Chapter 5 The Exiled One

Maximus POV

The scent of old parchment and burning incense lingered in the air of my study, thick enough to choke out rational thought. Scrolls littered the surface of my oak desk,bloodlines, ancient laws, and birth registries,none of which gave me the answers I craved.....

Lyra's heritage.

The servant girl,the girl who stirred something deep in me.

I leaned back in my chair, jaw tight,her scent clung to the corners of my memory,taunting.

I had turned my back on her when I believed I was protecting the kingdom from weakness.

My mate,could it be her?

Was Lyra the same girl I had cruelly turned away all those years ago at the Moonshade Ball?

I growled under my breath, the sound vibrating through my chest.If it was true, then I had made a mistake,one so grave, it may not be repairable.

A knock at the door broke through the silence,it sounded urgent and hasty.

"Enter," I commanded.

Leon burst in, panting hastily "My King,rogues,dozens. They're breaching the eastern border!"

I got up immediately "How close?"

"They'll reach the outer walls within minutes."

I clenched my fists. "Then we fight, we will kill them all! Sound the alarm, Mobilize the warriors,Now."

Leon bowed once, then vanished like a ghost through the corridor.I didn't waste time, I threw on my armor, my thoughts spinning.

How had they gotten so close? No rogue pack dared test the strength of the Lycan Kingdom...unless they were backed by something or someone.

I dashed out of my office and headed towards the front of my palace gate.

"Do not let them cross these gates!" I ordered my men.

"Prepare for transformation" I warned.

"AWOOO!" I howled out loud,and immediately my men transformed into their wolf form.

The battlefield was chaotic.

The clang of steel, the snarls of wolves mid-shift, the scent of blood and sweat all wrapped around me like war's embrace. I tore through the enemy lines, claws slashing, fangs bared. I grabbed two rogues and sliced out their throats,blood gushing out.

The rogues were fast,It wasn't a mindless attack.

One rogue lunged at my flank, and I spun, crushing his ribcage with a single blow. Another came from behind, blade flashing. I ducked too late,pain seared through my side as the steel met flesh. Blood poured hot and fast.

I roared, I launched towards it,My claws ripped through his throat, ending the threat.

The battle was over,the last rogue fell at my feet, twitching once before going still.

The wound on my side pulsed, My blood soaked the ground beneath me, and the world began to tilt. I dropped to one knee, breath shallow.

"Maximus!" a voice cried out.

Soft hands,pressed against my wound. I looked up, blinking through the blur of blood and dust,I saw her,Lyra.

Her eyes were wide with panic, but her hands glowed.

A light,pure white light spilled from her palms, sinking into my wound, I gasped in relief. The pain was... leaving. Flesh stitched together beneath her touch.

She had no idea what she was doing, but it was working.

My vision cleared, and I stared at her.

The girl from the Moonshade pack,the one I had rejected.

She had come back into my life,broken,but the moon goddess had not let me forget her. Now she was healing the very king who once cast her aside.

"Lyra..." I whispered.

She looked up at me, startled. "Yes, Your Majesty?"

At that moment, the sky darkened unnaturally.

A gust of wind slammed through the clearing, howling like a dying beast. The ground trembled, warriors who had begun cleaning the field froze, my men held their weapons high in preparation for battle.

A cloaked figure stepped through the smoke at the battlefield's edge, flanked by two unknown figures in dark armor. The air around him pulsed with something... Powerful.

My jaw clenched.

Leon stepped forward, his blade raised. "Who dares trespass"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the figure said, his voice smooth, carrying that of audacity and soaked in venom. He threw back his hood.

Gasps echoed around the field.

"Sebastian," I said in bewilderment,my brother who I exiled from my kingdom years ago.

He hadn't aged,If anything, he looked stronger, darker. Shadows clung to him like a second skin and around his neck, glowing faintly, hung a dark red crystal fragment.

"I see you remember me," he said, smiling like a man who had already won. "Touching reunion, isn't it? Brother rules kingdom,brother exiles other brother,brother returns. How... poetic."

"What do you want?" I growled.

He held up the crystal, and it pulsed with unnatural energy,some warriors stumbled back instinctively.

"I came for what's mine," he said. "i only have half of the crystal, Maximus, imagine what I would do with the other half" he grinned evilly.

My stomach turned.

"Where's the other half?" I asked.

Sebastian's smile widened,"That's what I intend to find out,and when I do... this kingdom won't be here to stop me."

"I'll take what's rightfully mine, maximus,the throne. And I will rule over every meaningless wolf." Sebastian thundered.

He turned, his cloak billowing behind him, and disappeared into the trees like a nightmare fading into dawn.

Silence hung heavy in the air.

Leon looked at me,fear and worry evident in his face.

"Your majesty, what are we going to do?" Leon said slowly.

My men gazed at me for a solution,I got up and straightened myself letting out a sigh.

"Return to your station's" I ordered and walked towards Leon my Beta.

"For the first time in life,I do not know,Leon," I said with a saddened tone.

"He may be my brother but he will never wear my crown" I said with authority once more

"What do we do with her? She has magic,and it is forbidden" Leon gestured towards Lyra.

I gazed at her shortly and let out an evil grin.