Chapter 10: Chapter 10
Behind the scenes
Is a young, wounded soul
Forced to leave the serene
He has to play a role
Without as much as a subroutine
To guide him to his goal
-PenaciousShewa
“Devilio! That is for me!” Basil shouts, running towards his friend, and trying to catch his breath at the same time.
“Hehehehehehe”, the other boy laughs nefariously, “Next time, you should out-run me then you will be able to eat your prey.” Devilio retorts with a smirk on his handsome face.
“But you and I know that I am not as brawny as you are, and no matter how hard I try, I never catch up with you. That’s why I always let you eat the first beaver or rodent so you can let me eat the second one.” Basil complains, apparently pain and of course, hungry.
“You see, I am of a special breed, Basil. You should keep praying to the moon goddess to grant that in your next life, you are the son of Alexander the Great Rogue Alpha. But at this moment and in this dispensation, you must share your food with me”. With a note of finality, Devilio divides the beaver between them and Basil has no choice but to make do with what he has. They eat in silence and play in the woods for a while before walking back towards the territory.
As they do this, they sense a foreboding aura, and they hasten their steps to see what is going on. They run with apprehension and terror towards the gates of the territory, as they step in, they realize that there is pandemonium all around the pack. The gate guards are pacing about with indignation oozing out of their pores. Devilio advances towards one of them and questions him. He is told to just go home.
As he proceeds towards the mansion which is his home, with Basil walking hurriedly behind him, Devilio’s heart beats very fast, thumping fiercely against his teenage chest. He cannot shake away the feeling that something disastrous has happened, and that he will likely not recover from it. He opens the door to the lounge and sees his mother in tears, with her two sisters beside her, trying to assuage her agony and pain. His father’s Beta is present, confused and devastated as Devilio’s mother, but trying his best not to shed tears.
Devilio is transfixed, afraid to speak for what seems like an hour, but is probably closer to a minute. Basil is as petrified as he is. On sighting him, Beta Gyles walks up to Devilio and puts a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Devilio looks into the older man’s eyes and ears what is not said. He immediately comes to an understanding of what has transpired.
His father, the Great Rogue Alpha is dead.
“Tell me,” is all that he is able to say. Gyles guides him and Basil out of the lounge and out of the wailing Luna’s earshot.
“He was murdered, Devilio, in cold blood. He was neutralized by the warriors of our enemy pack.”
“How did they get in, uncle Gyles? I thought we were undefeatable. How could they have done this?” Devilio queries, his eyes replete with tears.
“The Great Rogue Alpha was careful but not as careful as he should have been. After striking that vicious attack on the enemy pack six months ago in order to prove a strong point, we expected them to fight back immediately, so we waited for them to retaliate. Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. We foolishly concluded that they were so devastated by our attack that they were too powerless to react. We weakened our security and that is how they struck. Your father was killed on his routine Lone Wolf patrol.”
“What happened to the intruders, Uncle?”
“While they tried to escape, our best archer was able to shoot at one of them, and with the way the others risked getting shot at just to rescue him, he must be a vital piece to the puzzle, probably the next Alpha.”
“What is next, Uncle?” Devilio asks, overburdened by grief.
“Go and console your mother. After the grieving period, you will take your father’s place. It is a must.” Gyles answers.
“But I am not ready…..I am still young…I am not experienced,” he protests vehemently. His uncle looks at him and shakes his head slowly, “Devilio, you do not have a choice in this matter; as I said earlier, go and soothe your mother. We will visit this once the mourning period is over” With this, Beta Gyles leaves the building without turning to look at his disoriented nephew.
Devilio turns and realizes that Basil has gone back into the lounge to stay with his mother. He walks towards his grieving mother and his heart goes out to her. Seeing her this way only fuels his contempt for the ones who orchestrated this plight. He bends down in front of her and hugs her fiercely.
“Oh, Devilio….why did this have to happen? My love is gone, how am I going to survive? I can’t do this alone darling, how am I going to do life alone without your father?” she says amidst tears.
“Mum, please don’t cry anymore; we will get through this together” he sobs, not believing his words.
“Devilio, it’s alright my boy, let your mother sleep okay? Go get some rest, we will take care of her.” His aunts persuade him.
As he leaves the living room for his room, he resolves in his heart to make every single person that caused him and his mother this great misery pay dearly, whatever the cost.
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