Austin’s POV:. “Mr. Jones, I’ve come to ask for your instructions regarding a letter that I received today,” an elder politely called out from outside my room. I was currently relaxing in the palace, resting my head on one hand while eating grapes that a maid peeled for me. I couldn’t help frowning in annoyance when the elder arrived because he was disturbing my peace. “Come in. ” I pushed the maid’s hand away and signaled for her to leave. The men standing guard heard my command and opened the door to the room. At that moment, light shone in, forcing me to squint. Damn it! I cursed under my breath, and the servants close to me knelt down in fear of my terrible mood. “Get out!”. My roar was so powerful that those kneeling on the floor did not hesitate to leave. They all disappeared from my sight in an instant. Their reaction put me in a better mood. The elder entered the room and bowed before me. “Greetings, Mr. Jones. ”I didn’t even have to look up to know who it was. It was Hyman. He was one of my younger brother’s confidants. My younger brother was rarely in the royal palace, but he still had some influence among the high officials. These people had formed cliques, and some of them believed that Anthony should be king. “Get up, Hyman. I allowed the man to be more casual with me even though I did not want him to do so. But in my heart, I wished that these old werewolves would disappear together with my annoying younger brother. If it weren’t for the fact that they had a say in the royal family’s decisions, I would have done something so that they could no longer protect Anthony. Although I couldn’t do anything to these elders, Anthony was free game. If he died, these elders would have no choice but to obediently crawl at my feet. By then, I would be the only ruler of the kingdom. Hyman obeyed my command and stood upright. He was an old werewolf, but he was still as fit as a fiddle

“What’s the matter?”I asked him. “Mr. Jones, we have received a letter from the vampires. Prince Anthony is currently in their clutches. Based on the letter, they want to negotiate with you for his release. “Hand it over to me,”I sai d reluctantly. I opened the letter and saw that i ts content was the same as the one delivered by my guard this morning. I already knew that Anthony had gotten caught last night. Those vampires wanted a part of the Osman Kingdom’s territor y in exchange for my dratted brother’s release. I Knew what t hey wanted, but I didn’t want to give in to their condition. I found it ridiculous that t hose brainless creatures wou ld send such a letter to me. Wasn’t any land under my control more important than Anthony, spawn of that bitch? Stupid vampires, stupid Anthony, stupid elders…Did they really think t hat I would exchange a piece of the Osman Kingdom for a bastard like Anthony? . “Mr . Jon es…” . Hyman looked at me, e agerly waiting for me to come to a decision. But his ho peful gaze annoyed me. What was so good about Ant hony? He wasn’t worth any p art of my territory at all. I was the king of this kingdom . One day, these old werewolves would regret siding with him. “You may go , Hyman. I’ll handle it. A king’s word s could not b e questioned. After a moment’s hesitation , Hyman replied, “Then I sha ll take my leave, Mr. Jones. “Jason, come here. ” After Hyman lef t the room, I called for my confidan t who had been standing in the room. He lowered his hea d so that I could m utter into his ear. “Go and inform all the elders that they have to attend the next meeting. As it is about the cessation of territ ory, make sure that every one of them will be present. “Yes, sir. ”He started t o leave the room, eager to carry out my orders

“Wait!” I stopp ed him. “Take your sweet time when y ou do this. ”This delay would solve two problems in one go. The meeting would distract the elders, a nd the vampires would come to realize th at I had no intention of saving Anthony. Wasn’t Anthony very capable? Then I was g oing to take my time. While pretending to work on a way to save Anthony, I sent a private message to the vampires to inform them that I was never giving up any part of my land. If they ended up killing Anthony in their rage, th at would not be my fault. As I wiped the pist ol in my hand, I cou ldn’t help smirking. It would serve Anthony r ight for trying to compe te with me all the time. If he died, I planned on sendi ng his mother after him so that he wouldn’t be lonely in hell. Jenni fer’s POV: . “Somebody, help! Mr. J ones’ old injury reop ened, and he fainted!” . I stood by the door of our c ell and yelled. Anthony was lying on the floor as if he was in a coma. The vampires who stood guard must have heard the anxiety in my voice because th ey came to check on Anthony’s condition. One of the guards quickly unlocked th e door to our cell. They gathered around Anthon y, but they couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him. “He needs to go t o a hospital right now!”I cried out. “He got shot in the arm just recently. I think there are still fragments o f silver in his body. You all probably know how silver is deadly for werew olves. If he doesn’t get treated right away, he will be in mortal danger!” . The guards looked at each other. They clearly didn’t want Anthony to die in the cell, but they didn’t dare to take him o ut of the dungeon without permission either. “If you can’t come to a decision, can you p lease ask any one of your elders to come? Hu rry up!” I demanded in a high-pitched voice. The guards event ually brought She rman to the cell. Sherman crouched down and inspect ed Anthony’s arm. When he saw n o open wounds , he frowned. “He see ms fine …Argh!” . Anthony suddenly s at up and grabbed S herman by the neck