Unedited.

"You need to act fast. They're coming to take his body."

I could see Erebus' wolf turning visibly stiff after hearing those words.

"Who's coming?"

I asked promptly. Whoever they were, it was clear that even Erebus was dreading hearing their name.

"The Enforcers."

'Enforcers...'

I repeated the word slowly inside my head as I racked my head trying to come up with everything that I had ever read about them.

Enforcers were a group of some of the most powerful werewolves, superior to any and every wolf spare for the king. They served directly under the king and worked to enforce the laws of the nature that applied to the supernatural. They maintained balance and kept the existence of werewolves hidden from the outside world. Simply put, they were feral beasts who tore anything in their path when it came to imposing the law.

'And one of the laws was...'

"A hibernating king's body shall remain in the palace under the Enforcers' watch till he regains consciousness."

"You broke the law, dad."

Sensing the urgency in my tone, Erebus moved a bit so that I could look easily at my father while addressing him.

"You know why I did it, Thea."

I could understand his reason yet at the same time I didn't want to.

"You could've at least told me about this."

I wanted to move closer to him as I said this in a small whisper but then I thought against it and stayed glued to my original spot.

"Told you what, Thea? That I stole the king's hibernating body without thinking anything through? I had no clue what I was doing at that time. I wasn't even aware that soul transferring was an achievable phenomenon. The true extent of the powers of a king are kept secret to protect the integrity of the kingdom. It took me several years to get my hands on this information."

I knew he was telling the truth, because I hadn't heard of this 'soul transferring' power of a king either. I was thinking of asking him how he had acquired that information but before I could do so, he started talking again.

"Moreover there is a mole."

I remembered him saying something about a mole to me when we were confronted by the beta of the Silver Knight pack in The Barren Lands. I hadn't asked him further about this as we were in a haste at that time. I couldn't believe that I had completely forgotten about this information.

"How do you know about the mole?"

My father's blue eyes which had been fixated on me for the past few minutes suddenly shifted to stare sideways at the huge wolf guarding me.

"Because of King Erebus."

A small frown settled on my face as I stole a quick glance at Erebus' wolf.

"How?"

"He was telling Beta Lucas about the presence of a mole in our army immediately before going into hibernation. Probably because of his weak state, he failed to form a connection with Beta Lucas and ended up accidentally mind linking the Alpha closest to his location-me."

He took a small break to let out a tired sigh as he hung his head low for a second before looking up to stare accusingly at Erebus' wolf.

"I'm also aware that you considered me to be the mole, the traitor merely because I hadn't taken part in the war, because I was the last standing Alpha. I'm pleased to tell you that I'm not who you're looking for."

'Erebus doubted father to be the betrayer? Then why did he plan on giving me the crest?'

Erebus' wolf had remained surprisingly silent through all this. His wolf was staring impassively at Alpha Adrian.

'He's giving dad the chance to explain himself.'

"I had remained behind not only for my wife but also to guard the town closest to The Barren Lands. There needed to be someone in case no alpha remained behind. The newly appointed alphas needed guidance so that they would not go astray. If a king is the gate to this kingdom then the alphas are the pillars holding this land together. Someone needed to be there for new alphas. I wasn't being selfish. I was just looking at the bigger picture."

The more my father spoke, the more an unknown feeling twisted and turned inside me.

'Erebus, did you plan on giving me the crest to keep father in check?'

I had asked this to him inside my head.

"I had decided on doing this so that Alpha Adrian would not be unable to harm you and the crest wouldn't let you be influenced by your father's darkness."

His logic was easy to grasp yet I couldn't help the wave of hurt that washed over me as soon as I was done listening to his answer.

"I'm sorry. I didn't intend to hurt you, Thea."

He had said this in a small voice, almost like he was whispering this in my ear.

He didn't need to apologize to me. He was the king and he did what he considered best for his people in his last moments. He was thinking as their leader. He was thinking about their future not a little girl's feelings.

I didn't want to complicate the situation anymore by throwing a tantrum. Alphas were taught to keep their emotions aside while addressing serious issues. I needed to do the same.

"What do we do now?"

Gulping inaudibly, I asked this to my father.

My father who had been staring silently my way turned to answer me swiftly as he heard my voice, "I will shift King Erebus body to a new place. I will return before dawn. As soon as I come back, we will travel to the capital to get Liber."

'Liber...'

The strange word made me scrunch my eyebrows.

"It's a book that holds some of the oldest records of a crest's powers."

Hearing Erebus's reply in my head, I looked at my father, "Does Liber contain the ritual to crest sharing?"

"It does."

Giving me a small smile my father took a step towards me. This time Erebus didn't hinder his way by growling or snarling at him.

"Secrets aren't easy to carry, Thea. They drag your smile down with their weight. How could I turn the world's most beautiful smile into a frown? I couldn't do this to my sugar plum."

'Sugar plum...'

How much had I missed this warmth and care with which he used to address me. Except for the past three years, he had always been like that. He always tried to keep things to himself. He was afraid of burdening me beyond my capacity.

"Maybe it's time you realize that I can handle the truth, dad. You raised me to be an Alpha not some clueless princess."

"You will always be my princess."

With a bit of a hesitance, he gave me a small kiss on top of my forehead before he moved to the side to pick up King Erebus' body.

"You should go to your room and make necessary arrangements for the trip. We'll be going as soon as I return."

Pressing my lips, I looked at Erebus from my side vision,

'Are you going to let him take your body?'

"It's safer with him, safer than it is in our hands."

I felt a small pinch in my chest as I watched my dad slowly pick up the glass coffin with Erebus' body. For a moment all I could see was him taking my mate's body away.

Subconsciously I reached out to grab Erebus' cold hand, clenching it tightly in an iron hold.

"Let him go, Thea. You will see him again."

"When will I see him again?"

I asked this while I was still clinging to Erebus' hand.

"Soon, if we're successful in getting the Libra."

That answer wasn't enough to calm the raging pull of the mate bond I was feeling.

"If you want to see me in this form again, let my hand go, Thea."

Erebus' wolf was nudging my side lightly as he had said this. To my surprise, the urge I was feeling dimmed down immediately after hearing his voice. Without wasting another moment, I let his hand go.

"Be ready."

My father who had been watching this exchange silently gave me a small reassuring smile as he trudged out of the room carrying the glass coffin with him.

'I should go too.'

Soon I was walking out of the library towards my room. My feet stopped only after I was standing inside my room staring blankly at my closet.

"What happens when the Enforcers get here? They take your body and then what?"

Erebus' wolf had merged back with me before leaving the library and I was greatful to not have that piercing golden gaze settled on me as I asked this question.

"They will destroy it."

"What?"

The clothes I was holding in my hands fell down as I turned still on my spot.

"Enforcers obey the nature before they obey the king. A mated king is against the rules of the nature. They will never let us live."

Slowly I walked back to sit on the corner of the bed as I played with hem of my sleeve.

"That's why you agreed to my father's plan. You can't fight the Enforcers in this state. You need to wake up in order to fight them."

"Yes."

"All this for your people?"

"All this so no one will ever dare look your way again. You're in my protection now. I will tear every hand that tries to reach you."

Those words were uttered with such sincerity that I could feel my heart trembling like a leaf inside my ribcage. I was overcome by a surge of emotions.

Before I could answer him, a surprised gasp escaped my lips as I sensed something hot hitting my lower belly making me leap forward. I could feel it. From the hot pants leaving my mouth in small foggy breaths to the light grazing of my peaked nipples against the soft fabric of my cotton bra, I could feel everything. My body was becoming overly sensitive to every sensation I was experiencing.

"Huh?"

My eyes widened immediately as I realized it wasn't just my heart that was trembling, something down there was throbbing as well.

"W-What i-is h-happening?"

Not being able to handle this overwhelming situation, I fell back on my mattress, my brown hair coming loose to sprawl everywhere . I was going into a trance. I was losing control. Through the haze of my thoughts, I could barely understand the next words Erebus said inside my head,

"You're in heat, Thea."

We're just getting started. *wink* *wink*

Smut in next chapter.