Chapter 4: Where Are My Seers?!

Glassware shattered against the wall as the Alpha King breathed harshly in the confines of his room. "Where are my seers?!" He growled at his maids and servants, his hands flailing wildly as he failed to support himself. No one dared to come close to him...at the same time, no one dared to run away. The situation was typical of the devil and the blue sea scenario. The Alpha picked a flower vase and hurled it blindly. It missed a quivering maid's head by mere inches. "Where are my seers!" He growled again, his wolf barely contained. "They...they..." the maid stuttered, words and logic failing her simultaneously. She fell to the floor, tears streaming down her face, "You yYou must forgive me, your highness, I do not know the status of such things." Sweat dripped from the Alpha's face. His features were unusually pale, and his eyes had a crazed look to them. It was obvious to anyone looking at him that he was a very sick man, holding onto the last threads of his life. And yet, he struggled viciously to hold on to that much, refusing to succumb to the whims of his sickness. His claws bared in his human form, and terrifying yellow fangs grew from his mouth. A male servant peed on himself as the half-shift happened, while a female maid fainted on the pile of broken things on the floor. The rest bowed to the floor as their wolves quivered before him in submission. The Alpha held the quivering maid by the neck, attempting to strangle her with his claws. No matter how much the girl clawed, scratched, or begged for pity with her eyes. He was far too gone to come back. Her neck snapped, much like twigs breaking from a tree. Her lifeless body fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes, and one more servant peed on himself, his whole body wracked with tremors through the act. A man stepped into the vast room. He casually swept his eyes over the gory sight of the room. Clock wares, glass wares, candles and their stands, teacups, any kind of breakable thing one could think of lay strewn and broken somewhere. The Alpha walked barefoot on the shards of the broken flower vase, uncaring of the fact that it cut through his skin. He approached the man, staggering through it all, and leaving a trail of his blood behind him. "Your highness," the man greeted with a bow, his eyes holding no fear. "I've brought good news." With a sweep of his hand, the man dismissed the maids and servants. And the dead body was carried away. "You must do well to take care of your body, your highness. You still have a thousand years to live." The Alpha scoffed, and his wolf receded into the corners as fangs and claws disappeared. "Are you here to tease me? Do you not see how I wither every day!" He finished with a thunderous growl. But the other man did not shake, nor did he quiver at the voice of the most powerful Alpha in the North, and possibly, in all the kingdoms. Although it could be argued that his status as the most powerful was in the past tense. Seeing the Alpha's current perilous state. Instead, the man kowtowed three times, his body firm throughout it all. When he was done with the act that conveyed his deep respect, he said. "How could I possibly tease you when I say I've brought good news?" "Spill!" The Alpha commanded as he staggered back to his bed. He poured some alcohol for himself and drank it. It would seem that in the carnage that destroyed the room, the bottle of alcohol managed to stand untouched. He found the brown liquid distasteful, unable to quench his innermost hunger... unable to numb out all the voices in his head. So he hurled the cup, the glass shattering a few metres away from the man. A shard sliced at his cheeks, and blood flowed, but the man didn't react. "Your highness, we have sent the memos throughout the kingdoms, and to a very good extent, the Alphas cooperated." He said, his voice strong. "To a very good extent?" The Alpha growled, "That means some Alphas resisted by command!" "You must be calm, your highness," the man tried to placate him, "Indeed, the AAlphas of the eastern lands tried to resist." The Alpha hurled the alcohol bottle against a wall at the mention of 'eastern'. "Those damn eastern lords again!" He seethed, his wolf's yellow eyes at the fore. He stood again nd staggered towards the man. His feet crunching against the littered broken glass, leaving blood strewn about his room. The man bowed, this time much lower. The Alpha too lowered himself as he clutched his arm tightly until they were face to face. "But you need not worry," the man said, "the two seers we need from there are already on their way to the capital. I promised you, did I not? Nothing will stand in my way of carrying out your wishes." "In that case, I must thank you, Moorim," the Alpha said with a scoff. "What now? Should I bow to you to show my thanks?" Moorim fell to the floor, his eyes turned to the ground. Fiercely, he shouted, "How would I dare make such a request of you!" The Alpha laughed ". You need not be too loyal," he said sarcastically, "I heard all the Alpha lords question my supreme rule." "It is their foolery!" Moorim shouted with conviction, "It is because they have failed to see your supremeness!" "Indeed," the Alpha continued laughing, "my sons are plotting against me too. Is that because they have failed to see the supremacy of their father and Alpha?" Moorim stuttered a bit, unable to answer that question. "Do not worry, I do not require an answer from you," the Alpha said menacingly, "the ones I require an answer from, you said they are on their way to the capital?" "Indeed." "When will they arrive?" "Just in time for your birthday." "That is perfect indeed. Now, I shall see how those sons of mine who are incapable of taking care of their clans and tribes purport to take over my position... "...I shall see how they think it will be possible." "Your highness, indeed, you're truly blessed by the moon goddess. Do not allow one seed that has lost its way to affect you." "One seed?" The Alpha scoffed loudly, "One seed you say?! I believe that of my fourteen sons, not one of them will want to see me dead if they see themselves in my position! Those ingrates, I am their father and Alpha! How dare they!" Moorim bowed further as if that were possible. All that remained was for the ground to swallow his head. "Your highness!" He screamed with an enviable boldness, "It is true that in the past years, some of them have formed their factions. But no matter what, they still see you as their father before you're a king to them." "Well,l I am supposed to be a king to them before I am their father!" The Alpha growled, his body thrumming from anger so raw that he could taste it on his lips. He hugged himself as if a sudden chill had descended on him, "One of them wants to kill me," he said in a voice unlike his thunderous one. It was small...and scary, "and one of them wants to take my throne. I am sure of it, the moon goddess showed it to me... in the Theta's dreams" He knelt before Moorim, his eyes panicking, "Do you know how much it has taken me to rise to this position? To be the Alpha of all Alphas?" "I know, your highness!" Moorim screamed his answer, his head still bowed and touching the floor. "Then tell me why the moon goddess has abandoned me!" The Alpha was shouting again, the small voice gone, "tTellme why the goddess has made it so that one of them shall rise bigger than I've risen! And their stars shall shine brighter than mine!" Perhaps, if Moorim were a true loyalist, he would have said that it was a good thing for a son to rise above their father. He would have further added that with the Wasted Tribe forming a large faction of rogue packs, now more than ever, what the sick Alpha needed was a capable son to take over before the capital and the regions fell into deeper despair. But he said none of that. Perhaps not because he was disloyal, but probably because such truth will have his head hanging from a spike. "All this man knows," Moorim gritted out, never raising his eyes, "is that your highness shall forever reign supreme!" The words forever and supreme lingered in the room like a seductive word, bouncing off the walls. The Alpha knelt before him, not in submission, but to better grip the other man's shoulders. "Not just my sons," he muttered to him, "but the Theta has failed to see my supremeness." For the first time that night, true fear engulfed Moorim. He swallowed, raising his head just slightly. "What do you mean, Your Highness? Was it not the Theta that showed you the words of the goddess?" He asked, trepidation curling in him like a morbid viper. The Alpha's features twisted from animosity, "Well, she didn't show me everything. Why has she not mentioned the faces behind her revelations?" He asked bitterly. "Perhaps she didn't see them? Perhaps the goddess failed to show them to her," Moorim muttered, suddenly feeling distraught and defeated. "That is why I've had the seers coming to me, anyone who sees the truth shall take over the Theta position. I've no use for an old woman who has exhausted her spiritual powers." The Alpha stood abruptly, staggering back to his bed. "You're my most loyal subject," his wolf growled at Moorim's, his yellow eyes shining in the dim light, "it's for this reason that you must ensure that the seers make it to the capital safely! No one must confuse their minds." Moorim rose and bowed again to the Alpha, who seemed to be on the throes of death, Your Highness, may you live for a thousand years!"