Chapter 5 An Heir

The chime of the bell in the Northwest reached his ears, a sign that someone had just been given a lighter sentence for doing a crime. Alpha Jorril proceeds to watch his son outside practicing using his sword from the balcony after looking afar.

"My Lord," Knight Cernous greeted as he stepped in. "King Lord Alpha of the West and Northwest sent a message of gratitude for your kindness for allowing the intruders to be just locked up instead of getting them killed. He also wants us to know that this will never happen again."

"Tell him to look after his people more keenly."

"As you wish, My Lord." The knight turned around and went out to fulfill his given task.

He smiled as he imagined how Hougren, the wolf, described to him how the intruders turned pale that morning, thinking that it was already their last day to breathe.

Just when they were already about to get burnt alive, they have remembered that he had told them before they leave to only lock them away and Cernous came on his behalf to confirm their claim-just on time. A little late and things could have ended differently.

"My Lord, this is I, Frei," a soft voice announced by the door.

Hearing her has woken up his sleeping needs. He held to his robe as he faced to her way. With his eyes full of yearning, he eyed on her as if it were his first time to see her at such a distance.

He then heard his rest house get even more silent as everyone left. For a second, he felt pressured for always being asked by his pack when he is planning to have another heir to his throne one day.

"Come," he called, but he couldn't wait any longer and went to her straight instead.

The bed is comfortable to lay down on that she didn't feel the force of being thrown in it. She tightly closed her eyes as he stared at the beauty in front of him while he was impatiently taking off his clothes. Even though well clothed, he can already see the voluptuous and perfect sculptured figure underneath it.

"My Lord." She gasped when he started undressing her. But as soon as she sees his eyes' color changes, she lets go of the hem of her dress that he was holding.

His hands and lips traced her bareness as gentle as he could, for he was told that she was pure. But her scent is sending him signals that his arousal cannot just let his patience interfere with his intentions. His plan of taking his time to get her naked just took him a few seconds to do.

"Look at me, lady," he commanded as he wandered his eyes on her, making sure that he had seen everything. "I am the King Lord Alpha of this kingdom, and bearing my heir is truly an honor to any woman-be she is from my domain or from another land. However, I am not that desperate yet to force anyone to mother my child. Do you really want to do this with me?" he muttered. Now, his eyes on hers.

"My King, whether I want it or not, the future of our pack matters the most, as what we all believe. No other's son is fit for your throne apart from yours. You, being an exceptional one, is what keeps us safe. No one dares to go against us, for they respect you-fear you. We are afraid that one day might come that they will turn their fangs and might against us. Like how they have betrayed the pack of that noble Alphas of the North. My Lord, we are indeed not on par with your strength and power. Not that we are hoping, neither expecting, for such a fateful war to happen again. But it has taught us that we are lacking in making precautions and preparations despite seeing no reason to do so. We can never hide you. But we can take your heir somewhere far away and let no one know about it until it is necessary to get the world knows."

His brows furrowed, he gripped on her thigh and caressed it for seconds; gave him a rough measurement of how tiny and incomparably shorter the members of his pack are compared to him.

"You did not give me the response I wanted to get from you, lady. It is just a yes or no query," he warned, breathing out in her left ear as he leaned forward.

The woman held her breath and placed her hands on his chest, leaving a little space between them. He placed his arms on her sides and looked at her in her eyes.

"My Lord." Her eyes started to water, as if she was confessing a sin she had committed.

"Who ordered you to come here?" he remarked and rested his forehead on hers.

Hearing a hint of dismay in his voice, her airways tightened in fear. And so, she shook her head and sealed her lips for good; reminded herself that she had no right to give a no to Her Lord.

"I am asking you," Jorril inquired once more. Even sounded deeper than the first one.

His eyes on hers, showing her the orbs that equate fairness. She took a deep breath and nodded before grabbing the sheet to cover them.

"I have presented myself, My Lord. For most of our women are either no longer pure and already devoted to their other half, or still young."

Guided her hips and made a way for himself, about to pin her down, her eyes glistened in disapproval, to which stopped him even before he could get further.

"Go ahead, I am yours to take-" She gasped when she felt an unfamiliar guilt as he let her feel the warmth of his bareness.

"Your man must be very lucky, and he must be really a trustworthy one." He stood up and covered her nakedness. "Unless the Goddesses will let me get killed, I will be a living being 'til the end of time. I am not in need of an heir for now. Now go and tie that knot with your werewolf."

"But an heir is necessary, My Lord-"

"And what do you think of my son Udrias? He is doing his best to get the validation that he doesn't even need to get that role-my heir. If there is someone this pack has to protect and look after the most, that is no one but him." He put on his clothes back and headed to the terrace to see the man calling outside.

"My Lord!" Cernous yelled, catching his breath.

Jorril chuckled upon seeing everyone else keeping their distance from the knight. Only him is bold enough to treat him that way, that often shoo others away in fear that he might actually make their King Lord Alpha mad one day.

Yet, whatever the man was about to say have been halted when Frei came out of his place. She bowed down to acknowledge the newly came knight in front of her and hurriedly walked away.

"Pardon for the disturbance I have caused, My Lord." The man looked down.

His Highness, on the other hand, have suddenly got thorn between whether to let him off thinking that he indeed had an intimate time with the woman and get her purity be tainted in the minds of those who are around his place, or deny the man's guess and get his pride stained instead.

At the end, he looked at the path that Lady Frei had taken and saw her footsteps almost didn't mark her trail in her attempt to leave in an instant. He chinned up and held his head high, have decided to choose the latter one.

"You have nothing to get sorry for, Cernous. The woman was just been sent here to clean my room." He jumped down and again, that has made the man sighed in frustration as he already had enough of reminding him to act more of the title he bears.

"So, what is the fuss about this time?"

"My King, the Young Lord is not in his room, neither in his training ground. He is not with his instructor either," he reported, his fist clenched on the ground. "He is nowhere to be found."

Hearing the sole heir he had is missing, Jorril glanced at the North and walked forward. He raised his right hand to send notice to his falcon sitting on a branch.

"Go flee. Find my son and alert Hougren to do the same," he whispered to the bird and just by that, it flew above.

"My Lord, are we not going to close the gate? What if someone attacks us unprepared?" One of the women approached, holding her daughter tight.

"We can't do that. What if the Young Lord has gone outside our domain? He will not make it back if we close it," one opposed.

"He is a wise young man. I know, My Young Lord will not be too far," Udrias' instructor interfered. "My King, true enough, your child may not be that so close to you. But, I assure you, he knows how precious he is to his kingdom and he will not do anything to harm himself. Please, leave the gate open."

"And what about us? A few more hours and the sun will hide. We don't know what the situation is outside. What if we are being betrayed?" the mother rebuttal.

"Silence! You are in the presence of His Highness!" Cernous yelled.

Remained composed, Lord Alpha eyed on his people with disgust and an unfathomable look. The land shakes as he paces, and the wind blows violently.

"Is that how you will always behave in front of me? Have you forgotten that my Udrias is in line to the throne and is equally valuable as I am? You should be even more concerned when he is the one missing! You really don't prepare for the future, do you?!"

His rage roared, awakening the sleeping beings in his realm and startled everyone, made them wonder who and what upset their King.

"The Young Lord will never leave the kingdom without his servant, Knight Cernous. However, I cannot feel his presence around here in the South either. Notice everyone that the heir is missing and do a search everywhere!"

In a blink of an eye, no one is left to be seen in his yard. All of them headed everywhere and do their part. As for him, he gets his horse and went to the border.

There are no other tracks he has seen apart from his and his horse's when he gets there. There is no other scent and presence too aside from theirs. Despite wanting to survey near the neighboring kingdoms, he cannot. He doesn't want to make misunderstandings.

He looked back at his domain. Udrias is the only one who is keeping him sane after loosing almost everyone and everything important to him. And his people may be thinking he is looking not that bothered at all by his disappearance, but just taking his eyes off of him for a little while always makes him feel like he is going to lose the last reason he has to live.

"Not my son," he uttered to the wind. "Take me, but not him."

'My Lord!' a familiar roar made him turn around to its owner.

"Hougren! Did you see him?!" His eyes get filled with horror as he saw him deeply wounded.

For a rare wolf like him, with a strong fur that is enough to defend himself from physical attacks, it would take at least an equal sturdy weapon to cut his skin. Having himself got hurt that bad simply means that the one used to do so is far rigid than his defense.

"What happened to you?" He knelt down to check on him.

'I-I have tried to enter the cursed forest, My Lord. Who would have thought that it is indeed a home now of darkness and unknown creatures?'

"You did? Just be thankful that you made it out alive! That is so reckless of you! How can you be so careless, knowing that no one even knows what is it made of now?!"

'Forgive me, My Lord.'

He nodded in response, though his forehead was still creased; wondering what made him think to enter the forest by himself recklessly.

"The Young Lord has just started learning to ride a horse, and he has no practice for that today. There is no missing horse as well. He cannot get this far and even farther by feet."

"But the falcon insisted that he saw him in the forest, My Lord."

It was as if fear had crept on him, he felt his nape and temple shivered. He stared at the bird trying to get in the said place, yet to no avail. It is being held in bay by whatever force around it.

"No, that is not even possible. The falcon must have been mistaken some creature dwelling in there to be him."

'But falcons have a good vision, My Lord, and they are loyal to their owners. There is not even a little chance for him not to recognize Lord Alpha Udrias.'

He was about to stand when he heard someone calling for him. His eyes watered when he saw the young heir running towards them. Behind him are his servant and instructor.

"Father! I am here!" his son shouted, waving his hands. "Father, do you hear me? It is I, Udrias!"

'That cannot be. I am certain that I have smelled his scent in that area too, My Lord. Oh no! The falcon-'

A wrathful force stretched throughout the land, that made them look at where it came from. Hougren ran towards the fallen bird and howled upon seeing it almost unrecognizable in his wounds.

He gazed at His Highness before picking up the loyal fellow and placed him on his back. He can hear its heartbeat slowly fading, its rustling wings, the falling feathers, the dropping blood.

'He really believed that the heir was in there. Something is wrong. A falcon is not that so willing to die for anyone, for its job is to send a report on those who are waiting. My Lord, I am afraid that death is just around the corner, waiting for the right time to take lives again.'

"I know, but I don't want to agree to that. But if so, I would like you all to keep the heir out of it. No one will die on my watch now. Ne'er will I allow anyone to take him to the grave of the deaths."