Chapter 289: Kill a king

Rymora’s gaze fluttering as she focused her eyes on him even as she instantly began to speak knowing that it was the only way she was going to get something."I’ll marry you!" She told him, "I’ll bear your child but I refuse to be chained in and locked up like a prisoner!" Aware that accepting him or pretending to was the only way her own terms would be heard even the slightest bit.

Her voice came out faster than she intended, her breath uneven. She didn’t know if her words sounded desperate or bold, but she didn’t have the time to worry about that.

Every second counted, every word mattered. She could see the glint of stubbornness in his eyes, the same glint she had seen several times already—one that always warned her that pushing too hard would end badly for her.

But she also saw curiosity there. A hesitation. The smallest pause that told her he hadn’t expected her to give in so suddenly, and definitely not in the way she just had.

The fact remained that he was a vampire lord and she was a servant. Worse was the fact that she was a werewolf, the fact that it was still unknown to him was nothing more than a miracle and a disaster both at the same time. She didn’t even know how long the secret would last. Every day she woke up surprised that the truth hadn’t slipped out one way or the other. Even now her heart raced a little too fast and her breathing came out a little too warm—both things that could easily give her away if he ever bothered to pay close attention.

As she felt him carry her over to the bed and drop her onto it, even as he began to undress making it clear that he wanted her simply from his gaze right down to the bulge in his pants and his hands that moved quickly enough to show his need, she couldn’t help the tension that rippled through her. Not just fear, not just nerves—everything all mixed together until she wasn’t even sure what she was feeling anymore.

"I am not unreasonable! If you stay with me and not run like we both know you intended to then there’s no reason why I should lock you up!" He said as he lowered his lips down to her own kissing her passionately even as he went ahead to rip the clothes she had on without a shred of care.

His words brushed against her lips as he kissed her, his voice firm in that way he always spoke when he felt he was being generous. She could feel his hands on her body, cold but steady, moving with confidence that showed he didn’t doubt himself for a moment. There was no hesitation in him, no second guessing.

The kiss was intense in a way that had her gasping for breath even as he parted her legs and slowly thrusted himself into her, while whispering into her ears. She felt his breath on her skin, the weight of his body pressing against hers, and her heart thudded so loudly she was almost scared he would hear it. Fear, confusion, and unwanted longing twisted inside her, and she hated that her body reacted before her mind could even form a thought.

"I’ll let it be known and the wedding will take place this week. You do not have to worry about being a spy or pretending to be Lady Aria’s maid!" He said in a tone that made it clear that he was convinced that he was doing her a favor and any refusal on her own part would have to come with enormous explanations which she herself would be unable to formulate considering how good the deal was.

To him, everything was falling into place perfectly. She could see it in the way he spoke, like he expected her to be relieved. Like marrying him automatically solved every problem she had. Like he didn’t understand that he was the problem.

One any maid or spy or any woman would readily jump at. One she herself would have jumped at considering how readily her body reacted and craved his and wanted him...but alas, she was a werewolf and he would be the first to hunt her down the moment he found out.

Her stomach tightened at the thought. The image flashed in her mind—his expression twisting into shock, then disgust, then rage. His hands that now held her with an intense possessiveness would turn lethal in an instant. She knew better than anyone that if he ever discovered the truth, whatever he felt for her now wouldn’t matter. Not even for a second.

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"Are we just going to stand by while the Werewolves and Vampires join forces together?"

The voice echoed sharply, bouncing off damp walls as the figures gathered deeper into the alley. Even the little noises in the background—the dripping water, shuffling feet, distant chatter—seemed to quiet in response to the tension.

"Are we going to stand by while they eliminate us one after the other? The damage Zyren has single-handedly done is already more than enough," a deep manly voice said in the darkened alley.

He leaned forward slightly, frustration rolling off him in waves. His hands were clenched, resting on his knees, and every once in a while his shoulders twitched like he was fighting the urge to shift. His breathing was uneven, barely controlled, but his voice stayed firm.

Speaking to the others who sat around him with hoods over their head or their faces too dirty to be identified in the moonless night even as he continued to speak with a bit of authority in his tone.

Collectively they looked like a band of beggars talking amongst each other, even drunkenly since sometimes they didn’t even make eye contact while others stared up into the sky like they were inebriated. But there was nothing clumsy about the way they moved. Every single one of them was listening, alert, tense.

"This cannot be allowed to continue!" He continued letting out a growl that was clear that he didn’t mean to let out even as he hurriedly lowered his head almost like he was aware that he had done something wrong.

The growl made two others shift uncomfortably, but no one commented. It wasn’t the first time one of them slipped, and it wouldn’t be the last.

A moment had barely passed when another spoke with a feminine voice this time around.

"Our numbers have exponentially grown! We can’t be wiped out so easy! But I agree that woman needs to be killed! Anyone that can identify us can’t be allowed to live!" She said with her head lowered into her knees.

Her fingers dug into her legs, gripping hard enough to leave marks. Even without looking up, she spoke with certainty, the kind that came from experience. She wasn’t guessing—she knew what needed to be done.

Just after, a young child whose teeth was blackened and who looked as skinny as a twig also opened his mouth to speak.

Tone childish but the force it carried could not be likened to that of a child.

"Let’s not forget that Zyren can also identify us! Worse he’s collecting our cores like trophies! Only god knows why!" He pointed out making sure that none of them went ahead to skip over such an obvious fact.

His voice carried far too much power for someone so small. He swung his legs back and forth, calm in a way that made the others uneasy. It was hard to tell whether he understood fear at all.

"I agree!" Another opened his mouth to speak lying on the ground even as he hid his hands under him, hiding how unsteady his shape shifting was as his hands kept on transforming intermittently into claws.

His voice came out strained. Every few seconds he flinched, his hand twitching under him, and a faint scrape could be heard whenever the claws formed before disappearing again.

"The woman is a threat and needs to be gotten rid of! We also can’t allow them to go ahead and wipe out all our members in the Werewolf realm!" He said with a low groan even as a woman who sat the farthest from him staring at the sky picked up from where he stopped.

"We could lose the battle to win the war!" She pointed out. Her face looked the most jagged and oldest almost like the skin she wore was the one closest to death.

Her voice was steady though, confident, as if she had seen this pattern before.

"While they eliminate and clean up the Werewolf realm we can completely take over the vampire realm! When they return we’ll attack!" She said and continued to speak.

"Humans would be bred for food like usual and even if Zyren the most powerful Vampire king is alive what would he be able to do once we allow the rest of our numbers in hiding to take over!" She said, the glee in her voice obvious one that was quickly killed by the young boy who spoke again.

"You forget that reproduction is hard for us, and even then Zylings need time to grow and adapt to being able to take control of a body. Failure to adapt and they’ll perish with it!" He said even as silence slowly settled amongst them and no one opened their mouth to speak for a while.

The silence had weight. Even the air felt still.

The silence had barely settled in when the man with the deep voice who spoke first spoke again.

"Regardless, we have to come to a decision! The high-ups are in charge of deployment and if we fail, our heads would be on the line!" He frankly spoke to which each and every one of them nodded in response to.

As they looked down and stared at each other with more gravity towards the discussion they were having even though they still remained in their respective places without showing any intention to move.

A few moments passed again until the young boy spoke again, words that surprised them but which they also quickly agreed to one after the other.

"We can’t let them wipe out all the people we have in the Werewolf realm! This simply means we’ll have to destroy the alliance between them!"

"Their species are sworn enemies it shouldn’t be hard to do!" He said in his childish voice even as the old woman who sat the furthest away from the group but whose voice carried regardless spoke in response.

"...so we’re going to have to kill one of the Kings!" Her voice soft but stringy in a way that would have sent a chill into the coldest of souls but her expression didn’t change as she spoke the words like she would have said any other thing.