"If its sad, it hurts
If it pains, it kills
Take my love, I am yours now
Hold my hand, you are my pill
No matter how long you stay
I loved you then, I love you still"
_______________________________________
{XAVIER}
"Xavier, I would like you to meet someone really special." Humair tells me, with a wide smile. But I already know what it could be. She has been with this newly found happiness throughout the Ball now.
"Oh. Did you find a new puppy to pet?" I tease her intentionally. She punches my arm, pretending to be hurt but then pushes a man right in front of my face.
"This time its not a puppy. It is the love of my life, my mate and everything else that I could ever ask for from the Moon Goddess."
I look at the man in front of me. He is a very powerful alpha and has enticing features. He is Alpha Alexander, a good and trustworthy friend of mine. I feel really happy for Humair right now. She has indeed got a perfect man for herself. Alexander is one of the kindest and most sincere Alphas that I have come across. He is looking at Humair, totally lost in love right now. Well, another couple to make me feel jealous. But the fact that my Royals are now starting to get settled with their mates is beyond satisfying. Whatever danger the future holds, it would be best dealt with if my Royals have found someone to be by their side and protect them and comfort them.
Everyone at the Ball is patiently watching the sun, which is rising gracefully, spreading its warmth throughout the entire area. The river is glistening under the sun rays and the waterfalls look mightier than before. It looks as if the moon was hiding a beauty that the sun just exposed. With this, starts the last hour of the Ball.
There is a ritual being followed since hundreds of years. The King is supposed to propose to a girl of choice for marriage or has to introduce one as the Queen. And all the people around are looking at me expectantly, waiting for me to complete the ritual.
I notice on my right, a beautiful girl, looking at me with eyes filled with hope. I spent the entire night with her, trying to know more about her. I needed to know if the choice I am supposed to make would be correct or not. I needed to know if she was my mate and would be able to handle the title of a Werewolf Queen or not. I danced with her at the Ball, making everyone including her father, wonder if she would be declared as the new Queen.
Merissa Billiani, is indeed very beautiful. She is nothing like other girls at the Ball. She is wise with words and actions and any man can draw a liking towards her within seconds. Everytime when she smiled at me or touched me, I felt relaxed. I have never felt like this with any woman before. Dancing with her was a cherry on the cake for me. I not only completed the dance ritual, but also with a beautiful and intelligent girl in my arms. She has great qualities of being a Luna wolf. She can lead a pack wisely and is smart in judgments and opinions about various issues among our species. Talking to her made me feel content. After a long while, I found a female who I could talk to freely, without hesitation or annoyance.
But she is not my mate. She is not even close to being my mate. In other words, she doesn't deserve to be my mate. She can be a strong Luna but to be the Queen of the entire werewolf Kingdom, she has to be stronger, smarter and much more powerful. Given the fact that she is not at par with my personality, I am satisfied that she is not my mate. A woman that has to deal with me, has to be someone even more special. And she herself knows that she is not my mate. Yet, for some reason, she is still clinging onto me and looking at me with a wide smile on her face.
"To all my honored guests on this fine morning of the Ball, I, Xavier Ravolli Lazarus, King of the Werewolf Dynasty and Alpha of the Lazarus Clan, would like to make an important announcement. The new Rule has already begun. An enemy right now is lurking at some corner of the world, waiting to conquer what is already mine and yours. But I won't let him. I inherited the throne from my father but I have established peace and content throughout the Kingdom on my own. And I won't submit or lose any of this to some heartless monster. Pertaining to this, you all must be expecting me to announce my marriage and our future Queen."
I look at everyone's faces piqued with interest as soon as I mention the idea of my marriage.
"Henceforth, I have decided that-
I am immediately stopped by a loud scream from a woman. I turn around to notice Humair, clutching her throat and falling on the ground.
All my Royals rush to her including Alpha Alexander, who is her mate now. She is screaming and clawing at her throat uncontrollably. Her body is trying to shift into the wolf form but she is unable to. Veronica and Darius try to remove her hands from her throat to stop her from clawing at her own windpipe. She is panting and her entire face is turning pale. Our Pack doctor, Mr. Kim rushes to her and tries to pin her down so that he can examine her.
All the guests look worried about the whole incident. I feel someone tugging at my arm and notice Merissa lightly massaging my shoulder to comfort me. Why does she think I need comfort, that too from her?
Humair's mate, Alexander picks her up, bridal style and runs past all the guests in his wolf speed to take her to the hospital. Burakh asks all the guests to remain calm and retreat back to their gueshouses if they wish to. Humair is a Royal which is why everyone is worried for her. Royals are the purest bloodline and the most powerful among the entire species. Therefore, their protection is of utmost concern for any wolf clan.
We reach the hospital only to find the door of the room in which Humair was taken into, locked. Mr. Kim must be working on her condition. I notice Alexander sitting on the floor, just beside the door. His face is in his hands and he looks completely horrified.
I am not someone who would console or talk sweet to anyone during such situations. So Burakh and Veronica are doing my work. Darius and Aliyah are not here as they are making sure that all the guests are safe and reach their guesthouses safely.
But what happened to her suddenly? The last time I saw her, she was having dinner with her mate at some secluded table then dancing later when the ritual started. In fact she was jumping up and down along with Alexander when the band started playing. After the dance was over, we all gathered to watch the sunrise. And she was there behind me, all hail and hearty. If someone decided to play a prank on us then I am going to bring hell to this Ball.
The door of the operation room opens and Mr. Kim walks out, with a crestfallen expression. But a loud scream can be heard from inside the room. We all rush inside to find Humair lying on the bed, her hands and feet tied with iron chains to the large iron hooks on the wall. She was shaking uncontrollably but that was not our concern. Our concern was the worst possible sight that we were witnessing on someone of our own blood.
Her skin was burning so hot that her entire body was popping blisters everywhere. Her blood red skin looked like water boiling, giving out bubbles as it boils. Blisters were popping out of her skin, some vanishing then appearing again. Her tears had blood in them and her eyes were blood red too. Her hair were falling off from her scalp slowly. She was violently tugging at her chains, screaming in agony. Her throat was badly clawed and neck muscles were on display. The hospital gown she was wearing was turning red with the amount of blood that was coming out from her skin. This was extremely painful to watch.
"Please stop this doctor. I beg you. Please do something. She will die if this continues." Alexander was clutching at Mr. Kim's feet, crying and begging him to do something.
"King Xavier, can I talk to you in privacy?"
"Sure doctor." Alexander was shouting at us for leaving Humair in the room but I knew it must be something important that the doctor wants to discuss.
"Humair's condition is not just because of poison. It is something else. I have witnessed a hundred different kinds of poisonings in my life but this is something more. Her skin is burning and this would continue until her skin disappears and the burn starts reaching her internal organs. She will perhaps not die until her entire body is burnt due to whatever poison or curse she is suffering from. I am sorry to point this out Xavier, but this is similar to what happened with the Mazhais seventy seven years back."
"How can we stop it?" I try to ignore his remark about the Mazhais.
"I don't know how to stop it. This is an allergy or an infection that is spreading on her entire body. The only thing I can do is putting her in coma. And this is why I called you out privately to ask for your permission. Her mate would have never allowed it so I recommend that he should be taken away from here while I do this."
"Doctor, are you sure that there is no other way?"
"Xavier, I can discuss one thing at a time. Right now it is important to stop the burns from dissolving her entire skin and for that I need to tranquilize her as soon as possible. So is your permission granted?"
I pull the doctor towards me by grabbing his collar and look at him straight in the eye.
"If anything wrong happens after you tranquilize her, then consider yourself dead."
Kim Seokjin is one of the closest acquaintances I have in this world. He has been with me at all times of my crisis. But Humair is my family. I can't afford to lose her at any cost.
I order Burakh to take Alexander out of the hospital and even though he looks at me suspiciously, he follows my order. He trusts me of course but Alexander doesn't. And I don't blame him. He has complete right to be with his mate right now but it is best if he stays away. He punches Burakh in the stomach and runs back to the room but I hold him back and Burakh aims a punch straight at his face, knocking him unconscious. We pick him and order the guards to take him back to his guesthouse.
Mates have an extremely strong magnetic pull towards each other. If Alexander is not taken away, Humair won't be easily put into coma. However, once she is there, life and death would be in close contact with each other. For werewolves, huge amount of tranquilizers are needed to put one into coma and for a Royal like Humair, another combination of silver containing drugs would be used. Unlike humans, once a wolf is in coma, he or she cannot come back to life normally. The wolf will be forever paralyzed, all senses will be lost and only the heart would beat. This is even worse than death. You can't sleep nor move, just stare into nothingness and wait for death.
My decision is perhaps the worst for Humair. But I can't let her die, suffering in this terrifying agony nor can her mate. I walk out of the hospital but I am unable to move any further. I feel miserable and it pains right inside my heart to think about losing Humair. My Royals are the only family I am left with. Each one of them have supported me, helped me throughout my tough times and have loved me the way I am. If I am able to rule over the entire species without losing my sanity, then it is because of them. Our unity and trust in each other is what makes us special.
Sometimes when happiness comes in your life, it doesn't tell you how long it would stay. Humair found the love of her life. A man with whom she would have had a family soon. The mate that the Moon Goddess herself chose for Humair. But she didn't tell her if she was chosen for her mate or not.
I have never loved a woman in my life. I don't know what love means and how you are supposed to feel it. But I have felt pain of losing too many precious people in my life that love is the only thing I don't want for myself. I am too scared to fall in love and lose someone again. Still, I can't help but feel the opposite for Humair. I want her to come back to life and be with her lover for forever. But I am the one who had probably killed Humair's dream before it even started.
This Rule has reached my family and it has begun to reckon us all, probably for forever.
_______________________________________
