He expected Silas and Cassandra to be at the table, dressed their best, and looking complacent or at least obedient when he walked in. When they were both there, he felt secure in his power.
Nothing had pleased Harbinger more than being the one in control of the army, and now - the throne. Silas had been the best little puppet he had ever been able to own. Picking him from the orphanage as a baby had been easy. His parents had died, he had no siblings, and as a puppy he cried a lot. No one wanted him in the orphanage anyway.
He had tasked his late wife in raising him, but when she denied him he just used his authority on a poor maid who let Silas know every single day, that she was not his mother.
When he entered the room and saw them both stiffen up at his presence, he gave a cocky grin and pulled out his chair to sit across from Cassandra, the little girl he had kept secret with the actual female he had loved, but whose heart had grown very cold towards him before her death.
He would just have Cassandra courted off to a boarding school for the upper class, and she stayed there for most of the year, while Harbinger put focus on molding Silas into the perfect little marionette. Whenever she came home for holidays or time off, he'd then put Silas in a 'training camp' for the duration where he learned to fight and use weapons rather well. Not as well as Metas, but that didn't matter to the old wolf at the time.
Now, he was regretting not turning Metas against his family...but he had friends, and a secure head on his shoulders. He would not be easy to manipulate, even if he wasn't supported by his parents. In truth, Harbinger had hated Metas the moment he had been able to run and jump. The old king would talk about how proud of his son he was, and how he was destined to be the best alpha of all time...and it grated Harbinger to the bone.
Above all, the General believed that he knew best, and the king and queen were both idiots who were trying to talk the upper class into letting the lower filth ease up into society easier since they were running a little low on competent servants. However, Harbinger had read it too many times before that the more the lower class were able to infiltrate high society - even with great aspirations to be one - they'd see how bad they truly had it in the tunnels, and since there were far more of them than the high society, the rebellion would be swift and the loss would be great on both sides.
Why let the entire kingdom crumble for the comfort of a few wolves he didn't even care about? It would be madness. Order was the only thing that mattered, and there would be no way he'd be seen as honorable if he usurped the throne in any manner. It was considered taboo for the leader of the army to also be the king.
If the soldiers were happy, then the king was safe. If the soldiers were unhappy, it didn't work well. Sure, they'd follow the 'laws', but in the loosest terms and typically at the detriment to the king's authority. Then the rebellions would start. Sure, the king had full authority - but everyone knew that the more the troops loved their commander, the more they would go against the king's words, but only enough to keep their positions (and sometimes their heads).
As one of the few wolves in history able to keep a half-form, he was regarded highly by all in both fear and actual respect. Even now, the General walked in as a full lycan, walking on two legs, having usable hands, but with the head of a wolf, and a tail that was fluffy and snowy white.
Some could half-shift but it was rare, and they couldn't hold it for long, but Harbinger had somehow mastered the craft of maintaining it at all times. The ability of a mortal, with the ferocity and power of a wolf - it wasn't something anyone wanted to work against.
He was so proud of his work. It had taken a lot of manipulation, a lot of magic, a ton of potions and gems, but he had finally been able to control the king to being nothing but a talking head for Harbinger to speak through. To see Metas shrink in spirit only made his ego flourish further, and dared him to begin the long game in putting a true, real, and fully controllable doll onto the throne of authority.
To be sitting at the side of the "alpha" was his biggest and best accomplishment thus far. His daughter was well and good, she was beautiful and reminded him of her mother, but she wasn't as useful as Silas, and under no circumstances was he going to put her in harm's way.
No one even knew who Cassandra really was. She was placed in the palace as a servant just to eaves drop on her father's behalf. The fact that she and Silas ended up being paired as mates just made him feel more empowered, and although he had no right to, he felt as though the entire realm of magic was pushing him to be the true ruler of the kingdom.
A real ruler who would keep order, and peace by any means possible; even feeding his own kind to their neighboring countries. What did he care? They were worthless drones that were vast and many. Who could possibly question their disappearances in the caves? Those punished down there died all the time from accidents. It was not uncommon for one to drop, and the others around them to just keep working.
With the darkness and the grueling labor, their spirits were easily broken and by the time Harbinger got his hands on them as chattel, they had lost the will to fight. His favorite act was getting rid of traitors and those who dared to throw off his balance.
When he got intel on how much Myranda had hated the royal family, and how her spirit was deemed as hot as fire, he knew he had a problem. The second that Metas met her and the old General got word, he sped up his plans to put Silas at the tippy top.
He poisoned the king and let his wife die on her own in grief, and then he began using crystals and potions on his own charge, even though he didn't need to most of the time. At any moment Silas questioned him, or seemed to falter in a given order, Harbinger had to fix it immediately with a more permanent solution than holding love over the head of a pathetic little boy.
Although he had him in his care, and even found the boy tolerable, hell even entertaining once in a while, Harbinger had no love for Silas in any capacity. Not like he did for his daughter. She had actually heard 'I love you' and seen him stand up for her name and character unlike Silas, and also unlike Silas, she was truly a gem in the eyes of her father, who just as most could see no faults in their own daughters.
Besides, Cassandra was all the blood he had left in the world, and she was his backup should Silas catch wise. If he died while she was married to him, then she would become the ruler by default. She could remarry, or if she had children, she could rule until one of them came of age or were married. Either way, if he was related to the royal line, he would have it made.
Then, as the good ol' 'grandpaw' of the brood, Harbinger could do anything he'd like with little to no repercussions. If any of the little brats looked like they had a brain or a morality against his own, he could just have them killed or an 'accident' occur. It didn't matter, as long as he could maintain order.
He was casual when he spoke, though - just like a warm father would to his children, "Hello lady Cassandra, Alpha Silas. It is so good to see you two. I can't tell you how happy I am that you two are mates. I feel as though fate was smiling upon us all when you were paired. You made a fantastic choice, my lady. Silas is the perfect Alpha, and you are the utmost beautiful lady in the realm, as well as the best suited a Luna. I am pleased with both of you, truly I am."
Silas' face lit up with joy as Harbinger relayed that he was happy at his performance, and once more the General grinned with delight at the reaction he received. It showed he still had a firm grip on the weakling's soul. He was unable to think for himself, and that is precisely what the old wolf wanted more than anything.
"We need to talk about something, though. Something that displeases me. It has been told to me that the Vampire Queen was denied hunting rights to our land because Metas is still alive. I was so very, very certain you had told me he was dead. 'Shot with iron' I think was what was told to me? Did I hear wrong, Silas?" Harbinger asked with a dark suspicion.
"I-I was certain he had died, sir. I swear," Silas answered with a lot of fear in his voice.
While Harbinger loved the way he said it, he hated what Silas had to say.
"You assured me that you had taken care of him. Don't you realize what kind of position this puts you in? It makes them question your true authority, and it makes you look like a liar. Since you seem to have lied to me, I am starting to wonder who you really are, Silas. Are you a liar, or are you a real king who who delivers on what he promises?" the way Harbinger spoke was calculated and cold. It was perfect for getting information out of those who wanted to keep it hidden.
"I will fix that immediately, sir. I'll go out with a few soldiers and find where they are hiding. It's not like they can hide an entire campsite," Silas replied and swallowed a lump in his throat.
"If you don't fix this soon, we will not be in a position of security and power, do you understand me, Silas?" Harbinger asked and locked eyes with the little boy with a dangerous glare that needed no further explanation.
Silas nodded and then bowed towards his "father" with respect, "absolutely, sir. I will make it my top priority."
Harbinger smiled with a twisted expression of satisfaction and then looked to Cassandra in warning as well to tell her in silence to keep hers.