Chapter fifty eight

“Alpha Damien,” Alan bowed on approaching the man and he greeted the High Elders as well. “Please, come inside,” he offered and turned to lead them to the conference room. On getting inside the big space, he let Damien take his seat and made sure the Elders were seated as well before he stood in front of Damien and bowed. “May I know the reason to this early morning visit, High Howlers?”

Aton bowed as well, standing beside his alpha while also wondering what the reason for the visit could be.

Damien sighed and glanced from Alan to Aton and back to Alan. “What happened last night?”

Alan and Aton shared a look before Alan turned to Damien to ask. “What exactly are you asking about, high alpha?”

“Is it true that your daughter was kidnapped by the cat demons?” Damien asked, he could see the man was playing smart with him and knew that the only way he could get what he wants was by asking directly, besides, he deserves to know everything that is happening in every wolf pack.

“Yes, high alpha.”

“Why is that?”

“From what we understand, they had wanted to use her to blackmail prince Edward into giving up his chance to the demon throne.”

“I heard that the Demons crowned a new king last night, so, did the cat demons win?”

At this moment, Alan knew that he can’t lie to the man, something tells him that he already knows the answers to the questions and just wanted to hear them again from him and so he told him everything that happened last night.

“So prince Edward is now King Edward?” Damien asked, still finding it difficult to digest.

“It appears so, alpha.”

“What are we going to do then?” An elder asked, “he has been around for some days now and nothing has been said about the infected wolves and how to save them. Now that he is the demon king, can he still kill the previous king or are we left to our fate with another strong demon to worry about?”

“I will suggest we don’t do anything hasty. The last time we were quick to judge affected us badly,” another Elder suggested.

Damien kept his gaze on Alan and asked right after, “is it true that your daughter can heal the infected?”

Alan sighed, finally the man has asked the one question he knew he had really wanted to know the answer. “We don’t know for sure, alpha.”

“Why that?” An Elder asked, “from what we understand, she healed the Delta’s son and Elder Mattew, didn’t she?”

“The two cases had been an accident, that is why I said we don’t know for sure. If she can really heal them and we know, why wouldn’t she have healed all the infected in our pack? If the High Howlers are doubting me, I can take you to our dungeon and you would see all the wolves that are still locked up.”

Damien sighed, he knew the man was telling the truth, after all, he has no reason to lie to him. “Why haven’t you tried to test and see if she can do it?”

“The first time made her unconscious and I don’t need to remind High alpha whose mate she is. You just need to know that he almost wreaked havoc in our pack if not that she had woken up to stop him. The second time happened in the dungeon and right before we could even hear of the news, she was abducted by the cat demons. They have not been time to test and if we are being honest, we are scared to ask.”

Damien exhaled and drummed his fingers on the chair arms, his eyes glancing around him. “Alpha Alan, at the moment, more than three thousand wolves are infected and you should know that I excluded the rogues. At the rate that the infection is spreading, in last then a year, there won’t be any sane wolf. Do you want it to get to that?”

“Of course not, alpha,” Alan shook his head.

“Then tell me why it seems to me that you are protecting your daughter?”

“Of course not, alpha, I dare not do such thing. I will always remember the alpha’s number one rule, I will like to save my pack and let them know that their alpha would never abandon them. However, no one knows how she does it, not even Aliyah herself.”

“Let us see her, we will talk to her ourselves,” An Elder suggested and Alan’s head sprang up.

“Yes, let us see her, I am sure she would not refuse the order of the High Howlers,” another said and the rest started concurring.

“What is the matter Alpha Alan, you don’t want us to see your daughter?” Damien asked.

Alan shook his head but right before he could answer, Aton stepped forward, “Forgive me High Howler, Alpha,” he bowed to Alan, “but I have just been told that the High Chiefs are here.”

“Malachi, what for?” Damien frowned before allowing Aton to leave and welcome them. They waited impatiently till their new guests can join them and throughout that time, Damien kept glancing at Alan like he could tell him why the High Chiefs were in his pack.

***

“Do you think she would succeed?” Melissa asked Kaiden who was lying down on the wooden bed with his eyes closed.

“One thing I know is that my youngest brother is the most stubborn man I have ever known as he is the strongest. I don’t think she can convince him.”

“But if what she said is true, then that means she stand a chance, right?” Mary asked innoncently.

“It still doesn’t sit well with me,” Merinda spoke up, “I mean, the two powers have resided in him for eight hundred years, why would they be battling each other now?”

“It’s possible,” Melissa said. “His nightwalker’s part has always been stronger and so didn’t give the demon powers time to grow and besides, King Mar-El has been alive till fifty years ago so the Demon fire didn’t go searching for the next host. And when it did at last, it didn’t have room to grow with prince Edward a full-fledged nightwalker. But when he was stabbed with the bark of Tree of Death, thereby killing the nightwalker’s part, the demon fire had the time to develop and I think it was what kept his body fresh enough for his soul to reenter it. Now that he is the demon king, he has enough power to wake his dead part and with nightwalker’s part as strong as it used to be, naturally it would want to take over it’s host but now the Demon fire is proving a hindrance.”

“Everyone knows that the eternal fire is the strongest power in the whole world,” Mary said, “so there is no way it would like to be dominated.”

Kaiden sighed as he thought about everything, “if his inside is really at war as she claims, then it might not really be over for me,” he opened his eyes with hope rising in them as he sat up. “I will just have to summon my infected, before he could kill all of them, he would be too weak to even fight me,” he smiled but his smile didn’t last for long. “However, if she succeeds in coercing him to her side, then I guess I will just live in his shadows forever. Obviously, she seems to favor the strong over the weak.”

-

“How did you get in here?” Edward whispered as he tried to get up from the floor, feeling his bones snap into place as he stood.

The woman chuckled and paced around, “I can go anywhere that I want, don’t you know that yet?”

“Do you have any idea whose palace you are in?”

“Of course, I do, Demon king,” she smiled, “aye, you are the true Demon king, I can feel your powers surging around you that it is even making me to shiver,” she smirked, “I always fall for true power.”

Edward scoffed softly, “if you have come to poach me, I believe you know you won’t succeed.”

“Oh dear King Edward, how can you say that when you don’t even know the offer I bring. Besides, you don’t have to act righteous with me, I can see your heart and like I said before, it is as dark as mine.”

“I know I am not who I used to be, but I know one thing, I can never be like you. Your soul is the darkest I have ever seen or if I should say correctly, you don’t even have one.”

The woman chuckled, “of course, that is why your eternal fire can’t kill me. Hurt me, aye, but never kill me, never.”

Edward stared at the woman for a long time before he gave her a lopsided grin. “If you can kill me, you would have done so by now but I can see it in your eyes that you can’t and that’s why you want me by your side.”

“A general will always be a general, throne or not. Yes, let’s say that you are right, but you are also wrong, I am not here to poach you, I have merely come to offer an assistance.”

“What kind of assistance?” Edward asked, folding his arms on his chest, his blue eyes never shifting from her.

“Like you said, I can tell how weak you are and you are going to become weaker with the passing hour if you don’t get them to cohabit. However, if you continue in the way you are doing, many humans will lose their lives and of course, you don’t care, after all, your heart is now dark. But just in case you do care, I can help you merge them, painlessly.”

“And what do you want in return?”

The woman smiled, “we both know you don’t really want it and I can assure you that the demons will never know, it will be our little secret, you have my vow. So, what am I asking for? Your throne. Your throne for your health.”