Chapter 83: Chapter 83

Again, Dakar did not seem to notice what had happened. His eyes were sharp and clear as he stared at Camper.

“Do you feel... fine?” Camper asked and took a step forward. Dakar heaved a sigh and crossed his arms.

“No,” he gave an honest answer. He looked behind him at the massive grey palace, then shook his head.

“I need to go see Fiorella,” he stated and walked past Camper.

“You are not going to tell her about the new—”

“I can't. Alpha ordered not to. I can't break it or stop it from happening.”

It was obvious he did not like the idea at all with how he was trying to hide his agitation as he spoke.

“Do you sincerely trust this girl? I mean, do you?” Camper inquired.

Dakar stared at his best friend for long seconds.

“I don't know,” he answered and began to walk away. Camper ran after him.

“You don't know what happened or what she truly got into those two years. Maybe she's not...I don't know. Maybe not who you really knew back on the island.”

Dakar ran a finger through his har. He had thought towards that direction, but did not want to believe Avril had done anything that could be a threat to him.

The two walked in silence until they reached Dakar's palace, he stopped in front of his huge oak doors and shut his eyes abruptly.

“Are you all right?” Camper asked. Dakar groaned and placed his hand against the door for support as he stooped over. That tight pull in his abdomen resumed and he felt like his wolf was being squeezed out of him again.

“Dak... Dakar, help,” he heard a very tiny voice in his head say. A wolf that he knew belonged to his wolf but was hardly recognizable.

“There's something wrong with you,” Camper whispered, as if saying it to himself. Dakar groaned as he clutched his abdomen with his left hand. Camper rushed up and held his waist. He pushed the door open, then helped Dakar walk inside before shutting it. Thankfully, Dakar had no guards around at all so no news would get out that something was going on with him.

Camper walked his groaning friend to a sofa and made him sit, leaning his head on the headrest.

“Let me get you something. Wait here,” he urgently said and ran into the kitchen. His hands shook as he mixed up a herbal concoction hurriedly from a cabinet. He had a guess what was wrong with his friend, but he didn't want to agree with it.

A glass of green liquid in his hand, he ran back to the living room and met Dakar crouched down on the floor, his face red and veins turgid just like Nobleman Mattio's earlier. He bent by his friend and lifted his face.

“Gulp it all the way down and not a drop should be left,” he ordered sternly. Surprisingly, Dakar did not object and gulped everything down. Camper dropped the glass on the table and made Dakar sit back on the sofa.

“My abdomen...is on literal fire,” he groaned and tightened his grip on his stomach like that could quench the heat there.

“I'm calling the healers,” Camper announced but Dakar shook his head.

“No...no,” he objected and gulped down. He began to take deep breaths while Camper looked down at him, his forehead already beaded with sweat.

The supposed fire was dying down, and Dakar's face was returning to normal. The potion had done its work, but it was meant to only stop any sudden pain or abnormal reaction for one hour to create enough time for a healer or doctor to show up.

“Remdangit,” Dakar cussed and opened his eyes.

“I'm calling the healers,” Camper repeated, as if Dakar did not already object.

“You are calling no one. Not yet.”

He got on his feet and began to walk towards the stairs. Camper looked at him and shook his head. He knew Dakar was used to pain and torments in secret, but he knew this one was different. This was not the pain he was used to. And Camper knew, this one would grow worse than the other one.

**

Nobleman Adolphus stood at the balcony of his mansion and overlooked the beautiful terrain of trees, lawns and beautiful cobbled streets in front of him. The sun was setting and painted his skin a golden-orange glow. His knuckles were over the railing, tightly gripped by his fingers.

“Adolphus,” a deep voice sounded behind him.

“You're late,” Adolphus replied. Nobleman Aquarius stepped out from behind him and stood by his side.

“I had personal business,” he responded.

“Personal business? Let me guess, the secret stash of gold you're looting from Lioa's unsuspecting government?”

Aquarius did not quite take that joke likely. He frowned deeply even though that was not what he was doing this time.

“Like I said, Adolphus. It's personal business,” he stated with a tone that showed he was not going to talk about that subject any longer.

“I hear the princess of Lioa has a special interest in the affairs of Remus. Considering the way she always treats you differently whenever you arrive,” Adolphus started with a change of subject.

“Should I ask how exactly you know these things?” Aquarius asked. The frown he wore from the time he stepped in was still etched on his face, maybe even deeper.

“Every man has his way of doing things. You and a lot of the others do them in secret. My way of doing things is to find out those secrets.”

“Is that way Federico is Beta and you're just a nobleman? Because you wasted your time snooping in other people's businesses instead of working your way to authority and greatness?”

A silence rippled through the air. Adolphus' jaw ticked and clenched until his teeth almost pressed into each other. Aquarius knew he had hit a spot that would keep Adolphus' haughty mouth shut, and he was satisfied.

“Now why am I here? I suppose you have something better to call my attention to.”

Adolphus heaved a sigh and swallowed his anger. He couldn't compromise on his plans yet. Just a little more time. A little more time when his plans came to pass and then he could gift a blow or more to men like Aquarius who looked down on him and compared him to his brother.

“The human girl. I see you are not on her side,” he began the real topic of discussion.

“I am not.”

“And why is that?”

Aquarius stared into the eyes of the man beside him before looking back at the sun that had already kissed the horizon.

“Outside of the wards surrounding Remus, everyone in our realm abhors humans. Everyone sees them as filth and weak. But they envy Remus for having them around as servants. They want what we have. To be able to gather humans as slaves, and they respected our kingdom because of that. But when Prince Dakar gave humans rights and stopped their slavery, our respect eased. Imagine how they would look at us if a human became our queen.”

Adolphus' Adam's apple bobbed up and down as his forehead creased.

“They should not even be seen close to our special places, yet they're walking on royal grounds and riding in the cars that belongs to Remusian princes,” he blurted and removed his hat from his head only to wear it back on.

“Exactly. Lioa is particularly a kingdom that cherishes the relationship they have with us. They believe in purity of our races and are willing to help us preserve it just to be in our good books forever.”

Adolphus almost let out a huff. He knew what that meant, and he suspected it long ago.

“The Princess of Lioa,” he spelt out.

“She has special interest in Remus, like you said earlier. Enough interest that she's willing to help her father bind the two kingdoms forever.”

“We can't let that happen.”

Aquarius gave him a side eye.

“Because it's your daughter's position. She's been ready for years, hasn't she?”

“Ñiraka should be the only Queen of this kingdom and Luna of this pack. She was born and trained for this. And I need your help to get her there.”

Aquarius adjusted his tie in his grey waistcoat.

“And what do I stand to gain in this move to push ‘you’ into more power?”

“You get to be the Cabinet Minister of finances. And you get to have that human girl in your bed when we resume human slavery. What's her name again? Nana?”

Aquarius's eyes darkened with greed and lust. The Minister of Finances of the entire kingdom was massive. To hell with the gold of Lioa when just the ‘salary’ of the present minister was twice the amount he was stealing. Not to talk of the things he could also loot in that position.

And his farm girl...that girl.

“What must we do?” he questioned with a defiant voice.

“Three things, my friend. First, we get my daughter to be royalty, second we get rid of the Alpha hereby making the Prince the Alpha, third...we get rid of the Prince leaving only Ñiraka on the throne.”

A lopsided smile etched over Nobleman Aquarius's lips as he stared at the sun that was almost swallowed up by the horizon.

“Sounds like a plan,” he attested, earning Nobleman Adolphus a similar smile.