The change of rules.

After a heated conversation, both Alphas parted their ways.

Vlad headed back to the house, given to him by the Council, and Luciano kept on destroying every single object in his place. While Vlad took the information in a much calmer manner, Luciano didn't expect to grow as jealous as he did.

And there he was, destroying everything in his way because of a woman.

His heart and mind broke out in a battle of the century - part of him felt broken and saddened for betraying the little bit of memories about Talia, the other part viciously angered because of Seth's absence.

He wasn't sure if he could keep on going the same way for a long time.

Luciano's biggest enemy was his own mind - processing the information, overthinking everything, and still wondering why Vlad was so calm.

He had announced that he would get back home and denied Luciano's offer to drive him back. Vlad had said that he needed time to think and cool off, confusing Luciano.

If anyone, that man was not someone who needed to calm down or cool off. He was way too easy going, way too accepting, and kind.

To make matters worse, the Council had mind-linked everyone and announced that every Alpha had two hours until the last competition stage began.

Apparently, the King had gotten worse, and the doctors thought he wouldn't live long enough to watch another sunrise.

“Fuck!” Luciano growled out, throwing a glass against the wall and instantly grabbing a hold of his hair in frustration.

‘How about quitting the shitty attitude and putting all that anger into the competition, huh? I'm not very happy myself, but we need the damn title. Get yourself together, asshole, I want that crown!’ The voice from the back of Luciano's mind appeared as fast as it faded.

His wolf decided to scold him and turn his back before getting an answer.

Smart move; he was trying to build up strength for when the real fun began. Whatever happened now, Luciano had to forget about Talia and Seth. At least until the competition ended.

He grabbed his car keys and headed outside of the house. He didn't bother to lock the door or hide any belongings - nobody would come near the place where he lived anyway.

He sat in the car and started the engine, leaving the driveway, speeding towards the Council main building.

When he arrived, most of the Alphas already stood around the enormous building, talking to each other. Some seemed rather cheerful - probably because of the news about the King.

Each of those men would do anything to get a hold of that throne, even if they had to sacrifice their loved ones for the amount of power. Luciano's eyes scanned the crowd - only one man was missing. Vlad.

He didn't get to move from the spot when some Council members approached him, shaking hands and patting his back.

“Alpha Vincent, we have high hopes for you - I'm sure you won't disappoint.” One of the older men spoke up, grinning as if he had won the SuperBowl.

Luciano decided to plainly ignore all of them - the Council members had been nothing but leeches in his eyes before, and now, after they took Seth away from him, all of them had Luciano's target on their backs.

Little did the men know what was expecting them if he ever became the King.

One of the servants stood by the mansion's main entrance, opening the door and addressing all alphas: “Gentlemen, please come in. We have prepared some refreshments for those who would need any. In the main living room, you'll find a stack of paperwork - please, find your name and leave a signature next to it, so we could keep everything on track.”

His words were formal, even professional, but boy, did the servant shake like a leaf in the autumn wind. It was nearly as hilarious and pathetic.

Luciano stomped inside first, as soon as he passed the servant - the boy's posture visibly relaxed. Did everyone have the same cowardly reaction to him or were those only the weak-minded individuals in his way?

He located the stack of paperwork, found his name, and signed it. Then he grabbed a bottle of water and headed straight into the backyard, too fed up to hang around other men.

Even the distant chatter annoyed him, let alone the thought of being in the same room with even one of the other Alphas.

Taking a glance at his wristwatch, Luciano smiled - he had nearly thirty minutes left until the last stage of the competition began, so he had a chance to walk around a little and wander away from the building. Soon it would be over.

Thankfully, although it was one of those days which seemed to grow worse with each passing minute, the time flew. When Luciano finally stopped, he stared in the distance, trying to get rid of any thoughts that could distract him from the goal.

When a hand landed on his shoulder, the Alpha grabbed it and nearly broke all of the person's fingers as he did. Luciano wasn't the biggest fan of surprises or people touching him in general.

He turned around and faced a terrified-looking, wide-eyed Council member. Luciano still held his hand in a deadly grip, glaring at the older man.

“You shouldn't sneak up on an Alpha like that - next time, you might kiss your life goodbye. One mistake, and you're done.” In any other social structure, speaking in such a manner to a Council member could end with one's execution.

However, given how much power Luciano held, topped with his fortune - the man already was an unofficial King in many eyes.

“I'm sorry, Alpha Vincent, I didn't intend to startle you. I called out for you, but you didn't react; hence I decided to approach you.” The Council member explained himself.

His eyes traveled down to his hand, by now, turning to a slightly red color. “My hand, Alpha Vincent.” The older man added, blindly hoping that the Alpha would let go of him before he had to explain the reason for his appearance.

“Forgiven. What do you want?” Luciano snarled, squeezing the man's hand a little tighter.

It was funny how Luciano wasn't quite the most violent type out there, but he enjoyed seeing pain flashing in their eyes whenever it came to Council members. If he had a say in this, there would be no Council at all.

A bunch of old farts, sitting under one roof, acting as if they did something to improve the lives of others. In reality, all those men did was feed off money that wasn't theirs and enjoyed the rest of their days living the lavish lifestyle they couldn't afford.

Perhaps that was the biggest thing that Luciano despised - their attitude.

He had to work his ass off to get where he stood today. Countless sleepless nights, stressful meetings, plans, and failures.

It took a long time until his business took off, and when it did - he secured himself a position of one of the richest men walking the face of Earth. His hard work paid off because he refused to give up.

The men in Council expected to get everything handed to them on a silver spoon.

If only his father would be alive to see the shitshow those men had become.

“Excuse me…”

“My hand, Alpha Vincent.” The man repeated himself, nervously switching his weight from one leg to another. The pain was clearly visible on his facial features and body language by now, so finally, Luciano let go of him.

He didn't repeat his question - he shouldn't. Not to someone who had heard his words loud and clear.

“The Alphas started gathering around the training ground; we need you to start.” The man announced, turning around and slowly walking away.

Of course, he thought that Luciano would follow him like a lap dog, so seeing the Alpha proudly walking by his side was a surprise. “The last stage rules have been changed, a fair warning.” The Council member added.

“Why are you telling me this? What is in it for you? We both know that the Council won't pick favorites unless they get some gain from it. So, what would your gain be from letting me know bits about the rule change?” Luciano furrowed his eyebrows, silently wondering if taking the risk and trusting someone from the Council was worth it.

Of course, the man could have some brain cells - two, to be precise, rubbing against each other to process some thoughts and develop ideas.

There was no guarantee that the man didn't intentionally approach Luciano to tell lies.

Perhaps he already found his favorite and wandered around, messing with the other Alphas to make them more or less vulnerable than other men.

It was a huge risk to take. Then again, no one promised to believe in his words - Luciano could hear him out and decide to believe or not later on.

“That is true,” the man chuckled. “My gain would be a possibility to live for a couple more years, still slim, but I have to take the risk. For now, you are up on the charts, and everyone started putting up their bet. Mine is for you, obviously. If the King appreciates my effort, the King will allow me to live - as a part of the Council or a simple civilian, I don't care for as long as my journey doesn't end here. I still have some unfinished business.” His words weren't too convincing, especially since he didn't mention any gain with money value.

The Council members loved money more than their own families.

That was the reason why many of them left loved ones behind as soon as the position was up for an offer. It was easier to believe a man who needed money than a man who needed a couple more years to live.

Who knew, he could be hit by a bus tomorrow and die from internal bleeding. Life was funny like that.

“Fair enough. What about the rules?” Luciano decided to listen and come to conclusions as soon as the conversation would be over.

Only after finding out the details could he make a decision. Thankfully, walking distance to the training grounds was at least ten minutes if one didn't hurry.

It gave both men enough time to have a private discussion without anyone finding out that the Council member had broken the rules and a piece of secret information had reached Luciano.

Luciano couldn't care less if the man got to live a couple more years.

Then again, he would still hold all rights to kill the bastard if needed - if they would come to an agreement, it would be verbal, no proof of having one or sharing information in the first place.

He didn't think that cheating would get him anywhere, but sometimes holding a little more knowledge about a topic could help out immensely.

Luciano thought about his father - what would he think of his son or do if he was in the same position? A corner of his lip lifted as the realization hit him.

His father would do the same thing - gather information and find a way to win. Think about risks, the possibility of success or failure. There were no losers in Vincent's bloodline, and Luciano would make sure that it wouldn't change anytime soon.

“Before the King's health worsened, we planned to have the last stage of the competition happen throughout the next week. We don't have more time to lose, so we announced that the last stage was to happen today. No more tests to check IQ levels, no more training hunts or any sort of bullshit. Today you are going to fight. They are pairing up the weakest with the strongest to get rid of any weak link as soon as possible. When the unworthy will be sorted out and sent away, the second stage will start - Alphas will fight in the circle of death. I'm sure you have heard of it. Personally, I was against it - the old method seems to be too cruel and ineffective, but the others didn't share the same opinion as mine. I wanted to see fights step by step - Alpha against an Alpha. Honestly, they were right about one thing - men will get tired from the constant fighting, so finding out the real winner could take days. We don't have that much time.” The Council member crossed his arms in front of his chest, walking around as if he had no destination.

“I have heard some rumors about that, but I have no idea what that might be. Obviously, a circle and death involved.” Luciano kept looking around, his senses heightened as the Alpha did everything to make sure that nobody would try to spy on their conversation.

“Technically, that's all. Multiple men stand by the red line, outside the circle. As soon as the bell rings, everyone has to get inside the circle. Only one man can leave, and he will be the only one to survive. Years ago, it was a tradition among our people - separating the weak from strong, getting rid of any weaknesses. If the wolf wasn't strong enough, he wouldn't live. You are about to do the same - step inside and kill. The last man standing will take the crown. Any more questions?” The man stopped, eyeing Luciano with the utmost interest.

It felt as if the older male attempted to search for something in the Alpha's eyes. Was it fear he was looking for? Doubt? A sudden change of mind? Did the Council member suddenly fear how secure his bet might be?

“Yeah. Does anyone else get to find out this information, or am I the only one? It would be quite unfair if only one Alpha got to find this out while others were left in the dark. Don't you think so? And how about those deaths - are you willing to kill many Alphas for the sake of your sick show? Under any other circumstances, I would suggest that you should fuck yourself and get the fuck out of my face. Obviously, now I can't do that, and it is frustrating the hell out of me.” Luciano rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Perhaps making his way towards the training grounds alone would be better. At least then, someone wouldn't throw ideas at him, nor would he have to worry about other unexpected surprises.

“A few Alphas will get to know some details, I'm sure of it. Oh, don't worry, my boy - others will find out about the rule change shortly before the competition begins. We are willing to sacrifice a few powerful men to make sure that no one will ever have a chance to challenge our King.” The man turned around again and walked away.

The discussion was over now - he didn't expect more questions or answers from the Alpha. Whatever was going to happen now would be at the mercy of the Goddess and abilities of those Alphas.

It didn't matter who took the crown - the Council member approached Luciano just because he feared death.

Any other Alpha would leave the Council alive; Alpha Vincent, however, wouldn't be as merciful. They had wronged him by taking the woman away - now, their lives might be in his hands.