THE ALPHA’S VENGEFUL LUNA

CHAPTER 16: DISRESPECT

FREYA

I snuck back into Icarus' room, breathing a sigh of relief when I noticed he was still in deep sleep. I needed to hear from Imani, but I could not wait till morning.

What if Icarus had some silly activity for us to do together?

Beside, night time was perfect and my deeds would be perfectly concealed in the darkness. Summoning Imani in my room was always a hell of a risk, so I decided to take my dirty business into the woods this time.

I grabbed an old cloak from Icarus' closet, pulling the hood over my head before sneaking out of the room. In my head, it seemed so easy to sneak around. But in reality, it was far from easy.

My heart was in my mouth, drumming so loudly that I could hear it in my ears. For every step I took, I shivered as chills of fear ran down my spine.

What if a guard or a servant saw me?

I hid behind a pillar, taking deep, shaky breaths. I did not want to cast a concealment spell, but at that point my heart could not take the pressure of being seen or having to explain myself when I got caught.

I wrapped my arms around my stomach, shutting my eyes.

verbergen, laat ze niet zien!

I whispered the spell under my breath, a smile forming on my lips when I blended in with the environment.

Now I could walk free without the fear of being seen, I ran deep into the woods.

I looked around, making sure that there was no one in sight. Although the night was submerged in pitch blackness, the benefits of being a witch came with special packages like heightened senses.

After surveillance, I relaxed, breaking out of the concealment spell. It was time to summon Imani and since I was not using a mirror, I had to perform a different spell.

I grabbed a twig from the ground, drawing a pentagon to awaken Imani's spirit from Hades. After drawing the pentagon, I lifted up my two hands high in the air.

Ustani! Ustani! Neka se duh Imanija digne!

I did that six times, each one for each triangle on the pentagon. As I completed the last round of spells, the triangles lit up with green fire, and Imani appeared at the centre.

“This better be important, Freya.” Imani said with a huge frown.

“Hello to you too, Imani.” I deadpanned. “And I promise, it actually is quite important.”

“Then get down to it. We do not have much time.” Imani warned.

“Alright.” I swallowed hard. “So, I have been studying a whole lot about wolves and immortality, just to discover Icarus' weakness, but it has been so difficult to find any lead.”

“Okay, and?” Imani asked impatiently. The old woman really needed to relax.

“But I was able to find something. A special plant called the Moonbell.” I replied. “It is a really fatal plant for wolves, but all the information on its effect on immortal wolves proved futile.”

Imani's eyes narrowed as I spoke. That could not be a good sign, but I continued to speak regardless.

“They were either encrypted, or confusing to understand. What do you know about the Moonbell, Imani?”

“Hmmm…” The old woman groaned like an old cart. “The moonbell is one of the most lethal plants to the werewolves because it absorbs its poison from the blue moon.”

“Woah…” I gasped as Imani showed me a glimpse of how it looked. It was a beautiful plant, but equally as deadly. It soon disappeared from Imani's palm and I frowned.

“It is as old as the blue moon itself, which is considered extinct given that it has not been seen for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, the Moonbell has not been seen around for a long time either…” Imani explained.

“No! I need that plant. How else would I be able to complete my quest, seeing that my spells don't work on Icarus?” I cried out in frustration.

“Well, you just have to find another solution.” Imani said, before disappearing into the night.

I groaned in frustration, pulling at my hair.

“Why do I keep going one step forward, two steps backwards?”

As I walked back to the castle in disappointment, I froze on the spot as I sensed another presence and my ears perked up in panic.

How did this happen? How could I have allowed myself to be seen?

I had no choice but to silence whoever it was, so I narrowed my eyes, letting them sweep the perimeters. I could not spot anyone, but I knew someone was there.

“I know you are there. Show yourself!” I snarled, and soon the sound of crunching leaves filled my ears.

I whipped towards the sound and there, a strange man stood, an angry glint in his eyes and a knowing smirk on his lips.

This could not be good.

“Who are you and why are you following me?” I asked, keeping my voice firm as much as I could. I had to be brave and show no sign of weakness.

He chuckled darkly, taking slow steps towards me. “You do not know me, but I know who you are, Freya.”

At the sound of my name, I gasped. My stomach churned mercilessly as tremor built up in my stomach.

“You are the b***h who thinks because she is the Alpha's mate, she can do whatever she wants, huh?” The strange man asked me, drawing closer to me.

I refused to stand down or stagger backwards. I will not allow myself to be intimidated again, so I stood my ground.

He had no idea who he was messing with.

“After what you did to my daughter, consider yourself in my black book, Freya.” He was in front of me now, his stinky breath fanning my face.

I scrunched up my face in disgust. “So you are the father of the lady who approached me the day before?” I eyed him from his toes to the crown of his greying head. “Well, I am not surprised.”

“You think you are so special.” He leaned towards my ears. “There were principalities before you arrived here, Freya. And it would be so easy for us to get rid of you…”

He straightened up, adjusting his cloak. “So, take this as a warning, Freya and don't you dare cross my path and that of my daughter, Lana, if you want to remain here and maintain your status, you peasant!”

I stared at him in disbelief. What audacity! What gave him the guts to threaten me, one of the most powerful witches alive?

I did not say a word because I was in awe of his stupidity, but as I watched him leave, I realised there was no better time to teach him a lesson than seizing the moment.

I stretched my hand towards him.

“Laat je trots je verblinden en verteren!" I hexed him in silence, smiling at his retreating form.

That fool was going to regret every word he had said to me just now.

***

ICARUS

I had had a long day and I was crowning it with a meeting with the councilmen that evening. Gaza, my personal stylist, had just finished dressing me up and I stared at the mirror, a smile tugging at the corner of my lips.

I looked good and I knew I did.

But the more I stared at my reflection, the more I felt like something was missing.

Robe, check.

Ceremonial beads, check.

It was at that moment I realised it was my ceremonial comb. It was missing.

“Gaza... where is my ceremonial comb?” I asked him, feeling my bare man bun in case he had buried it too deep in them, but there was nothing.

“Oh...Darius asked that I give it to him. I thought he was going to give it to you personally.” Gaza replied.

Strange...

What would Darius be doing with my ceremonial comb? Those were special beads handed down to me by the past Alphas. He better not be messing with them.

“Why would you give out my ceremonial comb, Gaza? You know you are the only one authorised to handle them.” I scolded him.

“I apologise, Sir. It will not ever happen again.” Gaza bowed lowly.

“Anyway, I will address that in the meeting.” I said, loosening my man bun to let my hair fall free before walking out of the room with Gaza following closely behind.

By the time I arrived at the meeting, everyone was present, even Freya. She looked so beautiful and I took a moment to drink in her beauty.

I had to stay focused if I wanted the purpose of the meeting to be achieved, so I quickly looked away, walking over to my seat.

“Welcome to the weekly council meeting, you may take your seat.” I began, taking my seat soon afterwards. I looked around, and that was when I noticed Darius was missing.

I cleared my throat, about to speak when Darius walked in, his shoulders hanging high in pride. My eyes narrowed when I noticed what was sitting gallantly on his man bun.

The Alpha bloodline’s sacred ceremonial comb.

”You are late, Darius, and for some reason you are wearing my ceremonial comb on your hair. Care to explain yourself?” I said as soon as he approached the table to take his seat.

With his chin in the air, Darius replied. “I was just a few minutes late, Icarus, and it is just a comb. Why are you whining like some hungry dog?”

Everyone froze and gasps filled the air, with hands flying up to their lips in shock. I blinked in shock too, unable to comprehend what I had just heard.

“Excuse me? What did you just say, Darius?” I growled lowly.

I needed to be sure I had heard right, and I wanted to give him a chance to change his words before I pounced on him, but he seemed really unrepentant.

“I always knew you were hard of hearing. I wonder why you are still king if you are so deaf.”

“Darius, what has gotten into you?” My adviser exclaimed in horror.

My frown deepened and with a flick of my fingers, guards pounced on Darius, holding him down.

I walked up to him, chuckling. “Oh, do not worry Logan.” I spoke to my advisor, my eyes zeroing in on Darius. “I will show him why I am king.”

I stretched out my hand and a guard placed a whip in my hand. It was weaved out of wolfsbane, and Darius was going to get a taste of it.

“Strip him to his last piece of clothing.” I commanded, and they got to work immediately, ignoring Darius' screams and struggles.

I stared into Darius' eyes stricken with fear. I wondered what must have gotten into him to have made him speak to me in such an uncouth manner. But I was certainly going to make sure he regretted those words.

“After this, you would know not to speak to your Alpha in such a manner again.” I said, raising the whip high in the air before letting it land hard on Darius' bare skin.

The entire room was silent, save for the sound of each stroke tearing into Darius' skin and his screams echoing into the night.