Seed of the Sovereign

Luke looked towards the approaching wolves wide eyed in fear and shock.

He couldn't believe he was going to die like this.

His unwillingness was only heightened by the foreign emotions, it seems whatever had entered into him didn't want to die as well.

But all together, their unwillingness came to naught. The wolves didn't stop charging at him.

Luke closed his eyes, softly apologizing to Arya and his parents.

But the moment he feared never came.

Instead, he heard a sharp sound of tearing air, then the wolves stumbled down beside him, some of them carried by inertia fell on him.

Looking around, he saw dozens of wolves as large as carts, pierced through by deadly ice spears, their bodies already coating with frost.

It was such a beautiful scene of devastation that Luke was held spellbound for a moment, but the presence of the assailant jerked him back up.

A man dressed in a navy blue top and dark trousers walked towards Luke. His hair was a scattered mix of auburn and ice blue.

His hands were deep in his pocket as he walked with a casual gait. He moved like nothing could stop his steps. On his face was a wide smirk, a signature of confidence.

But when Luke took a proper look at his face, all the other details vanished before his eyes.

His face. It was such a striking resemblance to his mother's. But he had never heard of his mother having siblings. Well, he didn't even know much about his mother's family. Their parents never liked to talk about it.

Still, even normal siblings weren't supposed to have such a striking resemblance.

"Hello there little nephew," the man said with a casual smile, walking over to stand over his unmoving body.

"Who are you?" Luke asked, his eyes squinted in vigilance. Just because they had a similar semblance to his mother didn't mean he'd immediately trust them. If that was the case he might as well give himself to the wolves first.

"I just called you nephew so I'm definitely your uncle," the man chuckled as if finding his own words funny. "You can call me unc Leon. I'm your mother's twin brother."

"What!?" Luke's face transformed into one of clear shock. Twin brother? His mother didn't have a twin brother did she? Or else why would she never mention a single thing about it.

Noticing Luke's reaction, Leon face immediately turned strange.

"Wait. Don't tell me she didn't even mention me to you?" Leon asked with a disbelieving expression.

Luke didn't know how to answer that question so he choose to keep silent.

"Damn that woman," Leon muttered, his face scrunched up in frustration. "It's fine if she doesn't want to talk about the family but how could she not mention her own twin brother to her family?"

Luke watched Leon pace around and mutter words to himself for a few minutes before he took a large breath, calming himself before turning his attention back to him.

"It doesn't matter too much I guess. I have a way to prove it later. For now you can just call me Leon." He said, then continued after a moment, his eyes shining with expectation.

"Though, I'd still prefer it if you called me uncle. It's the first time I'm meeting my nephew after all and I just saved your life."

"No, thanks." Luke shut him down immediately. "I'd love to reserve such a title till your claim is confirmed."

"Okay, okay." Leon said ruffling his hair.

Luke might have imagined it but he thought he saw the man sulking.

Leon waved his hand and the aether in the air instantly moved, bending to him command.

Luke felt a force curl around his body, lifting him and setting him down on Leon's back.

'was he just took lazy to bend down and pick me up?'

"I'm sorry, I didn't come prepared with a ride so you'd have to do with my back till we get to my home. It might be a bit bumpy but it's better than nothing." Leon said.

"You're taking me to your home? I don't even know who you are." Luke looked at Leon like he was joking.

But Leon just continued unperturbed.

"Yes. I have a nice home I tell you. Some haters would call it barbaric but who cares? I own my own land and produce my own food. That's the epitome of freedom I tell you. Plus my home is also my workplace. Freedom!"

At this point, Luke started to doubt the sanity of this man.

"What?"

"Yeah," Leon said as he started to move. "So be glad I invite you to my home. And I know what you're thinking. Normally, paranoia is good, especially for a kid in your situation. But I'd advise to consider where you are. You're in a dangerous forest after waking some of the most dangerous beasts and you can't move a muscle. It's either come with me or die." Leon finished with his smile and the hint of casual playfulness still belying his tone.

Luke opened his mouth but he found that he had no words to say.

Leon's assessment was correct. He'd either follow him or die. Even if Leon became a threat later, that was only a possibility whereas if he stayed in this forest any longer, death was a certainty.

Noticing Luke's silence Leon's smirk turned into a victorious grin.

Walking away from the clearing, Luke heard Leon speak once more.

"I'm sorry."

Leon voice rang abruptly with his back against Leon. His previous easygoing voice was gone, replaced with one of grave sadness and guilt.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all that and I couldn't do anything."

"You can rest now."

Luke would have liked to say that he didn't need to rest and he could still move but the back of the man was the first comfort he received since his nightmare began.

Luke's tense body finally relaxed as he settled on his Leon's back before eventually falling asleep.