Shane’s POV.
I walked into my father’s room before he died and closed the door gently behind me.
In this room, every Alpha that had ruled this pack, from my father to his father’s father and so on, died. According to what I heard, my father’s last wish, aside from Adams being the king, was to have this room preserved in his honor.
It was under lock and key, always guarded.
There was so much dust in it which made me sneeze and wheeze, but I was determined to hold the meeting in this room, whether they liked it or not.
“Stupid boys, couldn’t they have cleaned it?” I asked myself.
Closing my eyes, different memories replayed in my head, so much so tears dropped from my eyes.
On the bed was my father’s golden staff, his symbol of power and authority. Every Alpha since the beginning of time has been with it, but it all stopped after my father’s death.
From Adams’ reign, the staff was replaced by a ring which was worn by him on his right middle finger.
Although I wasn’t around, all the news reached my ears due to the numerous spies that were loyal to me.
Many still believed I was the rightful king. I believed that also. But after a while, my perceptions began to change, and I saw things differently.
Even when I tested Adams and sent an assassin to kill him, he scaled through and didn’t die. I knew of his struggles during the time Ronan lost his memories, and I was aware of his fight with Raoul in the mountains.
Who else would have knocked him down so easily? It was perfectly timed to the time Raoul was passing by, making him take all the credit.
When he asked me to stay, I just couldn’t. I was terribly sad, knowing I had put him through a lot of things he might never forgive me for if he were to find out.
The door opened after a while, and they went in one after the other.
“What took you all so long?” I asked.
They didn’t reply, rather they kept sneezing due to the dust.
“Well, if you had cleaned it up regularly you wouldn’t be dealing with this now. We are discussing here whether you all sneeze to death or not.”
“But…” Raoul said and I cut him short.
“But what, Raoul? You dare question my authority!” I yelled.
He bent his head downwards as everywhere remained as silent as a graveyard.
“That’s what I thought. Get seated.”
I moved to the neatly made bed and sat on it. The moment my buttocks came in contact with the softness on the sheets, I remembered the last time my father and I spoke, before I left home.
My brothers looked around for a place to sit. There was nowhere, except the dusty floor.
“I think we’d rather stand Shane, the floor is uh… kind of messy,” Ben said.
I shot him a hard glare which made him think about his life before switching into a smile. “Suit yourselves then.”
“What did father ask you to tell us before he died? Adams asked.
I cleared my throat as they all turned to face me, their attention undivided. If only they could be united like this, life would have been better.
“I guess it’s no longer news that our father didn’t die a natural death… he was murdered.”
I waited to see their reactions and wasn’t disappointed by what I saw. They all looked shocked except Ben, who had a straight face.
“Father was murdered!” Bartholomew exclaimed. “By whom?”
“By Augustus.”
“Wait, Augustus? As in the rogue king?” Adams asked.
“Yes, that Augustus. After he turned rogue king and turned his back on the goddess, he began to seek powers from strange sources, fueled by a desire… to destroy our family. Our father knew of the attack and tried to protect every one of us, giving up his life instead.
They all remained silent and watched me, so I took it as a cue to go on.
“Adams, have you noticed anything strange about your wolf lately?”
“Uh… yes, I have. I can switch to him anytime I wish to do so, and he is extremely violent, difficult to control, and is not satisfied till he has drawn blood,” Adams replied. He looked at Raoul and Raoul looked at him as they shared hateful stares.
“Father told me you have a gift, Adams, given to you by the goddess herself. The gift of the ancient Lycans.”
“Pfft…” Ben scoffed. “How is that possible? The gift of the ancient Lycans is believed to be last seen over a thousand years ago. Whatever Adams is going through is probably… puberty.”
Raoul and Bartholomew burst into laughter while Adams stared at them with disgust on his face.
“You should watch what you do boys. I might lose my patience.”
They immediately became quiet and focused on me.
I turned to Ben, “you claim the gift of the ancient Lycans is extinct. How then do you explain what happened to Raoul in the mountains?”
“I… I don’t know what happened to Raoul in the mountains, W… Why are you asking me such a question?”
“Wait,” Adams said. ” How did you know about the mountain incident? You weren’t there, were you?”
In trying to defend Adams, I had shot myself in the leg.
“I have spies all over who feed me with information. You may not believe it, but I’m everywhere even without being there. Back to the matter we are discussing, the gift of the ancient Lycans is real and Adams has it, which was why our father made him the Alpha after him, because the rouge king is planning something massive and only someone who possesses such power can defeat him.”
Everyone stared at me like I was speaking in parables. I knew that my words were hitting them hard, and it was only a matter of time before they spoke out.
“So what are you trying to say? That we should no longer contend for the throne with Adams?” Raoul asked?
I sighed, knowing the answer I was about to give could cause issues, but I had no choice.
“Yes, none of us should be contending with Adams for the throne, rather, we should support him.”
They all heaved a sigh of relief at the same time as if it was planned, and I knew things were going to change from then on, till…
“No! I disagree,” Ben spoke firmly, shaking his head.