A MAZE OF GREED

"Fannie, do you know where is the Lord?" Theodora asked as she walked where Fannie was lighting up the lamps at the early hour of the evening.

She stopped upon hearing her mistresses' voice.

"No, My Lady. I have not seen him since afternoon." She replied.

Theodora was searching for Augustus everywhere in the manor, but his traces were nowhere to be found.

Stopping another maid passing by them, Fannie asked her about Augustus, to which she replied, "I saw My Lord going to the corner room on the third floor of his office building."

Dismissing the maid, Fannie waited for Theodora's response. If Augustus was in that room, then there was no way to bring him out of it till the morning. Theodora knew that he would run seeking repentance by drowning in the guilt and the fire of vengeance, that he was harbouring in his heart over the decades.

And whenever he chose to visit that part of his life, he went to that room where no other family members liked to step in.

Theodora sighed. This was the only thing that she could not change about her husband during all these years of their married life. Not only her but no one else could change that ever!

Well, if he was having his personal time, then why should not she?

"Send my message to Mr Morgan. You know the rest." Saying that Theodora left to take a nice bath before the pleasurable night began with Douglas Morgan.

Fannie sighed. This was always like that. Every now and then, Augustus would lock himself in that room, and Theodora pick up that opportunity to spend the night in the arms of Douglas.

Fannie sometimes wondered if Augustus was a fool or Theodora was too clever to carry her affair with Douglas for years now. And no one had ever suspected them.

Shrugging her shoulders, she thought it was not her business to think about it. Her only reason for staying in 'the great manor' was Edwin, of course, other than the lavish lifestyle that she was now very accustomed to.

In the office building of Augustus that was parallel with Edwin's, the dim light came from the corner room on the third floor. Inside the room sat a man in an armchair with a glass of wine in his hand.

The yellowish-orange light illuminated the surroundings leaving the corners at the mercy of darkness. Various paintings hung on the walls of the room with sufficient space between them.

Looking closely, one might realise that it was not any random arrangement but was a family tree. They all were portraits of the O'Dell family members over the seven generations.

What was before that; was destroyed during the great war.

At the top was a portrait of the originator- George O'Dell Sr and beside him was a portrait of his wife. Below those two paintings were the paintings of their children and so on.

Augustus's grey eyes that were nowhere near droopy but only red were trained on one particular portrait amongst them- Walter O'Dell. Beside him was his wife- Margaret O'Dell.

Below them was their only son's portrait- Edwin O'Dell.

Edwin was an exact replica of his father, only more muscular and strikingly contrast in nature. Where Walter was a soft-hearted man who valued emotions over anything, Edwin had no heart!

To the other side of Walter's portrait were the portraits of Augustus and his two wives- Agatha and Theodora. None of the men in the O'Dell family had taken more than one wife except him.

That was not the only thing that made Augustus different from the others. He took a sip of his wine as his eyes moved along the golden frame of the portrait of Walter.

Those men who ruled the werewolf world from the O'Dell family after George O'Dell Sr had the same golden frame to their portraits. And their siblings had the normal brown frames to their portraits.

But Augustus... his painting had neither the gold nor the brown frame. It was black in colour.

That colour haunted him all over his life. He tried everything in his power to change that colour in the golden one as brown was impossible for him to get. But all his efforts turned futile even after he got the reigns in his hands, he was not the leader of the werewolf world.

*** "Augustus, you should not forget your place! You should be grateful that you have a roof on your head. I have not thrown you out of 'the great manor' after your mother's death." The man with a beard roared from his throne.

His eyes blazed in anger.

"But... but father..."

"Do not call me that! I am not your father!" He roared again, this time sitting up from his throne.

Augustus clenched his jaws tight. He could not raise his voice at his father, as he was not only his father but also the leader of the werewolf world. Doing anything offensive with him would take him to the mouth of death.

Walter walked into his father's study room, against the order of his father 'that no one should disturb them'. The bearded man's eyes softened as soon as they landed on Walter.

Augustus took another deep breath to control his beast. He hated his father so much. He had done everything to impress him, but the man had never considered him worthy of his attention and praises, as they were all reserved only for Walter.

If Augustus could swim, then his father was happy that Walter had drunk a litre of water.

"Father!" Walter bowed in front of the bearded man and smiled.

His father nodded in acknowledgement. "Walter did not I told that no one should disturb me?" His tone was not harsh like his appearance. Instead, it was filled with pure love.

Love... one of the things that Augustus was deprived of in his life. He had not tasted it. It was not in his fortune, to say the least. His mother abandoned him a year after his birth. She left the pack, turned into a rouge and two years later, they found her corpse miles away from the borders of Vincardine.

Her body was weak and had nasty bruises. She lost her life during a fight. Augustus was too young to understand what death meant. He only asked one of the maids who were assigned for his care what happened with his mother.

'She has gone to visit the Moon Goddess', she had replied.

Years passed by, and slowly Augustus learned his identity. The moment he learned it, his struggle initiated. And it was still going on. And now that he was a mature young man, he wanted more of what he deserved which his father obviously declined.

Sensing the tension, Walter said, "Apologies for not following your order father. But I could not stop myself after I heard everything."

"You did?" The bearded man asked in shock.

"Yes. Father! I did." Walter told calmly. He patted Augustus on his back. "Augustus is my younger brother, father. If he wants something then you should provide him with it." Walter smiled. His cerulean blue eyes were always filled with mature calmness and a gentle smile.

"What are you saying Walter? You do not know anything. This all belongs to only you and there can never be any one else claiming your rights for themselves." His father cast a condescending glance at Augustus.

He felt like he was a piece of shit that his father was too disgusted to even touch. Oh, he indeed had not touched him since his birth. Not even when his mother gave him birth and begged his father to at least see his son, but the man refused to accept him as his.

All those memories of humiliation, longing, sadness, anger and frustration washed over Augustus, and first time in the years, he lost his control.

"Do not speak of me like I am a dirt, father. Do not forget that I have same blood as Walter running in my veins- yours! I have equal rights and says as his and no one can deny them!" Augustus's grey eyes turned a shade darker as his fangs were eager to come out.

His head spun as his father's hand landed hard on his cheek, the sound of a slap ringed in his ears and the room.

"Father!" Walter cried in shock.

But he was stopped by his father's one glare. Walter had never seen his father so angry... not especially after his mother's death.

Was not that same anger led him to commit a sin, and the result of that sin was right in front of his eyes.

"You worthless shit! How dare you raise your voice in front of me? Have you forgotten who you are speaking with, Augustus?

I am your leader! And you dare to question me?! I should have thrown you out, and I would have if I had slightest of the idea of how ungrateful man you would become." If looks could kill, then Augustus would have been buried six feet under the ground.

He was too stunned to say anything. The humiliation of getting slapped in front of Walter had scorched his heart, dented his ego.

"You want more powers do not you? You are just like your mother- greedy and selfish. She was the same!"

Hearing about his mother made Augustus snap his eyes up to meet his father's disappointed ones.

"She was a slut who seduced me when I was at my weakest point after my mate's death. She started asking for a wedding and right over my family legacy. She never had any feelings for me but was only an opportunist who wanted nothing but benefits from the leader.

And look how history is repeating itself again after years. Now, her son is demanding more powers and on what basis?"

"I... I am your s-son" Augustus stuttered.

"Son?" A cold laugh erupted from his father's throat. "No Augustus. That is only your delusion. You are nothing but a result of a sin that I regret committing and will regret till my last breath.. If only I could have control my human that day, I or my beloved son would not have to witness this moment."***