Chapter 4
Alden could hear the sound of laughter coming from the throne room. Blake rolled his eyes as he walked ahead of him and entered into the throne room, where Alden's mother, Luna Queen Vienna and their father, Alpha King Rowland, were having what seemed like a private romantic moment together.Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.
Luna Vienna went on about her meeting with the wives of the Pack's elders as she gently messaged the Alpha's shoulders to his liking, and only paused when she saw Alden and Blake walk into the throne room. "Greetings, father, Luna," Blake said, with a light bow. "Greetings, father, mother," Alden said, bowing fully.
"Greetings, princes of the Silver Crest Pack," Alpha Rowland stated, motioning for them to have their seats.
"Blake, I must say it is a surprise to see that you showed up on time today. That's really impressive. At least, there's hope for you, unlike that Liam. We'll be lucky if he even honors your father's call," Luna Vienna remarked.
"Keep my name out of your mouth, will you? Oh, never mind! I forgot for a second that you always have to make me look bad in a bid to make your unfit son seem worthy enough to be crowned the next Alpha of our Pack," Liam retorted, as he strolled into the throne room leisurely.
"That's no way to speak to your stepmother, Liam!" Alpha Rowland barked furiously.
A smirk played around Liam's lips as he eyed the Luna all over. "I don't think it counts as disrespect if I don't recognize her as my stepmother or even the Luna of this great kingdom. To me, she has always been and will always be my mother's maidservant," Liam said.
Alden clenched his fists tightly, trying his best to suppress his anger. "That's enough, Liam," he said in a more gentle tone than he had intended.
"Or what?" Liam snapped, glaring at him. "We both know there's nothing you can do about it. You have a maidservant's blood running through your veins. You shouldn't even get to speak to me, loser," he said, and with that, he offered a simple bow to his father and took his seat.
It was true that Alden, Blake and Liam were brothers and had been born on the same day, but they had different mothers and the story behind it all created a perceived enmity and division between the brothers.
At this point, Luna Vienna had had enough and decided to gracefully exit the throne room, but not without having the last word. Stopping right in from of Liam, she scoffed, looking him directly in the eye.
"You called my son a loser when you're the biggest loser. You're condescending, arrogant and overbearing. It is true that I was once a maidservant, but doesn't it irk you to know that if the people had a chance to vote, they'd choose a maidservant's son over you to lead them? Little wonder your mother died the moment you were born. She couldn't stand seeing the disappointment you'd turn out to be," Luna Vienna said, then walked out of the throne room, feeling really satisfied.
Liam stood up as though to go after her, but his father stopped him right in his tracks. "If you still have any interest in becoming the next Alpha of the Pack, you would sit down right this minute and quit disrespecting my wife!" Alpha Rowland thundered.
"You heard what she said!" Liam fired back at his father, who by this time was shifting uncomfortably in his seat as beads of sweat formed around his forehead.
"Well, you started it first, so sit down and stop making the rest of us remain here longer than we want to," Blake told him.
"How do you expect me to not voice out my frustration when the mere presence of her provokes me?" Liam retorted.
"Just learn to ignore her like I have," Blake responded.
"Easy for you to say. Your mother isn't dead. She was just chased out for being an adulteress," Liam said.
Alpha Rowland tried to stop the bickering, but he couldn't voice out anything as everywhere around him became blurry and he started feeling a sudden weakness. "Father, are you okay?" Alden asked calmly, noticing his father's state as he left his seat and went to check up on him.
The other brothers paid no attention as they kept going back and forth with each other.
"I have always honored and respected your late mother, so don't disrespect my mother by calling her names," Blake said, standing up and facing Liam squarely.
"I'm not calling her names. I called her an adulteress. Is that such a bad thing? Didn't she commit adultery?" Liam asked.
Blake didn't hesitate to swing his fist at Liam who ducked it with ease. "You're just insufferable, going around and making a big deal over a mother you never even met," Blake retorted.
"How dare you!" Liam yelled, punching Blake in his right eye, which resulted in a scuffle between the two of them.
Meanwhile, Alden noticed Alpha Rowland was running a fever, and as he tried to help him stand to his feet so he could get him to his chamber, Alpha Rowland slumped to the floor before he could even take a step. "Father!" Alden screamed, falling to his knees as he checked his pulse.
His scream sounded throughout the entire palace, and Blake and Liam broke off their fight to rush to their father's aid.
"Quit screaming like a girl and get the Pack's doctor," Liam said, as Blake helped him place their father on his back. "Will he be okay?" Alden asked, fearfully.
"The man is still breathing. Just hurry up and get the Pack's doctor," Blake told him.
Alden sped out of the throne room as fast as he could and didn't stop until he got to the infirmary, where he met the Pack's doctor who was on his way out, and informed him of what had happened. After what seemed like ages but was merely two hours later, Alpha Rowland opened his eyes. The Pack's doctor had treated him and had said his heart was weak, but it wasn't anything to worry about.
Planning your weekend reading? Ensure you're on 5s.org for uninterrupted enjoyment. The next chapter is just a click away, exclusively available on our site. Happy reading!
When he awoke in his bedroom, he turned to see Alden sitting by his bedside, saying a prayer to the Moon Goddess.
"You can stop praying now. Your prayers have been answered," Alpha Rowland said weakly.
"Father, you're awake!" Alden said, snapping his eyes open as he checked to see if his father was still running a fever.
"Where are your brothers?" he asked, sitting up with great difficulty.
"I don't know. They left as soon as they dropped you off. I'll ask the guards to send for them, but the Luna is outside. They refused to let her in until you were conscious," Alden explained.
"I see. You and your mother are the only ones who care about me," the Alpha said.
"That's not true, father. Liam and Blake just don't know how to express their feelings," Alden said.
"You just love seeing the good in people. You know I'd make you the next Alpha of the Pack and give you the whole kingdom if I could, right?"
"Father, I..."
"I know you don't really have an interest in becoming the Alpha, but it's for your own security. Your brothers don't consider you as their own blood, and I'm afraid of what would happen to you and your mother if I die suddenly. Still, I would be criticized if I failed to make it a fair game, so your brothers also have a chance. My hands are tied," Alpha Rowland lamented.
Alden gave him a small smile. "Whatever happens, mother and I will be fine. Just focus on getting better," he said.
"Of course. Please, tell your mother to return to her quarters. I will visit her soon. Right now, I need to have a conversation with you and your brothers," Alpha Rowland stated.
Minutes later, Blake and Liam arrived, pleased to see their father in good condition as he drank chamomile tea, but for some reason, their reactions said otherwise. "Greetings, father," they said, with a bow.
"Greetings, princes. I will go straight to the point. The reason I called you earlier on and now is about the mission you had to carry out before one of you would be selected as the next Alpha of the Silver Crest Pack," Alpha Rowland revealed. "You said we should go out to the forest and wait till dawn and the mission would come to us, but these fools abandoned it and forced me to join them in saving a girl I know is up to no good," Liam was quick to say.
"You're the one who caused her to fall off the edge of that cliff in the first place. Besides, dawn had appeared already and no mission was in sight," Blake fired back at him.
Planning your weekend reading? Ensure you're on 00005s.org for uninterrupted enjoyment. The next chapter is just a click away, exclusively available on our site. Happy reading! Alpha Rowland raised his hand, stopping them from saying anything more. "I am delighted to inform you all that the maiden you saved in question is your mission," he stated. "What do you mean by that, father? Was our mission to save her?" Blake asked.
Alpha Rowland shook his head in the negative. "It's not that. Didn't you all feel a special connection to the maiden you saved?" he inquired.
There was a deafening silence for a while, as the brothers looked at each other, none willing to admit how they had felt to their father until Alden broke the silence.
"It was the first time I was ever feeling that way for anyone. There was this attraction I felt to her against my will. Wait a second, does that mean she is my mate?" Alden asked, as his feelings began to slowly make sense to him.
"If she's your mate, then what is she to me? I'd admit I'm always fantasising about one girl or the other, but I swear, it's different with Ciara. It's just like you said... an insane attraction against my better judgment," Blake said. "How about you, Liam? How do you feel about her?" Alpha Rowland inquired.
"I would rather not talk about it. The real question is, so what if we have a special connection to this girl? What makes her our mission?" Liam barked.
"It would interest you to know that the late priest prophesied that when dawn breaks on the celestial day in your twentieth year, your mate would appear to you at the Knight's Tale forest," Alpha Rowland explained. "It was the celestial day yesterday. Does that mean Ciara is mated to all three of us?" Alden asked.
"Ciara being our mate makes absolutely no sense and it still doesn't answer the question," Liam stated.
"I agree that it doesn't make sense, because I for one, wouldn't want to share my girl, especially with you two," Blake added.
"Don't worry. You won't have to share. She just needs to accept one of you as her mate, and whoever successfully captures her heart will be named the next Alpha of the Silver Crest Pack," Alpha Rowland declared. "What?" The three brothers all blurted out at once.
"We could have had any reasonable mission, and what you're saying is everything boils down to a girl?" Liam asked.
"Any of you who wishes to not be a part of this can back out. Love, to me, is the greatest quality any leader can possess. Besides, I don't decide your fate. The universe does. If I were you, I'd go now and start looking for ways to win the heart of my fated mate. Also, apart from myself and the Luna, no one, not even Ciara is to know of this mission," the Alpha King stated, dismissing the brothers, who left the room; a different and more confused version of themselves than they were when they stepped in.