The Beast Unleashed

Chapter-3

By sunrise, the news had spread like wildfire.

The prince was dead.

Every corner of Pultuvur was buzzing. Merchants huddled over their stalls, speculating in hushed voices. Mothers pulled their children closer, as though the mere talk of the crime could snatch them away. In the taverns, men slammed mugs on the tables and muttered about curses, omens, and the wrath of the crown.

“They found him over the body,” someone hissed.

“Of course it was him,” another spat. “Who else? That cursed beggar was bound to bring death.”

By mid-morning, Malakai’s name was already being spoken like a verdict.

One minute, his greatest worry had been finding enough coin for Tessa’s medicine. The next, he was standing in the palace, shackled and accused of killing the heir to the throne.

“I didn’t do it, I swear,” his voice cracked with desperation. His wrists trembled against the chains as his eyes swept across the room to the long table where the King sat in his regal attire. The queen sat trembling beside him, along with three hardened councilmen. He could see it in their faces already. Their minds were made up, he was guilty.

A councilman leaned forward, his voice cutting. “Prince Aiden left the palace to learn of his people, to walk among them as one of their own. And you—” he jabbed a finger at Malakai, “—you rewarded his kindness with death.”

The Queen broke down sobbing. The King squeezed her hand, maintaining his own composure as if carved from stone.

“The evidence is clear,” the King spoke calmly. “You were found alone in his chambers, with his body at your feet and the weapon by his side.”

Malakai staggered forward, the chains rattling. “I didn’t shoot the gun! I didn’t even know he was the prince!”

Another councilman, his face mirroring the King’s anger, sneered. “And yet you followed him, broke into his chamber, and killed him for coin. Do you deny it?”

It all looked damning. Too damning. Unless Thomas came forward. They'd sent for him after Malakai brought his name up as an alibi.

Thomas had to clear this up. He’d seen the truth and that must have made him run. He would know who shot the prince. Even if it meant they both admitted to attempted theft, at least it would save him from the gallows. He couldn't bear to leave Tessa alone in this world.

A guard entered, bowing. “Your Grace, he’s here.”

Thomas strode in, flanked by townsfolk. Malakai’s heart leapt in relief. His friend would fix this. The King’s eyes bore into Thomas.

“This man,” he pointed at Malakai, “claims you hold knowledge that may clear his name.”

Malakai pleaded, “Tell them, Thomas. Tell them what you saw. Tell them the truth.”

"Quiet!" the King ordered.

Thomas stepped forward, a cold look on his face. “Yes, I know exactly who killed the prince.”

The room held its breath as every person went silent.

Thomas raised a finger…

And pointed it straight at Malakai.

“It was him.”

Malakai's breath caught in his throat. “What?”

Thomas’s voice rolled on, smooth as honey. “He’s an outcast. A known thief. I befriended him in hopes to steer him from that path, but it seems I failed. Yesterday he came to me with talk of a big plan. He didn't give details, but if I had known…” Thomas lowered his head, his voice breaking theatrically. “I would have stopped him.”

“No… Thomas, no…” Malakai’s knees buckled, his chains clanging on the marble floor.

Thomas pressed a hand to his chest as though grieving. “He’s broken. His wife’s death and his sick child have driven him to desperation. He isn't stable and sometimes lashes out. That’s who he is.”

The townsfolk murmured in agreement, each voice a nail driven into Malakai’s coffin. The physician complained about Malakai’s begging, while the brewer called him a curse on the Kingdom.

The King consulted with his council before leaning forward. “I don't care if he's a beggar, or cursed. He could be a spy for all we know. What I need to know is, do you truly believe he killed my son?”

Malakai’s gaze locked with Thomas’s. He said nothing but his eyes pleaded. Please. Don’t do this. Not you.

Thomas’s face was unreadable. He turned to the king and nodded once. “Without a doubt, Your Majesty.”

Something inside Malakai snapped under the weight of betrayal. He lunged forward, fury lacing his voice.

“You liar! This was your plan! You told me about the carriage, about the noble! I didn’t want to, I told you I didn’t want to—”

“Enough!” the king’s voice thundered, shaking the chamber. The guards restrained Malakai as the King rose to his feet, his face hardened by pain. “I’ve heard enough. For your crimes against the crown, I sentence you to death. By midnight, you will hang. And by dawn, you will be forgotten.”

Malakai collapsed, his sobs breaking out from his chest. “No… please, I can’t… my daughter… she won’t survive without me!”

The guards dragged him across the floor as his pleas echoed off the stone walls. The trial was over and his fate decided.

In the dungeon, Malakai lay crumpled on the damp stone floor. The cold seeped into his bones, but worse than that was the weight in his chest. In a few hours, the rope would tighten around his neck. He would hang for a crime he hadn’t committed.

A voice cut through the silence.

“You poor soul.”

Malakai’s head snapped up. He dragged himself to the bars, fingers curling around the rusted iron. Standing in the dimly torchlit corridor was Thomas. His friend. His betrayer.

“Why?” Malakai asked, his voice cracked and raw with despair. “Why would you do this? You could have told them the truth, about the one truly responsible!”

Thomas tilted his head back and scoffed.

“Still sticking to that story, huh? That’s always been your flaw, Kai. You choose to believe in people. Even when they spit on you or use you. Even when they seal a monster inside your chest and call you cursed. Still, you hope someone will stand by you.”

Malakai blinked, his brows furrowing in confusion.

Thomas leaned closer to the bars, his lips curling into a devilish smile. “You still don’t get it, do you?” He let the words hang, savoring the dread. “There was no other person there, Kai. I shot the prince.”

Malakai stumbled back, his head spinning as his vision went hazy. His heart pounded so hard it hurt his chest.

“You… why?” he asked. His voice was barely a whisper, strangled in his throat.

Thomas shrugged casually, as though it were nothing. “Nothing personal. Just business. Someone made me an offer. Power, position, a life outside this filthy poverty. All I had to do was kill the boy. But it had to be clean. No trail. No suspicion.”

He spread his hands mockingly. “So I needed someone to blame. And who better than Malakai, the cursed outcast? My old friend, always so eager to trust.”

Malakai looked up pleadingly. “Please. If I die… there’s no one to care for Tessa. She’ll—”

Thomas cut him off with a scoff. “That’s the best part. If you hang, your cursed bloodline dies with you. Besides, I think Tessa has suffered enough. Don't you?.”

That was the final blow. Malakai’s heart shattered. To hear Thomas, his brother in everything but blood, speak the same words the townsfolk had hurled at him his entire life. It was worse than any sentence the King could pass.

Malakai shut his eyes as Thomas’s footsteps faded into the distance. All he could see in his mind was Tessa’s fragile face, her waking up to find him gone forever.

By midnight, the guards came to escort him. Shackles clamped around his wrists as they dragged him from the cell and up to the gallows. The night was heavy with silence, the stars coming out to behold his end.

The executioner stood waiting, his hood shadowing his face, while a councilman stood nearby as the only other witness.

Malaki looked up at the wooden post looming above him, the rope dangling like fate itself. The guards forced him onto the stool as the executioner slipped the noose around his neck, its rough fibers biting into his skin.

The councilman gave a small nod and the stool was kicked from under him.

Malakai’s body dropped, the rope snapping tight. Agony ripped through his throat as his windpipe collapsed. His legs thrashed as his lungs burned and his vision blurred.

Yet through it all, three thoughts echoed in his mind:Thomas’s betrayal. Tessa’s fragile face. And Talia’s beautiful smile.

He had failed them.

Rage welled up inside him, drowning out the pain. Even as he struggled for air, his chest searing, the anger continued to rise, almost like something alive.

With life draining out of him, he pictured his wife and their daughter, before the sickness. How happy they were, when life seemed truly hopeful.

Finally his heart slowed. His body went limp. The darkness encroached from the corners of his eyes until it consumed him.

He braced himself for the afterlife, pondering what awaited him on the other side.

For a moment, there was nothing. Just pure, black oblivion. Then—

A Buzz.

Blue light flickered in the abyss as a screen materialized.

{SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ACTIVATED}

Then it vanished, the darkness closing in again.

“What was that?” He asked himself, confused.

A voice broke the silence. It was wild and beastly, unlike anything he had ever heard.

“Malakai…” The voice growled. “We finally meet.”

“Who… who’s there?” he asked, more out of fear than curiosity. The silence lingered.

Malaki whispered, trembling, “Is this hell?”

A deep chuckle rolled through the void. “I’m afraid you weren’t that lucky.”

The voice was behind him now. Malakai turned and froze.

A monstrous figure towered before him. A wolf, massive and grotesque. Its fur was black as night, blending with the void, and its eyes burned red. Fangs like blades gleamed in its jaw, claws curling from its fingers.

Malakai collapsed to his knees, as terror flooded his veins.

The beast’s growl rumbled like thunder.

“I have watched you live. I have watched you die. I am Amarok. The wolf sealed within you. And you, Malakai—”

It lowered its head, its eyes burning straight into his soul.

“You’ve just unlocked your Werewolf System.”