Chapter Sixty One

“No, he is not but whatever Phillip did to him would keep him knocked out for days, if not weeks and Anna doesn’t have that kind of time” Grace said
“Then we would have to take the venom while he is unconscious. It is the only way to get this sorted out and get Annabelle back!” Justin said
“That was what I had in mind right now but I can’t do that. I don’t know how Damian is still alive, how his hearts still beats. His venom might be what is healing him and we have to give him a couple of days to heal a little before we take it” Grace said
“That works for me. In the meantime, Justin, assign to guards at Damian’s door and another two at Anna’s door. Something tells me that Phillip would be paying us a visit soon. He is different from what we know. He has dark magic now and he definitely doesn’t look like what we know. He looks different, almost like a demon of some kind” Alex said
“Another thing. If you see him, don’t try to kill him, you can’t. Only one person can and that is Annabelle so if you come across Phillip, don’t engage on your own. Call for back up and fall back. He is too strong for anybody and if you engage right now, he would just use your soul to fuel whatever messed up ritual he has done to sustain himself. We have taken away the source of strength right now and he would be looking for temporary ones so we have to be twice as careful” Grace said
“I would start by addressing the people again. Justin, gather the people. Is Beth here already?” he asked
“She came in a while ago and settled in your room” Sally said
“That is perfect. Sally, I want you to keep an eye on Anna. You understand her condition better than anybody else. Grace, you stay with Damian. Magic did this and magic can fix this. Let me know if anything changes in both Damian and Anna’s situation. We need to start training with immediate effect so Raphael, I need a training schedule for everybody, our soldiers, the best of our warriors, everybody staying back to fight for Cordina. In the mean time, Grace, work on a way to get both Anna and Damian back on their feet. We need all the help we can get” Alex said

Everybody nodded at him and they went about their different duties. Alex went to his room. He knew that Beth was going to be worried about him and he was right. He entered his room and saw her sitting at the edge of his bed, waiting for him

“Where did you go?” She asked him
“I had to get Damian back” he said
“You had to get Damian back? Sally brought me up to date and you chose to go after someone who had a death wish! What if something had happened to you in the process? What was I supposed to have done?” she said
“Beth, you have to understand that this is the life I lead. This is what I do on a daily basis. I have to do some things. The ruling of the entire city of Cordina is now on my shoulders and I can’t abandon it and sulk in my bed because I am afraid to do the necessary things even though it is risky. I can’t do that. I still have my sister to cure and she is dying and I don’t care if I have to walk through fire, I will. Now are you in this with me or not?” he said to her
“You are going to get yourself killed!” she said to him
“Then so be it. I have a lot of people to protect. I am at the front line of this battle! I am always going to be taking risks. I am always going to be at the front like of the war. I have always been. Phillip took so many things from me. He took my dad, twice. He took my mom. He took Arielle and now he has done heaven knows what to Anna and it is killing her so I don’t care if I am going to get myself killed. I would rather die than go on without my sister!” He said to her
“I am not asking you to let her die. I am just asking you to stop taking these risks. Stop living like you’ve got nine lives. You are a wolf, not a cat! Damn it, Alex!” she said to him
“I can’t stop until it is all over and I hope you understand that because it is the only way I can keep anybody safe. It is the only way I can keep you safe, it is the only way I can keep Anna safe. It is the only way I can avenge the death of my family, my parents. It is the only way” he said to her

She sighed at him and turned away. She looked around the room and saw a picture of his entire family. She walked up to it and held it before turning to look at him.

“That was the last picture we took together. I was just three and Anna was just born. We took that picture before Phillip ruined our lives and my mother had to leave with my sister while my father and I stayed here in Cordina. A few years later, Phillip killed my father and came after me. I fled back to the central but I was just seven. I didn’t have any money, I didn’t have any family. I was living in the streets, feeding from hand to mouth, eating off the trash before I came back to Cordina one cold night and I slept in our house. I found out that my dad had some wealth and I got access to it when I was fourteen. That was how I got to survive and I didn’t find my mother until I was twenty. Phillip ruined everything for me. How can you ask me to let it go? Don’t you get it? I can’t let it go! Every chance at having a normal family was ruined because of him and he keep ruining it not because he is trying to get revenge but because he feels like! He hated my family because of my mom was pretty and so is my sister. He offered my sister a chance to be with him and to leave Damian if she wanted my father again” Alex said
“Hold on. I thought your father died when you were seven!” Beth said
“We all thought he did. I watched him die right in front of me but apparently, he survived and Phillip kept his existence a secret. Phillip locked him up like he was some kind of animal and he let him rot! He wasn’t there when I needed him because Phillip had him and when it was time to give him back to us, Phillip killed him in front of us and made us watch. At his funeral, Phillip showed up with Anna’s ex boyfriend and he killed him right at the funeral! He is doing all of this on purpose so we don’t heal from one tragedy before he strikes again. I know you might make understand but risking my life so Phillip can die is the least I can do if I can’t kill him myself’ he said

She looked at him with tears in her eyes, wondering why he kept so much from her. There was no possible way of tell her any of this because it was something he never healed from. He sighed and wiped his face with the pack of his palm when a knock came on the door. He sped to the bathroom and the door opened

“Where is Alex?” Sally asked as she walked in
“He needed to use the bathroom. What’s going on?” Beth asked
“We have gathered the people and they are waiting for him. Let him know that” Sally said

Sally turned around to leave when she stopped

“I don’t know if I am allowed to ask but is everything okay with you?” Sally asked her

Beth looked at her and nodded with a smile. There was no way she was going to tell Sally that her father was a monster and he deserved to rot in hell. She already knew that and there was no need to rub it in and make her hate him, which she already did. Sally smiled at her and left the room. Beth turned to the restroom

“You can come out now, she’s gone” she said
“I know she is gone. I just needed a minute” He said as he came out.

He looked at Beth and she got up to hug him. He needed that right now. He had no idea what to tell the people of Cordina but he was going to have to find the right words to say. It was not like he had a choice. Right now, he wished Damian was awake so he would help out in all of this. He didn’t want to be king! Cordina wasn’t his kingdom. He was the general of the army and that was more than enough for him. He didn’t want to be king but right now, he knew he didn’t have a choice. He had to stand in for Damian. Justin was made leaders of the wolves, Damian’s Alpha and he wasn’t even fit for the job. If Justin talked, he only got respect from the wolves but Alex was a hybrid, half vampire, half Wolf and therefore, everybody had to listen to him, even those that didn’t want to and that was exactly why it had to be him

“You don’t have to be worried, I would be there with you” Beth said as though she had read his mind