Encounter

"Paragon Io, I will personally train you along with Prince Aerglo."

Elder Oberon's voice resonated inside my head. So many have happened yesterday, and I haven't slept a single blink last night. The whole night I was staring at the ceiling, thinking about what kind of training the two of us will undergo.

"Aerglo..." Aibek talked inside me.

"Yes!?" I jumped when she called me

I heard a soft chuckle. This is the first time I heard lupus laugh like that. "Oberon mush have seen what happened between you and Io yesterday." Aibek pointed out. The same thought ran into my mind. That is why I could not sleep last night. Beyond that, I know I have a huge responsibility as a Prince, Beta, and the next Alpha. "You need to rest, Aerglo... tomorrow will be the start of our hellish training." Aibek talked to me through our mind link.

"Jeez... thanks for reminding me," I answered her. We may have bonded for only a few days, but I feel so comfortable with her, and I know that I can count on her.

"I want to sleep, but the thing is, I cannot sleep yet with all of these thoughts running in my mind," I talked again through our mind link.

"You weak little Paragon, just like that, and you cannot sleep already? Yet you call yourself a BETA? Are you kidding me?" Phobos mocked me again. He has been teasing me every time he gets an opportunity, shoving my weakness into my face.

"Ignore him, Aerglo!" Aibek defended me.

"And who are you to tell me what to do? since you accepted this brat as you Paragon, you have no right to level with me!" I can sense his hostility through his voice.

"And how dare you! Mock me!" Aibek is starting to fight back, "You dare to challenge my authority as an ALPHA?"

"You still call your self ALPHA? Are you kidding me?" Phobos was mocking her.

I do not know what to do in this kind of situation. I got up and immediately rushed to my Father's Chamber to seek some guidance.

I am catching my breath when I entered his room. Father is sitting on his bed, petting Velladon and Ikaru.

"Are you ok?" Father asked me as soon as I entered. "I... need... some... help..." Still trying to catch my breath. I know they can sense the urgency in my voice, but they are as calm as ever.

"About what?" Father asked me, without even looking at me. Ikaru just peeked one of his eyes on me while Velladon did not even bother.

"It is about Phobos and Aibek! I think they are fighting!" I said with an urgent voice. "Can you help me stop them?"

"Fighting? about what?" He asked me again with a calm voice.

"I don't know!!! Phobos has been mocking me these past days, and now they are fighting..." My voice filled with worry for both of them as I do not know what to do to stop them. "Can you send Velladon or Ikaru to stop them?"

Belladon stood up. He is as intimidating as Pbohos or Aibek right now. His eyes are staring through my very soul as if he is piercing a hole through it. He grinned, his mouth showing his massive K9's.

"Now-now Velladon... calm down..." Father commanded him. He stopped his grin, looked at Father, and then went back to his old position.

Father walked closer to me and then said, "You do not need to worry about Phobos and Aibek hurting each other." His hands are tapping my shoulder, trying to assure me.

I looked at him in the eye, wanting to have more than a word to make sure they are ok. "Son... Both Phobos and Aibek are in the Lupus Realm, and they cannot give each other any severe injury. Compared to when they are here. They are practically immortal in that realm because of the Lupus Gods Geri and Freki. Besides..." He walked back to his bed and waved his hands, asking me to come closer. "It is entirely normal for them to fight for dominance, mostly because both of them are former ALPHA. The only thing you can do is talk to them again through your mind link and either ask them to stop or give them an absolute command."

I heard about that so-called absolute command, and every Paragon has the ability to give at most five absolute commands to their bonded lupus. In our case of having a bond with two, we are given a total of ten with five commands per lupus.

I do not want to waste any of the commands on either of them now, so I tried to ask them nicely.

"Aibek! Phobos!" I called them out through our mind link. All I can hear are growls and cries. They are still fighting. I tried it once again, but this time with more authority. "Aibek!!! Phobos!!!" I called them once more. I sensed they both stopped fighting, but the tension is still high.

"What is the matter, Aibek? Will you stop fighting because your little weak and pathetic Paragon called you?" Phobos taunted again.

"If he is what you say he is... Why did you bond with him in the first place??" Aibek asked him back. Her voice is serious and full of authority.

"STOP! I, Aerglo Ó Luain Paragon, and Prince of Tribe Hati commands you, Phobos, to stop what you are doing, or I will sever the bond!" As much as I don't want to use it, he left you with no other choice. Severing the bond between Paragon and lupus has its drastic effect, especially if the Paragon is the one who initiated the severing of the bond. Abandoned lupus will be considered unfit for a position, and just like a hollowed Paragon, it is a fate worse than death.

I sat down inside my fathers' chambers, frustrated and lost. Who knew that giving an absolute command would drain me this much. "So, you gave your first absolute command?" Father said, his tone is calming and assuring me that it is ok, but deep inside, I still feel lost.

"Aerglo, you did your role as Paragon. Besides, Phobos has been out of line, so do yourself a favor. Never look down. You are a Prince, and you bonded with both Phobos and Aibek. Anyone would have done what you did." I somehow felt assured, but having both of them fighting against each other will be tough for everyone, especially when Phobos refuses to follow my command.

I went back to my chamber and tried to take some rest. Tomorrow's training with Elder Oberon will be harsh. Slowly my eyes closed, and then the next thing I knew, it was already morning.

"Prince Aerglo... Io... Arche... Aesha... and Cinthya, all of you will train under my supervision. You will move and think as one. You will only head the call and commands of your Alpha." Elder Oberon said.

He is my Fathers older brother. Fiercer, Wiser, and more Intimidating compared to my father. He was never given a chance to have his child when his wife got killed on a delta mission long ago. He became my second father whenever Father's unit would go out on a mission.

"Today, I will be your Alpha." Elder Oberon said.

"I want you all to scout the entire perimeter of the border and report every last detail." He continued.

"Remember, I may be your Alpha for now, but out there, you are all the personal unit of Prince Aerglo. He will act as physical Alpha, but as I said, I will be your commanding Alpha." He explained.

Everyone looked at me, and I can feel every eye staring. I am used to prying eyes around me but not this kind. I feel pressured and stressed as early as now the burden of my responsibilities weigh down on me.

Like what Elder Oberon had said, we all scouted the border's perimeter between Ilmor and Zion. Nothing unusual is happening until we reached the area where the cliff that separates both territories is narrow enough to jump across.

It is faint, but we can hear it, the wailing voices full of pain and agony. This is the first time I have heard such a sound in my entire life.

"I will investigate," Arche said.

I don't feel right about this. Arche and Bolvek are about to jump across when I blocked their way. Aibek is on high alert. She is grinning her jaws, and her paws are all ready to pounce anyone. I can feel something is coming. I closed my eyes started to concentrate my energy is beginning to go down faster than ever, and then I felt a strong hellish kind of presence.

I opened my eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "It is coming!" Everyone switched to their defensive stance. One... two... three... four... and then we saw a girl about our age covered in blood walking towards us. We all jumped back to our guard as she reached her hand. Out of nowhere, her lupus jumped towards us. Aibek created a whirling wind to protect us. 'So this is how it feels like? dying?' I said to myself.

Everything is moving slowly. It is like time slowed down. Its claws and fangs are inching closer, and then midway, another lupus jumped and blocked the attack for us.

Elder Oberon and Enshir appeared from thin air, then the similar light shined below us, and then the next thing we know, we are all back in Ilmor.

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