Chapter 55: Chapter 55
Tyler’s POV]
I yelled angrily, forcing myself to not lay hands on her, but rather struck my fists against the sculpture of one of my ancestors in the throne room and it scattered into many different pieces.
The maid, Tami, moved backwards, looking up at me with dreadful terror as tears began to roll down her cheeks. She fell to her knees, clasping her hands tightly and begging me for mercy. “I… I am sorry,” she said.
“Sorry? That’s all you have to say? You’re sorry? Tell me, who is your Alpha? Who is your Lord? Who has power over you?” I yelled at her.
“You… only you, Alpha Tyler,” she said, sobbing really hard as tears kept on rolling down her cheeks in torrents.
“It’s my fault, Alpha King Tyler. Please, let her be and punish me instead,” Malia said, and she immediately kept quiet as I flashed her a cold glare.
She looked down at her feet, bending one toe over the other, appearing to be afraid.
“Of course, you deserve to be punished and I will see later to that. Don’t get ahead of yourself,” I said, with an irritable scowl.
She nodded her head simply, and as soon as I gave the order, the maid was led outside by the guards to be flogged a hundred strokes of the cane. Malia shot her a pitiful glance and I know she blamed herself for the excruciating pain that was about to be meted out on her.
“Can’t you let it slide this once, please?” Malia pleaded, summoning the courage to speak to me again.
“Shut up this instant! You already knew what would happen to you, not so? How dare you think you could fool me? You plotted with that swine of a maid to hide your monthly periods and wash the bedsheets secretly in order to fool me into thinking you’re pregnant. How dare you?!” I yelled at her.
“Well, what else was I supposed to do?” she yelled back at me, snapping hard. “What else? You wouldn’t speak to me kindly, you wouldn’t shower me with as much love as you used to, you won’t spend time with our daughter, you won’t let me go and pay a visit to my sick old father who is on his sickbed after you forced him to go to war with you in his old age and he took the sword that was meant to have struck you! He did that for your sake!” she yelled, crying even more.
“So what? He’s not the first person to lay down his life for me and he won’t be the last. Everyone in this Pack owes me loyalty and they are bound to pay with their lives if it ever comes to that,” I said to her.
“Fine, you’re right, Alpha Tyler. But it doesn’t stop me from justifying my actions. You’ve made it very clear that I am nothing but a baby machine to you, and you obviously detest me so much with every ounce of hatred a person could ever possess. I lied to you because if you believed I was pregnant, I would be able to be close to you like I once was and probably rekindle our old flame. More importantly, I believed that you would finally spend time with Talia and see the big picture of what you’re missing out on by pushing her away, and… and Tee, I really just want to see my dad one last time before he passes on. I’ve heard his condition isn’t good at all, but he’s holding on just to see me before he goes to be with my mum and the Moon Goddess,” she said, then her voice broke and she started sobbing really hard.
I couldn’t help it, but begin to laugh. “Wow, Malia. I’m surprised that you really thought that could work on me. So, what would have happened if I had believed your lie? I’m just wondering,” I noted.
“I would have later said I had a miscarriage, but I figured that by then, I would have had you back and you really wouldn’t mind,” she answered.
“Well, as usual, the Moon Goddess was on my side and didn’t let me be deceived. I don’t care about what happens to your father or that silly thing you call my child. You won’t step out of this palace and for the next one week, we’ll have intense sexual activities for you to take in. If that still fails, perhaps, I would get married to someone else. It’s been five years, Malia. Trust me, I have waited long enough and I wouldn’t mind replacing you with someone who can give me a male child,” I stated, then turned around to leave.
“Mommy, mommy,” I heard the tiny voice of the child I hated the most call as she ran into the throne room, with auburn hair like her mother’s, packed neatly in a ponytail.
Malia quickly wiped the tears from her eyes, so she didn’t notice she was crying and turned to regard her daughter, Talia, with a big smile on her face.
However, Talia stood still in a spot, avoiding eye contact with me.
“Haven’t I told you not to show up around me?” I asked her, hostilely.
“I’m sorry, Alpha Tyler. I heard mommy was here and wanted to see her. I was ahead of everyone again today in the horse-race, swordsmanship and swimming tests. The teachers have decided to train me with the ten-year-olds since I am ahead of most of my mates, and wanted to know if that’s okay with both of you,” she said slowly, but clearly.
I felt a tinge in my heart and looked at her, shaking my head in disappointment. “If you were a boy, that would have meant something, wouldn’t it?” I said, with sadness laced in my voice.
She looked down, not saying a word, and for a moment, there was awkward silence until Malia decided she had had enough.
“You did well, Talia. Mommy is proud of you. Come here,” she said, extending her arms and Talia’s face lit up, then she ran into her mother’s arms.
“What about daddy? Is he proud of me, too?” she asked in her tiny voice.
Malia looked over at me and our eyes met, but I was quick to look away then began to walk out briskly.
“He is, my love. I promise you he is,” I heard her say, just before I exited the throne room.
Like her mother, Talia was perfection itself. Over the last five years, Malia had lost a lot of weight and wasn’t as attractive anymore, and maybe I had played a part in it. She was losing sleep over her inability to carry a child and I wasn’t making it any easier for her, and I wasn’t going to. I deserved to have a son; it was my birthright.
Talia looked just like the younger version of her mother. However, she took after me in every other thing, maybe even better. I could hear the people talk wherever I went to. She was way too smart for her own age, she excelled in anything she decided to do, the people admired and loved her and she was a breath of fresh air, but like me, they all agreed on one thing. If she had been a boy, it would have been way better, and no matter how others decided to act civilised and like gender didn’t matter and whatnot, I was a man of traditional values and if I ever had a son someday, I would give him the world.
“Your carriage is ready, your highness,” Larry said to me.
“How sure are you that this witch is good at her job?” I asked him.
“Rumours have it that she has been alive for four centuries. If that is true, then she is definitely good at her job. Once again, our Pack would prosper with her help,” he said to me.
“Did you load in all the precious stones and gift items?” I asked.
“Yes, your highness,” he replied.
“Good. Remember, no one must know of my whereabouts. I’ve spent my whole life dedicated to getting rid of witches. I can’t have my people think that I am a hypocrite,” I said to him.
“Yes, your highness. Your trip would be confidential and no one, not even the Luna would find out,” he assured me.
“Good. I’ll take my leave now. Do ensure that the Luna doesn’t step out of the palace. I should be back by tomorrow morning,” I told him.
“Okay, your highness,” he said.
I looked away and began to head towards the carriage. Inside the palace, no one would notice that anything was wrong with the Crescent Pack, but like the Omega whom I hated to remember had said when she placed a curse on us, the Pack was now almost ruined.
Enemies attacked us from all over the place, and to make it all worse; we always lost. More than quarter of the members of the Pack had lost their lives, including notable elders like the Delta, Elder Charles and very soon, the Beta, my so-called father-in-law would join them. We had lost our reputation and my people were constantly being forced to be slaves with our treasures being used as a form of truce that was always broken.
I needed a permanent solution, and so, when the Gamma had come to me in the middle of the night to tell me about a powerful witch, I had chosen to follow that route as a last resort, even though I had warned her not to say such a thing to me again and had lied that I wouldn’t seek out the witch to solve my problems.
These past few years had been my worst moments in life, but as they say, “tough times do not last.” Soon, things would be better again, and it wasn’t just the optimism in me speaking; things actually did take a different turn after my meeting with the witch.