Chapter 152
Chapter 152
Darius pov
Death.
That was the punishment traitors deserved without a second thought. Those who betray others, no matter the reason must face death for the wound left by betrayal cuts as deep as any blade.
Back then, I had felt that very sting, betrayed by the man I trusted and loved… my own brother.
It was my blood brother who had deceived me, who had allied with the elders for the sake of a throne I didn’t even want, and who had taken my mate’s life. That day would forever be carved into my memory, walking into her room to find her on the ground, blood pooling around her as she clutched at the foot of that man in disbelief.
I could still remember the shock that froze me in place as I stepped inside and took in the scene before me.
My brother, Dalton, stood over her with a sickening grin on his lips, a dagger dripping with her blood in his hand.
A dagger I knew too well, the moon dagger given to me by the diviner, who claimed the goddess herself had chosen it for me.
She had called it precious, a powerful symbol that the goddess had accepted me wholeheartedly as the Lycan King.
I had been proud to own it, treasured it and that bastard had known. That’s why he had used it to kill her, to stain its silver edge with her blood.
That was his cruel revenge on me.
So it explained why I had stood at the door without moving for a brief moment as she gasped in pain, her teary eyes locked on him.
it was her words that had seemed to snap me out of my daze that day.
“Why–why would you betray him like this, Dalton…? I–if he finds out, he would never forgive you. He loved you. He trusted you!”
After those words, everything became a blur. All I knew was that a scream tore from the deepest parts of me as I threw him aside and cradled her in my arms, whispering and begging her to stay with me to stay alive, despite knowing she wouldn’t survive the fatal wound caused by the moon dagger.
It was a dagger designed to kill werewolves, and it was no surprise when Dalton had tried to stab me with it. But in my rage, I had killed him without an ounce of emotion.
I tore him apart, and before I came back to my senses, I had killed the elders too, after discovering they were in cohorts with Dalton.
I frowned through the haze of my thoughts, my brows creasing together as I finally realized something that had slipped my mind for a long time.
The moon dagger.
I hadn’t seen it since Dalton’s death. When everything cleared, the dagger was gone, and I had searched for it for years after what happened but I could never find it.
It was as though it had vanished into thin air.
“M–my king,” Ethan’s timid voice snapped me out of my daze, and I lifted a brow as my gaze flickered to him, kneeling on the ground with his beta and gamma.
1/3
Chapter 152
“Please… please, I’m begging you, free the servant. I–I know what she did was wrong, but I swear she didn’t mean to betray my daughter. She didn’t mean to interfere with the rogue’s matter.”
He pleaded, and I shifted my gaze away with a silent scoff before leaning back with the coin in my hand, no longer in the mood to speak with. any of them. Instead of wasting time, I did what I always did whenever I couldn’t make a decisjon.
I flipped the coin once, then held it between my fingers, my voice dropping into a low hum.
“How about we let the coin decide?” I began, and everyone immediately looked up at me as I held it, staring at the glinting metal.
“You claim the girl didn’t mean harm and that I should pardon her, right? But I don’t want to do that. I want to torture her until she begs for death… and then grant it. Still, I will be fair.”
The air turned colder at my words, and I could feel the atmosphere shift. I turned the coin to show them one side.
“If it lands on heads, the girl lives. I’ll forget everything and pardon her. But…”
I rotated it slowly, revealing the other side.
“If it’s tails, she dies by my hands. As simple as that.”
As soon as I finished, a tense silence fell over the room. Everyone exchanged uneasy glances, everyone except Cassian and Drake.
Their gazes were different. A flicker of grief crossed their faces, as if they already knew the outcome, knew the coin would land in my favor.
Just like it always had.
But don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t the kind of man who cheated or rigged the coin. For some reason, it simply always landed on the side! chose whenever I flipped it. Cassian called it an insane amount of luck, but I never thought much of it. It was just my way of deciding without really deciding or at least pretending to be fair.
Ethan didn’t speak for a long moment, his eyes fixed on me, until they sharpened with determination. He gave a slow nod.
“I agree to this, my king. Thank you for your kindness.”
I caught the quiet voice of someone behind him, his beta or gamma, I wasn’t sure.
“Alpha…”
The man’s words trailed off, as though he couldn’t bring himself to finish. Judging from his expression, he’d been about to tell Ethan not to agree. But Ethan didn’t even glance his way as he replied in a low murmur,
“This is the only way we can save Serena… her fate now depends on luck.”
The corner of my lips twitched, and I couldn’t help but commend him for being a smart man.
From what I had seen, he truly deserved the title of Alpha, he knew when to act and when to hold back.
That was… impressive.
“Okay then,” I said flatly, gripping the coin tighter before flipping it into the air. As it spun, everyone held their breath, the tension in the room growing thicker with every second.
When it landed in my hand, my eyes flickered to it.,, and I smirked.
