“I have no intention of starting a war,” Alexander replied calmly. He was willing to absorb all of Urania’s accusations. At that time, Urania took out advanced pastries only accessible to the nobility from her arms, placing them in his hands. He was determined to respond to her expectations, but in the end, he failed to fulfill any promises.
Not for his mother, Urania, Peirene, or Ethan. He hadn’t fulfilled any of them. He realized how foolish and ignorant he had been in his youth, making promises he couldn’t keep easily. Despite being an alpha, he had not lived a down-to-earth life, and everything had turned into a mess.
Whatever the outcome, one thing was certain-he would never easily start a war.
“I won’t risk the lives of my people. You can call me a coward, a cunning schemer, but at least I have never thought of doing anything that would harm my people. So, I won’t wage war. You can rest assured.”
Urania’s expression slightly eased. “I didn’t expect that, as an alpha, you’re barely qualified.”
Although his political views couldn’t compare to the previous alpha, his decisiveness was no match for Peirene, and his tactics were inferior to those of the Barret family, at least he wasn’t a tyrant. That was worth acknowledging.
The Elder, hesitating, finally stood up and tried to interject, “Since you don’t plan to start a war, what is your next step?”
Alexander hadn’t thought about it. He was still in a state of chaos, unable to recover from Peirene and Ethan’s deaths. He just wanted a place where he could quietly contemplate.
“Have you ever thought about leaving this place?”
Alexander still didn’t answer. Leaving was not so simple. The roots of the Frost Moon Pack were here, and in the past, some had tried to lead the tribe north to find a more suitable environment. However, for some unknown reason, the further the people moved from the Frost Moon Pack, the more severe their discomfort. The worst cases involved foaming at the mouth and direct poisoning. The leader had no choice but to lead the people back to the Frost Moon Pack. Strangely, after returning, even without taking any medicine, most people’s discomfort miraculously disappeared.
At that time, the alpha was incredulous and repeated the process several times. Each time, as soon as they reached a certain point, everyone began to vomit and feel dizzy. When they returned, everything was fine. This happened several times over the years.
“I think my ancestors rooted themselves here, probably for their own reasons.”
Urania, who understood everything about werewolves, snorted, “It’s just the fear caused by that incident of discomfort.”
Alex was surprised. “You know about it?”
“In the history of the Frost Moon Pack, there have only been a few instances of mass migration, all under the same alpha’s leadership. It’s hard not to know.”
Alex frowned deeply. “Can you determine the reason?”
Urania shrugged. “Get me your maps.”
The maps had to be redrawn every so often. Urania carefully found the specific location where the Frost Moon Pack had discomfort during migration. Finally, she found the place on one of the maps that looked like a forest. “Here, at that time, they had no other plans, so they would always go to the same place. But this place,” she circled it with her fingernail, “was not a forest at the time; it was a desert, devoid of life. Nearby was a large swamp. Although the swamp was a wetland due to the inability of surface water to penetrate, it released toxins. Therefore, the entire area of about five kilometers in diameter had no living creatures. Your ancestors experienced severe reactions each time they reached that place due to the influence of the toxins.”
Everyone suddenly realized.
“Can we pass through there now?”
“That place is now a forest, and the swamp has long been filled with trees. Besides, now that the north and south have developed, you don’t need to migrate according to the original route. The world layout at that time is different from now. Just like ten thousand years ago, when there was almost no land on this planet, now there are many places you can go. You don’t have to be confined to this place.”
The Elder sighed, “The world has truly changed.”
Alexander, however, stared blankly at that place.
Urania waved her hand in front of him. “What’s the matter? It’s your turn to make a decision now. Will you revitalize and lead your people away from this wilderness, or will you continue to mourn?”
“I didn’t expect you to be so knowledgeable. You’re probably the closest thing to the Moon Goddess.”
The Elder walked beside her. Alex had just decided to lead his people away from there to find a new place suitable for everyone to live and develop. However, he didn’t intend to take on this responsibility himself. He wanted to pass the position to one of his sons, move his mother’s grave, preferably along with Peirene and Ethan, so that after he died, the four of them could keep each other company underground.
Urania scoffed, “If you can live for thousands of years, you’d be almost like a deity.”
But speaking of it, Selene didn’t seem to have a longer lifespan. After all, Selene chose to fall.
“Who do you think Alex will choose as the successor?”
“It depends on his mood. He might choose whoever resembles his mother the most.”
Choosing a successor like this seemed a bit hasty.
Alexander turned back, “Can you two stay here to witness the end of the succession ceremony?”
Sure, if they had nothing else to do, Urania said.
Before the ceremony began, Urania asked him quietly where he would go after Frost Moon Pack left.
“Considering your reaction, it seems like you don’t plan to leave with Frost Moon Pack. Are you staying here?”
“It’s not like that. I want to find a suitable piece of land to bury them. I won’t care about anything related to Frost Moon Pack anymore. I plan to guard their graves for the rest of my life.”
He had lived his whole life in the shadows of others. Ethan had never truly been himself. But where wasn’t he like that? After his mother’s death, all he had thought about was making his father pay, but in the end, he didn’t know if he had made the other party pay. All he knew was that since then, he had become more like a puppet in Peirene’s hands than a living person.
Now, those shadows that had enveloped him had finally disappeared. But he could no longer be happy and free.
He wanted to find a day with a gentle breeze and sunshine, ideally with a whole field of rose flowers and some sunflowers planted. He might not be an outstanding alpha, but he was definitely an excellent gardener. The skill of trimming flower branches was still deeply ingrained in his memory. Every day, he would clean those tombstones and take care of the flower field. That would be the only thing he could do for the rest of his life.
At that moment, the successor walked in. Alex looked at him for a while, realizing he couldn’t recall his name. It was as if he had been transported back many years ago when he succeeded, standing by his father’s bedside, wanting this person who had never been in his eyes to take a good look. This child had become an alpha, the future leader of the tribe.
But the dying old man only looked at him with those cloudy eyes and asked, “Who are you? Why are you here?”