It ca out of nowhere and suddenly, but Evelyn grasped what she had obtained.
An ability, the Symphony of Two Souls.
She doesn't fully understand how this much-needed ability ca at the right mont.
A perfect ability that would help her tackle what lies ahead in Rex's absence.
Rex was in another realm, doing what he needed to do, so this ability must be a byproduct of sothing he was doing there. But Evelyn would like to believe that he was watching her, and this ability was his way of rooting for her despite being so far away.
'Just watch , Rex. Watch be worthy of you.'
Blinking her eyes, she focused back on the mont.
It was the first ti for her to use the Symphony of Two Souls skill, and she now understood what the skill was really capable of doing. One effect that she noticed first was how her muscles twisted subtly inside her, doubling her physical capabilities.
And for the second effect, the one that surprised the Alpha Pris, was inheriting Rex's aura and scent.
His presence manifested through her, giving her a mont to savor the aura of the Alpha.
One that was feared across the entire continent.
'I need to move fast. After the Alpha Pris, I still need to handle Kyran.'
Shifting her eyes, she noticed Kyran's chest was heaving up and down still, rageful still.
Instead of calming down, the pain he suffered earlier only made him angrier.
And now, he was on the last strand of his self-control again.
Evelyn turned to the side a little and nudged her chin, signaling for Gistella to go to Kyran.
At least, a familiar scent might help him hold out a bit longer.
Only until the Alpha Pris are tad.
"I'm going to repeat only once. What will you do to earn mine? My patience is running thin."
Evelyn gazed forward again, staring straight at the slender Alpha Pri.
Despite what happened, the slender Alpha Pri was still defiant, unwilling to let this go.
But as he was about to be vocal about it, the voice of his comrade stopped him cold.
"I, Andara of the Razor Claw Pack, surrendered to the Empress."
One of the Alpha Pris, the burly one, who was the second last Alpha Pri, Evelyn thought was going to surrender easily—ca forward and declared his surrender. He seed to be certain about his decision on this.
Growl!
"Andara!" The slender Alpha Pri turned and growled. "You're changing sides?!"
"A Luna stood her ground against an Alpha Pri," Andara said helplessly. "How can I defy her?"
"If I go all out, I could've easily brought her down!"
"But she did stand her ground. She could have told her Beta to fight for her, considering you could've used your King Mark and actually hurt her, but she didn't. I know it's hard to admit, but you can't help but respect her."
Hearing this, the slender Alpha Pri ground his teeth.
So hard that it created an unsettling, bony sound.
Before he could continue, another Alpha Pri stepped forward, also surrendering to Evelyn.
Then the other one.
Now, it was only Krynda and the slender Alpha Pri.
Krynda looked at the three Alpha Pris with a dark and complex look, undecided on what to do.
His Luna was killed, and he can't possibly surrender.
However, as he turned to the far edge of his vision where his pack could be seen, fearful but determined to follow his decision to the end, Krynda swallowed hard. If he refused now, he and his pack would no doubt be annihilated.
"Krynda, that bastard killed your Luna, you can't!"
Seeing his shoulders trembling in hesitation, the slender Alpha Pri reminded.
It would be a disgrace for him to surrender after what happened.
Naturally, he beca even more undecided, so intense that his entire body was now shaking, and both his fists were clenched hard. Looking at his pack for the second ti, he noticed one of them, his trusted Beta, nodding his head.
Biting his lower lip, he finally lifted his head and looked at Evelyn.
"I…" He started but drifted. "I surrender."
Almost instantly, the slender Alpha Pri laughed incredulously, looking at the other Alpha Pris as if they were strangers. He placed both hands on his waist and shook his head, "You bunch of cowards… Where is your loyalty to the kingdom?! To the descendant of the Origin?! To the Origin himself?!"
"It's because we value the Origin," Andara countered. "Tharulf, you only value your pride."
Those words struck a nerve.
Tharulf shook his head in disbelief, but he didn't have the ti to argue.
"What is your decision?" Evelyn asked again, this ti her tone demanded an answer.
Not even thinking that long, Tharulf turned towards her and shook his head.
"No, I'm not surrendering. You will have to kill ."
"I'm not going to kill you. If you're still defiant until the end, then so be it."
Growl!
Unable to hold back his anger, Kyran turned back to his Werewolf form and charged at Tharulf, escaping Gistella's grasp. He flared his black steel claws—his eyes fixated on the blood vessels inside Tharulf's neck, wanting to sever them and watch him die.
Naturally, Tharulf was ready.
He wasn't going to back down.
However, before Kyran could even reach him, Evelyn got in the way.
She stretched her hand forward and pushed against his chest, stopping him mid-track.
"I said, I'm not going to kill him."
Evelyn said, her voice was filled with authority, one that showed she didn't want to be refuted.
For a second there, Kyran paused.
But the deadly glint ca back to his eyes as he tried to swerve around Evelyn.
A hand grabbed Kyran's neck, yanking him back to where he stood seconds ago.
It was Evelyn, and her expression contorted with the wrath she had never shown to anyone before.
"You are not making repeat myself again!"
Her voice thundered loudly, creating the illusion of the entire world shaking as she stared Kyran down with the ferocity that she had never used. Both of her eyes glead with utter wrath, looking down at him, and made him feel small.
Kyran's legs buckled under her intense gaze.
Never did he ever see Evelyn this angry.
He thought was prepared to go through all, but at this mont, there was fear inside of him.
So intense that he reverted back to his Human form.
Seeing that the Blood Moon's influence has disappeared from Kyran's eyes, Evelyn straightened her back again and exhaled deeply from her nose to calm her nerves. "You are going to show the respect I deserve as your Luna, do you understand?"
Kyran nodded.
Not because he wanted to, but because he feels like he needed to.
"Good," Evelyn nodded. "Now, go to Gistella."
Once Kyran scurried away like a scared dog, Evelyn turned to the four Alpha Pris.
"The battle still continued at the front gate. Please, can you convince the other Alpha Pris to follow your lead?" She asked softly, but it was more of a demand than a request. "I would appreciate it if you could save the trouble of convincing the rest."
Almost instinctively, the Alpha Pris nodded.
All of them were the sa as Kyran.
Sothing about Evelyn made them afraid.
On the outside, she looked proper and kind, but sothing inside her scared them.
…
Monts later.
Exactly as Evelyn asked them to do, the four Alpha Pris who surrendered went over to the others.
On top of that, the four Alpha Pris also surrendered publicly in front of the gate with Evelyn standing right in front of them, exactly the sa as the other cities that fell before this one. Naturally, those who had doubts about the resistance decided to also surrender.
Most weren't kept in the loop about what exactly happened at the Bloodstone Crater.
But they have their suspicions.
And surrendering to Evelyn, who was backed by the Royal Black Prince, seed a lot more certain than following Princess Selene, who didn't even have the decency to visit them and explain the situation. In the end, out of all the Alpha Pris who were present in Imla City, three refused to surrender.
Tharulf and two more refused to keep their dignity.
In closed doors, when the city was taken over, one of them ca to Evelyn and surrendered.
He wasn't fond of surrendering publicly.
Even then, Evelyn accepted him to her side as the public surrender only served as persuasion.
Nothing more and nothing less.
As for the other two Alpha Pris who still refused, they were allowed to leave.
Since the main army was going to attack the fortress as soon as possible, Tharulf and the other Alpha Pri, along with their packs, quickly escaped from the south entrance to inform the others about what happened at Imla City.
"Is this really the right choice? We knew the Angels had infiltrated the continent…"
A trusted Beta of Tharulf's pack asked, concerned etched on his face.
Hearing his hesitation, Tharulf stopped and slapped him across his face very hard.
"Are you telling to surrender? To kneel?!" He snarled angrily.
The trusted Beta stamred.
Before he could answer, another slap landed across his face again.
This ti, it was harder, and knocked him to the ground.
As if that wasn't enough, Tharulf began beating on his trusted Beta in front of his other Betas.
"Are you saying that I'd surrender because she's backed by the Royal Black Prince?! An outsider?! A false and unholy Werewolf?!" Tharulf roared, his voice thunderous. His trusted Beta kept apologizing, but the words never reached him. "You expect to kneel? To let the kingdom fall further?! Never! As long as I draw breath, I will not let that happen!"
By the ti he was finished, his trusted Beta was a ss.
Blood drenched his entire form, and chunks of flesh were missing from many parts of his body.
None of the Betas dared to intervene.
Once he cald down, he glared at the other Betas, causing them to flinch.
Nobody dared to question him anymore.
"Besides, it's clear that the Empress wanted to avoid bloodshed at all costs," Tharulf smirked inwardly, smirking in contempt. "She doesn't want to kill us. We can use that. We can use—that to our advantage and pick her forces bit by bit…"
Soon, Tharulf and his pack moved again.
But nearing the fortress, he stopped when he sensed soone nearby.
On the side, there was a cave, and standing in front of it was a figure.
Tharulf had seen this figure earlier.
"Go, I'll et you back in the fortress." He instructed.
Nodding their heads, his pack continued forward, leaving him behind.
"I thought you were going to let go," He said, approaching Gistella with slow steps.
"We are," Gistella answered, gesturing towards the cave. "But the Empress wanted to talk to you."
"Forget it, I won't be swayed."
Tharulf grinned inside—this confird what he suspected was right.
For whatever reason, Evelyn was avoiding bloodshed.
"One last talk, and we're done. No more talking."
"Hmm, alright…"
Having his pride squashed from earlier, Tharulf decided to play along and see how the Empress herself is going to sway his mind. He licked his lips in delight, already anticipating what the Empress would offer to make him change sides as he walked into the cave.
Soon, a purple fireball appeared, illuminating the cave.
Evelyn was standing there, alone, still beautiful and graceful as earlier.
"Thank you for coming."
"I don't have much ti, and I won't be swayed easily."
"Oh…? So, there's still a chance to convince you?"
Instead of answering, Tharulf only crossed his arms, smiling.
"Tell how to convince you."
"You humiliated . My pride is hurt. So, you need to ease this pain first by humiliating yourself."
"How?"
"Easy. Instead of kneeling, how about you kneeling to ? Co stand in front of , and kneel. How about it, Your Majesty…? Nobody is around, so it's not a big ask. Show how badly you want on your side."
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