“And with all due respect, Mr. Palsvig, what happened in Gloucester had nothing to do with my kingdom or any Oclan werewolf. So that begs the question, why did your king send you here? To visit with me?” Russel asked.

“It is not you we were originally sent here to speak with, Your Majesty,” Hank told him almost immediately. “We were sent to speak with your father but considering you killed the man and claimed his throne, I suppose you will have to do.”

Russel felt the insult in Hank’s words. He felt the irritation they caused and how the eyes of everyone in the room turned to look at him. He could almost hear the thoughts in their heads. Most of them revolving around why was this human obviously disrespecting the king and why was he allowing himself to be spoken to in such a fashion. There wasn’t a whole lot he could do about the matter. Tearing Hank’s head off his shoulders was what he wanted to do, but he was forced to restrain himself. The last thing he needed, or wanted, was to get into a pissing match with the human kingdom. Although physically weaker, they were still a threat. They had a massive military presence and on top of that, they had terrible machines capable of doing a lot of damage. He wasn’t afraid of getting into a fight with them but he had to be cautious now. It was the only way to ensure the safety of his people and Lola.

“Whatever your business, I suggest you show respect to my status here. Our ways may not be your ways but I have claimed my father’s throne through legal and legitimate means. Imply otherwise again, and I might start to take offense,” Russel said, keeping his voice measured and calm despite seething with annoyance. He truly despised the little weasel human. And he wasn’t too fond of the others with him already. He, like Lola, didn’t miss the fact that Sir Thomas was among their number, the obstinate knight from Wrexon. The one that never seemed to leave the two of them alone.

“Apologies, truly, Your Majesty,” Hank said. “But again, I am not here to stroke your tender ego. I am here on behalf of my own king, who, as you may remember, is furious that a village he was sworn to protect has been decimated by werewolves.”

“And again, I ask you what business do you have with us in regard to that?” Russel shot back, still trying desperately to maintain control over his emotions.

“Other than the fact that one of your wolf spies was captured in our lands? As you may or may not surmise, my king did not respond well to the knowledge of a spy within his kingdom.” Hank looked at Russel for a few seconds with a condescending smirk on his face. Then he slipped a hand into the suit jacket he wore and pulled out an envelope. It was a simple thing made from white paper. There were thousands and thousands of the things all over the place.

But to Lola, it was immediately recognizable. She even caught sight of a small, distinct stamp on it that had the name of the inn where she’d gotten the envelope. There was no doubt about it. Hank had just pulled out her letter. The one she wrote for King Harrison by way of Sir Thomas.

She felt her heart sink and her mind swim with fear. Whatever was about to happen, there could be no mistake. She had been the cause of it.

“We also have this,” Hank said. He held the white envelope in the air for several seconds. “This is a letter from a survivor of Gloucester.”

Lola wanted to shrink into herself. She could almost feel Russel’s head turning toward her, his eyes seeking her out to clarify what the hell was going on. To his credit though, he kept his focus on Hank.

“You see this letter details the criminal and malicious attack of Gloucester. Everything from the murder of each of its citizens to the village being burned down.” He paused yet again to emphasize the drama, making Russel want to crush the man’s throat with his bare hand out of sheer irritation. “It goes on to explain how a pack of werewolves committed the act. Imagine the surprise of the great and honorable King Harrison when he learned of this. And with irrefutable proof delivered right to him by this brave survivor, whose name shall not be mentioned for their own safety.”

“Although a horrible incident, to be sure, this still has nothing to do with us. I guarantee that it was Harvenk that murdered your citizens. Seek them out if your king is so intent on satisfying his need for revenge,” Russel said. For a brief second, his eyes glanced at Lola and he saw the utter look of surprise and shock on her face.

What did you do, Lola? he asked himself.

He kept all of this off his face though. The last thing he needed right now was for this prick to find out that he had that same survivor right here in this room with them. He would no doubt spin things to make it seem like he’d kidnapped her.

“So positive in your assessment, aren’t you?” Hank replied. Then he smiled, a broad and ugly grin that made Russel’s urge to punch the man in the face even stronger. He had to force himself to calm down but it was hard. The nails of his fingers were digging into his palms pretty severely. There was pain but not enough to where it bothered him. “You would be correct. According to this letter, it explicitly claims that the wolves that attacked, slaughtered, and burned down this survivor’s village were a group of Harvenk werewolves. Rest assured that right about now, another envoy is approaching Harvenk for the same purpose and conversation.”

“So if you have the true perpetrators of this crime, what the hell are you doing here, in my lands?”

“The treaty signed by all four nations is quite explicit in its terms. It states that the truce between our peoples will be nullified if violence of any kind is perpetrated on any of the others. For our kingdom, that means if a werewolf or party of werewolves commits acts of violence inside our borders, then this treaty becomes null and void. Take note that the treaty does not specify what country the werewolf happens to be a native of only that the attacker is a werewolf. The fact that the attackers were allegedly from Harvenk does not make a difference.”

He stared Russel directly in the eyes when he stated his final words.

“And since the treaty is now void, I have come here to declare at the behest of King Harrison Viktor Weber of the Kingdom of Alcroft, that we will be occupying Oclan from today until its last day.”

The room suddenly exploded with noise as people all over the throne room started to talk and whisper among themselves.

“Furthermore,” Hank went on. “I have come here for your complete surrender.”