Still Harold Armstrong’s POV
He sought out a poor family from the line of healers, they were a family of four, and they are well gifted in the art of healing. The Amaruks were neither rich nor poor, they were one of the best healers in the city, but they do not use their abilities to earn money for themselves, they view their gifts as a blessing from the moon goddess and they simply use their gifts to help the people.
They are as pathetic as the king, and easy to fool because they are very gullible. When he discovered that the Amaruks could give him what he wants, he pulled the close and showered them with gifts, trying to earn their trust. He offers the father a job that would fetch him enough money to cater for his wife and two kids. His son was seven years old and his daughter was just a suckling child. He claimed to be interested in their welfare, but he simply wanted to use them to achieve his desires.
He delayed his plans for a few months, trying to get them to trust him. During this period, he kept filling their heads with his conspiracy theories, trying to get them to believe that they were all in danger. He made them believe that the king was not acting in his right senses because he is under a spell. As usual, he blamed the other packs for putting a spell on the king, and just as he anticipated, the Amaruks believed him. Even when be suggested that they delve into magic, they still agreed to do it.
They know the rules, they know they are not supposed to perform magic and sorcery of any kind. Anyone caught in the art was killed by the king. The moon goddess forbade magic and sorcery in the land after the last sorcerers tried to drain all her powers with the magic she taught them. Everyone knows that story, and no one dared to perform magic. But the Amaruks disobeyed the laws because they thought they were trying to save the pack from traitors. They got every other healer involved, and together, they drained some powerful magic from the moon goddess. The magic was meant to be for the king, it was going to make him more stronger than ever, and that was what they were made to believe.
Everything was going well for the Armstrongs, they were so close to getting what they have always wanted, and everything would have gone well if the healers didn’t have that damn magic. The healers held on to the magic, lending when it will be transferred to the king of all wolves. But having such great powers came with great responsibilities. They became proud and pompous and they started using their powers for personal gain.
During this period, the Amaruks discovered the secret of the Armstrongs. They found out that the Beta was going to use magic and sorcery to usurp the Alpha. He was going to destroy the Alpha and his family, and he tried to steal the magic from them when they discovered his tricks, but they couldn’t succeed because the Salutary wolves discovered their plot and tried to expose them. To escape the wrath of the Alpha king, the Armstrongs framed the Salutary wolves and the Alpha king killed them all. He murdered them all without returning the magic back to its source.
The magick was supposed to be returned to the moon goddess, and killing the salutary wolves meant that the magic would die with them. That had angered the moon goddess who was already pissed at the salutary wolves for daring to steal her magic. That was how she rained down fire from the sky, destroying everything we love while taking away our wolves as well. While all this was going on, I felt the heat on my skin, it was a scorching fire, meant to destroy us all.
But amid the chaos, I spotted a young girl of about eighteen years running towards the king’s sanctuary, holding an ornament. I heard a voice in my head telling me to follow her, and so I did. She is running as fast as she could, and she is holding the ornament close to her heart, guarding it. I could hear her heart beating so fast, I could smell her fear. It was raining and we were both freezing from the cold, our clothes are drenched from the heavy downpour. But the rain and cold don’t seem to bother me too much, the voice in my head keeps urging me to chase that girl and get back the ornament from her,
“Don’t let her out of your sight, she is the key, she has the magic of the moon goddess. She can break this curse and put an end to our slavery. You need her, she has the power to make you the king of all wolves, she can give us everything we want. We just have to get her and get that ornament.” He urged me, giving me the motivation to chase after her and not back down.
She knows I’m behind her, she keeps glaring backward as she ran faster, trying to get away from me. She got to the king’s sanctuary and she went in immediately, banging the door behind her to keep me away. I arrived at the door a few minutes after her, and I put my ear to the door and listened to her conversations with the king. She was telling him everything my family had done, and the king listened to her every word while groaning in anger and frustration. He could not believe that we had betrayed the throne, and he swore to make us pay for everything we had done.
I peeked in through the keyhole, and I saw that the king was alone with her. I guess he must have sent his family away and locked himself in his sanctuary to beat himself up for what he had done to his people. I know he is down, he is at his lowest right now because he is so sad. But even at that, I still can’t take him out on my own, he is too powerful for me to attempt to suck a risky task. The only option I have is to sneak up on him and take him unawares.
I went around the back, sneaking in through the back door. The King didn’t hear me come in, and neither did she. We just lost our wolves, and now our heightened senses are no more, so there is no way in hell that he would have heard me coming because he was distracted by the strange girl, and his heightened senses are gone. I could hear her speaking to him about the magic, she wanted to give him the magic that would make him stronger. My family worked hard for this magic, and now she is going to give it to him, just like that. He wants to rob us of the only chance we have to be great, he wants to take what rightfully belongs to us, and I just won’t have it.
The room was not bright, the fire and rain from the moon goddess did a lot of damage to the building’s electrical power. For once, I had the courage to do what I’ve always wanted, and I didn’t let that courage die down before I plunged my sword into his back, piercing his heart. He let out a loud growl, turning slowly to see who his assailant was. His eyes widened in shock, and his shock tired to rage as he throws his limp body on me, tackling me to the floor. I tried to reach for my sword that is still stuck in his heart, but he kept struggling with me, trying to buy more time for his guards to arrive. He still has pinned to the floor, but I still managed to throw a few punches at him from my position. I kicked, punched, and jabbed him repeatedly, forcing blood out of his mouth as his hold on me got weak.
“Run!” he yelled at the girl who stood by the side watching is all along. She didn’t wait for a second, she turned around and ran off immediately, going to get help I guess. I couldn’t let her get away, so I summoned my inner strength and I shoved him with everything I’ve got, pushing him off of me. Before he could rise a second time, I kicked him in the face, forcing him down again.
“How the mighty have fallen,” I let out mockingly as I pulled out my sword, hearing him yell in pain as the blood oozes out of the sword hole in his body.
“You will pay for this, I swear it!” he let out in pain, holding his chest, trying to stop the bleeding, or so I thought anyway. I plunged my sword into his heart repeatedly, making sure he was done for, then I ran off in search of that bitch that wants to destroy all my hard work. I know where she is going next and I’m going to stop her before she gets there.
She is seeking out the Luna and the prince who is holed up in the city’s underground cellar. I can’t let her say a word to them, the prince is more ruthless than his father, and he has never liked me. He wouldn’t think twice before ripping off my head from my body, that is how much he hates me. I had to stop her fast, so I took some shortcuts that are known to only the royals, and I got to the entrance before she did, waiting patiently for her arrival. She spotted me at the entrance when she finally reached and she turned back immediately, running outside the building.
“Give me that ornament, you wench!” I keep calling out to her, chasing her through the rain and fire. She ran as fast as she could, and even when she falls down, she picks herself up and continue to run away from me. She is stronger than I thought, she prefers to die with the pendant than to let me get it. She jumped into the river, drowning herself with the magic of the moon goddess. I tried to search for her body and the pendant, but no matter how I tried, I just couldn’t find it.
I returned back to help rebuild our city and console the king’s family. I would have attempted to steal the throne from the young prince, but he proved to be wiser, and he stripped me of all my power and privileges, choosing my wayward son who never listens to me as a Beta. I was ostracized by my son and the new king, and all my dreams seems shattered. But one faithful day, the goddess brought back my dreams by giving us a prophecy. And ever since we got that prophecy, everyone has been searching for that girl, that special girl that would save us from this curse.
While everyone was searching for the solution to our problems, I was busy learning more about magic. I got back the books that I ended to the Amaruks, and I studied about magic and potions. My son was too stubborn to learn about it, and I had no child to teach, so I sold my soul to the devil, and I did the forbidden act. I visited the creatures that were caused forever by the moon goddess, I went to visit the demons, and I was taught a few deadly magic practices. I learned how to preserve my essence and transfer it to the next generation. And that is what I have been doing all these years.
Oh said, did I say I?
I meant that is what he has been doing all these years. He is my ancestor, and he has been dead for centuries. But he still lives in our heads, and his essence directs us to follow in his stead. I know more about this than anyone alive, I could be the strongest man alive if only I can find the ornament that was stolen from my family. My kids do not know about our missions, they don’t even need to. They follow my instructions anyway, and they are as greedy as the rest of us, so it’s pretty easy to set them in the right direction. Everything I know now will be passed to my son after my death, but right now I’m the one in charge, and I intend to find that girl before anyone else.