The Alpha King’s Last Regret

36

Pearl Gem

It felt surreal. I can’t even tell if this is reality anymore or my fantasy. The fact that I am here with His Majesty, his palm caressing my thigh while I lean on him, his steady breath brushing against my ears.

I do not want to arrive at the destination. All I want is to stay close to this man and forget all my worries. But wishes, especially from an Omega, are hardly answered.

It was after an hour that Riven pulled the car into the loneliest path I never knew existed in the Wolf Empire.

It is very dark, a large mountain ahead of us that seems like it will roll at any time, still he drives on. I begin to wonder where exactly we are heading when a tiny opening catches my attention. A place built as a parking lot. The car stops in the middle of parted rocks, and I pull away to peer through the window as Riven stops the car, making me wonder where we are.

Before I could ask questions, Kade King has gently pulled away to alight. Then he opens the car door for me to get out as well.

“How many hours are we spending, Your Majesty?” The question came from Riven, who had also stood tall, and Kade King shakes his head.

“I do not know. He was quite hysterical over the call. You should come in. It’s cold.” He says as he pulls off his wristwatch, earrings, and fur coat. He looks at his boots for a while and then swallows hard.

Then he turns towards the rock and begins to head there, making me wonder why he is walking toward a place that has no path.

I was still wondering when his actions paused me mid-thought.

Kade King’s werewolf emerges within him. A fiery, magnificent creature that makes my heart sink to its very bottom. A regal wolf, a sight to behold. Beside him, he seems to hold everything in the world which he actually does.

The wolf walks to the mountain and stands still, glowing, and a path simply appears. A place no one would ever believe existed around here. The wolf, after doing its job, gently vanishes into thin air, the smoke it leaves behind going back into Kade King, who now stands tall as the mountain gives way for him to walk through.

He turns gently and extends his palm toward me, and though I hesitate for just a second, I rush along eagerly. I will go anywhere with him at this point.

I place my palm in his, and together we walk through the path while Riven follows silently from behind. The pathway reveals itself, and my knees nearly buckle at the fantasy before my eyes. A single house built inside a mountain carved open by an Alpha King who is the only key.

We stand before the house, my jaw nearly falling at the sight of the dark sky and the surroundings. It looks like a forest and a lovely garden, but I know it is all an illusion. We are actually inside a mountain, only built this way so the resident won’t feel claustrophobic.

Slowly, I turn to see Kade King gazing up at the house, his eyes holding an emotion I have never seen in him before. Then he turns to me, asking a question that surprises me.

“Tell me, how do I look?”

He plasters a smile on his face as he asks, and I gulp down, realizing he’s trying to appear happy before whoever he is meeting.

“You look… sad.”

“How about now?” He asks again as he grins wider, and my heart only sinks further.

“Much sadder, Your Majesty.”

To this, Kade King gives up and swallows hard. Gently, he reaches for my hand, and together we step into the hall, entering the short-lighted hallway which we follow.

Kade King pauses at the entrance of the living room as we are almost there, and he takes off his boots, Riven holding them down while Kade King frees his legs.

The sight of his bare feet suddenly makes my heart skip. Back in history class, we learned a little about spells and ancient power, and I remember we were taught the mark of a true alpha, one not only destined for ruling but also for the greatest of things. A birthmark that appears once in every generation.

I see it now, around Kade King Majesty’s ankles, wrapped like an anklet, a crown. A burden and a blessing at the same time. The mark of a true Alpha.

I realize I haven’t seen his bare feet since I met him. He must have kept them from sight so no one would know this.

With my heart swelling in great awe, I watch him walk into the living room barefoot and I follow silently behind to see him stand behind a man in a wheelchair. A man whiter than a sheet.

“Zephan?” Kade King calls softly, and the wheelchair moves, turning around, the man seated in it revealing his face and the noose in his grip.

My heart suddenly sinks at what it means. Has he… has he threatened to kill himself if His Majesty hadn’t come?

“I guess… I will have to start using… death threats to bring you here… Kade,” The man in the wheelchair says, stuttering, and I see the emotions on His Majesty for the first time.

He goes down before Zephan and takes the noose from him, flinging it into the hearth.

“If you dare use that once more, I swear on the name Majesty, I will never come here again.”

His Majesty vows, and I see Zephan swallow, believing every word.

He bows his head and begins to fiddle with his fingers, anxiety kicking in.

“Kade… hate Zephan,” He mutters, stuttering in pain. “Kade hate Zephan.”

“Stop…” His Majesty’s voice comes softly. He was mad earlier, but now he’s softer. He goes down on one knee before Zephan and takes his hand. “Stop hurting yourself. You know perfectly well I love you with all my heart. Kade love Zephan. Say it.”

“Kade love Zephan.”

“Good. Good.”

A sight too emotional to behold. A king on his knees before another man, stripping himself of anything that makes him appear to be a king before he could cone in.

Who is this handsome Zephan Kade has come to visit?

And why does he live in a mountain that only the Alpha King’s wolf can open?