Claudius' perspective
With Caspian standing behind me, both of us looked up at the chopper that the realm sent to pick us up.
“You can still change your mind, Alpha. If you come to this event, swear your loyalty and bow your head to his heir, every influential family who'd be at the party will make you a laughingstock.” I glanced at him and lightly patted his shoulder.
“This is why I am bringing you with me.”
“Because you want me to do what?”
“I need you to memorize every single person who'll laugh at me while I am struggling to make it on top. When I am their King, I'll punish them all.” My jaw clenched.
“Did you really think that I wholeheartedly wanted to do this? I don't. Do I have a choice? None.” My eyes trailed the chopper that finally landed on the helipad, and the sigil of the Regulus made my jaw clenched.
“The old saying goes, keep your friends close and your enemy closer and this is me doing that. Our warriors and deltas wouldn't be enough to fight them face to face, so we'll stab these fools behind their back.”
“Lord Cormac.” I frowned.
“Lord Cormac? He is not just a Lord or a plain young man! You are talking to an Alpha and you better show your respect to him.” The shifter glanced coldly at Caspian.
“In Regulus, a shifter needs to be acknowledged by the Alpha King and crown him as an Alpha of a smaller pack for him to be truly considered an Alpha.” I held out my hand to stop Caspian from taking down the shifter.
“I hope you won't take this personally, Lord Cormac.”
I faked my humor and moved my head to accept it. “Oh, it's no big deal. I am now in Regulus, and I must follow how things work here.”
“You need to control your temper, Caspian, or you might do something that will jeopardize my plan,” I talked with Caspian through mind link, but he didn't respond.
Annoyance was visible on his face.
The realm was an hour and half hour ride of a chopper from the howling island.
“Welcome to the realm, Lord Cormac. The Alpha King awaits you in the formal affair room of the small council,” the shifter told me.
“What's your name?”
“It's Jack, Lord Cormac. I'm an internal affair officer of the realm.”
“What a fancy way to say that you're the realm's butler, and did they really send out a butler to accommodate Alpha Claudius, who should have been the Alpha—”
“Caspian,” I said. My beta finally shut his mouth and that would prompt him to be beheaded.
“I apologize for the way my friend talks. He meant no harm.”
“Follow my lead, and I'll take you to the small council,” he said and moved right away.
The palace felt like a strange place to me, even if I was born to it. Its high walls and a century old pillars intimidated me. The sigil that I was able to spot on in every corner of the palace made me uneasy.
“Should we just kill the Alpha King right away? So you'll get to keep this place. It's a rule. If you kill the Alpha and his heir, that automatically makes you the next Alpha King.” Caspian whispered through mind link, and it felt like a devil kept on whispering evil things in my ear.
“That would be easy for me to do so, but that would make me a usurper, and high-class houses and influential family will keep their guard up. I must have those families support first, and if I have it...”
“I might consider your suggestion.”
“But what if you're the heir?” Caspian suddenly asked.
“What are you talking about?” I asked back, for a moment, my heart waver and I hoped that it was the truth.
“Our spy told us that even the beta of Regulus doesn't know who it was that'll be named heir. What if it were you?”
“Codrus must have smacked his head somewhere for him to come up with such a decision,” I said, shoving the idea away from my head because if that's not what's going to happen then my disappointment would lead to anger, and I'd go feral.
“You can stay here and wait for your Lord here, for you are not allowed in the formal affair officer of the small council,” Jack said to Caspian, stopping him from walking in.
I looked at him, and he froze to where he should wait for me.
On my way in, Octavio was sashaying out of the room, and in the middle of the long table was the shifter everyone called their Alpha King.
“There is no need for you to bow your head to me. Given our history, I know that you regard me as your enemy. I killed your father after all.”
My jaw clenched, and I couldn't help it but narrow my eyes at him for a moment.
“Which is why it's a surprise that you wanted me here. I know that you see me as an enemy too.”
“My answer to that depends on how you'll take this little proposal of mine.” He gestured for him to sit down.
“Proposal? Am I not here to witness you crown your heir and swear my loyalty to him? I didn't know that there would be a proposal.”
“It has something to do with that. In your eyes, I knew that you still think that you have a claim to the throne and to the pack.”
“Isn't that the truth, though?” I snapped in a calm voice.
“Even if you're here, I know that you weren't here to do what I had asked you to do, so without any gain for you...” He reached for his wineglass, while I only looked at mine.
“Be a loyal shifter to my heir, and I'll give you ten percent of my shares in Regulus' group of companies and corporation. I'll let you and your little pack make the howling island your official residence.”
I smirked at him and lightly shook my head.
“Ten percent of the great empire's businesses and the island that belongs to my father to begin with. This is the benefit that you want me to be contented with, when I can have everything if I push through with my initial plan.”
“All of this doesn't sound like a benefit to me. It rather felt like an insult, Codrus.” I rested my back against the chair.
“You're making me look like your pathetic dog that you throw a small piece of bone to tame.”