The last stage.

Luciano reached the training grounds and eyed his opponents. The Council members took their places in the higher tribunes, observing the men from their seats.

With the new knowledge to his advantage, Luciano could quickly tell which Alphas had a Council member on their sides and which didn't.

Some men stood by the side, leading a cheerful chatter while others roamed around, visibly worried. His eyes scanned the crowd - there was no sight of Vlad.

Perhaps it was for the best, Luciano wouldn't stop until the throne was his, but the Alpha didn't want to kill Vlad.

“Gentlemen, please line up facing tribunes; the Council members will announce a couple of details to keep in mind.” One of the guards stood aside, gesturing towards the exact spot where the Alphas had to line up.

If there was at least one person that didn't want to follow their orders - it was Luciano.

Since when an Alpha was supposed to stand in a line like a guard dog, looking up at someone who pretended to be their owner?

Those old farts wanted nothing but power. None of them would put some effort into earning one's respect; they simply demanded that everyone would respect them from the get-go.

Luciano stood behind others, refusing to follow commands.

A Council member rose from his seat and approached the railing that would protect them from an accident or a nasty fall. The man placed his hands onto the metal bar and cleared his throat, scanning the crowd.

“Good day, Alphas. First, I would like to apologize in the Council's name for the short notice about the change of rules. Like all of you, we didn't expect things to change so drastically, especially regarding the King's health. Even though some of us wouldn't agree with the new order, we can't do much - the new King has to be announced within a few hours after our beloved King passes away. As the medical professionals have stated, we might have a couple of hours. That would lead us to a new system in the competition, but I will explain that a little later. First, we need to find out something,” perhaps he was mistaken, but Luciano could swear that he caught a hint of fear behind the male's words.

Was this another idiot, fearing the possibility of his victory?

If that was so - he should. Luciano planned to kill most of them, if not all, for the selfish behavior and terrible decisions they had made.

A Council, locked away in a remote territory, living the life of their dreams while many starved to death. That was unacceptable, no matter how one could view their efforts to justify themselves.

Since no one questioned him, the Council member kept talking, adding some details: “Alpha Vlad of the southern lands decided to leave the competition. The young man couldn't move into the castle on such short notice, so we will ask everyone to think twice. Only those who could get to the duties as a King immediately may stay. Others, unfortunately, should go.” His eyes kept scanning the crowd, avoiding Luciano by all means.

Maybe he knew that there was no chance in hell that Alpha Vincent would leave the competition because of a slight change of rules.

Even though Luciano didn't support the idea of killing his fellow Alphas, even the most annoying ones, he would do that. The Council member gave them a chance to leave before it was too late - their lives were in their own hands, not his.

“So you're telling us that whoever wins the rat race has to move into the castle as soon as tomorrow? Is that so?” Alpha Cade yelled out.

As usual, he didn't wear more than a pair of pants, proudly showing off his muscular torso. The man was so full of himself, even pride himself would be jealous of Alpha Cade.

“Rat race.” Luciano chuckled to himself, feeling a little amused.

Soon, he would have to face a moment when someone died, yet it didn't stop him from finding something hilarious in the whole setting.

“Almost. Whenever the King is announced dead, the next one in line must step in. The new leader must settle in before the burial. We will bid our goodbyes to the previous one throughout the official process along with the new King. Then, as soon as it's done, the new King will take over the throne on short notice. There will be one day between the funeral, grieving, and the coronation day, to be precise. Is that clear?” The elder Johnson stepped in, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder and squeezing it a little.

Everyone from the Council seemed tense, fearing something or perhaps someone.

They kept exchanging knowing looks, nodding their heads and gesturing towards something as if there was a secret signal. Luciano started wondering how many of those men would disappear on the spot if he won today.

“Yes. Are there more changes?” Cade raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms in front of his chest. It seemed that he didn't intend to leave now.

“First, I'll have to ask Alphas to step away from the line if they wouldn't be able to follow the new protocol.” The Council member added, eyeing the few men who backed away from the lineup.

Most of them were a little older, in their late thirties or mid-forties; men with wives and children - family to return to.

Some others could view their decision as a weakness, but Luciano was ready to bow to those Alphas in respect. This was when they proved that family mattered more than taking a risk because of a higher social position.

For some reason, the whole situation seemed like the Council member forced some men out on purpose. Perhaps he tried to save lives, especially to those who might die without a cause.

Even if they won for an unknown reason and couldn't deal with the responsibility, getting themselves in such a vile competition would be suicide.

A sudden wave of relief washed over Luciano - Vlad was out. It wasn't the fear of loss; no, Alpha Vincent was sure of his abilities. It was the relief of knowing that a good man would stay alive by getting his ass out of the cruel charade.

Luciano watched how a few more men stepped aside - he didn't care what their reason was, but at least a couple more would survive. Most of them deserved to see the next day and many after tomorrow.

“Now, everyone will have one last chance to step out. We decided to avoid unnecessary sacrifices this time. The Council has no intention of being viewed as cruel.” Elder Williams rose from his seat, giving each Alpha, including Luciano, a stern look.

“What do you mean?” Alpha Cade took a step ahead.

So, he wasn't one of the favorites who had a chance to find everything out earlier? Luciano was sure that Cade would be the first to leave if he knew about the death circle and the new system.

“Yeah, what do you mean? Why would you think that the remaining of us would want to step out? We are here for the win; we want the crown - one way or another.” Alpha Daniel walked to Cade's side as if supporting his friend.

Luciano often saw them both together - speaking about any way they could cheat their way up the charts. Funny enough, the men never bothered to check if anyone could hear them or catch them red-handed.

Cade's father was a well-known businessman who could bail his son out of trouble anytime.

Perhaps not anymore. Luciano broke their agreement as soon as he found out that the man was using his assets to get his son out of trouble.

If the boy wouldn’t learn what consequences mean - there was no way he could ever form into a decent person. Besides, who would need a possible King, incapable of taking responsibility for his actions and words?

“Please, don't interrupt me, Alpha Daniel.”

“I am about to explain everything, yet it can get challenging when many men keep questioning me without bothering to hear out what I have to say,” Williams growled out, pointing a finger at both Alphas.

The elder used to do that thing quite often; it was his way of shaming youngsters.

“Alright, God damn it, speak,” Cade snarled, nudging on his friend's shoulder. Whatever those two were up to, that couldn't be anything good.

“What I meant was that any man, standing in front of me now, has a right to step out. Since the rules had to be changed - today is the only and last step of the competition. Many of you have proven to be great candidates as the next King. Some are standing behind, but if everything went according to plan, those men would have a chance to prove themselves next week. Not anymore. Today, we are to watch the fights between Alphas - the guard will announce pairings. We will start from the bottom of the list, moving upward. Then, each loser will be sent away, leaving only the strongest of the strongest. The last stage will be the circle of death. Please, reconsider your abilities and how much are you willing to lose for the throne - it might be your life.” Williams grinned.

The old fart obviously enjoyed the new setting, eager to watch many men fighting over the throne. He had always been a fan of gore, blood, and war.

“You expect us to fight against each other to end up in a circle of death with Vincent? Hell no, fuck this shit, I want to live,” Cade laughed in disbelief.

The Alpha knew that he could easily go against anyone except Luciano. Alpha Vincent avoided their meetings, lived deep in the forests, and never fully socialized with anyone.

There was no way for one to find out if he had any weaknesses, and even if there were any - Cade was sure that he wouldn't be able to use them even if he tried.

Luciano Vincent was a loner - wealthy and powerful one at that. The only time when someone would consider messing with him would be if they had a death wish.

If Vincent had killed many, he would keep on killing more, but Cade would do anything to stay away from his lists with the next victims.

“No offense, but I second that. Even if I won the first round - going against Vincent would be a suicide. The only reason why we are alive is that we didn't have a direct chance to fight him. Elliot did and look at him now - the dude's in a coma; if he ever wakes up, he will be a vegetable till the end of his days. That is not a fate I would like to meet.” Daniel instantly agreed with his friend.

Both Alphas stepped away; none of them wanted to have anything to do with the dangerous situation. The male turned his head to face Luciano, nodding his way: “Really, no offense, Alpha Vincent, but you're a fucking savage.”

One by one, men left the lineup. Even though all of them were Alphas with intensively big egos - there were only two, besides Luciano, that were brave enough to stay and wait for the last step.

Once again, the Council members exchanged knowing looks and nodded their heads.

That was when Williams cleared his throat and announced: “The last stage of the competition has officially begun. Alphas, please take your places around the red line and enter the circle as soon as the guard gives you a command. May the Goddess be with you all.”

The Council member slowly moved back to his seat, some of them cheering, eagerly leaning forward. Every person around the Kingdom, including the Council elders, wanted to know their next King.

Truth to be told - they already knew, or at least felt who it would be, but the little hope in a different outcome didn't die within them.

Luciano lazily walked towards the direction the guard was pointing to. Both men followed in his steps, whispering something to each other. They had to be the greatest fools if their strategy was to go against him simultaneously.

Two against one was unfair, yet hilarious - even if they got rid of Luciano, what would happen next? They would have to kill each other, or at least attempt.

The death circle's main purpose was that no one was to walk out alive, but that detail might have slipped their greedy minds.

Luciano took his position next to the red line and eyed both men.

It took him seconds to work out the weakest points both Alphas had. He relaxed his shoulders and stared at the center of the circle, patiently waiting for when the real fun began.

At first, he thought that giving everyone a little show might be nice, at least for the time being. Then, the thought of entertaining the Council disgusted him to the limits. Those men gathered to watch murder with smiles on their faces; they didn't deserve anything but a painful and slow death themselves.

“Alphas, get ready,” the guard eyed all the men.

Luciano focused on the imaginary spot while both men leaned forward a little, ready to take off and attack him with all force. Funny enough, they didn't stand next to each other.

Instead, they stood on each side of the circle. Alphas would attack Luciano from the sides, so if he was busy with one, the other could quickly kill him. Little did they know…

“Ready. Set. Go!” The guard yelled out as if he started a race, not a life or death battle between powerful men.

Luciano stepped inside the circle, stopping right on the point where he stared seconds ago. He seemed emotionless, bored even, and that angered his opponents even more.

The Alphas took off, growling out before the attack began, and attempted to ambush him from the sides. The crowd around them gasped.

Luciano stood still, his hands stretched out to the sides, claws digging deep in the Alphas torsos.

The men fell, leaving Luciano in the same position, holding their still-beating hearts caged in his claws. A corner of his lip twitched. They actually thought they had a chance against him.

“If we're done here, I'd prefer to get my stuff ready,” Luciano let go of the organs, allowing them to collide with the bodies that once needed their assistance to function.

The Alphas died within seconds, and the new King stood in the middle of the death circle, his hands covered in blood.

“I-” Williams choked out, wide-eyed. “Goddess, help us all,” the elder stuttered.

Obviously, he didn't expect the fight to end as fast as he did. Luciano even didn't bother to play with his opponent - he simply tore their hearts out.

“That's what I thought. Enjoy the rest of your evening, gentlemen. Do not disturb me.” Luciano nodded at the bunch of Alphas, every one of them still shocked.

Some looked as if they saw their life flashing in front of their eyes, while others caught a feeling of relief for backing out on time.

The crowd of Alphas, guards, and even Council elders dropped to their knees, giving the new King their utmost respect. Now, it was all in his hands - the vicious Luciano Vincent was to lead their Kingdom.