The Alpha King's Wrath

38 History

"Highness!" Eli greets, smiling broadly as he spots me walking into the Hall of Kings. For as intimidating of a reputation that the Master of Lineage had, he has been the most welcoming person. The soothing hum of the ancient energy of this place helps brush away the rest of the palace. "And to what do we owe the honour?"

"I had some free time and thought I'd get more acquainted with history, maybe you could suggest a book or something?" I ask, looking over his shoulder at the towering shelves of books behind him.

"But High- Jess, you are in the Hall of Kings!" he chides, catching himself and making me smile. "There is no better place to learn than here. One is surrounded by history here." His enthusiasm is contagious, much like a small child laughing uncontrollably you can't help but have your spirits lifted.

The vaulted stone room reminds me of a castle with rugged interior in comparison to the polish of the rest of the palace. Much like the Central Archives, there are rows upon rows of towering bookshelves and scattered glass cases with artifacts, but here every inch of the unique walls are covered in portraits of the royal families over the years and nooks containing personal journals and key documents.

"I don't even know where to begin," I admit, following his lead as he slowly walks over to the far wall covered in portraits.

"Well we could begin at the beginning," he muses, stroking his bristly, weathered chin. "Or we could start somewhere closer to home?" Eli cranes his neck to watch my reaction and nods to himself. "King Robert and Queen Charlotte, the previous royal family it is."

With a goal in mind, he moves us to the center where there's a bare spot, then walks over to a portrait of a regal couple. The man stands tall in a black tux with a red and gold sash across his chest and an ornate sword on his hip, his hand resting casually on the pommel. He has a powerful Alpha build, tall, broad shoulders, barrel-chested with a strong, sharp jaw and piercing golden eyes. There's a sternness to his posture, despite slightly disheveled, lightly curled chestnut locks that cascade onto his forehead.

Seated slightly in front of him is a stunning woman with auburn hair that falls in soft waves to her waist with crystal clear blue eyes and flawless porcelain skin. There is a coy look in her eyes and her lips turn up into a satisfied smile.

'Perfect balance...' Ember murmurs.

She's not wrong. He radiates power and strength, his eye's scream cunning and determination... while she is the opposite, soft, delicate, and kind...

After studying their portrait for a while, my eyes drift down to two children and my chest tightens... A boy with wild, curly brown hair and golden eyes holds a little girl with strawberry blonde curls on his lap. They are dressed in a cute black suit and bowtie and pink dress, but they're laughing uncontrollably.

"Queen Charlotte became so at the fresh age of eighteen... Poor thing, I remember her shaking like a leaf when she came to the palace," Eli explains, his eyes misting over with a waterfall of memories. "You see, she was from a small pack in the southern region, barely three hundred wolves! Her parents were average wolves, her father a middle rank warrior and mother a den wolf. To go from such a small, obscure pack to the center of the most important pack of them all, mated to the Prince..."

"I thought that was the thing of fairy tales?" I mumble, feeling a strange kinship to her.

Both of us were thrown into a role we never expected nor wanted yet fated to be.

"Well, fairy tales were originally nightmares." Eli chuckles. "After the initial shock, she actually bloomed here, of course Robert's mother took to her like her daughter having only had two sons. She was kind and loving and brought out a softer side to Robert and under their leadership the Pack and race prospered."