Snarls of fury

CHAPTER FIVE

The Alpha King's piercing green eyes met Hera's and she shivered on her feet. Why did he look so familiar? Why did it feel like they shared a long, old history? It was getting too ridiculous at this point and she didn't know what to think anymore.

“What is your name?” The King's rich, baritone voice jolted her out of her reverie.

“Hera Kline, Y-your majesty?” She stuttered, unsure if she was supposed to address him as that. In Wardsville they only had a mayor and not a king.

His cold eyes surveyed her and she willed herself not to collapse under his powerful and lethal aura. “What are you?” He asked and she was momentarily confused by the question then she assumed he referred to what her species was.

“I'm a human, your majesty.” Hera answered in a timid, high-pitched voice and his face hardened at her answer. The council members began murmuring amongst themselves and the Alpha King raised his hand, silencing them.

“You're a human and you dare cross the border into Blood-Stone?!” He thundered. “Do you know what fate awaits human offenders like yourself?”

“L—life imprisonment or execution, sir, y—your majesty.” She stuttered as her whole body trembled under his frightening demeanor.

“Precisely. And you still entered our land despite knowing this?”

“I didn't know about the laws of Blood-Stone, your majesty.” Hera said. She was really beginning to regret coming here. All she wanted to do was get revenge and here she was standing on trial in front of an Alpha King.

“You didn't have to know about it because you shouldn't be here in the first place. Why are you here, human?!”

Hera remembered the reason why she was here in the first place and her body shook with red-hot fury. Her voice shook as she spoke.

“Three werewolves invaded Wardsville, your majesty. They killed my parents and bit me.”

The Alpha raised a disbelieving eyebrow and the council members murmured amongst themselves once again. “Bit you?”

“Yes, your majesty?”

“And yet you're still alive?”

“That's impossible!” One of the council members spat and Hera's eyes shot toward him. He was an old man with long, white hair.

“She's lying, your majesty,” Stated another council member. “A human cannot survive a werewolf bite. If she was indeed bitten by werewolves, she shouldn't be alive.”

“How can we believe you?” The old man with the long hair said. “Our king set up an unbreakable law that forbids all werewolves from entering human territory. No werewolf of Blood-Stone would dare flaunt his order.”

Hera's trembling legs couldn't support her weight anymore and she crashed to the ground as exhaustion and grief washed over her.

“I swear, I'm telling the truth. Werewolves really invaded my home and killed my parents. I'm not lying about this! Why would I risk my life to come here if I was?!”

“You will not raise your voice in the throne room, prisoner!” One of the council members thundered and she cowered on the ground.

“Enough!” The King rose to his feet and Hera was in awe of how tall and powerfully built he was. He looked nothing short of a king as his golden crown glistened in the light. Slowly but precisely, his footsteps echoed as he made his way toward her.

“Stand,” He commanded and with much difficulty, Hera struggled to her feet. He went close to her. Way too close and she literally shivered at the close proximity.

“There is something strange about your scent,” He said and his breath tickled her neck sending electric shocks down her spine as he slowly walked around her in circles.

Hera gulped and didn't dare move an inch as it felt like this powerful king could reduce her to dust without any difficulty. The Alpha King sniffed her once again and she shivered in response. His face hardened into a frown as he came to stand in front of her.

“You have a human and a werewolf scent.” He said in a cold and hard voice and the council members gasped, murmuring among themselves.

“That's impossible.” One of them said but the king ignored him.

“I'll ask you again and you must not lie to me,” The king's voice was low and his green eyes flashed with controlled fury. “What are you?”

Tears sprang to Hera's eyes as she trembled under his angry stare. She didn't have any other way of convincing the king that she was just a human.

She didn't think she had a chance of leaving this place alive. With the way the king looked at her, her execution could come sooner than expected but yet she told the truth. What else would she say?

“I swear to you, your majesty. I am telling the truth,” Her lips quivered as tears streamed down her eyes. She didn't even know why she was crying but she was overcome with too many emotions at that moment. “I am a human and I was bitten by a werewolf.”

The Alpha King's eyes turned stone cold as he let out a sigh. “Guards!” He turned and two guards appeared at her side at once.

“Yes, your majesty.” They answered in unison with a low bow.

“Take this woman and lock her up in the left wing of the royal chambers immediately. No one else must be allowed in except me and my betas. Do you understand me?!” He commanded.

“Yes, your highness.”

“Your highness,” One of the council members protested. “She should be locked up in the dungeons and not the royal chambers. She is a criminal and deserves to rot down there for the rest of her life.”

Hera was taken aback by how much hate these people abhorred against her despite the fact that they didn't know her. Her heart hammered in her chest as she awaited the King's response. She really didn't want to go back into those dungeons.

“I do not know what she is. She is neither human nor werewolf and till I figure out what to do with her, she stays in the royal chambers under close supervision.” The Alpha King said with an air of finality.