Chapter 207: Réunion between the brothers

Krys looked down at the claws that were gripping his neck, trying without success to release them. Now that his wand was broken, he was not sure whether he could get away from this place safely. He can't chant any spells without his wand!

Feeling that the grip on his neck has tightened more, Krys could feel that his days were about to end as he was about to choke to death. He tightly closed his eyes as he grabbed hold on the claws at his neck, already waiting for his demise.

However, just as he thought he was going to die at that moment, the hold on him suddenly lessened. He opened his eyes and was surprised to see Rae falling to the ground. 

"Rae!"

Kaius quickly rushed to her side and growled when he saw the burn marks on her right shoulder. 

Seeing that the shifter had his attention on his mate, Krys swiftly crawled on his behind, away from the two shifters, fear and relief on his face.

Dane frowned when he saw someone approaching them. Or rather, two of them.

There was a small fire flickering above one of the two men's hands. He was standing behind a burly and muscular man, who was walking leisurely towards them. 

The man in front looked over at Kaius and Rae and immediately dismissed them from his thoughts as he only spared them a glance before his eyes landed on Dane.

"Dane, long time no see," the man said raspily.

A shocked glint appeared in Dane's eyes as he recognized the man in front of him. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. He did not expect that he was still alive after all these decades.

"Brother…" he said slowly.

Harding laughed out loud as he held his head in one hand, throwing his head back, seemingly to find it amusing when Dane called him, 'brother'. 

Once he was done laughing, there was still a hint of laughter in his voice as he wiped away the tears at the corner of his eyes. With his one hand on his hips, he looked at Dane, who was growling at him. 

Nearby, Kaius, who had the unconscious Rae in his arms, felt the immense pressure emitting from the man. He could sense he was strong. Perhaps, stronger than Dane.

"Wow… It has been a while since you called me, 'brother'," the man commented sarcastically.

"I thought you were dead," Dane stated simply.

Anger gleamed in the man's eyes before it disappeared, making one think that they were probably seeing things. "You would like that, wouldn't you, Dane?"

"Why would I like it…?" Dane retorted back sharply. "YOU KILLED OUR PARENTS, HARDING!" he then shouted angrily.

Harding shrugged. "They were in the way," he replied nonchalantly. He then narrowed his eyes at Dane as he growled fiercely under his breath. "Father has the nerve to choose you as the next Alpha when I'm around!"

He continued on, snorting, "And those other 'brothers' of ours," he spat out the word 'brothers', "They think they were strong enough to overthrow me when they were just some bunch of weaklings in our packs, despite being the offsprings of the Alpha. Useless."

Dane's eyes widened as realization dawned on him. "Did you kill them too?" he asked, unsure.

Harding threw his head back again as he barked out a loud laughter. "Those idiots don't even know what was happening around them. With a couple of whispers here and there, it was easy to make them kill among themselves!"

Dane clenched and unclenched his claws. Although he wasn't close with his other brothers, they were still his blood siblings. And to think that the sibling that he was close the most was this man in front of him. 

He was shocked when he first heard stories about Harding. He did not want to believe that the same shifter who used to play with him and talk about his dreams and hope were the same shifter who had killed their parents. 

That day when the massacre had happened, he had hid inside the closet, not wanting to go out. But at some point, he had peered out and saw with his own eyes that Harding had slashed their parents in front of him to their death. 

He had quickly covered his mouth, feared that he would be the next one. It was fortunate that Harding did not notice him as he continued on with his massacre. He had to admit that he was scared at that time. He was still weak, compared to Harding who had years of battling experience.

It was unsure what had happened next. He was so scared and in shock, it appeared that he probably fainted after screaming and then was killed. By whom, until this day, he did not know who. 

Seeing his brother standing before him, Dane knew that what had happened before actually happened. 

Despite the loud fighting that was happening around them, they were quiet as they studied each other. It has been decades since they last saw each other. 

"I seriously did not expect that you were still alive," Harding commented, surprise detected in his tone. "Although you're just a soul now, living in a human's body, I seriously thought you were dead. Could this be the reason why Father chose you as an Alpha? Did he know something about you that we don't?" 

Dane just kept quiet as he continued to stare at the unfamiliar brother of his. 

Harding then let out an exaggerated sigh as he shrugged. "Anyway, I'm not here to reminiscence on boring memories."

He turned to Rehan, who stood dutifully behind him and said, "Kill him."

Dane immediately went on a defensive stance as he waited for Rehan to rush towards him. 

However, to his surprise, Rehan only went past him, without sparing him a glance. 

Dane whirled around and was further surprised when he saw who Rehan was rushing towards. 

Krys' eyes widened as he watched his superior coming closer to him. "Lord--" 

He did not get the chance to speak more as Rehan stabbed his hand through Krys' body where his heart lies. 

Krys looked down at his body in shock, watching as Rehan had his heart in his hand. Soon after, the former could feel a burning sensation running through his body as Rehan's arm suddenly goes up in flames. 

Shortly after, Krys died in the hands of Rehan, his body charred from the fire and his heart crushed after being squeezed. Krys' last thoughts were in disarray as he wondered why they had killed him.