Fangs and Roses

Chapter Forty: First Pack

Alexander Lykos

We stood there dumbfounded as the wolf rose from his bow, the rest of the wolves milled around us while a few gathered by the wolf in front of us.

*"My name is Maxwell Vright, Your Majesty. I was your Head Commander centuries ago, and these men were your soldiers... loyal soldiers who stood by your side when Stephen dismantled and destroyed everything you had built... everything you and Rose had built."*

Angel, Amelia and Jared stared at me with a mix of awe and confusion. They knew about what the Moon Goddess had done to us, but never the full scope of events... and to be honest, neither did I.

"I am sorry, Maxwell, but I remember very little of my past as your King--"*

*"No apologies needed, Your Majesty... the only important thing now is that you are here... and maybe we can be finally freed."*

Angel brushed past me to stare at him.

"You all of not wolves, at least not like us... so what are you? And how are you still alive after centuries?"

Maxwell huffed before he sat on his haunches, the other wolves beside the soldiers began to move back into the forest at Angel's questions, the older ones gently nudging the wrestling cubs to follow them.

*"The fires raged for hours, and all of a sudden, there were mercenaries and guards from Xander's personal guard running around the place putting out the fires. It took them a while before everything settled, and that was when they herded us to the town square. My men and Orion's tried to resist but they held the villagers with swords to their throats, threatening to slit their throats if we continued to disobey Stephen's command..."*

The dark grey wolf snarled as he projected the last few words, the wolves around him responded with equal hostility as they growled, their ears flat against their heads.

*"We had no other choice but to drop our weapons and comply. It was only by sheer luck that the villagers had suspected that something was amiss and had smuggled Orion out of Avarelia's walls. Stephen stepped out in front of us, wearing your crown, announcing that a new era in Avarelia had begun. He grew angry when he could not find Orion and started to scream at us to turn him over, but none of us would give up who had smuggled him out and where he could have possibly gone to sneak refuge... Stephen was never a patient men..."*

Maxwell hung his head, and I looked above to see his human form in a sitting position with his head between his knees, hands raking roughly through his hair.

*"He began to execute the villagers one by one because they refused to give him the information he wanted, ten fell before Jessamine, Rose's sister, screamed at him that he would not have anyone to rule over if he killed all the villagers. I waited with bated breath for him to cut her down, but he did not... he actually listened and told his men to stand down... but Avarelia had already become Hell on Earth. Stephen ruled with no mercy, and cared for nothing and no one but himself. He undid everything you and Rose had spent years building. The men were forced into the army and sent on ridiculous missions that saw their bodies in unmarked mass graves. The women were forced to work the fields day and night, I can still remember the screams of the mothers and sisters as they children were torn away from them by the army. They were pushed into the mines were they were sent down small shafts and crevices to retrieve jewels for Stephen's coffers. The other alternative for children was for them to join the army and act as living shields for the troops. I thought that Stephen was building up his army so that he could invade other territories to expand his kingdom, but he did not. All the extra military was used to enforce Avarelia's walls, making sure that no one entered, and no one left... the only other missions where soldiers ventured out of Avarelia was to raid bandit camps and to search for Orion, and thankfully, he was never found."*