The Alpha King's Nemesis-Chapter 32: Never Understand ()

Askel frowned slightly, pushing aside his thoughts and the unpleasant memories they stirred, he knew there was nothing to understand,

His father had always been selfish and power hungry, suspicious of everything and everyone around him, loving nothing but his throne.

Family, friendships, relationships, everything else came second place or did not have a place at all.

Askel admitted his father had been a good king, a king willing to do anything to ensure the wolf shifters retained their supremacy, regardless of how wrong or how immoral those things were.

Even up to sacrificing his own son, the black markings on Askel’s body was prove of the beast Askel had become, the beast his father had made him,

It was prove that served to remind Askel that as long as his father could protect the legitimacy of the royal bloodline, nothing mattered to him...not Askel’s happiness, not Askel’s needs and certainly not his life.

To his father, Askel had always been a means to an end, birthed out of the demand for an heir, his father had never wanted a son, all he had wanted, all Askel had been was a heir born to carry on the royal lineage.

And so Askel’s father had made it clear to him, love, care, concern and all those emotions were unnecessary, a future king could never dwell on such trivialities and no reigning king had the leisure for them.

Was it a warm hug, a comforting smile, a word of approval or even a tender gaze, Askel had learned the hard way that as heir to the throne, he could never expect these from his father... and if he harbored such expectations, then he was weak and unworthy.

Askel had been raised a heir and never a son, raised to be the fiercest wolf shifter, raised to be a predator that took pleasure in preying on the weaker, raised to be everything his father needed in a heir...a cold, bloodthirsty monster.

Love, happiness, friends, all of these were things Askel was made to understand that he was not allowed to have.

All a King needed was a worthy she wolf for a mate, loyal subordinates rather than friends, power and influence rather than happiness.

And so Askel had snuffed out all his expectation and withdrawn into himself, living only for his duty as future ruler of the Ethereal domain.

Now, that day had finally come, and Askel had even received the creator’s approval, his mere presence forced the Ethereal Alphas into submission, most could barely hold his gaze in terror...

The Ethereal domain knew of Askel’s brutality, that whoever stepped out of line and challenged his dominance would meet a tragic end, the Alpha challenge had proven this.

Askel was a man to be feared and some even guessed perhaps Askel was not a man, no man could have such cold, soulless eyes...

Askel admitted he was all those things, ruthless, brutal, cold, heartless, a monster... truly he was. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

This was exactly what his father had wanted, Askel guessed his father would be proud of him, however that was only up to here...

Askel could be all those things, yet he would still never be the king his father had been, he would never sacrifice anyone for his throne.

His father had always said such was the fate of a King, that the lines between right and wrong, good and evil blurred when you had the fate of thousands of wolves in your hands,

He had said there was bound to be sacrifices, that one could not protect everyone, that it was necessary to give up some people for the greater good.

Askel did not agree, if a sacrifice was truly needed, then he would make that sacrifice himself.

If he could not protect everyone, then he would protect as many as he could and if he could not love his people, then he would offer them his loyalty and his life instead.

Askel was not certain how much truth lay in his father’s words, but what he knew for certain was that he would never let himself fall into the endless abyss his father had...

He would never be a king unable to admit his wrong, a king that made excuses for his own mistakes, a king who bore a different face to his people and another face entirely to his family.

He was different from his father, he always had been and so Askel was certain he would never end up like his father had, obsessing over a throne he knew he could not keep forever.

Hurting everyone around him, betraying all who loved him yet unable to bear loneliness and expecting to never be abandoned... spending his final days in regrets and pain.

’When you are the one sitting on this throne, you will understand.’ His father said.

Askel doubted he ever would, unlike his father, he had grown accustomed to the loneliness, unlike his father, he could never hurt anyone around him because he never let anyone get too close to him.

Unlike his father, he had already tasted the bitterness of being abandoned, his father had made sure of that and there was not much his mother could do to ease his pain, and so what if he was abandoned again?

Unlike his father, he did not fear death and it would not matter to him how he died, as long as he had fulfilled his duty to the Ethereal domain, as long as he could protect his people... Askel had long decided his own fate did not matter.

So Askel was sure whatever his father had thought he would understand, he definitely would not understand and if understanding made him anything like the man his father was, then Askel did not want to understand at all.

Askel had only comforted himself in the fact that there was one thing his father could never take away from him, and that was his mate, the one person that would love and cherish him unconditionally.

The one person he could entrust his heart to knowing he would always be safe in her hands.

’So just why did she run from me?’ Askel thought painfully,

Askel shook his head, focusing his gaze on the Ethereal throne.

His eyes darkened with resolve as he took the remaining steps to reach the Ethereal throne and turned, lowering himself to a seat.

"All hail the Ethereal King!" The Ethereal Alphas growled out in unison before they lowered themselves to their knees once again.

The Ethereal Alphas tilted their heads back, their wolves rising up to the surface and releasing a howl in unification.

The ceremony had come to an end, Askel Vance Niolen was now Alpha King.

________________

"Rise." Askel’s voice was cold and imposing as it always was and the Ethereal Alphas rose to their feet with his permission.

The High Oracle granted the staff of authority to Askel’s second and third in command.

Askel’s gaze once again settled on a particular male with silvery grey hair that was pulled back into a pony tail, the tips of his hair ending in a fiery red color.

There was a small red marking on his forehead, the shape of a flame, the exact same that had been on the head of the gray furred wolf Askel had noticed earlier.

The sheer size of the gray furred wolf and the calm almost sacred aura he exuded was precisely what had first caught Askel’s attention,

And now looking at the young man with the red marking, although he had reverted back to his human form, his aura had not changed in the slightest.

The stance of the young man was relaxed and although he was placed at the front which signified his respected status, he kept a distance from the rest of the Ethereal Alphas.

His dressing and appearance was different from the other Ethereal Alphas and although there were hundreds of representatives from every specie in the supernatural realm present, Askel knew exactly where this man belonged.

For some reason, Askel could have sworn, he could see the eyes of this man glowing yet he did not seem to be staring at anything in particular.

"He is of Crimson Moon?" Askel thought to Luther through their mind link, knowing Luther could trace his gaze.

"Yes, My King. He was one of the six emissaries we welcomed." Luther replied.

The young man seemed to notice Askel’s gaze and turned to him, their eyes met and the young man tilted his head down in a small bow of respect.

The young man then retreated from his position and took his leave from the hall.

"Will they be attending the event tonight?" Askel thought to Luther, his gaze following the young man.

"I am not sure, I have extended an invitation yet they did not give a response, they seem to want to remain beneath the radar." Luther replied.

"Convey my words, since I have invited them, certainly they are assured of my protection. Under my roof, they need not worry their identity might bring them trouble."

"The Crimson Wolves are to grace tonight’s event so the Ethereal Alphas may pay due respects and if anyone dares cross them, they will answer to me." Askel ordered.