FULL NOVELXO Chapter 97
Chapter 97
Chapter 97
Queen Avery
“King Balthasar, I am sending Kieran and my daughter to Taplean -”
“Please, call me Balthasar. Let’s sk ip the formalities. Aren’t we true mates?” Avery’s words were interrupted by Balthasar’s
proclamation.
She let out a scoff, but inside, her heart fluttered. She indicated, “Our time is over, Balthasar -”
“It’s never too late. We still have the rest of our lives. We age slowly. I may turn a hundred years old and still feel like I am in my
forties,” Balthasar suggested. “The Moon Goddess returned our fates together for a reason, and we should fulfill our destinies.”
Avery was rendered speechless. Because she failed to reply, King Balthasar added, “So Alexia and Kieran turned out to be true
mates. I suspected as much. It was a good decision for Kieran to go to Azenna.”
“Hmmm,” finally, she replied.
“You know what this means, right, Avery? The future we had both seen. through each other’s eyes is about to become a reality.
Unless, unless the war takes my life,” King Balthasar said.
Avery’s eyes widened. She felt a pang in her chest that she did not want to acknowledge. She stuttered in her reply, “Please do
not hurt my daughter anymore by hurting yourself. Alexia, my daughter considers you as a second father.”
“Is it only because of Alexia?” King Balthasar asked, and with that, Avery was stunned again.
Avery gulped and replied, “What other reasons are there?”
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A low growl escaped Balthasar’s l*ps. It appeared to Avery that he also evaded the issue at hand and instead addressed her
primary concern, “I’ll make sure that Alexia is safe, but knowing that she has come of age, she doesn’t need my protection. It’s
King James’ men who need protection from her.”
“And don’t worry. I’ll stay alive to fulfill our fates. I’ll see you soon, Avery. Wait for me,” King Balthasar said before adding,
“Goodbye.”
Avery’s mouth hung open, utterly stunned. She could not believe he had ended the call before her, like it was a done deal.
***
Helen
The former Queen studied the nation’s fortress at the top of the Skyline Tower, a luxury residential building a block from
Taplean’s palace. She used a vision-enhancement device to observe the palace gate from
afar.
Only a few warriors guarded the gates, and she counted less than thirty warriors roving around the capital.
A sinister laugh escaped Helen’s l*ps as she described, “Balthasar has a weak heart. He went to help his wounded people within
The Golden Eye Pack, not realizing he had left the capital vulnerable! Thank goodness Kieran is away. The king has less help
now.”
King James’ men and her party had completely surrendered The Golden Eye Pack two days ago. After all, they had already
taken all their arms and wealth. However, before leaving Blaze’s former pack, they punished some pack members for their
betrayal against Blaze. Men or women, their hostages, were beaten to a pulp, unable to join Balthasar’s upcoming battles. Luna
Beatrice suffered the most, but her misery did not end there. Helen and Blaze still took Beatrice with them. as they had other
plans for her.
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When King Balthasar named Helen, Blaze, and Caspian traitors, over half of the Golden Eye Pack surrendered pieces of
evidence against them and pledged loyalty to Luna Beatrice. The others became rogues and ran to different woodlands, only to
seek their hideout upon Blaze’s
. directive.
The damage they had done to The Golden Eye Pack had forced King Balthasar to soothe his people. The king had also ordered
most of his men to aid in healing the wounded.
Helen allowed King Balthasar’s men to think they were heavily impaired, but it was only for show. Alpha Declan was so close to
finding their location that Blaze had to create another plan, which involved giving up the entire territory of The Golden Eye Pack,
even after retrieving Eswen’s General.
Over a hundred of them managed to sl*p through the underground passages to Taplean. Half of their forces secured the Golden
Eye Pack, while the others hid in the nearby territories within the coasts, waiting for the final fight.
With King Balthasar’s relentless pursuit, they were now down to half their original heads. Thankfully, they still had Blaze’s
rogues. Adding them up, they were back to a hundred men, maybe more.
She was unhappy with the number of Eswen warriors they had lost, but she knew it was bound to happen.
Sacrifices had to be made. The half-witch, Evilene, was also part of that sacrifice. Helen could care less if King Balthasar’s men
had already killed the witch. Evilene had served her purpose. Regardless if Evilene was unsuccessful in breaking up Alpha
Kieran and his wife, the latter was out of Taplean, and as far as she had heard, he wasn’t back. Only Beta Jaxon returned to the
nation.
The Skyline Tower residence had been Helen’s refuge, along with King
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James’ trusted men. The entire building itself was under an alias belonging to Helen-another one of the safety nets she had long
planned.
Of course, Alpha Declan had searched the building. The building administrators were under her payroll. They had willingly shown
the alpha around, including surveillance videos of whoever was coming in and out of the building. Sadly for Alpha Declan, the
same residence tower also had its secret passages, leading to an underground shelter that now housed Blaze’s rogues.
Technically, her mate, Blaze, was now the alpha of Taplean’s rogues.
Helen and her party had also masked their scents, so their stay was utterly undetectable. King Balthasar was unaware; they had
been hiding in plain sight.
Just as Helen thought about how they had gone this far, her son, Caspian, walked into the balcony. He reported, “There are
twenty guards at the back of the palace, thirty at the front. There are probably a few roaming within the palace. I have also
gathered that King Balthasar is headed back for some reason.”
Helen’s true mate followed them into the balcony, as if on cue. Blaze asked, “What are your plans, My Love?”
Helen lifted her chin with a confident grin. She suggested, “This is the best time to infiltrate the palace. King Balthasar’s royal
guards must be tired, having aided and traveled from the Golden Eye Pack.”
“We can ask Balthasar to surrender willingly. I’m sure he will resist, but he will always have a soft spot for the weak,” Helen
suggested. “He will come to their saving.”
“What do you mean, Mother?” Caspian asked.
“Get Beatrice and take as many pups within the capital. We will exchange their lives for Balthasar’s surrender,” Helen proposed.
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“Good plan, Love,” Blaze remarked.
Following her suggestion, Helen saw Caspian’s eyes narrow. He growled, saying, “I want to feel his skin under my claws. He had
taken my chance to be a king. He is going to pay for it!”
“Then, contact the rogues and give them orders. Prepare silver
weapons and the wolfsbane too,” Helen commanded her son. “We are going to need it.”
***
King Balthasar
“What is the matter?” King Balthasar asked as soon as he walked into the palace halls.
“My King, we have parents who have reported their pups missing within the capital,” one of his warriors revealed. “Some
werewolves said they fell unconscious in their homes, and when they woke up, their pups were gone. Some were said to be
missing from school grounds.”
“What?! Send a few men to check it out,” the king ordered. When he saw his warrior hesitate, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
“We can barely cover the palace, Your Highness,” the guard answered.
“The lives of the children are more important. Go! Besides, I can protect myself,” King Balthasar answered. “Update me when
you have answers. Awake me if you have to.”
“Yes, My King,” the warrior replied.
King Balthasar had just returned to the capital with six royal guards. They came from The Golden Eye Pack, ready to welcome
Kieran and Alexia back in the morning.
He was beyond exhausted, and then he was faced with bad news upon
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his entry to the palace. As he went to his chambers, he mumbled, “This better not be the work of Helen or King James’ men.
They would dare
not hurt innocent lives such as children.”
Balthasar wanted to wait for the news, but his eyes betrayed him. He slept for a few hours until a loud knocking on the door
disturbed his
rest.
“King Balthasar! The palace is under attack!”
“My King! We are under attack! About a hundred men have surrounded the palace!”
King Balthasar stood abruptly, his heart drumming against his ribcage. How unfortunate that this was happening now. Most of his
men are helping the Golden Eye Pack. Some are guarding the coasts, while some are still following leads of Helen’s
whereabouts.
“The former queen is at the gates, My King!”
When Balthasar went to the front of the palace, he saw the gates were already forced open. Many of his men were wounded.
They were still fighting it off. A good number of rogues were lifeless on the ground.
Even if his men were outnumbered, they still had a chance to prevail with their skills to consider. Unfortunately for the king, Helen
called his
attention.
“Resist, and I will kill Luna Beatrice and these poor children!” Helen suddenly appeared, dragging a little child at the front of the
gate. The child was unconscious, appearing to have been drugged. The king could only think of wolfsbane.
Behind Helen, Luna Beatrice was being carried by Blaze. A few more rogues were bringing babies or toddlers n their arms, and
most were crying their hearts out.
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Helen lengthened her claws. She grazed it on the child’s neck, saying, “Their lives or yours. Choose Balthasar! Choose!”
“Arrggh!” She was about to cut the child’s throat when Balthasar gave
the order.
“Don’t hurt the child! Don’t hurt any of them!” Balthasar said. “I’ll surrender!”
“Tell all your men to yield now!” Helen demanded.
“Surrender!” Caspian barked.
“Stand back!” Blaze commanded.
A low growl left Balthasar’s l*ps. Before giving the order, he mindlinked with his men, ‘Those inside the palace, find hiding. After
my surrender, find a way to rescue these children and Luna Beatrice. We can retaliate after we have secured their lives. Find a
way to contact Alpha Kieran.
Inform him of the situation.’
After communicating with his men, Balthasar sucked in a breath and gave the word, “Men, surrender!”