A Throne of Lies

Chapter Five - Ezra, before the storm

My lips wrapped around the head of the cigar and pulled in a long drag of the spice-infused smoke. The flavour enveloped my tongue as I held it to the back of my throat. A hint of cocoa clung to the roof of my mouth as I pulled the burning tip away and exhaled the smoke. There was a sharp undertone woven through the tabaco, my mouth twitched as I attempted to mask the pained expression that the drug brought. A ribbon of violet wrapped through the tobacco leaves with the dried wolfsbane growing prominent within the air, I ground my teeth from annoyance as it clouded my mind and made my blood boil as the poison took hold.

“Report,” I ordered in a gruff tone.

“Well,” my brother, Ryland murmured as he glanced down at a stack of papers in his hand.

His dark auburn hair was a mess as he skimmed over the blur of words before him, the report was dyed a pale blue. I knew what was contained within as it held the most recent updates on my woman, a fierce person who defied the odds I placed against her, who managed to seek out my spies and pick them out one by one. She was a force to be reckoned with and she would soon be mine.

“They have finally passed through the barrier,” Ryland stated as his eyes skimmed over the relevant piece of information.

A wolf could do his job better, I sneered as I placed the burning cigar into the ashtray.

I shifted my weight as I looked out the window that loomed over the vast territory I ruled. It was a land I inherited from my father, a man who defied death and roamed these cursed lands as if he were a walking corpse.

May he rot in hell, I spat as I recalled the rotting odour of his decaying corpse.

Ryland shifted uncomfortably behind me; his complexion was pale through the looking glass. I could see the gears shifting in his mind as he imagined taking the marbled paperweight laying on my desk and bludgeoning it into my skill until I was nothing but an unresponsive corpse laying at his feet.

“Alpha?” Ryland asked uncertainly.

I smirked sickeningly as I turned to glare at my adoptive brother. He was bound to me through ancient magic, his servitude was all thanks to my deceased father, a man who could have been the devil himself, who roamed the earth in his later years as a literal corpse, defying the laws of life as he avoided entering the doorway to hell.

“When did they pass through?” I ordered as I gritted my teeth angrily.

Those on surveillance said they passed through half an hour ago,” Ryland muttered as he kept his eyes down.

Fucking hell, I groaned as I pressed a glass of cognac into my lips and took a swig of the bitter liquid.

“Should I tell the Shadows to allow them entry?” Ryland asked.

“What a stupid question, Ryland,” I snapped as I turned to glare at the human angrily. “Do I want my woman torn to shreds, or do I want her in my bed, in one piece,” I stated with a sneer as if the answer were obvious.

“Right,” Ryland murmured as he rolled his eyes before dropping the veil of ignorance he often wore.

“Get out!” I shouted as I threw the glass at his head, narrowly missing as it shattered against the wall next to his face.

My head was beginning to spin. The woman I so desperately craved was entering my borders and entering the wolf’s den. I planned to trap her the moment she appeared before me even at the risk of inciting a war between those who bore her. My temples pulsed as I envisioned the woman who would once be mine, who was kept afar aboard an impenetrable island created for safe harborage for those who sought refuge.

I few more miles, I thought as I peered through my underlings’ eyes as they crouched amongst the treeline, surveying the car that crept through my lands.

Come on, Mate, I silently urged as I gripped the table before me. My knuckles grew white as the wood splintered.

“Ryland!” I shouted as I tore away from the eyes of my underlings.

“What now,” Ryland muttered under his breath, I picked up on the resentment in his tone and yet chose to ignore it this time. “Yes, brother,” he called, barely meeting my heated gaze.

“Gather my work,” I said with a sickening smirk as I tossed an important pile of documents onto the floor.

The leaflets scattered between the human and myself with classified information on nearby territories and formed alliances on display to the man before me.

Hmm, I thought curiously as I watched Ryland’s eyes skim the content as he stood motionless at the door. The rat taught himself how to read, I affirmed as I straightened my back and approached him.

“Be careful where you look,” I whispered in his ear as I pushed past him.

The information written in the contents before him was fake, it was forged to test Ryland's loyalty to me, if the information written within leaked then I would know who to turn to. I could sense the man's unease as he fell to his knees and quickly gathered the documents within his arms while sneaking glimpses of the contents and feigning ignorance.

I sighed with contempt. You fail every time, Ryland. I thought as I paced the floors and followed the irresistible urge that pulled me to my woman.

“Let’s go!” I ordered as he ran from the room and struggled to keep up with me.

“Right, sorry,” Ryland affirmed as he straightened the documents in his hands.

The halls reeked of wolves as his underlings wandered before him, straightening their postures as they pressed their backs against the wall to make space. My territory was comprised of shifters, those of wolf descent who had the appearance of a human and the ability to shift into a massive Dire wolf that would then prowl the lands. Our kind was once nomads, our ancestral ways are long since forgotten with many of our kind discarded with their human-like way of life long since been erased from their minds, wolves such as those had lost the blessing of the moon goddess, Selene.

“I believe your fiancé is here,” Ryland stated as the front door burst open with a figure in a blue sheer dress pressing into the room.

“Hm,” I hummed as his eyes grew wide from wonder as he took in the appearance of the girl before us.

She hadn’t yet noticed our presence as she spun on her heels and took in the extravagant surroundings. The ceilings were chiselled with gold inlaid trickling down the walls as if they were made from a white and gold marbling. I glanced at the girl suspiciously as the light reflected off her dyed blonde hair that was made to resemble a dull silver, supposedly like her mother’s hair.

She’s stretching, I thought, as I took in the features of Selene’s supposed Heiress.

“Wow,” Ryland absentmindedly mumbled as he found himself approaching the girl.

“Ryland,” I hissed as I shook my head disapprovingly and yet the boy didn’t notice.

“f**k,” I spat under my breath.

This could be bad.

“My luna,” Ryland muttered just as a tall girl with a pixie hairstyle cut him off and stood between him and the girl who captivated his attention.

“It’s beautiful!” Deya stated, ignorant of our presence.

By the grace of the God’s, you really are a dense creature, I thought as Ryland’s broad smile faltered.

I shook my head in disgust at Ryland’s broad provocations when my thoughts were abruptly cut off as another figure entered the room. Her long black hair hung in loose ringlets against her back with the strands tickling the back of her knees. Her onyx eyes appeared sad and distant as she cautiously approached her sister, her eyes expertly scanning the room for any looming dangers.

She’s perfect, I thought with an approving smirk.