Rewriting Her Destiny With The Lycan Kings-Chapter 71: The Sacrifice Of The Queen

"King Lucian never demanded an explanation from Sera." Albus’s voice was hoarse, filled with regret. "He simply believed what he saw. And I... I implied the same lie to King Xavian."

Devonte’s grip on his sword tightened. He recalled the dream he had two Days ago. the vision of betrayal that had shaken him to his core. Now, he knew it wasn’t just a dream. It was real.

Albus took a trembling breath and continued.

"But... everything spiraled out of control that day. None of us. not even Maldrak, knew the truth about Queen Seraphina."

Denzal and Devonte exchanged a sharp glance, sensing a revelation about to unfold.

"She carried a curse..." Albus’s voice wavered. "A curse decreed by the Moon Goddess herself. Whoever claimed to be her mate in the name of the Goddess had to prove their bond through the sacred fire trial."

A deadly silence followed.

Albus swallowed hard before continuing.

"The trial demanded that any mate of Seraphina sacrifice themselves in the holy fire. Only the one worthy of her would survive... and their bond would be named in the eyes of the Goddess."

Denzal and Devonte stiffened, their breaths hitching at the revelation.

They had never heard of such a thing.

"The test was near impossible to survive," Albus admitted. "And she didn’t want any of her mates to die because of it. So she sought an alternative. a way to break the curse without bloodshed."

His voice dropped, barely above a whisper.

"But before she could find a cure... Maldrak learned about the curse."

Albus’s entire body trembled now, his breath ragged, as if he were reliving the horrors of the past.

Denzal and Devonte’s faces hardened.

They already knew.

They could feel what had happened next.

And yet, they braced themselves, forcing Albus to say it.

To speak the truth that had been buried for ten thousand years.

Because whatever happened that day... was the reason everything had fallen apart.

"He manipulated the high officials, twisted their minds with his deceit. Then he spread the rumor." Albus’s voice was shaking now. "A rumor that Queen Seraphina was planning a sacrificial ritual. that she intended to kill the Lycan brothers... to gain more power."

Denzal and Devonte’s jaws clenched, their chests rising and falling heavily as the weight of the truth settled in.

"And the evidence he fabricated?" Albus swallowed hard. "It was convincing. Too convincing. Even the Knight brothers... they believed it."

A sharp inhale. A bitter silence.

Denzal and Devonte took slow, steadying breaths, but the suffocating truth pressed down on them like an immovable force. Their eyes burned with a murderous fury as they glared at Albus.

They had been deceived.

"When all of this was happening... Sera wasn’t even there," Albus continued, his voice barely above a whisper. "She had gone to the Eastern Mountains to seek the Moon Goddess herself. To find a cure for the curse."

The room felt unbearably heavy.

Devonte’s fists clenched. "And? What did the Goddess say?"

Albus closed his eyes, his throat tightening. "The Moon Goddess gave her an alternative. A way to save her mates from the trial."

Denzal and Devonte waited, their hearts pounding, but they already knew... this wasn’t going to end well.

"If she sacrificed her wolf... if she burned away her own spiritual being in the holy fire..." Albus’s voice cracked. "...then none of her mates would have to endure the trial."

A heavy pause.

"She agreed."

A choked breath left Denzal’s lips as fresh tears spilled down his face. His shoulders shook, his mind unable to grasp the depth of her sacrifice.

"She agreed... to kill her wolf."

Albus’s voice was drenched in guilt.

"She did it for them. For the Lycan Kings. For Maldrak."

Devonte exhaled sharply, his entire body trembling as he pressed a hand against his forehead. The weight of those words. the finality of her choice, crushed him.

The room was silent, except for the sound of their ragged breaths.

The truth wasn’t just painful.

It was devastating.

"When she returned..." Albus’s voice wavered, thick with emotion. "She had already sacrificed her wolf."

Denzal and Devonte stood frozen, their breaths shallow, their hands clenched into fists.

"She came back... happy." His voice cracked. "Thinking... at least now, she wouldn’t have to worry. She had made peace with having three mates. She thought the worst was over."

A bitter silence filled the room.

"But..." Albus swallowed hard, his entire body trembling. "By the time she returned... the war had already begun."

Denzal’s breath hitched. Devonte’s grip on his sword tightened.

"The Lycan Kings..." Albus continued, his knees threatening to buckle beneath him, "...they had already declared war against her. Against her kingdom."

Tears welled in his eyes.

"She didn’t even know why." His voice broke into a sob. "She didn’t know what she had walked into."

Albus dropped to his knees, his fingers digging into the ground.

"I... I was the leader of our clan." His confession was drenched in guilt. "It was my duty to protect the kingdom in her absence. To stand in her place during the war." His breath shuddered.

"But I... I betrayed the war zone."

Denzal and Devonte’s eyes burned with rage, but they didn’t move. They only listened.

"I let the Lycan brothers take over the kingdom without a fight." His hands trembled violently. "Because I believed in Maldrak. Because I let him poison my mind."

A fresh wave of pain surged through him.

"That day... millions of civilians, innocent creatures, innocent lives, they died because of me."

His head hung low, his voice barely a whisper.

"I failed my kingdom."

A suffocating silence followed.

Albus clenched his jaw, his nails digging into his palms.

"I was so blind." His breath hitched as his entire body trembled. "I let him manipulate me. I let him destroy everything she had built."

Denzal and Devonte stood rigid, their chests rising and falling with heavy breaths.

They had thought the truth couldn’t get worse.

But this?

This was unforgivable.

"Everything had already spiraled out of control before she even understood what was happening." Albus’s voice was barely above a whisper, but the weight of his words echoed like thunder in the silent chamber.

"Our people were imprisoned. The Lycan clan had taken full control of the kingdom. And then... that day came."

Denzal and Devonte’s breathing grew heavier. Their muscles tensed as if bracing for a final blow.

"The day of the war."

Albus clenched his fists, his nails digging into his skin.

"Sera..." His voice cracked. "She died that day."

The words hung in the air like a curse.

"She was slain at the hands of the Lycan Kings."

A sharp, deafening clang echoed through the cell.

The swords slipped from Denzal and Devonte’s hands, crashing onto the stone floor. The sound rang through the walls, shaking the very foundation of the truth they had just uncovered.

Their bodies felt numb. Their hearts pounded in their chests, but their limbs refused to move.

"They killed her," Albus whispered, his eyes hollow. "Believing the lies. Believing she had planned to wipe out the Lycan clan."

Silence.

Denzal and Devonte stood frozen, their faces unreadable.

All these years, they had searched for answers. They had wondered about the mystery of the past, the gaps in their memories, the strange pull toward Zara.

Now, the truth was in front of them.

And it was ripping them apart.

They didn’t need further explanations.

They already knew.

They were the Lycan Kings.

This was their past.

The sins of their former selves had led them here. ten thousand years later, reborn within their own clan.

And Zara...

She was Seraphina.

The queen they had betrayed.

The queen they had killed.

Their breaths turned ragged.

Even with all the unanswered questions, this revelation alone was enough to shatter them.

"Despite knowing everything, you remained mute and let chaos unfold before your very eyes. Is that right?"

Denzal’s voice was laced with raw fury, his golden eyes burning as he glared at Albus with unrelenting rage. His entire body trembled, but not with fear. with unforgivable pain.

Tears streamed down his face, but he didn’t care to wipe them away. He dropped to his knees, his hands clenching the cold stone floor. The years of guilt, of unspoken torment, came crashing down all at once.

And he couldn’t hold it in anymore.

"Everything makes sense now." His voice wavered as more sobs racked his body. "Every single thing."

His breathing was erratic. His chest felt like it was caving in.

Devonte, however, stood eerily still. His grip tightened around the hilt of his sword, the veins in his arms pulsing with restrained fury. His promise from moments ago? Gone. It meant nothing now.

Because the rage inside him had already consumed him.

"Let’s hear the last truth, Albus." Devonte’s voice was dangerously low. His crimson eyes darkened, gleaming with the kind of hatred that could end a man’s life in an instant.

"After that..." he took a slow step forward, "you already know what awaits you. Don’t you, Albus?"

Albus swallowed hard, his body shaking uncontrollably.

Devonte lifted his sword, the sharp blade glinting under the dim torchlight. His next words were slow, deliberate.

"Tell us..."

The tension in the air thickened.

"The truth of Maldrak’s death."

Silence.

The next words Albus spoke would determine everything.

The future of the kingdom.

The fate of its rulers.

And whether Albus would take another breath beyond this night.