Ryder & The Kings Eyes (Book 3 Hell in the Realm Series)

CH 3

Ryder

They were riding through a field that was laid out before the Bloodied Claws Pack five days later, and as they were making their way towards it on horseback, down a rough dirt road, that could do with some patching up or grading, she thought absently as they made their way along it.

They had stopped and looked at that pack from up on top of the crest of the hill. It was still off in the distance had food fields around the pack and just one road cut through it, the road which they were now making their way down. It was steep and needed some navigation by their horses. It was obvious that the torrential rains that happened here ruined the roads everywhere, the torrents of water drove deep veins in the roads. It seemed nothing out here was repaired.

The pack they were making their way to was about to come under her and her troops' wrath. It was Livia’s home pack, and she’d been made to walk for a full year to get to the western war camp. Ryder doubted very much she’d gone of her own accord knowing it was so very far away.

The Alpha and Luna here were about to come under a fate that was likely a bit worse than the others that they would be paying a visit to over the next few years. Because they were going to have to dig for answers, to get to the truth of all that had happened. Hearing these wolves just voice anything that might sound like the truth wasn’t going to be enough.

Which was what she and her troop were expecting from this Alpha and Luna, seeing as Livia had been dead for many years now, and been gone from this pack for even more. The only thing they had to rely on was the Alpha’s name, which was on Livia’s scroll of enlistment into the military.

So, they would make sure to use all the devices at their disposal to get to the heart of it. Not just believe some lie, that these wolves were about to tell them, and none of her troop thought that this Alpha and Luna were going to just tell them what they had done.

So, their fate was likely to be worse than their own home packs, Alphas and Lunas, Mates even, were going to be, but they had sealed their own fate when committing such heinous crimes against those inside their own packs, who had done nothing wrong at all.

Some of them could well wind up in the same place Harkem himself was, under the same treatment he was. That was yet to be determined, but Christian had told them to strike fear into those that lived out here and show them his power and sword, reached the outskirts. So that was what they would do.

Ryder noticed there were many wolves out there tending the fields that were stretched out before that pack off in the distance, situated in the heart of a wide valley, where any attack could be seen coming at them, she supposed.

Though the wolves that were out here tending the crops for their Alpha, were all small and thin of stature. As they came off the hill road and into the valley itself, she noted as they made their way through the crops, that they were all wearing clothing that had seen better days.

They were all omegas and Thorn breathed them in. There were no ranked members out here, just omegas. They also looked a little on the unclean side, as well as a little on the underfed side too. She and her troop could all see they were too thin, which meant they were worked to the bone and not fed properly; likely starved at times just like they had once been.

This pack was not a nice place for the wolves that lived here and were of lowly rank. That was what she was seeing, though as she looked around the fields there was no one watching over them. No one out there making demands of them or telling them how to do their jobs. They were entrusted to work on their own.

But what she was seeing in all these wolves, that would be resolved by the time she and her troop left. She’d make sure they all got to be fed and had new clothes, and the report of their condition would be sent back to Christian.

She knew that her Queen, Niah, was starting to make headway with new laws that had to be abided by, to bring about a better way of life for those of lower rank here in the wolfen realm. Which would also see that she-wolves would have better standing and couldn’t be seen as offending ranked wolves for simply saying no, they didn’t want to sleep with them.

They’d been handed a wolfen scroll which they were to impart some of these new rules to those out here themselves on their travels. Every pack they came across was given a copy. These particular new laws were aimed at omegas and she-wolves and would see them as valued pack members, and the omegas would have the same rights as all other pack members.

They were to be fed and clothed properly, not beaten for being sickly and unable to work, they were to be given wages for the work they were made to do and not forced to work every day of their lives. Were to be given rest days and not made to work from sun up to sun down either. Their new King and Queen were trying to bring in some of the things from the human realm.

Which would be better for all the wolves here in the realm. Though it was going to take some time to get all the packs to adhere to them, she’d heard there were kick backs even from some just outside of Nightingale, about having to pay those omegas instead of just feeding them for labor.

It was the omegas that were treated the most poorly because they didn’t have the strength to fight back. Even in large numbers, Alphas could force them to bow down with their auras, so laws needed to be instated to help protect them. This was where their new King and Queen were starting to right the wrongs of their realm.

They were trying to bring about some sort of equality for all their wolves. It was going to take time. Everyone knew that, but slow and steady wins the race, and they had very long lives.

She saw many of the wolves out here turn their heads and look at her and the troop as their horses made their way at a casual walk, through the paths in the fields heading for the pack itself. It was unlikely they’d ever seen anything like it either.

Fifteen hooded and cloaked riders on horseback, all wearing the king’s insignia, they surely must look a sight to these wolves, for there were now two dozen omegas all just standing up in the fields watching them as they made their way past them. None of them turned their eyes away or bowed their heads to them.

It was likely they had no idea who they were at all, they had probably never seen the King’s Eyes before, she thought to herself absently, as she passed on by them. The king’s eyes were of no threat to anyone that didn’t deserve it, were quiet and unassuming to those not in the path.

Though she did know that most wolves that knew of them would cast their eyes down and away, even the higher ranked wolves. In the hope they’d pass on by without being singled out by one of them, or offending one of them and coming under their wrath.

Not these omegas though seem to recognize who or what they were, there was open curiosity on all their faces at what they were seeing. This was also the last pack out here on the edge of the wolfen realm for this area. So, it was clear that they were making their way to the pack before them and not going to go on past it.

Unless, of course, they wanted to venture into the realm of dragons, which was only a two-day ride from the edge of this pack’s territory. They were not headed there, had no need of it at this time, and she didn’t think Christian was looking to tick off one of the deadliest of the otherworldly realm’s creatures.

A shadow rolled over them as they rode their horses towards the pack they were headed to, and she could see that pack was walled in by a stone wall that had large wooden gates to close it up. Likely used to keep rogues out of it or deter any other packs from coming in to attack them, it kind of looked like an old castle wall from the human world.

She could also see from here there were patrolling wolves on that wall, her attention was on the pack, which was not that far now, and she was startled completely by several cages just falling out of the sky and smashing into the ground about 50 yards in front of her and her troop. Her horse balked at the sudden appearance of them and the noise that they made.

Five cages all chained together, all of them were empty, and a long chain crashed to the ground with a large iron bar attached to the end of it. She settled her horse as she looked up to the sky to see where they had come from. And there was a large grey dragon now swooping down to the ground towards them.

Its feet hit the ground as its large wings snapped downwards in a hard c***k, which saw it stop before crashing to the ground itself, and it landed kind of majestically for the sheer size of it.

All their horses were hit by the harsh gale of wind that came off those wings, as it brought itself to a stop, and were all now unsettled once more, and whinnied unhappily as they moved about, as she and her troop tried to rein them in yet again, two frights in barely a minute that wasn't good for their horses.