Help! Five Beast Alphas Want To Breed Me!!(BL)-Chapter 197: A Storm Is Coming

King Wilhelm;

I stare at the seer who has her face to the ceiling and her lips muttering wordlessly. Outside, the faint hum of celebration still echoes... the laughter of servants preparing the feast, the rhythmic drumbeats from the dancers practising for the wedding, and the scent of burning wood drifting through the air.

The people outside are happy. But here, in this hall, in this moment... celebration is the last thing on our minds.

I’m sitting at the head of the round oak table, with my arms folded as I watch Isilya. Cassia shifts nervously in her seat for the umpteenth time, and I sigh.

"Isilya," I call impatiently, and Cassia turns to me with wide eyes.

"You shouldn’t interrupt!" She scolds in a whisper, and I roll my eyes. I usually try my best to be well-behaved around Cassia.

She sees the good in me, and I try to keep it that way, but right now, I’m impatient.

This old woman can not just say she senses something horrible coming and keep us on edge the whole time.

"If she has something to say, she’d better say it fast," I whisper back impatiently, and she turns back to the old woman.

I look back at the seer, and my impatience keeps building. The woman’s long white hair cascades over her shoulders like silk. Her completely white eyes finally look down at us with unease written all over her face.

"I’ve seen it," she eventually breaks the silence, and I swallow at the solemnness of her voice.

"A storm, Your Majesty. Not of wind nor rain... but of vengeance. And it moves swiftly toward us." She says, and I raise a brow.

"You speak in riddles, Isilya. Speak clearly. What vengeance? From whom?" I add, and she averts her sharp and glassy gaze to me.

"From the past you thought buried," she says with her voice low but clear.

"The blood of the people you turned your back on, cry with fury, and they intend to strike where our light burns brightest... at the heart of our joy. At the cause of the celebration itself." She adds, and Cassia’s hand fly to her mouth.

"Koda?" She questions, and Isilya shakes her head softly.

"Your grace, Koda brings us joy, but we both know he is not the one prophesied to bring joy to all of Beastheaven." She replies, and my stomach twists.

"You mean... Elián?" I demand, and the elderly woman turns to me. She nods slowly, and my heart sputters.

"Yes. The air around him is thick with danger. I can taste it in the wind, smell it in the smoke. Something wicked has fixed its eyes on him... and it will not stop until his light has been snuffed out." She replies, and I shoot to my feet.

"I don’t understand! Why would anyone go after Elian!?" I demand, and Cassia grabs my arm.

"He’s the answer to your family’s expansion. You may not have realised it, but the boy has become Ashfang’s treasure. If anyone is going after your family, they will want to start with him first. The part that affects all." She replies, and my jaw drops.

"That plus the fact that a new tree is already growing in that fertile garden." She adds, and my brows crease.

A new tree? What does she...

My heart skips a beat when I realise what she’s implying, and my eyes widen.

"Do you mean...?" I begin, but Cassia cuts me off.

"How do we protect him?" Cassia demands, and I turn to her.

Islya looks at Cassia, and the words she speaks next cause both Cassia and me to freeze.

"Cancel the wedding." I recline at the words, and Cassia turns to me in disbelief at what she just heard.

"You expect me... to cancel my son’s wedding on the eve of his joy... because of a feeling?" I demand, and Isilya’s head turns sharply to me with her cloudy eyes flashing.

"Do not mistake a vision for a feeling, Your Majesty. I have served the crown for thirty years, and not once have my prophecies failed to bear fruit." She replies, and Cassia’s hand on mine begins to tremble.

"Wilhelm, she’s right. You remember what happened in the last war...she foresaw that ambush, remember? If not for her, half of Gravemaw would have burned." She replies, and I exhaled, slow and heavy, as I run my palm over my face. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"And yet," I say quietly, "She has also seen death in times when no blade fell. We cannot live bowing to every shadow." I reply in stubborn disbelief, and Isilya’s lips thin.

"Then you are blind to the storm that approaches." She spits, and the room fell silent again.

Cassia stands to her feet as she steps closer to me.

"Wilhelm, if there’s even the smallest chance she’s right, we must protect Elián. We cannot risk..." She begins, but I cut her off.

"Risk?"

"Cassia, can you not see how happy Koda is? I have been with that boy most of his life, and I will tell you, I have never seen him smile so brightly. He’s so happy he’s practically skipping around the whole place. Cancelling the wedding would break him. And that too, for what? For a storm we just might be able to face?" I speak in annoyance, and Cassia’s face hardens.

"And what if we can not face it!? Do you think that I do not love my son? That I do not see how happy he is. That I do not understand what this means to him!?" She rages, and I swallow as I stare at her furious golden eyes.

"I care about Elian and Koda, and I will protect them at any cost. Even if it means calling off this wedding last minute. That’s what being a parent is! Making the tough choices!" She adds, and I sigh as I look away from her.

I rub my chin as my gaze moves to the Seer, who has remained silent all this time.

"Tell me, Isilya," I speak.

"This storm...does it have a face? A name?" I demand, and she stares at me in silence for a while.

"I saw no particular face... There were a lot of them. All with hatred that burned hot enough to scorch an entire forest. It is not one person, your Majesty. It is many... moving as one, guided by wrath." She speaks, and my jaw clenches.

"I hear you, but wrath over what!? Who have I wronged!?" I demand, and she blinks at me in silence like she’s hesitating to say something.

"Out with it, Isilya! What have you seen!?" I rage, and she looks away.

"Your majesty... When you began the dream of BeastHeaven... When you preached of unity and oneness... where every man would be free and united... You had an ally who helped you build..." She begins, and my heart falls into my stomach.

"Where is he now?" She adds, and I feel my heart jump to a stop.

Everything goes silent as memories rush at me, and my fists tighten.

Gorlois...

"Wilhelm... What is she talking about?" Cassia questions as she grabs my arm, but I ignore her.

"Gorlois is the one coming? Why... why would he wait this long?" I demand, and Isilya shakes her head gently in negation.

"I wouldn’t be as alarmed if he were the one coming. The one coming carries his blood, but not the mercy he had." She replies, and I gulp.

"His child?" I whisper, and she nods at me.

"Wilhelm, who is Gorlois? What is she talking about?!" Cassia demands, and I gently tear my arm away from her grip as I walk over to the window.

I stare at the blue skies above, and I listen to the people’s laughter.

I look down, and in the distance, on a bench, I spot Koda feeding Elian something. My heart twists as I stare at how happy they both are, and Cassia’s voice crashes into my thoughts.

"Wilhelm, what are we going to do!?" She demands, and I sigh.

"We will not cancel the wedding," I say firmly without looking back, and there’s silence.

"If your vision holds any truth, Isilya... We will be ready. I’ll have the royal guard double their patrols and numbers." I add, as I turn back to look at Cassia, who’s looking at me like I’ve suddenly sprouted wings.

"If there’s danger, we will not meet it running. We’ll meet it standing." I whisper to her, and she scoffs in disbelief.

"And Elián?"

"We’ll move him through the hidden passage below the western wing. Have Koda’s men stand by at the outer gate. But until that time comes, no one will panic, and no one will breathe a word of this." I reply, and Isilya sighs.

"You gamble with lives, Your Majesty." She grumbles, and I sigh as I walk over to her.

"No, Isilya," I say quietly.

"I gamble with fate. And I have never lost a hand." I reply, and she stares at me in silence.

"I hope this wouldn’t be your first loss, Your Majesty. May the Goddess protect us all." She says with a bow before turning her back on me and walking off.