The Alpha King's Nemesis-Chapter 26: Lost Her ()

’I lost her...’

’I lost her...’

’I lost her...’

The words ran through Askel’s mind over and over again, filling his heart with a mix of rage and helplessness.

Askel could not understand it, he could not comprehend just exactly what had happened in that split second when he had found the one person he so desperately needed all his life and lost her all in the same breath.

Askel was not certain what had gone wrong? Had she been too terrified of the rogues? But even so, how could she leave when he had come?

Did she not know he would give anything to protect her? Did she not understand that he was the one person whose sole purpose was to love, cherish and keep her safe?

Did she not understand that he would rather die a thousand times himself than see even a single hair on her harmed? Did she not realize she was the most precious person in his world?

"My King..." Luther called hesitantly when Askel remained quiet after his report, Luther immediately regretted speaking when Askel’s furious settled on him.

"Five thousand Royal Lycan wolves and you cannot find one female?!" Askel growled out in frustration and helplessness as he slammed a hand down on his table.

The mahogany table crumbled beneath the force of Askel’s fist as he resumed his pacing.

"My King, we have scoured the forest, we cannot find any traces of the female. Her scent was masked, the trackers cannot find a scent trail. Forgive our inability." Luther reported in a low tone, clearly ashamed at his failure.

"I don’t need your apologies! You go out there and you find my mate or you do not come back!" Askel growled in a deadly tone, his eyes flashing dangerously,

From his guttural tone, it was clear his wolf was already on the surface and he was just a thin tendril of self control away from shifting into his wolf form.

"Askel, please calm down." A stern female voice reasoned, this voice belonged to Queen Sancia, Askel’s mother.

"Do not tell me to calm down mother! She is my mate! I will not be calm until she is found!" Askel growled, as he stormed out of his study. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Queen Sancia, Luther and Dechlan hurried after a raging Askel.

"Askel, where are you going?!" Queen Sancia exclaimed in panic.

"Clearly I lead a pack of incapable wolves, if they cannot be useful then I will find her myself!" Askel growled out.

"You cannot leave palace grounds! Your coronation is in two days! Every Alpha of the Ethereal domain is present here! They will be watching your every move! We must put up a stable front, we cannot stirr up a ruckus at this time!" Queen Sancia exclaimed, running ahead of her son and blocking his path.

"A ruckus?! I do not care in the slightest for this coronation mother! Neither do I care what the Ethereal Alphas think of me! All I care about is finding my mate and finding her right now!" Askel declared in a calm but firm tone.

Queen Sancia panicked, knowing the hard headed nature of her son, she knew her words had fallen on deaf ears and she quickly sought the only method that could stop him.

"She ran from you, did she not?!" Queen Sancia whisper yelled through gritted teeth.

Askel froze in his step, his head tilting down to meet his mother’s gaze in a slow, predatory manner, his eyes blazing with rage.

"And mother’s words mean?" Askel asked in a dangerously low tone, his eyes narrowing at his mother’s fierce, unflinching gaze.

"I do not mean to incur your wrath My King, but if the female ran from you, then it stands to reason that she does not want you or even want to be mated at all."

"Perhaps she has already engaged in carnal affairs with some other male wolf and will ultimately bring disgrace to the royal line, these vile she wolves can no longer be trusted...why make a mess of your coronation over a female you have not even met?" Queen Sancia asked bitingly.

Askel released a ferocious growl and Queen Sancia quickly took a step back, tilting her head down in submission.

"You will not speak of my mate in such a degrading manner, mother." Askel warned in a dark tone and made to brush past his mother.

Queen Sancia dropped to her knees, spreading her arms wide to prevent Askel’s movements.

Askel took a deep breath to calm himself as his rage heightened at his mother’s unrelenting interference.

"Move aside, mother." Askel demanded, restraining his Alpha command from slipping into his voice.

As furious as Askel was, the woman kneeling before him was his own mother, had it been anyone else, Askel would have already forced their submission.

However when it came to his mother, Askel had made a point to always forcefully restrain himself.

"I am willing to risk my life if that is what it takes My King, but I cannot let you leave Ethereal palace grounds." Queen Sancia insisted in a desperate tone.

"Since when was it up to mother to decide what I can and cannot do?" Askel asked in a low growl.

As much as Askel always withheld his rage in the presence of his mother, his mother never made it easy for him, with her obsession over status and propriety and always remaining above everyone else which was a far cry from Askel’s simplicity.

Askel knew to his mother, the royal blood line, prestige and dominance was the most important, their two personalities clashed more often than not and sometimes Askel detested his inability to disregard familial ties.

"You are Alpha King, I do not dare tell you what to do or how to run your palace, but this is the critical moment of your coronation where so many eyes watch closely, waiting to see a single misstep so they may prey upon it."

"With so many capable Alphas in the Ethereal domain, the Alpha King must leave no room for doubts. You are the fiercest and most honorable My King, there is none within the Ethereal domain that cannot attest to this."

"Yet your father left behind too great a burden for you. In his final days, my beloved has made many mistakes, the Ethereal Alphas have lost fait in the Royal Lycan lineage."

"If there was anyone more capable... anyone with the ability to protect the Ethereal domain better than you, then I would have you live out your life the way you please."

"But you are all the Ethereal domain has, you are the only one powerful enough to restrain those ambitious Alphas from tearing apart the Ethereal domain, you are the only one able to force them into submission... you are the true Alpha King."

"You have prepared for this for so many years, training and cultivating yourself tirelessly even through the turbulent times with your father. You cannot loose your composure now My King, not when we have so many ambitious hearts under our own roof."

"Please reconsider Askel. If you take one step out that door, if you loose control to your wolf, he will not return until you have found your mate. What am I to do then? What is the Royal Lycan Pack to do without their Alpha?"

"The enthronement is in just a few days, after it has come to pass...if you can only hold on till after it is done with." Queen Sancia pleaded.

"On the first meeting of father and mother, when mother first set eyes on him...After waiting your entire life, hoping every waking moment that today would be the day."

"When mother first saw the one the creator had made specially for you, the other half of your own soul, the one who would love and cherish you unconditionally for all eternity... that moment you saw him and your heart recognize immediately that he was yours, the one meant for you..."

"In that moment, would mother have let go of father for anything? If anyone had asked mother to choose between death, duty or a chance to be with father? What would have been mother’s choice?" Askel asked darkly.

Askel could not understand how his own mother would have him chose between his coronation and duty as Alpha King and his mate whom he had only just found after waiting and hoping so long.

Queen Sancia’s wide spread hands dropped to her sides dejectedly, if there was one weakness to the stern and hard headed Queen Sancia, it was her unyielding love for her mate.

"I know my duty to the Ethereal domain and my wolf knows it too. I am Alpha King, it is a throne I have spared no efforts to be worthy of, a throne I have lived for and bled for..."

"Yet I have but only one life and that life will have no meaning without my mate, two days are short...two days are long, I have waited for her my entire life, I will never let her go, never...I will return in time for my enthronement." Askel growled low beneath his breath as he stormed out of the Ethereal palace.