Chapter 71
POV: Lamina Darkwood
She furiously stomped her feet as she walked towards their designated tent to prepare for the hunting game. She instantly poured herself a glass of wine and drank it straight like a thirsty fish that had finally gone back to the water. Her heightened anger was now making her mind go haywire and her inner wolf restless within her.
“Don’t be too emotional. This is just the beginning. We still have our plans on the go, right?” She heard Elder Courdamus comment, but she couldn’t just deny the fact that all of their plans would have been closer to victory if the King was badly hurt and that Tamara would have been killed during the infiltration.
“But it would still be a better outcome if Cornelius had critically wounded the King. I thought that everything was under control?! What the heck just happened?” She snapped at everyone around her, and her children just bowed their heads.
She let out a frustrated groan as she stared at Aeron who seemed to be worried now.
“Stop being hot-headed, Lamina.” Cessair’s cold voice stopped her irritated grunts.
She stared directly at him. She had never seen him this serious. She suddenly felt chills in her spine.
“The game is just starting. A good win wouldn’t be achieved in just a snap, Lamina. We came here prepared, and that is our upper hand. Now, calm yourself because your nasty remarks won’t help us either. This is not the right time to be overly emotional and irritated. It will just drag you down. We had this under control, and everything is already settled.” He seriously added.
For the first time, Lamina felt a bit intimidated by her husband, and everyone around them might feel the same way. He was oddly serious and confident all of a sudden but she couldn’t pinpoint why he unexpectedly turned this way.
Cessair gave them a gentle smile that made them calm. But she couldn’t deny the fact that he just seemed so unbothered and too eager about something today.
She slightly shook her head. Maybe, he might probably want to win this game. In fact, this might be their last card to win this thing.
And he’s right.
This wasn’t the time to let her emotions control her. They had been planning this all along. This was the right time and the right place for their plans to be implemented.
‘After all these years, I can finally avenge you, Father and Mother.’ Lamina thought seriously.
“Fine. This is our last strike anyway. You must all get ready. No, you may go. I believe you already know where to go.” Lamina told everyone as she gave them a knowing look.
Everyone nodded at her and instantly went to their designated places.
This hunting game might be the end of them or the Royal Bloods.
Lamina wickedly smirked as she knew that they would surely win this battle.
They must win this battle.
***
POV: Queen Tamara Pierce
“Shhh…” Hades signaled Tamara as he felt something strange around them.
“This part is near the East, right?” She whispered at him making him curse under his breath as he surveyed the area while they were hiding in the shrubs near the trees.
The hunting game had just started, and they were supposed to be on different troops, but apparently the King found his way towards her or he might really find her scent driving him towards where she was.
It was a great thing, though.
After hiding her scent with the ornamental plants that Raven had asked them to use, she couldn’t deny that the king’s sense of smell was quite admirable.
Tamara pursed her lips together as Hades stared at her and silenced her by covering her mouth.
She felt something odd about the Hunting Game and even though she had already discussed it with Raven and Hades, she still couldn’t stop herself from overthinking and doubting her own ability. For if she had failed in helping them, that only meant that she was a huge burden to the both of them.
Tamara felt her heart sank and before she could even think straight something from the shadows stepped out and a group of rogues with their bloody eyes appeared in front of them.
It stopped as he sniffed in the air.
Tamara felt her breathing hitch. She knew what the rogue was doing sniffing them.
Raven had finally discovered the ornamental plants that might help them divert their scent and wouldn’t have discovered so easily. She didn’t know what he meant by that, but when he mentioned the possible attack of the enemies during the hunting game he was truly a genius.
Now, the real purpose of what he did has finally been served.
The group of rogues continued their tracks as they moved closer to where the castle was. She clenched her hands together. The enemies had certainly planned everything, and if they weren’t careful enough, all of their plans would crumble in just a snap.
“I can’t believe that this is happening.” She lowly whispered enough to be heard by the King as he slowly removed his hand in front of her mouth.
But before the king could even replied with his own comment a loud growl at their back instantly shocked the both of them.
Tamara and Hades were fast enough to dodge from their sides Tamara on the left and Hades on the right. However, it wasn’t just a lone raging rogue that was trying to attack them!
There were five of them, and they were all in lycan form!
Tamara couldn’t believe that this was happening. She blinked her eyes as she tried to compose herself. Her animalistic side was already wanting to get out of her and take over.
She clenched her jaw. Raven had told her about it but seeing it in front of her very eyes it still shocked the hell out of her.
“Run, Tamara!”
She heard the King scream at her, and she did. She must go back to the castle. That was the plan. She must alert Arlan and all of the sentinel wolves and the hunters. She must have told her parents what was happening. They didn’t know the plan yet because Raven and Hades thought that there might be a mole in the castle. Only the three of them knew what might have happened and now, it was all coming true.
Tamara didn’t want to leave Hades behind, but she had her full trust in him. Besides, she knew that he wouldn’t do any foolish things now not that the war had just begun.
She was panting so hard as she tried to run into the woods in her human form for she didn’t want to trigger her animalistic side. She didn’t know whether she might be transforming into her wolf form, or worst her lycan one, which she needed the least for now.
She wouldn’t risk any of it because that very moment was the crucial moment of her life. One wrong move and everything would mess up, and she wouldn’t want that to happen.
However, she saw someone blocking her way a few meters away from her. She could have just run away, but it was the fastest way towards the castle, and she knew, based on her face, she just wouldn’t let her escape, so she just needed to face her and not exhaust herself trying to evade her.
Tamara came to an abrupt stop as she let out a deep inhale before slowly letting the air out of her lungs as slowly as possible. Because she already felt her animalistic side being restless inside her.
“So, we meet again… Tamara… or should I say, Queen?” Her voice seemed so different.
“What are you trying to do now, Leah?” She seriously stated as she crossed her arms in front of her chest as if her presence didn’t bother her at all.
This woman standing in front of her just made her pissed even before. Now, she didn’t know why her mood instantly heightened in just a mere sight of her.
Leah smirked at her.
“Looks like, this is the right time for a one-on-one battle, huh? I don’t think you can be the Luna Queen if you had me as your opponent way back, then.” She mockingly commented.
Tamara smiled sarcastically at her.
“Oh, yeah? Why? Didn’t you do everything just to win already? You had a lot of unimaginable things hidden in your sleeves, Leah. You had your family to back you up, right? Yet, you still lose.” She sardonically retorted back making Leah get irritated at her more.
“Shut the f*ck up, you b*tch!” Leah annoyingly said in between her gritting teeth.
Tamara chuckled without humor.
“Why? Did I hit a nerve there? Don’t worry, if I am a b*tch, then, you can be your own queen b*tch yourself. At least you also have the title, right?” She scornfully told her.
With that, Leah instantly attacked her, and she easily dodged it using her hands and by jumping away from her side by side, backflipping. And it was making Leah more and more irritated since she couldn’t even punch her, not even once.
She couldn’t believe that her strength and ability had truly moved to a higher level which she couldn’t believe that had just happened. It had been a long time since she did a one-on-one combat and now this happened. She had proven that her senses were also leveled up.
Tamara swiftly kicked her stomach, and Leah grunted in pain. Because she let her guard down, she punched her really hard on the face causing the corner of her lips to bleed before she fell to the ground.
Leah gave her a death glare as she speedily stood up and attacked Tamara once again. But Tamara caught her hand and gave her a hard punch on the other side of her face.
Now, both corners of her lips were already bleeding hard.
Tamara just gave her an unreadable expression. She knew that she had exceptional abilities now, but she wasn’t happy with what was happening to her and Leah.
She moved away as she watched her limp and groaned in pain.
Tamara let out a deep sigh.
“Let us stop this nonsense, Leah. I don’t want to hurt anyone.” She seriously stated as she turned around, but she felt Leah stand up and she instantly faced her once again.
“Stop being such an angel, Tamara. Because you are not! You had taken everything away from me, you filthy b*tch! You are already dead, but here you are claiming what should be all mine just because you are the sacred emissary?! What the f*ck, right?” She furiously snapped at her.
Tamara stared at her with pity reflected in her eyes which only made Leah get annoyed more.
Leah got a small bottle with a purple liquid inside. Tamara’s forehead creased as she watched her drink all of it.
“Now, let’s see how my brother’s experiments are now.” She wickedly smiled as she suddenly groaned in pain and held her chest.
Her eyes suddenly turned bloody red as the veins around them turned bluish purple. Her fingers elongated, and her face was turning in between her human and wolf forms, but, in the end, it just turned into her human form. Her canines bared as the deep ash blonde hair in her skin became a bit longer but slightly thinner.
Tamara stared at her with her mouth agape.
“What the hell?” She whispered under her breath.