"Alpha Kael"
A voice called with caution
"The elders are requesting for your presence"
He ignored them.
His mind was elsewhere.
On a girl with scattered herbs and reckless courage.
" How dare she speak to me in that manner, who does she think she is?"
He kept swimming in thoughts
He had faced wars without flinching.
He had commanded men twice his age without question.
Yet somehow, it was a girl with scattered herbs and sharp eyes who unsettled him.
The guards outside his chambers did not dare speak unless addressed.
Even the air around him felt disciplined.
He couldn't get his mind off her, then another knock interrupted him "Your highness, You're asked for at the council meeting"
"Leave her at once" Kael said, throwing his claws angrily at the door as though it was the door that offended him.
The guards trembled. One finally gathered the courage to speak.
"Is there any problem, my prince?"
Silence fell.
The Alpha turned slowly.
His eyes were not merely angry, they were lethal.
In a flash, he moved.
A sharp sound cut through the air.
The guard collapsed.
The others did not dare breathe.
The tension in the room was so deep, no one dared to speak.
"What's going on here" the queen stepped in, she was the only one Kael feared and respected.She was also an alpha but her powers were taken away from her after she died but was brought back to life by the Bloodstone of Aeternum. It was a very powerful stone held by the royal family of Aeternum, Kael and his family, legend warned that if it landed on a wrong hand,it could lead to eternal destruction of their world. She was feared and respected by all. Like Qadira, she didn't marry for love but due to the pressure of her family. She loves her son so much but no one sees that. She is Queen Thalia by most people and very heartless to most too.
Kael looked at his mother and something unfamiliar tightened in his chest.
She had warned him countless times, "control your anger, choose restraint over blood".
But restraint had never come naturally to him.
The prophecy had been clear.
He was destined to destroy Aeternum.
Not by weakness.
Not by betrayal.
But by his own fury.
And the thought of becoming the ruin of the kingdom his mother loved,unsettled him more than war ever could.
Thalia's eye was full with disappointment and pain then she ordered the guards to take out the body and leave her alone with kael.
"What is the matter this time?" She asked softly
Kael hesitated because he knew his mom might stop him from avenging her.
"Aren't you going to answer or will you also slash my throat just as you did to your servant?" she continued
Kael felt ashamed and said "I'm sorry mum, it won't repeat" Thalia cut him short and said " exactly what you said, the last time and the time before that, it's just a lie, you'll still repeat it over and over again and say the same thing" Pain filled her eyes as she said it and Kael felt so helpless. He knelt before he and pleaded " I've never said it this way before, I promise it won't repeat itself" Thalia was surprised, she had never seen him kneel before or begged her " it's fine, I forgive you"
Thalia studied her son carefully.
"Are you fine?" she asked softly.
Kael did not answer immediately. His jaw tightened, but his expression remained unreadable.
"Why wouldn't I be?" he replied after a moment, his voice calm. "I am fine, Mother."
Her eyes lingered on him, searching for cracks beneath the composed surface. She had known him since the moment he first cried under a blood-red moon. She knew that look in his eyes. It was never peace.
It was restraint.
And restraint in Kael never lasted long.
"If there is something weighing on you," she said gently, "do not let it grow into something that consumes you."
A faint shadow crossed his eyes.
"I would never endanger Aeternum," he said firmly.
But even he wasn't sure if that was a promise… or a warning.
Thalia hesitated before finally nodding.
"Control your temper, Kael," she whispered. "Power is not proven through fear."
Then she left.
The moment the doors closed behind her, the calm on his face dissolved.
His expression hardened.
His mind returned to her.
The girl.
The one who had dared.
The one who had looked him in the eye without trembling.
The one who insulted him.
A slow, dangerous smile curved at the corner of his lips.
He stepped toward the door and spoke without raising his voice.
"Guards."
Two men appeared almost instantly, bowing their heads.
"My Prince."
Kael's eyes darkened slightly as he gave the order.
"Find a girl for me."
The guards stiffened.
He described her slowly, her height, her hair, the fire in her eyes, the way she held her chin when she challenged him.
"Do it quietly," he added.
"No one must know."
The guards exchanged a brief glance but nodded immediately
"Yes, my Prince."
As they left, Kael walked toward the window, staring out at the kingdom below.
Aeternum stretched endlessly before him.
Peaceful.
Unaware.
His fingers tightened behind his back.
For the first time in years, something other than war had unsettled him.
And he intended to find out why.
Kael remained by the window, his gaze fixed on the horizon.
Somewhere in his kingdom, a girl walked freely
Unaware that the Alpha was now looking for her.
And once Kael decided he wanted something, He always found it.