Defy The Alpha(s)

Chapter 898: Stay Behind

Violet knew the news would shock them,

what she did not expect was the laughter.

At first it started as a chuckle from one of the sub-Alphas. Then another joined in. Before long, nearly half the room had broken into loud laughter as if she had just delivered the greatest joke of the century.

One of the sub-Alphas even dared to say, "I know you have this savior mentality, but not everything can be saved, child. Calm down."

Violet’s eye twitched. Wait a minute— Was that genuinely what these people thought of her? That she simply enjoyed running around saving everyone?

"Violet..." Asher sensed the spike of anger through the mate bond immediately. Part of him wanted to deal with them himself.

Unfortunately for the room, Violet did not need defending.

"Really?" Violet sneered, exposing her white sharp teeth. "You think I get some sort of rise or dopamine rush from saving grown-ass men?"

The laughter abruptly died.

"I’m fucking eighteen!" Violet snapped, fury blazing openly across her face. "As the child you all keep calling me, I should be out there living the best years of my life right now!"

Her hand pointed toward her mates dramatically.

"I have four mates and a raging libido. They should be busy scratching my itch, not me standing here breathing the same air as you old people!"

The room went dead silent.

Her words were outrageous. Deeply offensive even. Yet not a single Alpha stepped in to rebuke her because the sub-Alphas started this stupidity first.

Violet had sacrificed too much for every single person sitting inside this room.

At this point she deserved worship, not disrespect. Even Elijah surprisingly remained silent.

"I already have to go kill your former Alpha King, one you people obviously failed to handle yourselves."Violet continued with heavy sarcasm.

Her gaze swept across the room.

"So what exactly makes you think I have the time to invent lies?"

One particularly stupid sub-Alpha muttered beneath his breath, "Unless you’re suddenly scared of facing Angus and using this as an excuse—"

The vicious hiss that left Irene immediately shut him up. At the same time, nearly every Alpha in the room turned toward him with murderous expressions.

He shrank into his seat, embarrassed.

Alaric broke the silence.

"I genuinely think the qualifications for becoming a sub-Alpha these days should involve more than strength," he said bluntly. "Maybe brain capacity too because some people here are severely lacking one."

Several sub-Alphas immediately bristled at the insult. Murmurs spread throughout their side of the room almost instantly.

"I was there too," Micah finally spoke up, drawing attention back toward himself. "Aeron, Asher, Roman and Adele can all confirm it."

He pointed toward the nervous human standing awkwardly nearby.

"I swear upon my demon blood Violet turned them back into humans."

Elijah’s gaze shifted back toward Violet thoughtfully.

"Wasn’t your power originally destructive?"

Alaric answered before Violet could.

"Her power unmakes things," he explained. "Apparently, it unmade the virus too. It’s sentient magic. At this point, none of us fully understand its limits."

"If I may..." Caspian slowly lifted his hand.

Every eye turned toward him.

"Perhaps I should examine the human personally."

"Go ahead," Elijah gestured lazily. "You failed to provide a cure after all. Might as well learn from the best now."

Caspian’s face soured.

One of these days someone truly needed to hold a mirror to Elijah’s face and force the man to confront what an insufferable bastard he actually was.

Caspian approached the man carefully before pulling a small medical torch from his pocket.

"Look at me," he instructed.

The man obeyed while Caspian lifted one eyelid, shining the light directly into his pupil before checking the other eye. He proceeded to press two fingers against the man’s neck, checking his pulse.

"Heart rate stable," he muttered mostly to himself.

Next, he grabbed the man’s wrist, observing his skin temperature before checking for any visible bite marks or discoloration along the veins. He even instructed the man to open his mouth while inspecting the gums and tongue carefully for signs of decay.

The room stayed unusually quiet while Caspian worked. Finally, he stepped back slightly.

"What’s the last thing you remember before becoming infected?"

The man swallowed hard.

"I..." his voice shook. "I went searching for my son. He disappeared after the lockdown started and never came home." he lowered his gaze. "I thought maybe I could rescue him whenever he was trapped."

Pain crossed his face at the memory.

"Unfortunately, I got attacked by one of those things." His hand subconsciously touched his neck. "After that... I don’t remember anything else until waking up here."

Caspian nodded thoughtfully before finally turning back toward the others.

"Physically, he appears stable," he announced. "His pulse is normal. Body temperature normal. Pupillary responses intact and no visible signs of tissue deterioration either."

Despite the report, Caspian did not look fully convinced.

"Unfortunately, this is not North Pack territory, so I don’t have access to the proper machines required for a deeper examination. So I strongly recommend all recovered victims remain under enclosed observation for at least a few days."

"Why?" Alpha Leon questioned.

"In the unlikely event the virus rebounds," Caspian answered bluntly. "We cannot risk another outbreak inside the academy."

That immediately killed whatever excitement had started building.

"Otherwise," Caspian concluded, "the man appears completely healthy."

Elijah waved dismissively. "Do whatever you want then."

Immediately, two guards stepped forward and escorted the recovered human from the room.

The moment the door shut behind them, sub-alpha Will lifted his hand with visible irritation.

"I still fail to understand why we delayed the battle over this," he complained. "Couldn’t this discussion have waited until after victory?"

Micah looked toward him like he had just asked the dumbest question imaginable.

"Because there’s no more time."

That drew everyone’s attention.

"Days ago," Micah disclosed, "there was confirmation that District One has completely fallen to the virus. District Two, which borders it directly, is already reporting severe infestation levels as well. The government is overwhelmed."

He dropped the final bomb.

"There’s also discussions that they’re considering bombing District One entirely as a containment measure."

Low murmurs immediately spread through the room. That was not good news.

Asher stepped in next.

"That is why His Majesty Elijah stays behind and contacts the President immediately," he stated firmly. "The humans need to know there’s still hope before mass extermination begins."

Now every eye shifted toward Elijah.

The Alpha King narrowed his gaze directly at Violet.

"You want me to sit out this battle?"

"I don’t think it’s entirely a bad idea," Irene spoke up politely before Violet could answer with sass and another fight begins.

Her voice remained respectful but firm.

"We are already heading into battle with more than enough forces. But the safety of millions of humans outside these walls is far more important right now."

She added carefully, "I genuinely believe you should consider remaining behind, Your Majesty."

Every Alpha in the room waited tensely for Elijah’s decision. As an Alpha King, the battlefield was where he belonged. Remaining behind would not sit well with his pride at all.

"Fine," Elijah said stiffly. "I’ll stay behind."

Then almost immediately his eyes flashed dangerously.

"However, should anyone ever dare claim I was some cowardly ruler who hid while his warriors fought in his place..." His voice dropped lower. "Then I promise you, I will not take it lightly."