far, he had made a lot of impression than most Kings. 

    Since he had reached the age of 20, he needed to discuss what people needed to do on his 21st birthday. Unlike the usual celebrations that an Alpha would have on this day, he has a worse thing in his shoulder.

    Preparing for the reaping.

    Once an Alpha King reached the age of 21, he needed to conduct a competition that all would call reaping for 21 she-wolves who needed to fight for the position of his Queen. Naturally, these girls are chosen by the mages and for them to enter such events, they needed to sacrifice their mates. It was the same price that he had offered to be on the throne.

    He does not understand why they needed to defy the very gift that the Moon Goddess had offered them.

    Many women had sacrificed their mates and ended up all on their own while his ancestors picked a woman that would suit his power. It was mostly a set of challenges designed for a warrior, not a Queen.

    “Who is already there?” He asked his delta who was walking beside him.

    The man frowned, linking the beta that was already in the room to welcome everyone. It took a minute or two before he has a response to the query of the man. “I was told that all elders are already present, Your Highness. You are the only one who is missing.”

    “Good. I do not like waiting for them.” Blayze nodded.

    A part of him was not fond of what was supposed to happen. To him, it felt wrong putting a competition to have his position of a Queen. Despite his own mother participating in the same thing and winning—she was aware that she was mated to his father. Every win that his mother had to achieve in that game was solely for his father. 

    For his mother knew that she was fighting for her mate.

    While Blayze was not even aware if those women who will be participating in the reaping would win the challenges for him… or the crown and throne that will soon be them if they did succeed. Naturally, since they were not mated for each other, love was not something that could come naturally. The woman needed to give birth to his son with him having to r**e that wolf and tie her into the bed.

    At least, that was what he was told. 

    A she-wolf will reject any mating that was not from his mate, and since most Queens are not mated to their Kings, she would always be tied into the bed and f****d by the man who will give her a son. It was a f**k up concept that he felt disgusted reading about. 

    “Having second thoughts about offering your mate, Alpha?” His delta questioned

    Blayze sighed, wanting to appear indifferent but nodded nevertheless. “You know me well enough to know that I regret every second when I have realized, Tate.”

    Even still, he does know that his mother’s safety is his number one priority but he could not think that keeping them in a palace would give them protection. Back when he was young, all he felt was that his family was happier in the castle.

    They could make the changes that they wanted to happen, and be the change that the people needed.

    But it did come with a hefty price for him.

    His mate.

    “Couldn’t you do something about this, Alpha?” He asked, feeling nothing but worried about the well being of his friend. While the beta and he still was unaware of their mates, they do worry finding her when the Alpha was there to focus solely on a wedding that was for power, and not for his own happiness. “You know well enough that she could trigger your beast, and none of us can calm you down.”

    He frowned. “Unfortunately, I can’t bend the rules. I do not have a mate and blindly choosing with nothing but looks would not benefit the kingdom.”

    Blayze had already spent years looking for ways to end the reaping but he could have not had other means, the elders would clearly oppose him if he said that he was willing to put a stop to it just because he does not want to.

    As the door pushed opened, all had stood from their seat to bow into him. The face of the man who used to be nothing but smiles turned nothing but cold as he sat in his chair, arms placed on his armchair as he looked at everyone.

    “Alpha King.” One bowed, passing a folder in his direction. “I have found a maiden that could suit right in the reaping. She is extremely flexible in the task and has been training since she was five.”

    Blayze carefully grabbed the folder before ripping it before their very eyes. The paper's sound resounded in the very room, making them all sit in their chairs quietly as they all looked at him. He was nothing but annoyed that a man could really tell that straight into his face. For all the things that he could have done, that f*****g man should have been relieved that he had only ripped a f*****g paper. 

    “You are here to talk about challenges that the ladies will all have to go through in the span of the reaping and nothing else.” He finalized, slamming the torn folder into his table as his eyes darted at each and every one of them. “You do not hold the power to choose the ladies that could enter my reaping or could tell me what the f**k skill they have, is that understood?”

    “Yes, your highness.” All had replied.

    He nodded, beckoning them. “The f*****g report everything that I needed to hear.”

    All had jumped when he had told them that, knowing that the very decision they hold is giving the needed challenges. The last thing he needed is one of the people pulling tabs on who can be his Queen. This very man could simply tangle with the problems and have this very woman win the competition.

    He needed to have this file deleted.

    “We have one year to prepare for the day, did someone already contacted a mage that could give me the names of those who would register?” Blayze questioned, frowning as none of them were looking back at him. “Are you f*****g telling me that I had passed a schedule for a meeting that was not even finished with the data, to begin with?”

    All had flinched in his tone, knowing the very dangers of this man. Unlike all who had stood and took the King's position, Blayze had gathered more achievements than most Kings before he had reached the age of 18. Partnered by his father who had trained him and taught him everything, the man is as dangerous as someone who can kill them off.

    Jason, of the elders, bowed at the man. He nodded, knowing that he was the most reliable one of the bunch. “I apologize, your highness. Unfortunately, the mage who had always been the one to search for the future had died. We are all at a loss since not a single wolf knew how to contact another.”

    Blayze seemed skeptical as that report was sent to him. Jason was looking at him with a look of nothing but worry, which does enhance the fact that the only trusted elder that he has felt the same way as him. Mages were the ones who had offered to be the King's eyes whenever the reaping would happen, and for years, only one mage had managed to help them through it all. As far as he was aware, they do not die on natural causes.

    Who had killed that woman?

    He frowned. “Then find me one.”

.

.

Like what he was aware, mages were the key to the list.

    As soon as he was done filling papers, he had rummaged through the library and searched for causes that a mage could die. His reign is the one that is thriving than most. Any Queen who would stand beside him would gain a lot of things from him, and so does his family. Would it possible that someone from the elder had her dead?

    Possibly.

    “Blayze.”

    He frowned, looking at the source of the voice. A moment of confusion washed over his face upon seeing his mother. She seemed really troubled as she walks towards him. Nothing but a look of terror was corrupting her that he had thought that someone had broke in.

    In nothing but a complete alert, he was about to pull his sword when she chuckled, shaking her head as she offered the man to sit down.

    “I do not understand. Are you unwell?” He questioned.

    She did nothing but breathe out a sigh, making him realize where she was going with her words. Since he was young, there was only one thing that his mother was anxious about and now that he was alone a year closing into the reaping—she was nothing but scared and terrified.

    “I did have a talk with the elders earlier this day. We were supposed to talk about the challenges, as the woman who can stand before me needed to survive in case of emergencies.” 

    Bea only cringed at that. “You are supposed to save her.”

    “I will be fighting with the warriors,” Blayze replied nonchalantly.

    She does feel bad having her son to see this as a normal response. If that was his mate, he did not need to know if she could fight on his own. He could think of any reason to make sure that she will survive in any impending emergency. 

    Like all mates do.    

    However, since it was nothing but a woman who he was set to marry... he does not see the need to put her beyond the people. Like before, he would not see his son laughing and creating happy memories in this hall. He would only do what he had been doing for years.

    Doing his job.

    Blayze then frowns, remembering the talk that had gathered in the hall as he looked back into the books. “However, the mage who had been in charge of putting up a list had died. No women are still listed on the reaping.”

    His mother only frowned. “What do you mean that she died?”

    Having a mage who had lived more than the whole structure of the werewolf civilization at the time of his reign does show suspicion. The same mage had visited only years ago, telling him that he has a rough life ahead of him—but she was stating about the achievements that he had gotten.

    By then, she was still having her young feature.

    She was healthy.

    “Did someone want to control the list?” She asked.

    He nodded, chuckling at the idea. “It’s not like I would let my throne be controlled by some elders. They needed to spar with me before it even happens.”

    “Blayze, this is serious. They could overthrow your position on any day that they could.”

    He all but chuckled, seeing that nothing but comedic for all the people wanted and cherished him as a King. The palace was prospering in his care and if the elders decided to overthrow him for a rule that was written in old books, he was willing to see it unfold.

    For he is not afraid to run away with those who wanted to come with him and build his own pack with nothing but a scratch. Maybe by then, he could earn some point from the Moon Goddess and give him his mate that he had always dreamt about for years.

    “Then think of it as having someone holding your position over your head.” His mother replied, holding his hand to make the man to look back at her. “I know this is very hard for you, Blayze especially knowing about your mate. However, this would cause war from not only your people but those who are outside.”

    He is not even done talking with his mother when his father entered, frowning at his son upon hearing about the discussion that had happened with the elders. There was a part of him that could not believe that he was still thinking of gathering a woman who will fight for the death for him.

    “I was told that you are willing to conduct reaping by next year.” He said, voice inflicting nothing but accusation when it is indeed the truth.

    His son nodded, confused to how he was reacting to it. By his tone, it made him feel like he had ordered someone killed all because he had breathed. “Yes, father. I will be turning 21 by next year. I am eligible to hold the reaping for the position of my Queen.”

    “Are you sure that you even want to do the reaping?” His father asked before everyone could.

    His forehead creased, confused at the tone of his voice. “What are you talking about, father? That is part of the tradition.”

    “Giving yourself for your people is one thing honey. For years, that is what you have been doing and it pains me to see you lose your smiles as the years had progressed.” His mother could not help but utter, resting her head on his cheeks. She had lost her bubbly son to the man who had sit in the throne and was cursed upon seconds of knowing what he had lost. The man who was always in his best self was not anything but a moping mess. A sad smile escaped her lips. “But honey, you deserve the love that you would ever need. You know the horrors of what had happened to couples that only married each other for power. I do not want to see you trapped in years with nothing but despair.”  

    Blayze felt nothing but burned with her words, knowing the very truth that it holds. He nodded, bowing his head to his own mother. “I will only love my mate… but she doesn’t exist. I have sacrificed her, mother. There is no one out there for me, and I have to live by the fact that I could not stop the inevitable.”

    Bea felt nothing but bad for the future that she had let her son have. She did not stop him from doing something that he did not realize fully and he will pay the price of having his wolf go insane and out of mind… as no one has the power to calm him down.

    “She is still out there, little one.” She murmured, holding her son. “We will find a way to make sure that she really is alive, so you do not have to marry someone who you always was not meant to.”

    He frowned. “Is that possible?”

    “We can always hope.” She replied, not having the heart to live to his son.

    While his parents’ case was the same, Blayze was not sure if he could hold the same fate, as he was never really connected with any woman that he met. None of them felt right for him and all were doing nothing but enraging his wolf, as they stand close.

    What can he do?

    How can he find his mate?

    Since he had lost his mate from the second that he won the game, he could not seek into a mage and ask who she could be... for they would find no one. It was the same thing that his father had gone through before the reaping. Since they needed to check if he was not mated to anyone, he has a mage looked through his future. 

    “Blayze!” Rush screamed, bolting into the door with nothing but complete panic.

    Hearing her call, he had raised his head to look at his sibling. She was his adoptive little sister, someone he had saved from her battered life and was doing everything he could to give her an experience.

    He frowned. “Are you telling me that I should stop the reaping too?”

    Instead of answering her brother, she had only walked towards to where he was. The man quickly caught her when she lost her balance. His worry soon shows as he had felt her shaking, finally seeing the fear creeping into her eyes.

    “Rush, are you okay?” Bea questioned, worried printed in her face.

    “Blayze.” She begged as desperation was nothing but flushed to her face. “Please…”

    “What is going on?” He asked, holding her close. “Tell me what you wanted to achieve and I will make sure that people abide by it.”

    She staggered, tears trailing in her eyes as she muttered. “You got to help her! Please!”  

    “Who?” He questioned.

    “I saw her!” She screamed, shaking from the memory as she holds herself, the complete trauma was printed in her face. “Her face was gagged and there were rogues who are passing her around and she…” she then released a soft gasp, the mortified look was passed into her brother as she kneeled before him, pleading with something that she had never stated. “They’re going to kill her! Please save her!”

    “Rush, calm down.” Blayze quickly whispered to her, pulling his sister back into reality, as she was tight into her visions. “Take small breathes and close your eyes… yes, just like that. You’re doing very well.”    

    Bea only frowned, worried about the woman. She is not a wolf; the child is a seeker’s child. The child is who has the power to glimpse into the future. Since she was solely used for business and pleasure, she could still hardly control the future even when she doesn’t need to see them.

    They have to watch her get nothing but terrified in the future that she would see. All through those times, Bea would be there to soothe her daughter. As much as they are not blood-related, she was treating her as her own.

    When Blayze had found her being used and abused by a pack that he had been raiding for illegal activity, he waited for no chances to adopt the small child from before and nurture it to the woman she had become now.

    “Sweetheart, did you have a vision again?” Bea questioned, patting her head as the woman looked at her in nothing but a defeat. She cooed, holding the child close to her chest. “I am so sorry, I forgot how lately you’re seeing now. I’ll be here with you every step of the way, okay?”

    Rush nodded. “Thank you, Mommy.”

    “You’re always welcome, sweetheart.” She muttered, kissing the child on her temple.

    Blayze frowned, closing his book. “Now, that you are settled. Who is this person that I needed to save?” She bites her lips, confusing the man, as she seemed really worried about telling him. Rush does not hide any of her vision to him, so this does pique his interest. “Rush.”

    She sighed. “I’ve been keeping this until your birthday and I really don’t want to tell you.”

    “Tell me what?” He questioned.

    A worried frown etched her lips. “I guess… this is an exception?”

    “Rush.” He taunted.

    “Fine.” She sighed, closing her eyes as she mutters out the words. “Your mate, Blayze. I have seen her future and she’s in grave danger. I don’t know why they see the need of hurting to getting into her she’s only—”

    His father’s forehead creased. “Rush, sweetheart. What are you talking about? A king does not have a mate. He had revoked her position as he hat sat on the throne. Even if Bea was my mate, she was not seen in my future.”

    “Well, he has one!” She added, looking at him with nothing but worry. “And she’s in grave danger if we don’t save her, she’s going to die!”    

    What the f**k is happening?