Chapter 151
Darius pov
“Now that I think about it, I do not know the true identity of that boy, Kieran. He came to my pack one day, claiming his parents was dead and asking if we could accept him into the Emberfang,” Ethan, the girl’s father, explained with a frown as I held the coin in my hand, staring at it without a word.
“At first, I thought he was a rogue trying to infiltrate the pack. Since rogues are known for taking Ashvein, I ordered a drug test to confirm if he was truly one. No matter what, Ashvein is a substance that, once taken will always remain in your blood. But…” He paused, voice gruffer. “He passed the test. Kieran came out completely clean that day, and since it seemed unlikely he was a rogue, I took him in.”
I tilted my head, my cold eyes fixed on the head side of the coin, still saying nothing, watching it carefully.
“I had thought at the time that even if he was a rogue, it would be safer to keep him close, watch him and if he did anything stupid, I wouldn’t hesitate to end his life. That was my original plan. But after a year had passed since his arrival, and he did nothing suspicious during that period, my guard began to lessen, especially…” He cleared his throat, as though unsure if he should continue.
Silence filled the room at his hesitation, and I could feel everyone’s gazes on me–Cassian, Drake, and the Emberfang beta and gammas.
They all stared at me as if expecting me to speak, but I didn’t. I had no intention of speaking.
Instead, I turned the coin over, my expression cold and unchanging as my eyes lingered on the other side. Ethan seemed to realize I wasn’t going to say anything, but the next second, he sighed and continued without being asked.
“I lessened my guard, especially when Nyssa started liking that bastard. He was all she could talk about, and whenever she did, she was happier and more cheerful than usual.”
Ethan straightened in his seat, his eyes locked on me.
“Alpha Darius, my daughter had always believed that, being wolfless, she would never find her mate and no one would ever accept her. But then that bastard deceived her, and she fell hopelessly in love with him so much so that she couldn’t even bear to see him hurt. She would rather be the one suffering in his place.”
His voice was firm, but before I could stop myself, the corner of my lips curved into a humorless smirk as the words from yesterday echoed in my mind:
“Okay! I don’t mind giving you my body if it means you’ll help me find him. Alive or dead, it doesn’t matter, I just want to see him. Or his corpse. With my own eyes. You can use force to drag him here if he’s alive, or dig up his grave if he’s not. I really don’t care.”
“And her best friend, Aria… my daughter must have felt deeply betrayed by her. She truly loved her.”
“You know Aria? My ex–best friend? If you could also find her body, I’d be thrilled. In fact, I’d be really glad if you brought Kieran to me alive and found Aria’s body too. But if you can’t manage both, then just Kieran will do.”
A small scoff escaped me at his words. I rested my head on one hand, idly toying with the coin before finally speaking, my voice a deep hum.
“Cut to the chase. What do you want to say?” I asked, emotionless. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the visible stiffening of everyone present at my voice. But Ethan, perhaps knowing I didn’t like repeating myself, finally spoke.
“W–what I am simply saying is that my daughter’s servant, Serena, was also deceived. She didn’t give the guard Ashvein on purpose, and if you can find it in your heart to forgive her, then I would be truly grateful to you, Your Majesty,” he said respectfully, lowering his head slightly.
My gaze flickered away from the coin. i stared at nothing in particular for a brief moment before inhaling sharply, flipping the coin into the air and catching it in my palm, then finally turning to Ethan with a cold gaze, leaning forward on the desk.
“I see… so you want to beg for the life of the servant? Is that it?” I asked, and Ethan swallowed hard before nodding without hesitation.
“Yes, my king. That girl grew up with my daughter, and I also take her as my own child. Plus… I made a promise to someone to keep her safe.”
He closed his eyes briefly before rising from the seat and dropping to the ground, his head bowed respectfully as he echoed,
“Please show the girl mercy. 1-1 beg of you, Your Highness. I will do whatever you want, but please return her to my daughter.”
Almost immediately, the beta and gamma also dropped to their knees, bowing their heads as they repeated,
“We beg for your mercy, my king!”
The air grew thick with tension as I watched. Instead of speaking, I casually flipped the coin, as though I couldn’t see any of it.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Cassian and Drake exchanging a glance, clearly torn. It was obvious they wanted to plead for the servant as well, but they held back, perhaps afraid it might appear they were taking sides.
“I see,” I hummed nonchalantly, uncaring that these people had dropped to their knees.
It wasn’t something I would pay attention to. Just because they begged for forgiveness didn’t mean I would care–Alpha or not.
“Mercy? You want me to show mercy to a traitor? But why should I?”
As soon as I spoke, everyone stiffened. Ethan lifted his head and, as his gaze met mine, I watched him swallow hard, his breath shaky. My eyes flashed white, and the corner of my lips curved into a humorless smirk as I flipped the coin in my hand once again, catching it between two fingers. The words left my mouth in a low whisper.
“No matter the reason, that servant betrayed your daughter. She betrayed you, didn’t she?”
I tilted my head, my smirk widening. “It doesn’t matter what she did as long as she betrayed you, then she should die… shouldn’t she?”
