MATED TO THE BEAST ALPHA BROTHERS
Chapter 56: cursed crown

Chapter 56: cursed crown

"Find him. Kill him."

Marius’s voice rang through the chamber, cold and absolute. Warriors immediately moved, their armor clanking as they rushed out in pursuit of Arthur.

The Elders remained silent, their expressions a mix of unease and quiet acceptance.

Elder Tobias exhaled. "Marius, are you certain this is the right path?"

Marius turned sharply, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction. "Arthur sealed his fate the moment he let this pack fall into chaos."

Another Elder, a woman with white streaks in her hair, stepped forward. "Arthur didn’t let this pack fall. Nemesis did. And we all know it."

Marius’s expression darkened. "Arthur is weak. We need strong leadership. If you disagree, you are welcome to challenge me."

Silence.

No one stepped forward.

Marius smirked. "That’s what I thought." He turned, his cape sweeping behind him. "Now, prepare for war."

(Deep in the Forest)

Arthur ran.

His breath came in heavy bursts, his muscles burning with exertion, but he didn’t stop.

The trees blurred past him as the sound of pursuers echoed behind him—wolves, fast and relentless.

He could hear their snarls, their claws digging into the earth.

They think they can catch me.

Arthur skidded to a stop near a clearing, his golden eyes flashing. He turned, pressing his back against a tree, his breath steadying.

He could hear them getting closer.

Then...silence.

Too silent.

Arthur’s instincts screamed at him.

He barely had time to react before a wolf lunged at him from the side, jaws snapping for his throat.

Arthur twisted, grabbing the wolf mid-air and slamming it into the ground. The beast let out a sharp yelp before Arthur’s hand gripped its head and snapped its neck.

More movement.

Arthur whirled just in time as three more wolves charged.

He ducked under the first, kicking its legs out from beneath it. The second was faster, swiping at him, claws grazing his shoulder. Arthur gritted his teeth and drove his elbow into the wolf’s ribs, sending it crashing into a tree.

The third wolf hesitated.

Arthur’s eyes locked onto it. "Go back to Marius. Tell him I don’t die that easily."

The wolf whimpered, turned, and bolted.

Arthur exhaled, wiping blood from his lips.

This was just the beginning.

(Nemesis Lair)

Nemesis stood on the edge of a ruined fortress, overlooking the vast lands below. Fires burned in the distance, smoke curling into the sky.

Her rogue wolves were scattered, carrying out her orders, spreading terror and death.

A general knelt before her. "We’ve wiped out another pack. The alphas are falling one by one."

Nemesis smiled darkly. "Good. But there is one more piece to this puzzle."

She turned, her black cloak whipping around her as she strode toward the massive throne at the center of the hall. "Arthur. Find him. Bring him to me—alive."

The general hesitated. "Marius has already branded him rogue. His own people are hunting him."

Nemesis’s lips curled. "Marius is a fool. Arthur is the only one capable of standing against me. He just doesn’t know it yet."

She sat on the throne, crossing one leg over the other. "Now go. And don’t come back without him."

(The wolf king’s palace)

The Wolf King stood before a glowing portal, his hands clenched into fists.

The Omnisciense wolves stood beside him, their ethereal forms flickering in the dim light.

One of them, a woman with radiant silver eyes, spoke. "Your Highness, time is running out. The balance of this world is crumbling."

The King’s face was grim. "What do you see?"

The Omnisciense wolf stepped forward, placing a hand on the portal’s swirling surface.

Images flickered...wolves slaughtered, entire packs wiped out, Arthur running through the forest, and Nemesis laughing on her throne.

Then, the image shifted...to a child.

The King’s breath caught. "That child... he is the key, isn’t he?"

The Omnisciense nodded. "Yes. But he is not safe."

The portal showed Marlyil holding the child, fear in her eyes, surrounded by destruction.

The King clenched his jaw. "Then we must move now."

The Omnisciense wolves began to chant, the portal glowing brighter.

The King turned to his warriors. "We ride at dawn."

The Wolf King stood before the Omnisciense wolves, his face like stone.

"Where is the child now?" he asked.

The silver-eyed Omnisciense wolf hesitated. "Safe...for now. But that will not last. Nemesis’s forces are searching for him."

The King’s jaw tightened. "I will not let him fall into her hands."

The Omnisciense wolf raised a hand, and the air shimmered, revealing another vision in the portal....Marlyil, holding the child close, her face streaked with tears.

The image shifted...Nemesis’s wolves, sniffing through the ruins of a burned village, closing in on her trail.

The King turned to his generals. "Assemble the strongest warriors. We move now."

The war had begun

(Back at the forest)

Arthur leaned against a tree, his wounds aching.

He wasn’t sure how long he had before more hunters came.

Then....a sound.

A whisper in the wind.

His eyes narrowed.

"You’re a difficult man to find, Arthur."

A figure stepped into the clearing, draped in shadows.

Arthur straightened. "Who are you?"

The figure smirked. "Your only chance at surviving what’s coming."

Arthur’s hands curled into fists. "And why should I trust you?"

The figure stepped closer, revealing piercing red eyes.

"Because Nemesis is coming for you. And if you don’t listen to me, you’ll be dead by sunrise."

Arthur exhaled, his body tense.

He had no choice.

"Then start talking."

Arthur’s breath was steady, his body still coiled with tension. The stranger’s red eyes glowed faintly in the darkness, their presence unsettling but undeniably powerful.

Arthur took a slow step forward. "Who are you?"

The figure smirked. "Names don’t matter right now. What matters is that you’re running out of time."

Arthur’s eyes flickered to the surrounding trees. He could still hear the distant howls of Marius’s hunters.

"Why should I trust you?" he asked, voice low.

The stranger chuckled. "You shouldn’t." Then, without warning, they moved.

Fast.

Arthur barely had time to react as the stranger struck forward, a blade flashing from their sleeve. He dodged just in time, but the weapon nicked his arm, drawing blood.

He snarled, launching himself at the attacker, but they disappeared—vanishing into the shadows like smoke.

"Too slow, Arthur."

Arthur spun, eyes searching. "I don’t have time for games!"

The stranger’s voice echoed all around him. "You don’t have time at all. The moment Nemesis finds you, it’s over. If you want to survive, you’ll listen."

Arthur exhaled sharply. "Then start talking."

The shadows rippled, and the figure reappeared, standing mere feet away.

"Nemesis wants you alive because you’re a threat to her rule. You’re the only one left with the bloodline strong enough to oppose her."

Arthur’s fists clenched. "What do you mean, ’bloodline’?"

The stranger tilted their head. "You don’t know, do you?"

Arthur growled, patience thinning. "I don’t have time for riddles."

The stranger sighed. "Fine. The truth is, Nemesis isn’t after you just because she sees you as a threat...she needs your blood."

Arthur’s breath hitched. "Why?"

"Because it’s the last piece she needs to unlock the full power of the Cursed Crown."

Arthur’s heart pounded. The Cursed Crown.. the artifact that Nemesis had been hunting for centuries. If she completed it, she would become unstoppable.

His mind raced. "If that’s true, then why hasn’t she just killed me already?"

The stranger’s eyes darkened. "Because she needs you willing. The crown won’t activate unless the blood is given willingly."

Arthur took a step back, his pulse hammering.

"That’s why she’s sending her army after me," he muttered, realization dawning.

The stranger nodded. "And that’s why Marius is doing exactly what she wants. He’s driving you into a corner, making you desperate. And when you have nowhere left to run..."

"I’ll have no choice but to surrender," Arthur finished bitterly.

The stranger smiled grimly. "Now you’re getting it."

Arthur inhaled deeply. "Then what do you want from me?"

The stranger’s eyes burned brighter. "To fight back."

Arthur held the stranger’s gaze for a long moment.

Then, finally....he nodded.

.

Nemesis stood before a massive stone altar, her fingers brushing over the ancient carvings. The ground beneath her pulsed with dark energy.

She smiled.

"Soon."

Behind her, her second-in-command approached. "My Queen, we have word. Arthur has escaped Marius’s hunters."

Nemesis’s lips curled. "Good. Let him run. Let him struggle." She turned, her eyes glowing like molten fire.

"The more desperate he becomes, the easier it will be to break him."

Her hands lifted, and the air around her grew thick with shadows.

"And when the time comes, he will beg me to take his blood."