Leah's POV
"What have you done to Finn?" I stood up and approached Leo. "His DNA was modified before he was even born. Are you out of your mind?!"
I tried to suppress the anger in my chest, but it was pounding so hard that my chest was almost about to explode.
Leo didn't avoid confronting me. He sat there, looking up straight into my eyes. I saw a mysterious smirk on the corner of his mouth.
"Now you're interested in my story," he said in a plain voice.
"I don't want to know anything about you and your sorry, miserable past, Leo. If you have really done what I thought you had done, you're nothing but a sick bastard!" I shouted at him.
"Keep the volume down, Leah. You can't rule this Kingdom with a hot temper like this," he said. "If the prophecy is true, you'll be the next Queen of the entire Kingdom. The first true she-wolf leader in the thousands of years of werewolf history."
"What are you talking about?!" I asked in a pressing voice. I didn't want to use my Lycan voice on my brother. It would make me look weak.
Leo stood up and looked down at me.
I could see a mixture of sadness and bitterness in his eyes.
"Leah, before you were born, you had already become the chosen one. His Majesty and His Highness paid a visit to the Moon Goddess Temple. They communicated with the Goddess through an oracle. The oracle told His Majesty that his daughter would become the Queen of the Kingdom after the death of His Majesty. That's, well, in my opinion, such a great burden for an unborn baby to bear."
Leo took a pause and continued, "After you were born, His Majesty started to look for the candidates for your Batair in the entire Kingdom. With the help of the oracle, His Majesty narrowed it down to the eldest son of the Swansons from Eagle Tail Pack. His name is Lester Swanson. He is Darren Swanson's elder brother. However, Alpha Derek Swanson didn't want to sacrifice his eldest son. That's why he bribed the oracle and changed your Batair's name from Lester to Darren."
Then, he leaned closer to me while lowering his voice -
"You know, the second child in a family is usually the less favorable child."
Leo's words were like knives, stabbing into my chest.
I withdrew a bit and fell into a chair.
"Great, you're sitting down right now." Leo took his seat right in front of me and said. "You do need to sit down to hear the rest of the story."
"What happened next?!" I asked.
"Well, anyone who tries to fool His Majesty will be punished severely. When His Majesty found out what really happened, he cast Alpha Derek overseas. That's why Darren was sent to boarding schools after boarding schools."
"What happened to Alpha Derek's eldest son, Lester?" I asked in a dry voice.
Leo pushed his glasses and answered, "He was sacrificed to His Majesty at his disposal. And hence, he became the prototype of the enhancement project."
"Prototype?! Did you do some sort of experiment on him?!" I had to cover my mouth so that I didn't scream.
"Yes," Leo said in an affirmative voice. "We did rounds of experiments on him for consecutive seven years. In a short version, he was dissembled and put back again before being dissembled. The process was too graphic, so I don't think such a nice lady like you would be interested. All I can say is that whatever I've done in that pain chamber is with the consent of His Majesty. I know you've heard lots of rumors of me doing unethical practices. But do you really think that I could continue such an obnoxious project without a nodding from His Majesty?"
In the quietude of a quaint countryside mansion, the afternoon sun spilled its golden hues through the lace curtains, casting intricate patterns on the wooden floor. The aroma of freshly baked bread and wildflowers wafted through the air, yet the atmosphere felt heavy with unspoken unease.
I took a deep breath and stared at my reflection in the silver teaspoon. My emerald eyes, once alive with laughter, now held a haunted glimmer, mirroring the turmoil within my soul.
I couldn't believe what Darren's brother had been through all these years. Even by the brief description from Leo, I had already felt overwhelmed.
"The truth is always surprisingly brutal, Leah. That's why people always avoid facing the naked truth. But today, since I've made a lot of effort to get you here, I've decided to be open and frank with you. I'm going to tell you things that nobody could ever imagine in their lives. The real person behind the name of His Majesty the Lycan King."
"No..." I shook my head while covering my ears. "Don't tell me anything. This is enough. I don't want to hear anything coming from you!"
Leo pulled himself closer to me and used his hands to grab my wrists.
I tried to break away by using my Lycan force, but to my great surprise, I failed.
I looked up at Leo in his eyes. He was still calm and chill. I couldn't see any emotions in his eyes. They remind me of sharks.
Then, he spoke in a pressing, deafening Lycan voice, "Leah, do you think that His Majesty, the grandson of a drunkard and a whore, would get to be who he is right now without certain measures and visions?"
The sound of his voice was so loud that it made my head start buzzing. I felt that my head was going to explode.
I had never heard anyone talking to me in Lycan voice. Until that day, I had never known what the voice was like.
I knew I had to break free from Leo, but I didn't know how. I wanted to scream, but when I opened my mouth, there was nothing coming out of it other than blood.
All of a sudden, my vision was blurred by blood before the whole world turned crimson.
I tried to gasp air into my throat, but I ended up choking my own blood.
A thought came into my mind and made me petrified.
Leo must have been physically enhanced. His strength and force were ten times stronger than an average Lycan.
I saw the smug smile on Leo's lips.