True Alpha’s Chosen Mate - Chapter 208

We camped out in the fortress between Everfell and Althea. After that chaos, we checked the kingdom of Althea. It was surely a night that nearly put the kingdom on a brink of ruin. It was a nightmare they wished they would wake up to.

Sadly, it wasn’t just a bad dream. What happened was real… and it was just a glimpse of what could’ve happened if a war between Hendrik and Ronmin empire ensue.

Niall was powerful; he was a child of evil, so it was given.

With Hugo and Azazel’s help, the Kingdom of Pailao sent reinforcement. Despite the setback of the occurrence, it was almost amazing how Hugo still saw it as an opportunity for both the Ronmin empire and the Kingdom of Pailao.

In these times of crisis, they posed themselves as heroes, this kingdom of Althea could only rely on.

Therefore, despite Azazel’s displeasure towards Hugo’s ‘betrayal,’ he still helped him. There was no point in arguing. Azazel didn’t have a place to go to and the Hendrik Empire would surely chase him to the ends of the world just to kill him. If he wanted to live, he had to work with Hugo and the werewolves.

Thankfully, the prince they put their stake on miraculously survived. The eldest prince, Niall’s ‘horse’, died, apparently. In the end, the latter still died at the hands of his strongest ally.

“I see…” I rocked my head, sitting around the table inside Hugo’s tent, where everyone gathered. Around the table were the Tempest siblings — my in-laws — Ivo and Reks, standing on the side, Hugo on the host seat at the end of the table, and Azazel with Cedrick a few chairs across from me.

“… So Everfell had finally fallen, huh?” I whispered, raising my eyes and glossing over my in-laws’ worried faces. I smiled and chuckled, shaking my head lightly. “Don’t look at me like that. Everfell is not the place I was raised. It’s the place that held me captive for years.”

“Rinnie…” Alice, who sat at Hugo’s left, sighed deeply.

“See? I told you. Rinnie will be happy about this news!” Sally smirked smugly, crossing her arms while raising her chin. She was at the far end of the table. “I am smart.”

“Yes, you’re smart for your size.” Tomas raised his hand to pat his sister’s head, only to get bitten by the fuming Sally.

“What do you mean for my size, hah?!” she grumbled, biting Tomas’s hand tighter while the latter squealed and struggled to break free.

“In any case, what happened to Everfell will put Niall a step behind. Ever since the night of the attack three years ago, Niall’s people had polluted Everfell,” Azazel commented solemnly, ignoring Sally and Tomas across from him. “I don’t know why his father approved of it when it was obvious Niall is building an army. Having that power should alarm not just his enemies but also the emperor.”

“That abomination had his way with his words,” Cora chimed in, tapping her hands on the surface of the table. She was sitting next to me.

“But it can be because the crown prince’s people were loyal to the emperor,” Garrett added solemnly, who sat beside his wife.

“Based on the time Alice and I met the man in question, I can assure you he is not the person who takes orders without reason.” This time, Silas also voiced out his thoughts about it, setting his eyes at Azazel. “Am I correct?”

After Silas’s comment, all attention shifted to Azazel. The latter remained silent momentarily, glancing at everyone, and his eyes lingered longer on Hugo.

“That is right,” Azazel confirmed after a moment of silence. “Niall had been obedient and had always followed the emperor’s orders. However, after being with him for years, one can tell he was following the orders for a reason.”

“Isn’t it obvious? He is garnering points to secure his seat.” Sally frowned.

“But with Niall’s capabilities, he can force himself to ascend the throne. By means or foul, he can do it and he will succeed for sure.” Alice, who was sitting beside Silas near Hugo, tapped her index on the table. “If he did what he did in here in Ronmin, the result might not be as devastating. But it will kill a lot of our people.”

Their discussion proceeded just like that because even Azazel was uncertain of what Niall truly wanted. The crown prince of the vampire was very complicated and akin to a device that wasn’t easily cracked. I glanced at Hugo, sitting on the host seat, while I perched on his right.

Hugo kept silent since the beginning, deep in his thoughts. We had already told everyone about everything. Or rather, we told everyone what they needed to know. Since the Tarsa tribe came to the werewolves’ knowledge, having a half lamb and human didn’t surprise them anymore.

They eventually accepted everything and now I was already part of this team.

“We’ll focus on what we are certain for now.” Alice clapped, catching everyone’s attention as the conversation was starting to stray from the main context. “Niall had his eyes on Rinnie because she’s the last of her kind. He hates the werewolves to the point he wanted our demise. And he is powerful.”

There was a long silence that descended inside the tent. All the things Alice mentioned led to one conclusion; everything Niall wanted was pointing at the Ronmin Empire and the annihilation of werewolves.

“Ivo.” After some time of silence, Hugo’s voice finally caressed our ears. He glanced at Ivo, who stood near him. “What do you think will happen in the following months?”

Ivo let out a shallow breath, glancing at the eyes that were on him. He cleared his throat. He was the smartest, and he had a sharp instinct that analyzed things. It was almost like he was predicting it. It was his idea to attack Everfell as well.

“What I think is…” he trailed off, gazing at Azazel. “The Hendrik Empire will not come after the Ronmin for now. If we think about the crown prince’s personality, what Alpha Hugo did in Everfell will rather amuse him instead of angering him.”

“That’s more like him.” Azazel rocked his head.

“And… that will surely change things in Hendrik Empire,” Ivo continued solemnly, causing our brows to furrow. “There is a high probability that the sovereign of the empire will change.”

There was a long, stifling silence after Ivo’s conclusion. We didn’t mention it throughout the conversation, but I was certain every single one of us already thought of this. Only Ivo was the person who spoke it with certainty.

“He will need full control over the empire.” Hugo was the first to recover. His demeanor was still calm as if he expected that much. “At the very least, we have time to prepare. Once he settled on that damn throne… he will wage a war with us.”

He paused, leaning forward with his hands linked in front of him. “For now, we have to return to Ronmin. Everyone needs to bare their teeth. This situation is kill or be killed…. I’ll definitely prefer being a slaughterer than becoming the victim.”