New brother

Over the next several days all of those that were freed were preparing to leave for the north, collecting the various necessities they needed and loading it onto wagons they found around and outside the city. This was mostly comprised of food, water, tools to live on the road, and weapons to protect themselves with. Other things Leo decided to take, was most of the royal library, due to the vast amount of knowledge Alice personally vouched for in it, plus there was a section that held various books, notes, and scrolls written by other lost people. Leo had been excited to read these, until he found they were written in other languages. He also decided to plunder the Royal treasury, but this was a more political decision.

He understood that with the absence of the Heliantis kingdom, there was a power gap, and the rest of the human kingdoms would most likely start fighting to fill it. His choices were to either try to take this land for himself, or leave them to it. If he decided to stay, then he'll have to deal with the constant attacks from those who want to take the land and treasure for themselves. By leaving then they'll just fight each other, and hopefully weaken each other in the process; and with all the treasure gone it'll be a lot harder to replace all the soldiers they lost.

He also knew that after this attack, there was no way they could stay hidden. This meant that the humans would be more wary of werewolves, especially since Alice told him that Alex had been planning to escape, and most likely had. If he spread the knowledge of werewolves, then every kingdom would know about them really soon, plus there was all of the civilians and soldiers who might've fled in time to avoid the fate of the rest. As a result, Leo figured that if at least one of the kingdoms wanted to avoid an antagonistic relationship with them, the plunder could be used to help them to reach an agreement.

As they got closer to the full moon however, Leo's biggest concern was Iris. It may have been irrational, but he didn't want to leave her for even a moment, and didn't like the idea of leaving her for an entire night here. He would've asked Felix to watch over her, but he sent him with letters to Natalie, Jack, and the dwarves. As Leo was fretting over this the night before the full moon, he suddenly, saw Theos in the corner of his eyes.

He had been nothing but impressed with the former gladiator ever since he met him. For some reason he was completely dedicated to serving him and Iris, and was doing as much as possible to help them return north as soon as possible. He knew he didn't have malicious intentions, because he had Felix secretly question him and a few others while disguised before leaving. After thinking for a moment he told Iris his idea, and with no argument from her, approached him.

"Theos, I want to talk to you for a moment." The gladiator quickly walked over, and said,

"What do you need my king?" Leo looked him over, and asked,

"Do you wish to be stronger?" Theos was confused for a moment, then said,

"Yes your grace, it was a dream of mine to reach the pinnacle of strength in my youth. I gradually threw away such a foolish dream when I learned how the world worked, and now I only hope I'm capable enough for your highness." Leo nodded at his words, then said,

"Meet me tonight in the palace, I have something I want to give you." Theos was confused but promised to be there when Leo wanted him to be. After that he went back to work, but his mind kept wondering what his grace wanted to give him. This bugged him for the next several hours, before it was finally nightfall. He then traveled to the palace, and found Leo, Iris, and the former princess waiting for him in the courtyard. When he arrived he kneeled,

"I apologize for making you wait your grace." Leo shook his head, and replied,

"Not at all, if you were busy then it meant more work got done, and that's not something to apologize for. Now then Theos, before I give you what I intend to, I need to ask you a few things. First, do you swear to always serve me and mine?" Theos wasn't sure why his grace was asking this, as he answered the day they met as well.

"Of course, from now until I die your grace!" Leo nodded, and asked,

"Do you swear to protect us with your life, and always ensure the safety of my family?"

"Yes your grace!" Leo nodded, there were probably more specific oaths he should've thought of, but these were what he was most concerned with at the moment. He also listened to Theos's heart rate and breathing to determine what he was feeling, which was one of the reasons he chose to go to the abandoned palace where it was so quiet, the other was to avoid witnesses. He then said to Theos,

"Hold out your hand." Theos was confused, but did as his king commanded, before Leo swiftly sliced his palm open with a knife. Theos flinched, and looked at Leo with confusion on his face, before he saw Leo do the same to his own hand. He panicked slightly, because he didn't want to watch his new king potentially maim himself, before Leo suddenly grabbed Theos's hand with his. Theos was growing more confused by the second, before suddenly,

THUMP

He suddenly felt pain in his entire body.

THUMP

Next thing he new Theos got an insane headache for a brief second, as his senses became fine tuned almost instantly, and his eyes turned a vibrant orange.

THUMP

When he recovered from whatever happened, Theos also realized that he now felt immensely stronger, and as if something was struggling to get out. He hesitated for a moment, before throwing caution to the wind and let out whatever it was. Thick black hair started growing all over his body, he grew even larger, and his fingers and toes sprouted sharpened claws on each one. His mouth became filled with razor sharp teeth, and his strength soared even more.

Theos threw his head back, and loosed a mighty howl, as if challenging all those who would dare stand against him. Then he turned his gaze back to Leo, his king. Leo started releasing a slight pressure, and Theos who felt so mighty, started back into down in the face of him. He felt ashamed, ashamed at his own foolishness in the face of his ruler, but when he looked at him, Leo smiled. Theos started changing back, and Leo swiftly threw a prepared cloak over him. After reverting back, he started hurling whatever was in his stomach, even more shamed from doing so in front of the king and queen. Leo kneeled down, and said to Theos,

"It passes as you get more used to it, and it's probably normal to feel so invincible when you first transform." Theos listened as he continued hurling. When he finished he turned back to Leo, and said seriously,

"Your grace, I can never repay you for the strength and power you have given me, thank you." Leo however shook his head and replied,

"If you wish to repay me, then make good on your promise to protect my family, and ensure no harm ever befalls them." Theos turned to look at Iris and the princess, and recalled that Iris was expecting. He then swore internally, he would never repeat his failure with his own daughter. No matter who it was, human, beastman, dwarf, elf, mortal or God, he would never let any harm come to the ones his king trusted him to protect. Seeing the resolution in Theos's eyes, Leo smiled again, and said,

"Stand then, my new brother."