Out of control

Every bad situation will have something positive. Even a dead clock shows the correct time twice a day.

—Anonymous—

***********

With a darkened expression, Grant stared at his beta for a while without uttering a word. His mind was a wandering mess.

“The seer?” Grant asked, and Leornado gave him a look with his brows raised. “Where is she?” He asked, rising to his feet. Without waiting for Leornado. He marched for the door, and Leornado had to run after him due to his long and fast strides.

If there was one thing that they all knew was that the woman's words, though always twisted and probably exactly on point, she was never truly wrong. Whatever she saw, there must be some truth to it. He knew something major was about to transpire.

“She is in her tower, your Majesty,” Leornado replied, finally able to match Grant's pace.

Grant didn't speak after hearing that and rather increased his pace. The maids and guards they came across bowed respectfully to the alpha king, but he didn't acknowledge any as his mind was solely focused on what he would be hearing soon.

In a matter of minutes, Grant and Leonardo were standing in front of the door of the said seer. Leonardo opened the door, and Grant walked in even without knocking.

“Your Majesty,” the woman who seemed to have been expecting his presence rose to her feet and greeted with a respectful bow which was only replied to with a curt nod and a hum.

“What did you see this time, Calista?” Grant asked immediately. He walked over to the tower's window where he could see the rest of the castle. The servants were already up and about to prepare for the day even though the sun was yet to rise.

Leonardo and Calista came to stand on either side of him, also staring out the window.

“Trouble, your Majesty. I see trouble,” she began, casting a glance at Grant, who also briefly glanced at her, and their eyes met for a fleeting second. “Somewhere in the east, something out of the ordinary would happen. Creatures unlike any we have ever seen will appear,” she continued, and Grant frowned. “Many will be lost to this unknown threat.

The east was quite far, and there were numerous packs there. Would they all be affected by whatever this attack would be?

“narrow down the place, Calista,” he said. His voice and demeanor were much calmer than either of the two had anticipated.

Did he already anticipate something like this? They thought but knew there was no way that could have been possible.

“Forgive me, Alpha,” she said, and Grant's expression hardened as he realized what that meant by that. Feeling the shift in the king’s aura, she lowered her head till her chin touched her chest.

“What else should we know about this?” Leonardo stepped in, knowing Grant was now in a foul mood.

“A few days from now. I can't tell when either—I am sorry,” she felt helpless here, but she also knew she had said all that she knew. Her vision came in vague images without any clarity. It was all up to her to piece the fragments together to get something decent and present it as a warning.

A feral growled wrapped from the man in the middle, and the other two bowed in submission. Both fell on their knees and showed their necks. They had managed to catch a glimpse of Grant's eyed thay had suddenly turned blood red, and that was not a good sign.

For someone who had been antsy lately, this news must have pricked all the wrong nerves.

His calm earlier now made sense. It was Grant trying to rein over his beast, but it appeared he was losing now.

[Alpha, please calm down. We need to find a solution to this]

Leirnado tried to reach him through the mind link, but he received a growl that silenced him and also left him shrinking lower due to the direct impact of the alpha directed at him.

[“Alpha, please,” ] he pleaded.

Something seemed to snap within Grant as he took control again and then rein in his aura. He knew it wasn't only Leornado who felt it but every shifter within the castle walls, and he didn't want to torture his people without a reason. But lately, his control was slipping off his fingers.

“Prepare for departure at the first ray of the sun light,” he said, directing his words to Leornado, who sighed in relief, knowing alpha beast had retreated.

“Understood, Alpha,” he replied but still didn't rise to his feet until he headed to the door close behind them. Calista and him shared a look, and both sighed in relief before standing up.

“Save travels, Beta, Leo,” Calista said even before Leorna ciuod asked her to go with them. Leornado could only look at her and sigh.

▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎

Meanwhile, Grant returned to his bed chamber, pacing back and forth as he tried to gain full control of his wolf, but the damned beast just wouldn't submit. It had always been cooperative, so what was wrong this time around?

He could feel his canines fighting to grow, and the that was sparsely spreading all over his body.

“Shit!” he cursed as he clenched his fist but regretted it immediately as his claws stabbed into his palm, drawing blood.

Grant felt his beast demanding to be let out, but he couldn't. He knew just what his beast was capable of doing when allowed to run rampant. Unlike him, his beast still maintained his primitive, primal instincts, and that was to dominate. Brute force. was his way. He could cause more harm to the kingdom than good. That is unless there was a target to take it out on, but right now, a target was the one thing they didn't have, so anyone and everyone they came across would become a target.

“Maybe a run is what you need. It's cold and windy. It might help. Your beast hasn't been let out in a long time,” Leornado, who had just come in, said. He flinched and took a cautious step back when he saw the king’s red eyes staring at him and the protruding fangs that seemed ready to pounce.