The Ruthless Lycan King Fell For His Slave Mate novel Chapter 96

“Approximately five hundred years ago, there was a tyrant Lycan King,” Nile started his narration when Lyra agreed to hear his version of the story. “He oppressed all other packs for the benefit of the royal pack, which amassed wealth and unmatched power at the expense of others. While the royal pack lived in luxury, the rest of the kingdom was barely getting by. The king forced them to send slaves and tributes, stripping the packs of their best talents and driving many werewolves to poverty and near starvation. Nobody was brave enough to stand up to the king, but one day, the Scarlet Alpha said enough was enough.”

Lyras frowned, because she had never heard of a Scarlet Alpha or a Scarlet Pack for that matter. “The Scarlet Alpha? From which pack?”

“The Scarlet Pack,” Nile replied. “You wouldn't know it. It has long gone extinct, and the royal family saw to it that it was wiped from history. After long enough, most werewolves forgot anything like it ever existed.”

“Did the Scarlet Alpha attack the royal pack?” Lyra asked.

Nile shook his head. “It never got to that. When the Scarlet Alpha raised his voice against the royal family, other packs that had been unable to oppose the king joined him. All packs united and raised their voices against the royal pack, demanding drastic changes to the king's policies. There were some armed conflicts where the king sent his warriors to punish packs that disobeyed his orders. But these packs received assistance from their allies, and soon, it was clear that the kingdom was on the verge of a full-blown revolution.

When the Lycan King realised that the packs were united against him, he decided to quell their rebellion once and for all. He invited the Scarlet Alpha and a few of the other most influential Alphas working with him to the palace, claiming that he was ready to hear their grievances and discuss how to change his method of rule.”

“They did not blindly trust him, did they?” Lyra asked, sensing that making peace was not the king's true intention.

“No, they did not,” Nile replied. “The king was ruthless, and only a fool would walk into the palace expecting to come out alive. The Scarlet Alpha told the king that first, he had to make concessions to show his good will, and then the other Alphas would meet him at a neutral location. The king agreed. That year, he not only did not ask the packs to send slaves to the palace, but he also released some of those in his possession to go back to their packs. The amount of tributes sent to the palace were also drastically reduced. However, the king was still heavily involved in the administration of the packs, something that did not sit well with the Alphas.”

“Did they meet as agreed?” Lyra questioned.

“Yes. The meeting was arranged to take place at the Blacksword Pack, which was considered a neutral location. At that time, the Blacksword Alpha was a close friend of the Scarlet Alpha, so the packs felt safe,” Nile narrated. “Unknown to the Scarlet Alpha and the other representatives from the packs, the Blacksword Alpha had been on the king's side all along. As soon as they gathered in the meeting hall, they were ambushed and massacred. Not one of them escaped alive. While that was happening, the royal troops ambushed the Scarlet Pack and destroyed it, leaving only dead bodies and destroyed structures behind. Within a few hours, everything was burnt to ashes. As soon as the news spread, all other packs were terrified, and the alliance broke apart. Nobody was willing to take in the few survivors from the Scarlet Pack, and they ended up disappearing into the jungle, where they became the first rogues.”

Lyra was listening intently, captivated by the turn of events. She has not imagined that such horror would be the origin of the rogues. Even more, she would not have imagined that the royal pack was the villain. She had always thought rogues were simply rebels from various packs, as there were bound to be rebels anywhere. She had never expected that one incident would have been the start of everything.

“That's horrible,” she said. She could not imagine what the Scarlet Pack members went through. After suffering such a tragedy, getting abandoned by those they thought they could rely on must have been devastating.

“The Lycan King continued his reign of terror for many years afterwards, and the packs never again rose against him,” Nile continued. “However, during that period, many werewolves left their packs to join the former Scarlet Pack members in the jungle. The plan was to form a force strong enough to challenge the royal family. But since all packs were under strict instructions to quell any rogues within or near their territories, they had a hard time surviving, let alone forming a force that could attack the palace.”

“The book has mentioned some of that, and it says that the next Lycan King turned things around when he came to power,” Lyra said. “It also says he offered the rogues a chance to return to society. Why didn't they?”

Nile scoffed. “Do you think it was that easy? Have you forgotten what the first king did to them? Were they going to walk out of hiding like sheep marching to the slaughterhouse?”

Lyra nodded, understanding why the rogues might not have trusted the new king. “But the king abolished all the previous oppressive policies and helped all packs in the kingdom to develop. It makes sense to not trust his intention in the beginning, but why did they not take his offer even after several years?”

“Has the book mentioned that this king was not the immediate successor of the tyrant, but his great grandson?” Nile asked.

Lyra shook her head. “No.”

“I told you, the book is useless. The royal family must have commissioned it to change the narrative,” he scoffed. “Even after the tyrant king passed away, his son continued the reign of terror, and after that, his grandson. Generations of rogues suffered under their rule, and that grudge was cultivated generation after generation. Now tell me, if you were one of them, would you forget all the suffering and injustices just because someone told you to? Would you simply forget your ancestors’ grievances and eat with the same enemy who massacred them in cold blood?”

“But it was a different king,” Lyra said, “and he was determined to change things. He wanted to end the suffering and the conflict.”

Lyra gulped and shrunk back into her seat. Nile's voice had grown with every word out of his mouth, and now he was outright yelling at her.

“You have every right to avenge your people,” she said. “I'm simply worried that both the rogues and the others will suffer. After all, the packs will fight back. This won't end as easily as you think. If you care about your people–”

“SHUT UP!” Nile roared, suddenly wrapping his hands around her throat. Lyra's eyes widened as her hands reached for his, but she could not do anything against his strong hold. He had cut off her airway completely.

Nile’s face was a mask of rage, his eyes red. He growled, tightening his grip around her neck. “STUPID BITCH, I'LL KILL YOU! YOU KNOW NOTHING! NOTHING!”

He let go of her and Lyra fell forward, sputtering and wheezing. She ended up on the floor of the car, fighting for breath. Her throat and lungs felt like they were on fire, and she knew she had escaped narrowly. Any longer and he would have killed her.

Just then, the car stopped outside the palace.

“You'll stay in your room until I say otherwise,” Nile said, glaring straight ahead. “It'll be on guard throughout the day and night, so don't get any ideas. I might not do anything to you because of your wolf, but your mate will pay for your insolence. Next time, think before you open your stupid mouth.”

He opened the door and left. Lyra's entire body was shaking from a mixture of shock, anxiety, and fear. What was he going to do with Julian?