Finlay let guards lead him out of the dungeon like a thief, although he wasn't beaten. They took him as an Impostor but were scared of what he could do because they knew he was an Alpha. Although no one had anything valid proof of not being Alpha Finlay, they just thought of him as an Impostor because no one thought of a man with the same face as the late Alpha, to show up. Finlay was led into the council hall that boomed with hundreds of his pack members. The crowd broke into a collective gasp. This from those who were just seeing him for the first time. There was murmuring from the entourage, Finlay used his ears to pick out statements like; "That's him, he's alive. Alpha Finlay is alive." "Poor man is being bound in chains because they're afraid of what he might do, mostly his half-brother who governs the pack uselessly." "Yes, they don't want him to claim what's rightfully his. But the moon goddess will be the dictator tonight." "I don't care if he's an Impostor or not, he
It was dawn and Finlay hadn't slept a wink ever since he was escorted to the castle with an unconscious Ophelia in his arms. The council of elders denied him of gaining full access to his home because there was still a need for proper interrogation to confirm if he was truly Alpha Finlay. His insensitive half-brother, Cestus was exasperated and ordered the guards to kill him, but the entourage was against this.Outside, the metal door was guarded because he was still under arrest, it even took some pleading before they let him take his wife into the servants' quarters at the castle's premises.Although more than half of his pack members believed he was truly Finlay, the rest were skeptical because the man who was buried a year ago had the same physique as Finlay but was without a head.Still, he knew they would believe him so time later.He was doing just fine already.Finlay remained on the only stool in the room the entire night as he stared at the unconscious frame of his wife. No
"I believe you're willing to accept the penalty of death if you answer these questions incorrectly?" Elder Festus asked. Finlay paused for a moment, from where he stood in front of the crowd. They were gathered yet again for his interrogation and today was his last straw. He knew that forgetting somethings would cost him his head. "Yes, my lord." Finlay gave the elder a firm head bow, then let his eyes rest on the council of elders. "What is the Dupree's heirloom?" "A patchwork gothic moon was crafted by my half-Scottish half-British sixth grandfather, Elrod Dupree and he passed it onto Dankworth who was next in line to the Alpha throne. Dankworth died from a plague by the moon goddess because of his cruelty, so Whitlock, his younger brother was crowned Alpha and so was the patchwork gothic moon handed over to Carnel Dupree who was the crippled Alpha. He was known to be impotent and couldn't pregnant his own wife so was he childless until the Sun God aligned with the Moon goddess t
Ophelia walked into her old chambers and saw the servants set to work. It was literally empty with dust and cobwebs gracing every bit of it. The one place of comfort and solitude looked like where a madman spent many nights. The air emitting in the ambiance was awful like that of several decaying rats. Before, there was a giant bed in the middle with royal pillows and a duvet. Her most prized possessions, a fireplace, and a small library with a stack of books because she hated going to the library room to read since she preferred the comfort of her room. Her balcony was empty, with no chairs and table, nor the telescope her younger sister gifted her. Cestus Dupree ruined the place after kicking her out. So this is it? She inwardly muttered to herself after heaving deeply. Her legs did a little bit of fright-dance because she was to resume her duties to her husband from now on. The thought of him visiting her at night was enough to transport chills down her spine. Because she had a
Continuation..."You cleaned up nicely, my lord." She broke the silence, trying to be bold because she didn't want him to know how unsettled he was."Yes. You didn't join me and the others for lunch. May I know why?" There was this quiet mysteriousness surrounding Finlay. He wasn't like this before. Possibly the tortures he suffered changed a tad of him."I wasn't hungry, my lord." She answered, avoiding his gaze. And instantly regretted it because her stomach gave off a loud rumbling sound.Finlay scoffed, curled his hand into a fist, raised it to his mouth, and bit into it as he observed her for a second. Her cheeks were completely flushed from embarrassment."Are you avoiding me, Ophelia?""What? No." She feigned being surprised but her left eye twitched."You've always been one bad liar," he chuckled. "Your left eye always twitches when you lie."Ophelia looked away from his gaze and then tucked a few strands of red curls behind her ear, "why are you here, my lord?""What would it
To Ophelia's utter dismay, the castle was booming with guests who wanted to welcome Finlay for his survival and arrival. The man had numerous friends. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Plus the ones who openly talked about large-breasted women they've bedded at the pleasure house, and the ones who made fun of her being sterile in front of Finlay. And they would all laugh, leaving her with a lost appetite and a pain-pierced heart. Of course, Finlay's laughter was always the loudest. Because of such in the past, she deliberately avoided them, claiming she wasn't feeling too well. On the contrary, Finlay had been ignoring her since the previous evening when she mentioned his mistress, Elodie. Or maybe he didn't want to see the sight of her because there was nothing useful about her. She didn't believe any of the words he told her last night.Not to talk of how disturbing it was to settle and be Luna once more;One. The impending endless meetings she would host with Crimson Paw women.Two
"As you can see, I am fine, my lord. You needn't worry about me. It's just a wine stain which can be washed off, and the chicken feet smack rendered me pain only for a brief second," Ophelia was trying all means to send Finlay away. The man had his height lowered to her chair level as he was observing her face like she was an egg with a crack. He had taken her to her room right after the incident took place. It was foreign. The old Finlay would never do such a thing."Please go back and entertain your guest, my lord," she pressed on, hating herself for loving the smell of his musk which was somewhat intoxicating. She wondered why everything about him affected her."No," Finlay disapproved, his brows furrowed in worry and Ophelia wondered if she had changed because she never considered his attractiveness before. There was even a subtle charm aligned with it, and it caused the resonation of indescribable emotions in her heart. "You were very much humiliated by Morrison and then your dr
Finlay needed to find that photo album that contained black and white photos from the present to the Sixth Dupree's generation. His hands needed to get to it before anyone could.Since his arrival, he spent a long time in search of it, claiming he wanted to use the bathroom or something else. Cestus, his half-brother, might have seen it and probably burned it. The medium-sized photo album contained vital information that no one needed to see."My lord," "Alpha Finlay,"The cooks appeared flabbergasted when he made his way into the large kitchen that was busy because they were at work.Finlay replied to them with a firm head nod while they remained stiff like statuses at the temple because he looked too intimidating, like a lion calculating the pace of his prey before striking. Except he was a wolf like everyone else, only different and powerful. That was beside the point, Finlay never visited the kitchen. It was Ophelia's duty."Do you need anything, my lord?""The food wasn't as nice