[THIRD-PARTY POV]
Even the mighty would fall at some point in time, and that was clear when king Eddy, the man who took pride in his people, the man who had made their lives miserable and yet still managed to walk around freely, had fallen unconscious.
King Cassius hadn't expected it and of course, wasn't in a position to dump the big bad king of the lycans into some ditch and make him disappear. The lycan king was a royal pain in the ass and everyone knew it, hell even the chicken of the midlands knew that sad fact.
It was something they had to live with no matter how many years passed. Maybe t was good that the lycans were immortal, otherwise, it could have been hard to explain why the fuck the huge king had fallen on his feet.
Thirty minutes later, Ulrike was done watching the king sleep like he didn't have a lycan beast out there terrorizing the warriors. He didn't like the fact that this man had been negligent in his duty and still he could manage to fall asleep like a baby.
That didn't sit right with Ulrike, so he rushed towards the unconscious king, however, King Cassius held him back.
They were all curious about what had just happened and they needed answers, but attacking the king of savages wasn't one way to do that. He would clearly retaliate and the wolves would take the worst hit, before anyone else.
Cassius didn't want that for his people.
He may have been a king, but he was also a son of Acrod. This place was more than just a ruling for him, it was home. He was born and bred in this land, with their values and all that could define Acrod for him.
Granted, he was of royal blood, but even in the worst of scenarios, the king of Acrod had never let his people know how different they were from each other. He had never introduced them to that kind of pain, and today wasn't going to be that day.
"No, Ulrike, fall back. We have a big enough problem already."
"Oh yeah? Tell me about it, Cassius, this idiot should have been careful enough with his savages, unless he wants us to release the worst of our kinds too, and I guarantee, there is more than one soldier worse than me in the southern forest.
"If he wanted to trigger a war, he could have just said it straight up instead of being a whiny piece of shit. He knew there was a connection between him and the beast, which is why he left where you guys were.
"Or didn't you stop to think about him conveniently disappearing right when the beast showed up? He is hiding something and if I have to crack through his fucking brains, then trust me, I will," a very pissed off Ulrike said to king Cassius who was just watching sadly.
He knew there was a truth to what Ulrike had said and he also knew that there was a possibility that Eddison was playing with them.
No one had ever seen all the faction leaders assemble like this or even stay away from their homes for more than one night, but here they were, miles away from home and with a few of their best soldiers for backup.
That wasn't assurance enough. They needed to know the truth and if the ruthless king Cassius of Acrod was scared of Eddison, then Ulrike would do it himself. He would make the lycan speak and he would do it in his way.
"Move, Cassius. This bastard is playing with us. How the hell does he not know or realize that one of his people was gone? Aren't you guys supposed to be linked or something? Fuck, you people confuse me so much more than the hounds," Ulrike cried out frustratedly.
Ulrike was right to be pissed. He hated how things currently were, and if given a chance to make things right, Ulrike would press the reset button faster than anyone would ever manage to spell out his name.
He didn't want to get stuck in a loop of maybes and what-ifs. He didn't want to be here when everything went the other direction and also when they could fix it.
Eddison had all the answers and even Cassius knew it. They were all aware of it but if the lycan King wasn't willing to give them the answers, then what were they even supposed to do with him?
Slowly, Eddison was waking up, and trying to think of where he was. He could tell by the angry faces that were staring at him, that the beast had gone. Of course, he had gone. If the beast of the midlands wanted to be captured, he wouldn't have gone through all that trouble.
Then again, looking at his fellow rulers, Eddison felt disappointed in himself. He was failing drastically and if he didn't find a way out of this, they would all be doomed, and Udrad would take the worst hit, that was without question.
The Lycan King seemed to have lost touch with his reality. Things seemed foggy for Eddison, and him waking up absent-minded didn't make it any better anyway. they were racing against time and saving lives. they were racing against the protection none of them was even sure of yet.
There was so much they had to deal with, but right now, Eddison was at the center of it all.
"What happened to you, Eddison?"
"Why would you faint?"
"Do you know who the beast is?"
"Will you keep staying silent?"
King Cassius had questions and UIlrike had more for King Eddy.
The beast was a lycan and they had seen that already, the only question being, why would King Eddy not tell anyone about a rogue Lycan? Everyon in the midlands knew that a rogue lycan was dangerous than even the king of lycans himself.
An untamed lycan was like a time ticking bomb. Anything that pissed him off, anything made them want to go on a killing spree. The stories of rogue lycans had brought chills to the whole of the midlands, and that was why they didn't want a repeat of that.
Their people would be targets, whether human or supernatural, whether they er hounds or wolves. Anyone was a plaything for the rogue lycans. they would kill for fun and break bones just because they could.
They could ruin lives like they wished, because, at the end of the day, the only thing that could pin them down was magic, but if the lycan had been a rogue for over ten years, there was just no way to tame them, because by that time, they would have fully adapted to the cruelty of the world.
King Eddy knew the beast had been away from home for close to fifteen years.
He knew there was no going back.
He knew the only solution was to do what the beast wanted, or the supernatural midlands would be turned into a bloody desert.
It was no wonder the ebast had become so feral, but still there had to be an explanation for all this.