The Amorous Mate

Chapter 39: The General

“Indeed, this is a special day.”

General Cedric Valhaullster looked amazed as he looked at the domineering wolf on his front. It was a dark, powerful wolf that every kinds of wolves would surely feel frightened.

It was different from General Cedric. Instead terrified, he was rather amused and intrigued.

“I can sense that this is not your right time to wolf-shift, Lord Matthew,” General Cedric said. “I can see how your aura was quickly slipping out from your body, meaning it was consuming all your strength. That could only happen to a someone who manages to wolf-shift even still not in the right age.”

Lord Matthew growled. He showed his sharp fangs at the General.

General Cedric laughed. “If you think I would be frightened by that, forgive me, but I am not.” He smirked. “The fact that I know your strength are slowly slipping away from you means you’re about to pass out any minute from now.”

Lord Matthew again growled. His feet started to flex—a sign that he was ready to attack the general.

“Pretty cunning for such a helpless wolf. You see, I can feel you have so much potential in you as a wolf. As an Alpha. You can actually grow a pack powerful enough to conquer one kingdom. I know that better than you.” The General smashed his lance on the ground, and then unsheathed his sharp sword. “If our paths had not met in this place, you would be having more time to grow powerful. However, as the General of Royal Army, and the leader of Werewolf Hunters, my job is to kill every wolf I will see, for they pose threat to the kingdom. Therefore, Lord Matthew, expect a funeral solely made for you.”

The moment General Cedric finished his words, he immediately dashed towards the wolf, and lunged at him. Holding his sharp sword, he was ready to slice the Lord Matthew’s head.

Being a powerful wolf, Lord Matthew managed to escape the colossal attack of the general. He jumped away from where he stood, and when he saw that the general’s back was open and unprotected, he aimed his claw on it.

General Cedric already expected such move. With the use of his insane reflex, he managed to twist his body and blocked the attack of the lord by the use of his sword. Yet, the force coming from the wolf’s attack was powerful, causing the general to get pinned down the ground. The floor where he had fell down created a crater made from the powerful force of the wolf’s attack.

He quickly stood up, smiling. He was again amused by the unexpected strength of the black wolf.

“This is unexpectedly challenging,” he said. “I did not expect you would still be able to stand despite the fact that a huge amount of energy was already gone from you. You must be insanely powerful than what I expected. However—” he held his sword, and clasped it tightly— “that doesn’t mean you would be escaping your death.”

The next dash of the general was insanely quick, for no bare eyes could see his reflexes. Not even Lord Matthew. He was stunned when he suddenly could not see the general anymore.

In a blink of an eye, the general appeared at Lord Matthew’s front, and with a quick stroke—haste enough not for Lord Matthew to react—he slashed his sword towards Matthew’s head.

Perhaps, Lord Matthew expected that the sword will hit him. He closed his eyes, ready to feel the painful sensation, but after a second passing, he did not feel anything.

When he opened his eyes once again, he saw a white wolf biting the general’s sword, trying to deflect the force it was aimed at.

When successfully deflecting, the general quickly paced far from the wolf, while the white wolf went towards Lord Matthew’s side.

‘Alpha!’ the white wolf said.

‘Aunt Gwyneth. We failed. The General of the werewolf hunters are here. He is indeed powerful,' Lord Matthew admitted.

Aunt Gwyneth growled angrily. She looked at the general who was standing far from them.

The general’s eyes were wide and perplexed. The sense of shock was hitting him, causing him to pale.

“Cedric,” said Gwyneth. Slowly, from her wolf form, she shifted back to her human form. “Is your betrayal to our pack not enough, that you would commit another crime by means of killing the Alpha’s son?”

General Cedric’s wide-shocked eyes grew larger. “Wh-What do you mean?” he looked straight at Gwyneth, but when he realized that the woman was completely naked made from the fact that she has returned to human form from her wolf form, he embarrassedly turned his gaze away. “G-Gwyneth,” he called the woman.

“You are not a fool to buffer from what I have said. That man, Lord Matthew, is the son of your past Alpha,” Aunt Gwyneth once again stated.

Again, General Cedric looked back at her. “I-Is he Alpha Vlad’s son?”

“Have you grown fool the moment you left the pack? It seemed your intelligence are way worse now.”

“I . . . I just could not believe that he is the son of Alpha Vlad. No wonder he has the same dark color of his wolf form to his Papa,” General Cedric defended. “I could have . . . I could have wrongly killed him. I did not know.”

“If only you did not leave the pack . . .” Gwyneth said.

“You did know what was the reason of me leaving my post as my Alpha’s Beta, didn’t you? If only—”

“Alpha!” from the far side of the chaotic hall of the mansion, someone called the Alpha.

Aunt Gwyneth quickly looked at it, and saw Beatrix, along with Jullian and Gio. They ran towards Lord Matthew who was growing weak every second passing. He hasn’t shifted back to his human form yet.

“Does that mean, at such a young age, Matthew has already made a thriving pack?” General Cedric asked curiously.

However, Aunt Gwyneth could not answer him, for her surprised attention was on a different place—at someone whom Lord Matthew’s wolf form was focused on. Though weak, Lord Matthew walked towards someone whom they less expected to be in the place.

“Th-The Princess,” General Cedric whispered.

At the other side of the mansion, Princess Demeter was looking at the dark, colossal wolf walking towards her. Lord Matthew growled as he eyed the woman.

Princess Demeter was just frozen as she stared at the terrifying creature. Slowly, the dark wolf shifted back at his human form. He was naked, but he did not mind it, for his attention was focused at the princess. On his eyes were mixing emotions of fear, worry, begging, anxiety, and weakness.

Princess Demeter could see all of his emotions as she looked at his window of his soul. She realized that as the lord was walking towards her, he was worried by the fact that she will despise him and his true nature of being a wolf—that she will be frightened of him.

Yet, she stayed still. Princess Demeter, s***h, Chelsea, remained. She remain standing as she waited for the approaching lord Him naked does not made her awkward. What was inside Chelsea’s mind was her pure worry of the fact that Lord Matthew’s energy were slipping. That means it could cost him his life.

“Chelsea,” Lord Matthew muttered the moment that he was near at the Princess.

“Matthew, are you okay?” she asked, worried.

Relieved by the fact that she was not afraid of him, Lord Matthew nodded with a weak smile. He drew his remaining strength, pulling the princess, and tightly hugging her.

Chelsea, shocked, instinctively moved her hands too, and hugged the lord back. He supported his weight, for he was growing weak.

Their skin colliding with each other, brought immense amount of friction that affected Chelsea’s wild heartbeat. She swallowed something from her throat, and tapped the lord’s back.

“M-Matthew, are you okay?” she asked. The lord did not answer. “Matthew?”

Sooner, Gwyneth was near them already. She smiled at the princess and placed a coat to cover the lord’s naked body.

“He is unconscious, but he is alive. Do not worry, your highness, he will be fine.”

Gio came to them as well. He carefully pulled Lord Matthew’s unconscious body, and lifted him effortlessly.

“Ah, this is embarrassing. Our Alpha is like a toddler, all passing and seeming weak. Look, he’s like a sleeping baby, “ Jullian teased, even pinched Lord Matthew’s cheeks, and muttered, “coochy-coochy-coo,” as if he was playing with a real baby.

Beatrix slapped her husband’s arm. “Beware of what you are doing to your Alpha, Beta Jullian. If you don’t want me to kill you, you must behave,” she warned.

Jullian quickly shut his mouth and sulked, for he was afraid of his wife’s threat. “Sorry,” he said.

Now, General Cedric Valhaullster went to the group as well. His sole presence has made the pack’s aura turned into something heavy.

“What do you want, General of the wolf hunters? I as the Alpha’s Beta, will speak on his behalf,” said Jullian. From his posture and his presence, Jullian was looking reliable. Indeed, he was. The Silver Feather pack knew it. He is the Alpha’s best friend, and now the most trusted hand in the pack. Despite him being under his wife’s skirt, when about different matter, he was trusted.

“I . . . would not cause any chaos anymore,” said General Cedric. “I have learned that my former pack was the root of your current pack.”

Jullian and Beatrix’s forehead creased. “What do you mean?” Jullian asked.

General Cedric chuckled from Jullian’s question. “You are that young still, Jullian. You wouldn’t recognize me.”

Jullian was confused. “What must I recognize about you, General? Perhaps a hint would be fine for me.”

“Your father has a lost brother, doesn't he, Jullian?” Gwyneth asked.

“Indeed. He said that my uncle, his brother, was originally the pack’s Beta, but he left the pack and live in a differe—” he gasped.

“Indeed, my nephew,” General Cedric said, smiling at Jullian. The smile he was giving was mixed with happiness, and at the same time, longing.

“But . . . how did you . . .” Jullian could not finish his words, for he was surprised.

“Aren’t you in guilt, Mr. Cedric?” suddenly, Beatrix interrupted and asked. “You are a pure-blooded wolf, not to mention, according to the stories I’ve heard, was extremely powerful that Alpha Vlad always trusts you with leading the pack war’s victory, instead of his Gamma.” Beatrix glimpsed at his uncle Gio, but she quickly pulled it away. “How did you end up a werewolf serving as the Nightingale Kingdom’s werewolf killer?”

“Such an Irony, isn’t it? A werewolf killing werewolves for the sake of humanity. Yet, do not worry, for I only kill rogues and wolves who threatens weak human lives. I just . . . well, mistakenly took Lord Matthew as someone who belongs to the one who abducted the Princess,” he answered.

He looked at Princess Demeter, and respectfully bowed. “Princess Demeter, if you may, we will escort you back to the Nightingale Palace, and bring you safely back to the worried Queen.”

Princess Demeter nodded, aware that the atmosphere of the people in her surrounding was heavy. “I must go with you, General Cedric,” she said.

General Cedric smiled. “We must go now,” he said. His stare went to Beatrix, Jullian, a moment longer to Gwyneth, and then, finally, at Gio. “Gio,” he called. “Please take care of Alpha Vlad’s son. Protect him, just like . . . how I asked you to protect someone whom I wished I should have been protecting.” He cleared the rasping on his throat.

Gio nodded. “You too, Cedric. Take care of the Princess. She must come back alive to the Nightingales.”

“We will let you take the credit of this victory against the Kress’ group of rogue wolves. Please let us live in silence,” said Gwyneth.

“Thank you for that. But the work for us was still not finished for Miss Kress’ mother, Lady Kress, managed to escape along with a huge crowd of rogues. She only sacrificed her daughter just for her to live.”

“What a pity,” said Aunt Gwyneth while looking at the dead body of Miss Kress.

“We will go. Take care of yourself, Gwyneth,” General Cedric said. By his tone, it was mixed of worry and . . . melancholy.

Gwyneth frantically nodded. “Off you must go,” she said. She then looked at Princess Demeter. “Take care, your Highness.”

Chelsea smiled and nodded at her. She too looked at Jullian, Beatrix, Gio, and to the unconscious Baron Lord. “Take care guys,” she said, fixing her stare at Lord Matthew.

“I will visit Matthew soon,” she added.