CHAPTER 42 - LIAM AND HEATHThe sun was starting to set.
Heath kept his stances ready.
With one clean and sharp move, he aimed his longsword through the air. His legs slipped off the ground and less than a second later, a smooth acrobatic movement of Heath's tall, sturdy and slender body made several of the wooden puppets on the practice field cut into many pieces.
He didn't even pant as he put his longsword back into its scabbard. Ever since he became a Lycan, he felt his body change drastically. His five senses improved significantly and still hadn't stopped improving until now.
Especially when he moved, his body seemed to know what to do and immediately obeyed his brain's commands much easier than when he was an ordinary human.
He was an Alpha.
Did all Alphas feel the same way?
Old Duke Rayleigh Almandine, and Young Lord Liam Almandine… Both were extremely powerful Alphas, doubled by the experience and everything they had endured during their lives.
Even if Heath was an Emperor of this continent, he would not be able to defeat them or take his sister back from them.
He was weak.
"Impressive," said a man, suddenly from behind Heath.
Heath turned back, surprised to see Liam standing there leaning on his cane. The man looked dashing and stylish leaning on that cane, a contrast to what he saw this morning as Liam shaking, leaning on his cane.
"Do you want to have a match with me, brother-in-law?" Liam asked.
Heath furrowed his brows in displeasure.
"Even though you're stronger than me, I'm not the type to fight a dying man," Heath said coldly.
Liam smiled gently.
Heath, who looked down on the ground, saw the tip of Liam's cane lift, and the man's feet stepped closer to him. When Heath looked up, he saw the man raise his cane towards him.
The young man was confused, but Liam kept coming closer and placing his cane on Heath's chest so that he could not help but hold the man's cane for him. But he still wasn't done. Liam took Heath's longsword as he was still confused.
Liam walked to the centre of the field and asked Heath to back off a bit.
Seeing Liam casually wanting to show him something, Heath decided to comply and backed off. Then suddenly, Heath felt the atmosphere in the place change completely.
He watched the man with long golden blonde hair prepare the same stance he had used before. Heath's eyes widened as Liam stomped his foot on the ground, and the pieces of the wooden dummy that had fallen victim to Heath's training earlier flew into the air.
Liam jumped like dancing in the air, swinging the sword in his hand with far more precision than Heath. That split second seemed like forever to Heath whose five senses had improved since he became a Lycan.
He could see Liam's every beautiful move, and his acrobatic moves where his feet barely touched the ground at all. Even, the man's movements were so smooth and clean that Heath realized he couldn't hear the sound coming from his body.
But it was not over yet. The longer it went on, the more Heath realized that his own eyes couldn't keep up with Liam's movements anymore. The speed of his eyes that had increased thanks to him being a Lycan couldn't keep up with him–
Liam seemed to be dancing in a vacuum, chopping every piece of wood that flew through the air like cutting butter with a hot knife. No air pressure was distorted, thanks to Liam's movements which were so gentle that nothing else was cut apart from the pieces of wood.
Like a leaf falling to the ground, Liam's feet landed without a sound or a trace.
Swish!
Likewise, pieces of wood were sliced thin like paper and fell to the ground slowly, spreading in all directions.
Heath's eyes widened in disbelief. Was this man really human–wait… He was not human. He was a monster.
A real monster.
"I knew you wouldn't believe it without proof, so I showed it to you," Liam said calmly. Like Heath, he wasn't sweating at all.
The man stepped closer to Heath and returned his sword, before then he retrieved his cane.
"Maybe other people can't, but I can save my power to prolong my life a little longer. If I concentrate, I might be able to do it," Liam said. The man faced his brother-in-law with his golden eyes staring straight at Heath.
"But I don't want to stay asleep and save my strength just to prolong my life when the woman I love is by my side. Before I die, I want to live with her and make memories with her," explained the man.
Heath wanted to say something, but he couldn't.
"If that's still not enough, then I'll try my best to stay alive for as long as I can, giving up every monster power I have just to stay by Harriet's side," Liam continued.
Heath felt his whole body tremble from a strange feeling welling up. Admiration, sadness, respect, anger, annoyance and disappointment.
The man in front of him…
"I will do everything to get you to bless our marriage," Liam said.
Heath could feel every muscle in his body tighten. The man before him gave him a new outlook on life, one he still couldn't fully understand.
"Do you love my sister?" Heath asked in a weak voice.
Liam was silent, but the smile remained on his face.
"Did you know my sister might have no choice but to love you?" Heath then asked. He continued, "My sister is that kind of person, Young Lord. She will love her family far more than herself. When she recognizes you as her family… she will be responsible for you forever."
He pursed his lips and added, "My sister is that type of person. Because even I…"
Heath remembered the day his sister reached out to him when he was very young. That day, Harriet looked very strong and was taller than him. It was also when the sun began to set like today.
Harriet looked at him the same way Liam looked at him now. His sister looked him straight to his heart, just like Liam.
Heath gripped the scabbard tightly.
"You're not just family to Harriet, you know that, right?" Liam asked.
Heath lifted his face back at Liam.
"She came here to me, to save you. Brother-in-law, you are not just family to her," Liam said. "Your sister loves you as her life."
The man's gaze turned sad, and his golden eyes slowly dimmed.
"And now, I too am no longer just a family to her."