LUCIUS' POV
The moment I heard about Alpha Roland's men being sighted, my men and I sprang into action immediately.
No one was going to get hurt; we were prepared. It was going to be a quick war.
"Seline, are you done working on those balls?" I asked. She nodded.
"Marcus, the arrows, are they all ready?" I asked. He also nodded.
"Let's move out," I said, and we all rode on horseback. We placed Seline's balls in the likely places the men were to pass, and my men took their positions.
Finally, Alpha Roland's men got closer.
"Surrender. This is the only chance I'm willing to give you," I said to them as I stood on top of a tree. The commander replied.
"You should surrender, Alpha!" he bellowed. Anger welled up in me. He was telling me, the Alpha of the Kingdom, to surrender.
I shook my head, the go-ahead sign that I and my men had decided on. Arrows with burning heads flew through the air toward Seline's huge balls.
The moment the arrows hit the balls, they didn't spend up to a second before they exploded, blowing up the men closest to them.
Seline commanded a few of the balls to roll to the center. When my men shot fire at them, they exploded once more. My men kept shooting, blowing up Roland's men. His men didn't even have the chance to use the fighting techniques they had been taught because they had been so busy trying to evade the bombs.
When there were no more balls, only a few men were left. My men began to shoot them down with arrows.
The place was a whole mess of bodies, and it didn't take a lot of hours before Roland's best men lay scattered on the floor.
I held out my hand. One of my guards, who had been by my side the whole time, opened the birdcage that had been with him the whole time. I let the bird fly with a message for Roland.
And the message was...
"It won't be so easy the next time you mess with me, Alpha Roland. You decide if we stay allies or become enemies."
Of course, I wasn't expecting us to become allies again. That was just making the letter longer, because I already knew from the beginning that our Kingdom had no allies. Every Kingdom was seeking its great downfall.
After my men had ensured the whole place was safe, they got down from where they had camouflaged in the hills and trees.
We all went back to the Palace, cheering and letting out shouts of joy.
~
It was a night for celebration. The largest hall in the Palace was used to host the townspeople.
Tables and chairs were arranged outside because the hall couldn't hold the whole population of the Kingdom.
"Today, people, we toast to our victory against the enemies who felt they could destroy us! Cheers to prosperity!" I said, raising my glass of wine. They all raised theirs in return.
"Cheers to prosperity!" they repeated, and we all emptied our cups.
I looked at Dusk, who was smiling as Seline talked.
She was the only one I had left since Ethan betrayed me. We locked eyes, and she smiled — a beautiful smile that seemed to warm up my heart.
I couldn't tell how she felt, if she was beginning to love me or not. I didn't know.
"Alpha Lucius, Alpha Craig awaits you in your meeting chamber," Marcus said. I raised a brow.
"He awaits me?" I asked.
"He said he has an urgent matter to discuss with you," he added. I tapped him on his shoulder.
"Join the celebrations; I'll deal with Craig," I said and left for my meeting chamber.
~
It had been a really long day with the successful war and the celebrations.
I was to give thanks to Seline, really. Her bombs had cleared off the greater part of Alpha Roland's men. But I wasn't going to reward her alone; I was going to reward all my men, including Dusk.
As I slept, I had a dream.
In the dream, I was in the forest, in front of that clean, little blue river — the river where I had killed a rabbit.
I remembered the water had spoken to me, that she was annoyed I took a life she owned. So I was to save one, and I had saved my father back then. But why was I there again?
"Good question. I have waited, and I have been patient enough. It's time I get what I want," the water said again, and I stood on guard.
"What do you think you'll get from me?" I asked, and she laughed.
"Such arrogance. Your father is dead; give me back the life of my rabbit," she said, and I actually laughed.
"A rabbit I killed a long time ago, you still hold on to that? Well, I saved my father. That was saving a life. Now he's dead, you want another life? So I should go around the Kingdom searching for someone to give to you?" I asked because it seemed ridiculous to me.
"No. Dedicate a life to me. One of my girls will possess them and live as them," she said.
"I cannot do that. My people are my life. I will not dedicate any one of them to you. I do not owe a thing to you," I said confidently.
"You do not owe a thing to me? Let's see how true that is," she said in a dangerous voice, and I scoffed.
"I fear no one, not even you," I said.
"Really?" She replied, and a shape began to form in the water.
I watched the water take the shape and form of a woman.
"You will not give it to me; then I will take it."