Affliction - Book One - Man x Man

Chapter 4

I had fully intended on killing him, taking my life and his in a single moment with the small dragons I had brought forth from the water. It seemed like such a simple task, considering his crimes.

 But I must have seen some sort of sincerity in him or maybe I do value my own life in some way, a strange revelation considering how ready I was to end this existence while I was in school.

I have a hard time justifying my actions to myself, my willingness to offer myself as tribute when I'd been so ready to take my own life. I envision Alpha before me, my face gripped in his palm. His scarred body left much to be desired as far as appearance. 

 I vaguely allow myself to imagine what it must have been like for him to endure such an injury but I stop myself before any sympathy can form. Sorting through the closet, I find a few robes in it's furthest depths. Most likely set aside by my mother in case I returned, ever the optimist about my abilities. She was the only one who had written to me, not that I'd been allowed to read her letters.

 I don't allow myself to feel her presence as I pull on the white long sleeve and intricately detailed vest. The variety of colored squares line the trim and the front. Sliding into the pale pants, I feel a little more like myself. Royalty, a Solomonari Prince, it was my comfortable default since returning.

As I open the door, I jump back as I am certain that I am face to face with Alpha only to discover the man who is before me is not him. He is tall and gray-haired but he is young, much younger. Maybe only in his early 20's, close to my own age.

His body is lanky, like that of a young man who hasn't quite come into his own yet. His dark eyes are peering at me shyly through his tangle of hair, he is afraid of me and I'm pleased by that.

 He reaches up to brush his hair back out of his face, a long thin scar cuts through his eyebrow and goes straight down his cheek but the eye is undamaged. It only distorts his features, giving him a rather fierce look that his kind eyes can't carry. 

"I'm here to bring you to dinner." His voice is low and deep but timid. He avoids eye contact, staring towards my hip instead of meeting my gaze. It would seem Alpha does not trust that I wouldn't allow my people to be slaughtered? 

Perhaps he was checking to see if I was still alive or if I had conjured up more dragons. Rolling my eyes, I push past the tall man. 

"I am perfectly capable of bringing myself. I wish for my people to not meet their demise at the hands of your leader." My voice is harsh. It's as if he wants to be shorter than me, which is difficult considering I'm not very tall and he's over 6 feet. 

Is it part of the standard of the Lycan army to be gigantic? 

 "What?" I demand. The tension is putting me on edge, he flinches away from my cutting tone.

"I'm sorry for what happened here." He is cautious, the look on his face suggests he isn't happy with our situation either. His tone and sympathy remind me of Gena, briefly, I wonder where she is and if she's safe.

A frown is my only response as I try to play the diplomat. We walk wordlessly down the hallway into the dining hall and I pause as I realize the place is overrun with Lycans. We must pass through the throne room and in it; there is a stack of paintings and books. 

My heart tears in half as I take in the scene. My books; history books, family journals, stories, and spellbooks. Why? Why destroy it? I look accusingly at the man beside me, "What the hell is this? " I demand and he looks ashamed.

  Maybe this is what he was apologizing for? 

"A cleansing." He watches the pile as it is set ablaze and I ball my fists. Was it a cleansing or a punishment?