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Chapter 2

When we were on our way to the portal to the Capital of our Kingdom, Amorentia, none of us would have ever believed that we would be attacked. Although I had sensed this the moment that I had stepped out of the castle. I did not believe in omens or any kind of superstitions but the cawing of a raven with blood shot eyes in the morning was an omen that no one could really overlook.

“Protect the Princess!” yelled Deke as they all whirled around together in tandem circling around me so that the attackers could not reach me. Even though my hands were itching to throw the blades and the shooting stars and slice off their throats, I wanted them to be captured alive so that I could get my hands on them for questioning.

“This is not supposed to be happening!” whispered Drima, as she looked and peered carefully at the people who were circling around us. I immediately sniffed the air and I knew that they were plain humans.

“Decoys!!! Leave them be!! Stun them and leave ‘em,” I shouted as Deke nodded and without any hesitation all of my soldiers followed my command. In the battlefield when a soldier is told to do what needs to be is what is exactly makes a good soldier. They operated the stun guns and immediately the humans fell down unconscious like a sack of potatoes.

“Who would do this kind of thing?” asked Felicity as we all stepped over them and then made our way to the portal. It was the fastest way of travel in our land where magic was used and it was out of control of humans.

“I would not put the heiress of the Purple Poison Pack, to be above this,” muttered Luke and I agreed grudgingly with him. It was uncanny how we could both complete each other’s sentences and we could even share thoughts. It was like we had our own private world and no one else could really come inside it.

“I think that Rubina feels that if she can possibly make me arrive late at the Summit Council then the Old Guardians would think poorly of me. But I really would not put it past her. She has tried to cheat her way into everything beforehand so that she gets the better preference but not any longer,” I said and Drima nodded.

But then she said,” She might be cunning and manipulative but do not underestimate the power of the back stabbing in a place where the bastards are mostly thinking with the age old ideals that have been given to them in perpetuity.”

“What do you want me to do then?” I asked Drima. She was my Counsellor and she was the best strategist that I could have ever asked for.

“You do not need to stoop down to her level, ever. But that does not mean that you cannot be cunning in your own right,” she said and I understood exactly what she was saying.

But a few moments later as soon as we were near the path which led us to the portal, Felicity led out a shriek and a gasp was followed by Deke.

“Don’t come here,” shrieked Felicity as I tried to move forward and Luke growled beside me.

“This is getting more dangerous every passing minute. I don’t think that this was done by Rubina, Sin,” said Joy, another one of my guards. She had kept her hair shorn to her head and had vivid green eyes which reminded me of a clear pool inside the forest.

“What are you saying? Will anyone tell me what the hell is going on here?” asked Drima as she strode forward and immediately I felt that the air surrounding us changed. There were three assailants who were moving closer to us from behind and I did not waste a single moment in taking out my blades and then lunging forward before they could attack any more of my people. I did not make any noise. I had been taught quite long back by the best warrior of our kingdom, that is the Red Queen that when in battlefield, even out in the open, stealth is the best weapon that you can always have by your side.

Two of them dropped in no time with the deep gashes that they suffered from the back and yes!! From the back. It did not matter to me that I had attacked from the back because they had killed my people. They had harmed the wolves of my pack and now things had gone personal.

The third one looked at me with his blood shot red eyes and snarled and Luke immediately lunged forward and clamped his jaws around the throat of this bastard. He caught hold of his body like a rag doll and then tossed him aside without any compunction.

“This was a pre-planned attack. And this was not the work of any other pack. It was the vampires,” said Deke as he spoke in a clear calm voice. Something had gone definitely wrong.

I did not wait any longer and strode forward as all of them moved aside and let me pass. The sight that lay before me made a sob gush out of my throat. It was Deke’s brother, and one of my most trusted friends in the Guards. Leon, lay their dead, with his throat torn out and the worst part was that, his eyes had been gouged out.

“Nooooo….” I whispered as I fell on the ground on my knees with a thud. Beside him lay three others who had been here guarding the portal. All of the bodies were in the same state and I could not even think of the animal who could do such a thing.

“We don’t have much time, Synthia,” said Drima and I realized that she was right. The portal showed itself only to the heiress because we were the ones with access to the Alpha magic which ran in our veins. The location was changed every single fortnight so that the security was not hampered but this was barbaric.

“This is the work of the vampires and I am pretty sure that they are going to be here soon,” said Luke, his voice was cold, hard and cautious as a lone drop of tear rolled down my cheeks.

“I am not letting this go away without getting any revenge. I promise that I am going to avenge every single one of you and pour boiling lead in the eyes of those who did this to you. Your deaths are not going to go in vain and you will be honoured just like a true warrior. Your deeds will be always be a part of the trials that we face on the road towards success,” I said as dipped my finger in their blood and marked my fore-head with the blood of every single one of them and then drew a line connecting it so that they would always be together linked in their deaths by my magic on my skin.

Once I had finished putting the honour mark, I raised my head to the sky and let out a howl. It was heart rendering and filled with pain and every single one of my pack members let out a howl as well. They joined me in mourning for the family that we had just lost.

It was time.

I stood up again and I strode forward towards the middle of the thicket without looking back at them. I did not need to see their corpses again and again to remind me of how we had been attacked and how callously precious blood and lives had been spilled. I did not need anyone to tell me to control my rage because the vampires who had done this had never seen the fury of the Alpha before. Once they do I will make sure that there is no corner on this earth or in hell where they are going to find a place to hide.

I blew air in the middle of the place where I could feel the magic pulsing. Magic was pure energy unlike anyone had ever told you anything. And it had a mind of its own. Just like that today I caught hold of a chain, a silver chain which I wrapped my hands around and pulled. A beautiful swing covered with flowers appeared out of nowhere. I smiled, despite the grief and anguish that I felt because of the deaths of my pack wolves.

The magic knew that was in pain. The death of the Queen, the death of my friends and now I was going to face the ultimate challenge of my life for which I had been trained since birth. The only other time, this flowery swing had arrived was when I had been summoned to the Capital to mourn the passing of my mother. I had appeared with two twin sisters in my arms before this portal and they had given me the same bower again.

“Let’s go,” I called out as I stepped on the swing and all the other members came forward and either climbed with me or caught hold of the swing tightly. Every single person was wearing an honour mark on their fore-heads and I whispered softly,” Amorentia.”

I closed my eyes and I clearly focused and visualized the front step of the palace mansion in the Capital. We might be the ones who were expected but that did not mean that I could go anywhere and enter any place without the permission of the one to whom the home belonged to. Wanted to stay and reach outside as a mark of reverence to the Queen because even though she was dead, I did not want to defile her memory and her ideals.

The swish that happened was almost instantaneous. With the Queen gone, the magic must be looking for a suitable replacement to tether itself to because without that the links to the land would weaken and if not anything else, it would make us prone to several things we remained safe from and would become vulnerable to attacks.

Luke calmly spoke in our mind,” You are what this entire pack needs, Sin. You are the Leader who will bring them all together. I know this, and only you need to believe it.”

I wish I could believe Luke but with the killings going on, I really could not anymore. However I knew that this was only the beginning of my trial. We reached the step of the palace with a thud and we all had a moment to recompose ourselves as the portal disappeared from between us and the Queen’s Guard arrived to receive us.

He was wearing an honour mark on his forehead as well. He looked at us somberly and then said,” Welcome to the Capital of the Queen Alpha. I regret to inform you of the sad demise of our beloved Leader. Please enter our abode which will now be yours as well for the next few days.”

The name of the Guard was Rex, and I knew him since he was the Queen’s most trusted.

“The Honour Council has been gathering in the Great hall,” he informed but I nodded my head and said,” No Rex, we are here only because our Queen is no more. I need to pay my respects to her, only then shall proceed to the Great Hall.”

I could see that I had already gained his respect and allegiance as he showed us the way towards the place where the dead queen lay. Even though she was the closest thing to family I had since my father was gone. I had never seen my father in my life so I knew that even though I had enough on my plate, there was place for another honour mark on my fore-head.

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