Chapter 218: Targeting his family
"I am the Crown Prince. How dare you bar me from my own father’s doors?" Cesar growled, his aura flaring in a display of raw dominant power. "Get out of my way before I tear every one of you apart!"
The guards exchanged tense glances, but none shifted an inch.
Cesar sneered and bared his fangs, taking a step forward. Before he could strike, a highly trained alpha warrior stepped smoothly out of the shadows, bowing respectfully to the prince while placing a firm hand on his silver sword hilt.
"Your Highness, calm yourself," the warrior said calmly. "If you attempt to force your way inside, I have explicit orders from the Alpha King to detain you immediately."
"My father is in there committing treason against his own kingdom!" Cesar spat, leaning in until he was inches from the warrior’s face. "Do you even realize what’s happening? His entire chamber is being broadcasted live across the world right now. The whole world is watching him threaten to murder Lucien, his mate, his family and pack."
Panic crossed the chief warrior’s face. Behind him, the three other guards shifted uncomfortably, their eyes wide as they exchanged uneasy looks.
"Move before it’s too late," Cesar growled, his voice deep with a lethal threat.
The Alpha warrior immediately stepped aside, gesturing sharply for the remaining guards to stand down. Cesar shoved the heavy wooden doors open and stormed into the grand chamber.
"Father! What are you doing to Lucien?" Cesar’s command reverberated off the high stone walls. His eyes swept across the room—first landing on the strange, ominous witch maintaining the spell, and then on Lucien, who was gritting his teeth in silent agony against the crushing magic.
"Who allowed you in here?!" Francis barked, his face twisting in sudden fury as he rounded on his son. "Throw the Crown Prince out immediately!" he commanded, motioning toward his knight.
"Father, stop this immediately!" Cesar lost his temper, discarding every shred of royal etiquette as he stepped between his father and Lucien. "You murdered Lucien’s parents?! What the hell are you thinking? Do you even realize your crimes are being broadcast live to the entire world right now?"
Francis froze, his face draining of color. "Wh-what are you talking about?"
"Stop the spell!" Cesar ordered Molly, his voice sharp and undeniable.
Hesitating under the prince’s command, the witch lowered her hands, breaking the dark binding.
"Hah!" Lucien gasped, his body collapsing forward as the crushing weight vanished. Cesar dropped to his knees, catching Lucien by the shoulders before he hit the stone floor.
"Bring water!" Cesar barked toward the guards.
"I don’t need water," Lucien growled through strained breaths. He forced his head up, fixing his lethal gaze on the stunned Alpha King. "You just confessed your entire legacy of murder and treason to millions. Your reign is over, Francis. It’s time for you to step down."
"Lucien, keep quiet," Cesar warned softly, trying to stabilize him.
"Tell your father to let go of my mate and my brother," Lucien demanded, ignoring the prince entirely as he stared Francis down. "Tell him to order his men off them right now!"
Cesar turned to his father, his expression twisted in confusion and disbelief. "Do it! Release them! Why are you targeting his family?"
Francis ignored his son’s plea entirely. With a subtle flick of his wrist, he signaled his elite knight. Before Cesar could react, the knight struck the prince hard across the back of the neck. Cesar collapsed instantly, falling unconscious onto the stone floor.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Francis lunged forward and hauled Lucien up by his collar.
Molly’s hands snapped upward in unison, a surge of dark energy striking Lucien square in the chest. The binding magic slammed back into place, pinning his limbs and rendering him completely immobile once more.
"You dared broadcast my words to the entire world?!" Francis hissed, his eyes wild with rage.
With a fierce yank, the tyrant ripped away Lucien’s blazer and tore open his shirt, exposing the metallic button.
Francis crushed the microscopic camera beneath his boot, shattering the lens and severing the live feed into complete darkness.
"Fuck! No!" Renzo’s hands flew up to his hair. "I can’t sit anymore inside. They will kill him," he mumbled and quietly stepped out of the car without coming into anyone’s notice.
~~~~~
Ronan stepped through the front entrance with a triumphant smile, eager to share news of his victory with his family. The expression vanished the moment he crossed the foyer.
The living room was in complete disarray. Furniture was overturned, porcelain shattered across the marble tiles, and the household servants were huddled together in a frantic cluster.
"Alpha! You’re back!" the head servant cried out, rushing forward with a pale face. "The Alpha King’s enforcers stormed the estate! They took Alpha Kieran and Miss Leia. They’re taking them to the capital!"
"What?!" Ronan’s aura flared in violent confusion. "On whose authority? Why?"
Without a word, another servant stepped forward with a trembling hand, extending a tablet playing a recording of the live broadcast.
Ronan stared at the screen in horror. He watched the tyrant King boast about poisoning Leia’s mother, saw Lucien pinned to the floor by dark magic, and heard Francis declare his plan to force Lucien into a fratricidal slaughter. The feed suddenly cut to static as Francis smashed the camera.
Panic and rage seized Ronan’s chest. Driving to the capital would take half a day, and even a private jet would take hours—time his family didn’t have.
As his blood roared, a searing heat burst from the center of his chest. Beneath his skin, the Moonstone pulsed with a brilliant, silver light, responding directly to his intent. The ambient air warped around him.
Before the servants could gasp, space itself fractured. Ronan vanished from the living room in a flash of divine light, reappearing a second later directly in the central courtyard of the royal palace.
Ronan’s silver-lit eyes swept across the central courtyard, locking onto the scene unfolding before him.
Bound securely to twin iron execution posts in the middle of the plaza were Lucien and Kieran, both struggling against magical bindings.
Just a few feet away, Leia was forced onto her knees by two heavy-handed guards, her face pale but her eyes blazing with defiance.
Francis stood at the top of the grand marble steps, his voice echoing off the surrounding stone pillars as he barked commands to his surrounding knights.
"Bring Grayson and Renzo out!" the Alpha King bellowed. "Bring him here so they can watch their entire bloodline getting ended tonight!"