One alpha among them stood, and even though he looked confident, he still flinched under Emperor Li's burning gaze.
Emperor Li stared at him as though he were nothing.
Xiao Feng felt a surge of disbelief and anger that he could barely control. How could that man treat others with such disregard, as if they were nothing more than tools, objects beneath him?
The way Emperor Li looked at the Alpha standing there.. rigid, terrified, exposed, ..made Xiao Feng's blood burn.
"You do not have a pack anymore," Emperor Li finally said, his voice low, cold, and unbothered.
Gasps ran through the room. Shock and disbelief spread across every face, the kind that only comes when the impossible becomes real.
"You do not have a territory anymore!" He added mercilessly, without hesitation. "And though you are an Alpha, you may join a Beta group, because you have failed at your duties. Your pack and territory will be merged with the neighboring pack.. BlueMoon Pack, under Alpha Wang Shaohong. You, too, will belong to that pack."
The room seemed to shudder at the announcement. That was Wang Yuan's pack, and his father.
Whispers rippled like wind through dry leaves. None could believe what had just been declared.
"Emperor… I..." the Alpha started, his voice breaking, but Emperor Li cut him off without a glance.
"Huizhu," he addressed him plainly, omitting even the title of Alpha. "That is the most respect I can afford you at this moment. Do not push further."
Alpha Huizhu bowed so deeply it almost seemed his head would touch the floor. "Give me one more chance, Emperor," he pleaded, desperation raw in every word.
Then he turned to the two men still kneeling before them. "Acknowledge your mistakes!" he commanded, voice shaking with forced authority.
One of the men bowed deeply, ready to submit. But the other, more composed, spoke clearly, without hesitation.
"I am ready to accept death, or any punishment I am due," he said, his voice steady, carrying through the hall, "but I will not stand here and call loving a man a mistake or sin I did."
The room went silent, stunned, the gasps and murmurs dying as if someone had smothered them. Eyes widened. Shock twisted every face.
The first boy froze, lifting his head, eyes meeting the other's. In that moment, words failed them both. Their gaze held unspoken questions and vulnerable.
For a heartbeat, it was as if the entire hall vanished, leaving only the two of them suspended in a fragile, impossible world.
Xiao Feng felt shaken by the intensity of the man's words.
He could not imagine Wang Yuan saying them for him. But more than that, he could not imagine himself standing before the council and speaking such words aloud. The words challenged him, unsettled him, made him wonder… If he truly claimed to love Yuan so deeply, why could he not imagine himself uttering them the way that man just had?
Without a warning, Emperor Li moved, anger rising like a storm breaking free. His hands shot out, grabbing the two men with lethal speed. Anyone could tell they would not survive if he chose to act.
And as danger became absolute, no one expected Wang Yuan to stir and stand, his chair scrapping the floor.
Emperor Li," he addressed, his voice tense and carried urgency.
Xiao Feng's heart began to pound so loudly it felt as if everyone could hear it. What was Yuan doing? He wanted to grab his hand and drag him back to his seat, but Li Yue sat between them, making it impossible.
"Yuan!" Yuan's father called, his voice low and strained. "Sit down!" The command sounded almost like a plea, as though he feared his son crossing that man more than anything else.
But Wang Yuan spoke anyway.
"I don't think Killing them will do any good. There are better ways to punish this kind of immorality. You could send them away, let them suffer without a pack, without an alpha, and even an empire to belong to. We both know how painful that can be. What good is it if they die once and never truly feel the consequences of what they did?"
There was no malice in his voice. If anything, desperation shimmered beneath it, a desperate plea to preserve lives.
Xiao Feng saw the desperation clearly, and it only made his panic and confusion worsen. Panic... because if Wang Yuan interfered, people would begin to question why.
They would wonder why he sounded as though he were protecting those men. And what if they started looking more closely at him… or at them?
Confusion.. because Wang Yuan had made it clear he wanted nothing to do with him. Which meant he wanted nothing to do with this kind of relationship. So why was he speaking at all?!
Emperor Li let the two men collapse to the floor, his gaze never touching them. It was as if they were nothing more than sacks, empty and useless, and their fall barely registered in his mind.
He turned his attention slowly to Wang Yuan.
Xiao Feng's heart thumped violently in his chest, not for himself, but for Yuan. What would Emperor Li say to him or do to him?!
"You could have a point," Emperor Li finally said. Relief hit Xiao Feng heavily, nearly knocking the air from his lungs. "Death wouldn't punish them enough, but make no mistake... I made it clear that I am not trying to punish them.. I am trying to erase them! People like this have no right to walk the world; they are a disgrace!"
The words barely left his lips before he moved with impossible speed. In the blink of an eye, his claws had scored deep across the throats of the two men. They crumpled to the floor, lifeless, their bodies slack and still.
The other Alphas nodded in grim approval, murmuring satisfaction.
But Wang Yuan's reaction was entirely different. His chest heaved as he struggled to control himself, his eyes flickering red and his fingers clenching into fists.
Every muscle in his body radiated tension, and Xiao Feng could see it in every line of his frame, Yuan was on the verge of losing control.
He was angry, horrified, and perhaps blaming himself for not being able to prevent what had happened.
Every second that ticked past, the sight of the lifeless men seemed to cut him deeper, pulling at something unbearably painful inside him.
And when Li Yue's voice reached him, muttering that the two men deserved it, the strain on Yuan only intensified.
Xiao Feng felt it too, a tight knot forming in his chest, but his attention was entirely consumed by Wang Yuan.
He wanted to rush to him, to hold him and take him away from this room, but reason and fear collided in his mind.
What if others noticed their closeness? What if Yuan didn't even want him near? What if this moment drew unwanted attention and suspicion?
Get a grip, Yuan… please get a grip, Xiao Feng's thoughts whispered, repeating like a mantra in his mind. Please… sit down, control yourself…
As if he had heard the plea, Wang Yuan stiffly lowered himself back into his chair, rigid, his posture attempting to appear composed.
Relief surged through Xiao Feng in a wave that almost stole his breath.
Thank goodness everyone's attention remained fixed on the two lifeless men. Otherwise, even the slightest tremor in Yuan's reaction would have been noticed.
Xiao Feng thought.
He stole careful glances at Yuan, trying to gauge whether he truly had control or was simply forcing himself into stillness, but It was impossible to tell.
He couldn't even see him clearly.
Emporer Li's eyes roamed on every alpha before speaking, "Let the words reach each and every member of this empire in your packs that such nonsense will not be tolerated or excused in any way! And next time it will not be as easy as it was today! The meeting is adjourned," his voice rang out, sharp and commanding, and he strode out of the room, leaving a heavy silence behind.
Almost immediately, Wang Yuan rose.
His movement were uneven as he walked toward the exit.
Xiao Feng watched him uneasily, he wanted to follow him, needed to, and before he even knew it, he was off his chair toward the exit.
He heard his father call after him, but he didn't bother to look back. He even caught Li Yue's voice, but still he kept his focus on the man just a few steps ahead.
He knew what he was doing was dangerous, but he couldn't stop himself from chasing after Wang Yuan to make sure he was okay.