Rejected And Forsaken
Chapter 37

Narrator

David stared at king Richard. He was not surprised. In fact, he would expect those elders to do something stupid like that. King Richard studied David’s demeanour and realised that his courage was not wavering. He stood tall and proud and stared right in to his eyes. There was not even a hint of deception in David’s baby blue eyes. His mouth was paused in a grim line while his eyebrows were wrinkled together in a deep frown. He didn’t look like someone who would try to deceive anyone.

He expected David to scream and deny the king’s allegations. He wanted to see him protest against the injustice he had faced. At least he thought that David would voice his rights when he was locked upBut none of that happened, the vampire king felt his anger slowly dissipate. He knew David was being patient. King Richard sighed and continued with his little speech.

“We realized that it was gone so we traced it. It is in the red moon pack. That was the whole reason why I declared war against the wolves, specially the red moon pack. The former alpha Devin denied stealing it but I knew that it was with them. I had no choice except to fight and get it back. I was almost certain that we would win but we lost. Those who managed to flee the battle field were petrified and were not able to speak for months. When they did they told me about a different breed of wolf among them.” King Richard told David, as he studied David’s expression. He wanted to see how his expression changed but when he saw that it was neutral, he frowned and went straight to the point.

“I know you are from the red moon pack. Now that you have unmasked you true scent, I could sense that you belong to that pack. Can you tell me who you really are David.” He spoke, not leaving eye contact even for a second.

David sighed. “I am David Barton, son of alpha Devin Barton of red moon pack. I am their true alpha and leader, but they have chosen to reject me and replace me with someone else, just because I am different and they hated me for that. But the thing I hate the most is that they framed me for my grandma’s death. The real killer is still there living freely and I want to replace out who did it and get my revenge. They may have their own alpha if they please. I don’t care because I don’t want to become the leader of some wolves who don’t appreciate me.” David stopped talking when he felt that he had said enough.

“Alpha Devin…….. David Barton…. You are that little boy who stood beside the alpha in the conference years ago. I knew you looked familiar.” The king commented.

David smiled as he let out a sharp breath. “ Yes. I was worried that you might recognise me. I was scared to show my true self to you.” He smiled through his words.

“Why?” the king’s question made David chuckle to himself.

“This, is why.” He said as he pointed to the dungeon and himself. “We are at war right now. And it is natural for you to put me in jail anyway. You wouldn’t even want to listen to me. And perhaps you wouldn’t if it wasn’t for Carol. My mate.” David, answered with confidence.

The king smiled at him. Maybe, Carol was right. David does seem like someone who is trustworthy. He answered each and every question clearly and never let himself look weak in front of him. Which, is something king Richard admired. But one there was one thing he just couldn’t forgive nor forget. And that is the theft of the precious opal. After all, it involved the whole community. If it was something personal, he would have let it go.

“You still need to tell me why you took the opal. I swear it is in your territory. I checked with my seer last week. It is still in that territory.” He said, his tone becoming harsh as he spoke.

David straightened his shoulders and looked straight in the green orbs of the older vampire.

“I believe you when you say that whatever that opal was, is stolen and is in the red moon pack. Because I have seen first hand how treacherous they can be. I don’t trust those elders and they could have done it. But I swear to our lord, I have no idea about it. I found out about it only recently. I kept wondering why you would declare war on us but just couldn’t think of a reason good enough.” David told him.

The king who was now completely silent, seemed to have believed what David had said. His eyes reflected how truthful David was being.

“You cannot believe that everyone in the community should be blamed for something one person or a group of people does.” David added softly. The king nodded. David was right. He shouldn’t blame the whole community. And if what he said was true, then the wrong doers needed to be punished. David’s wisdom surprised the king. Not that he had any complaints. It would be beneficial to his daughter is her beloved is wise. But one thing itched his curiosity.

“Are you the lycan?” he asked, unable to hide his curiosity. David smirked and allowed Finn to take over.

The king watched in awe as his limbs elongated and shifted. The face morphed in to a huge jaw, while his already toned muscles bulged out. Black fur sprouted all over his body. When the transformation was complete his closed eyes opened revealing two red eyes that burned in to the vampire king’s green ones.

“It is you.” The king whispered. “It has been a long time since the last lycan lived.” The king stared in admiration. But then he shook his head. “But then, why did you allow yourself to be taken away. Werewolves maybe weaker than us, but lycans aren’t.”

“Because you are my mate’s father. And I don’t want her to get hurt in anyway. I want her to be happy. And if I hurt you or your men, she will be the one who gets hurt the most.” Finn’s answer made the king’s heart swell with happiness.

Yes! He will keep her happy. He will love her unconditionally. David is exactly what he had wanted for his daughter. Smiling at the majestic creature in front of him, he gave him a slight nod.

“But, I still don’t understand why a lycan would be involved in such a lowly deed like stealing.” He muttered.

Finn hissed. “How can the great vampire king would be such a fool? David had told you just now. We had no idea about your opal being stolen. We didn’t get involved in the theft. My dad didn’t get involved. Nor did my grandparents. Now stop accusing us of something we never did.” Finn retorted.

“So….does that mean your father was telling the truth. He didn’t know…..” king Richard trailed off, sensing that he had made a huge mistake. Perhaps Carol was right. Just a simple talk could have solved this. But instead, he had declared war in his anger.

“Yes. He didn’t know. He was the most respectful alpha I know. He would never steal what belonged to someone else. But I cannot say the same for those elders. Perhaps more traitors are in the pack. Who knows.” Finn’s gruff voice echoed.

Feeling remorseful, the king lowered his gaze. His throat seemed to have blocked, making it uneasy for him to speak.

“I am sorry……” he tried to apologise but Finn raised one finger, making his stop what he was going to say.

“Not a word. My father died as a hero and I’m proud of him.” Finn huffed. “Besides he was happy to go and meet my mother.” Finn added

“That is in the past and I believe you were misguided. And like my mate said, there must be a reason good enough for us to be paired. Perhaps it is because both of us are wronged by the same people.” He reasoned.

The king sighed. “Mate. Beloved.” Covering his face with his hands, he sighed deeply.

“I am so sorry. I’ve wronged you David.” He whispered.

Smiling, Finn allowed David to take over. When the king took his hands off his face, David was staring back at him.

“Your highness.” He bowed. “Please don’t say that. You have not wronged me. You just followed your fatherly instincts.” He said respectfully. Thing watched in shock when David still addressed him with the same respect he had given to him as he did before.

It took a while for the king to shake himself out of his shock and he shook his head, while smiling slightly. “No David. You are family, so no more bowing down to me. And I have wronged you. I am sorry that I kept you from your mate. I shouldn’t have. I didn’t have any right to keep destined ones apart.”

Feeling his heart flutter at his happiness David sighed in content.

“You highness. I’ve faced worse in my own pack.” He whispered, but his soft whisper didn’t go unheard by the king’s sharp ears.

“We are better than those who bully others. And I’m sure David, you belong with us than you belong with them. I will be more than happy to help you get your revenge. We must replace who killed your grandma. And in the meantime, I hope to get the opal back.”

“Your highness….” David was interrupted by the king.

“No. Don’t call me that. You are like my son. You are my daughter’s beloved. You are her better half. Don’t you dare address me formally hereafter.” He said, shaking his forefinger in front of him.

Chuckling to himself David cleared his throat. “But please tell me. What is this opal?” he asked.

“Ah. It is a precious stone. That stone can be used to give anyone who possess it unimaginable power. It can be used to do great things but if it gets in to the hands of the wrong person, it can cause great destruction. It had always been the vampire kingdoms pride throughout the centuries and the had always guarded it with our lives. The only way that anyone could have accessed the secret vault would be with the help of dark magic.” He explained.

David listened to him attentively, as he tried to connect what he knew. Pacing around in his cell, he gave it a deep thought.

“Maybe that is why they stole it. Those power hungry elders could do anything for power.” He muttered. “We must get it back!” He said, clenching his fists.

“Yes. But I believe there is one more thing I need to do.” King Richard voiced as he fixed a meaningful gaze at David.