THE ALPHA KING'S BASTARD SON

🌒 FIRST MOVE OF DANRIV

Slipping into a secluded corridor, Danriv broke Jethro's letter. His eyes scanned the frantic writing of Jethro,

"Garrick is interrogating the two rogues in the cell. He is looking for someone that could tell anything about you , while you are in a prison cell"

A cold and dark chuckle escaped Danriv's lips. Garrick was a fool. He thought he was hunting a rogue, but he was hunting a shadow. A shadow of someone alive that has no name, it means that he is investigating someone for the whole damn years.

And that's him, Danriv.

Danriv immediately drafted a counter-plan. He needed to ensure the prisoners in the Southern Meri never spoke, and he needed Lady Genevieve's father, the High Chancellor, to expedite his promotion before Garrick could return with any evidence.

Because if Garrick succeeded, his all chance will be cut into pieces immediately.

From the upper gallery of the ballroom, the sound of music was smoothing, many elite people came and laughed with their topics, and business deals.

While hidden behind a velvet curtain, Elora watched the entire exchange. She had snuck into the gala using her status as the Omega’s daughter, desperate to see what Danriv’s next move would be, while her father was away at the prison camp. Her stomach churned as she saw Genevieve leaning into Danriv's space, completely blind to the monster hiding behind his handsome, and scarred face

Elora knew exactly what he was doing, he was spinning his web around the Chancellor's daughter, just like he had betrayed her, and trap her in the scout outpost. Where she was given-in to the unprotected s*x with him, of course, that was for saving herself.

Elora gripped the stone railing. She needed to send a message to her father in the Southern Meri immediately, before it would be too late.

The clock was ticking, and Danriv was moving much faster than they anticipated. If they didn't break the rogue prisoners soon, Danriv would have the Chancellor's entire army protecting him, and the Alpha King.

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Back to the Southern Meri..

The falcon messenger returned to the Southern Meri camp under the cover of a moonless night. Jethro, the traitorous guard, unrolled Danriv’s reply in the dim light of the guardhouse. The command was brutal, precise, and clear. "The mouths must be closed before the sun rises."

To the underground cell, the prison enemy here was in the deepest interrogation cell, Garrick sat across from a heavily chained rogue captain. The rogue’s face was wounded from the fight last day, but his eyes were wide with a desperate animalistic fear.

Garrick slammed his fist onto the iron table, when the deafening ring echoing through the damp stone walls.

"I know the ambush was planned well. I know the leaders didn't just stumble into this place, just to attack and save your pack" Garrick growled, his voice deep and menacing.

"A young warrior of your pack helped, and he promised to protect us. I know he will not turn his back against the Alpha King, but at least I trusted him" the rogue captain said.

"Our young warrior name Danriv had coordinated with your leaders. Give me the copy of the written contract of their agreement, if not, you will rot in the deepest pit of this kingdom."

The rogue captain coughed up a dark blood, a chilling laugh rattling in his throat. He shook his head, knowing that Garrick is so die-hard to get the evidence.

"You think... you think Danriv is just a warrior? He’s a parasite in the Kingdom, Omega. If I tell you the truth, his shadow will slit my throat before I can even finish the sentence."

"I am the only one who can protect you," Garrick snarled, leaning in closer. Never looking back at his eyes, only to this unknown man. the rogue leader.

Inside of that room only the two of them were talking, no one could enter and no one could hear, aside from the one body guards who were standing outside that door.

"Speak!" Garrick urged the rogue captain.

The rogue leader opened his mouth to reply, but before a single word could form, his eyes rolled back into his head. A violet vein crawled from his neck up to his head, a tremor that racked his body. Thick, black foam bubbled from his lips, and he collapsed forward onto the iron table, his chains rattling in a final breath, and died.

Attempting to say about Danriv's doing, is like a poison.

Garrick leaped back, his heart hammering against his ribs. He spun around toward the cell door, shouting for the guards. But when he stepped out into the corridor, he found three other key witnesses slumped against their bars, their veins turning violet, a sign of sickening, they are also poisoned.

Jethro had used a lethal, fast-acting neurotoxin in their evening water rations. Danriv's tracks were completely erased.

Garrick stood in the silent, body-strewn in corridor, a cold realization washing over him, he had severely underestimated the sheer reach of the monster he was hunting.

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Back in the capital...

The Grand Spring Gala was drawing to a close. The music had slowed, and the wealthy lords were stumbling out toward their carriages.

Danriv, however, remained exactly where he needed to be. He caught Lady Genevieve just as she stepped onto the secluded, moonlit terrace overlooking the palace gardens. She was alone, having intentionally dismissed her handmaidens. When she heard his heavy footsteps behind her, she didn't turn around. A knowing, dangerous smirk graced her elegant features.

"You're a very persistent young warrior, Danriv," Genevieve murmured, looking out at the city lights.

"Of course, I only did this to an interesting woman like you, in the whole world. Just don't make me fall..." Danriv joked.

"But hunting a highborn lady is a very different game than hunting filth in the mud. If my father sees you cornering me like this, he could have you stripped of your new rank by morning."

"Your father is a businessman, My Lady," Danriv said, stepping up right behind her. He didn't hesitate. He leaned down, his breath warm against the shell of her ear, his hand sliding smoothly around her waist. The grip was tight, and completely unapologetic.

"And a businessman knows a good investment when he sees one. I am the future of the King's vanguard. And you... you are the only woman in this entire court who isn't a coward." Danriv said.

Genevieve's breath hitched.

She felt his power through his grip, the utter lack of fear or hesitation that usually made her despise other men. She turned her head, her lips mere inches from his. "You are arrogant. I like that. But arrogance can get a man killed."

"Let them try," Danriv whispered, his gaze flashing with coldness. No sign of respect, nor gentle, it was a gaze of an anemy-like.

However, he could sense Elora watching from the upper balcony, her face pale with horror.

Danriv locked his eyes with Elora over Lady Genevieve’s shoulder, a mocking, and wicked grin spreading across his face. He tightened his grip on the Chancellor's daughter, sealing his trap around her.

It shows that there was absolutely nothing, that the Omega's family could do to stop him.

“What do you want from me?” Lady Genevieve asked, she held her ground against the towering figure of Danriv.

Danriv took a slow step forward, the shadows of the study catching the sharp angles of his face.

"I want a connection to your family. A friend who is trustworthy. Someone… like me.”

Suddenly, Lady Genevieve let out a cold, and sharp laugh. She looked him up and down, refusing to show fear. “How would I know if you are a trustworthy wolf, Danriv, when you were not born of royal blood?”