43 - Confidence and truth
THALIA ZAHARA.
Emmag didn’t find the guard’s response pleasant, it was written over his face as he glanced in my direction.
So, I got up and quietly asked, “I know Octavius’s presence spells doom, but if he is here with other Alpha Kings, surely he can’t try anything foolish.”
“I know. That’s not why I’m concerned.” His head tilted in my direction once I was standing beside him. “Alpha Ezra was meant to attend a compulsory meeting. Them coming down here means that Alpha Ezra might be in trouble.”
“I am sure they’d understand that he is currently not available. They can come in and see that he is unconscious.”
“Oh no,” Emmag swiftly disagreed. “Of all things to do, showing them the current state of the Alpha would be highly foolish. We’d be giving them a reason and chance to start plotting things against us.”
“Oh, I see.” That makes sense. “What do we do? Alpha Ezra is still down.”
“We have no choice but to face them.” I guess that means I’m going with him. “It’s best that way.”
“Okay. Just give me a few minutes to wash up.”
“That’s fine.”
I rushed into the bathroom, got rid of the bandage on my wrist for good and made sure that my quick wash made me look better within seconds. It might be shallow of me to say this, but I never want to look terrible in Octavius’s presence anymore. Even if my soul goes through way worse chaos, I would like to stand in front of him with a look that would never reveal the things I am going through.
Once my face was looking less haughty, and my body feeling more refreshed and flowery, I found a nice match of my jean trousers and one of Alpha Ezra’s shirts.
A glance at Alpha Ezra made me a little worried. I shouldn’t leave him alone, but the situation at hand requires the presence of the Luna Queen, I would be making further mockery of myself and Alpha Ezra by not showing up.
So, with the hope that he would be awake by the time I got back, I found one of the comfortable shoes Emmag got for me and joined the man at the entrance.
“The meeting the Lycan called was concerning the explosion from the other day,” Emmag started to fill me in after he instructed one of the nearby guards to secure the entrance to the room. “He asked all leaders to converge at the Umber pack, I guess he wants them to join heads to figure out the cause of the explosion and nip it in the bud.”
Am I being jumpy if I say that I am certain Octavius is behind the explosion? If he can murder the people of his pack, he can certainly cause something more disastrous to happen.
“It is dangerous to wonder if the Lycan is behind the explosion,” Emmag commented.
“Emmag?” I eyed him suspiciously. “Can you hear thoughts?”
“It was written all over your face.” He smiled while his steps lessened their rush to match my pace. “Don’t show that expression in front of the leaders, Lycan Octavius will twist it and use it as a reason to get rid of Alpha Ezra.”
“He must really hate Alpha Ezra.”
The man snickered. “Next to Lycan Octavius, Alpha Ezra holds the most power in the entire kingdom.”
“That makes sense. Since Alpha Ezra’s origin is The Night Stream pack, certainly traces of the Lycan powers would exist within him.”
“Hmm. I have never thought of it that way.” He nodded. “You might be right. The only reason the Lycan is more powerful is because the seat he occupies hands him and his wolf that much power. Once he is dethroned, all that power will leave him. Without those powers, Lycan Octavius would never be able to challenge our Alpha.”
Hearing that made my heart fly with joy. “I can’t wait for the day that happens. It’ll be a great day.”
“It sure will.”
The guard that was leading the way announced that we had reached the entrance of the throne room.
I looked up at the huge doors, then I locked gazes with Emmag.
“Here we go,” I whispered. “Let’s get this over with.”
Emmag nodded for the guard to push the door open.
We walked in and the drama started.
Lycan Octavius had already found a seat on the huge throne placed high in the middle of the room.
Since it was my first time in the room, I took a quick look and noted the calm nature of the room and how it reflected Alpha Ezra’s personality.
“I asked to see Alpha Ezra,” the Lycan’s voice thundered, “what is this nonsense I see? Huh?” He glanced at the two men standing to his left. Those must be the leaders of the other packs. “Is this a joke? Is Alpha Ezra making fun of me?”
Emmag stepped forward while I remained in my spot.
“Lycan Octavius, bear with us. We-”
“Thalia!” My eyes darkened while I made sure my lips stayed sealed. “Is this what your new pack does? You make fun of the Lycan King as you please?”
“Lycan Octavius,” Emmag continued his attempt to explain things, “let us just-”
“You fucking rat, when did your name become Thalia? You-”
“Lycan Octavius.” I stepped into the conversation and with majestic steps which I hoped I wouldn’t ruin, I approached the circular, stepped platform where the throne was placed. “Luna Thalia.”
“What?” he sneered.
“I am the Luna Queen of The Rebel pack, last I checked.” My brows raised and the minute I was at the foot of the platform, I halted my steps and locked eyes with him. “If you fail to respect my name, I’m afraid I’d have to disrespect yours.”
Octavius’s nose scrunched and his anger nearly slipped out of him. “Where is your husband? Where is Alpha Ezra?”
“He is nursing his weakness.”
“And that is supposed to mean what?”
“He won’t be able to attend the meeting, unfortunately. He fears his weakness will ruin the atmosphere of the leaders’ gathering.” A gracious smile on my lips, I gently asked, “By chance, do you wish to be contaminated by Alpha Ezra’s weakness, Lycan Octavius?”
“We didn’t come all the way here to listen to excuses,” he retorted.
“Nobody asked you to come here.” Someone gasped, it was one of the pack leaders. It seemed he feared that something would happen to me for speaking back to Octavius. “According to the letter received, the meeting point is the Umber pack. Not the Rebel Pack.”
“You-”
I slightly curtsied. “We apologize for not sending word sooner, but the… my husband’s weakness took us by surprise, we had to focus on restoring his strength by all means.”
“You fucking…”
“Lycan Octavius, have you ever heard the saying?” I felt on top of the moment. “Rumours are all you need to create the best news ever.”
His eyes narrowed. “What are you implying?”
“Regardless of the high pedestal the palaces of the Alpha and Lycan Kings possess, there are tiny ears everywhere. If they discover our presence, they’ll start to listen in. The moment you utter an ugly word against me, words will fly and your precious image may suffer. If that happens, I would be more than willing to grant some interviews. I would speak about our union, the things you have done and-”
“Enough!” He growled and the floor vibrated a little.
His reaction was satisfactory. A little scary but satisfactory. It caused a little smirk to grow on my lips.
As he got off the seat and approached me, the smirk persisted and I made sure he saw it.
He stopped when our bodies stood only inches apart. Then, he brought his lips to my ears.
I could hear the rage in his soul in that breath of his. So, I knew what was about to leave his lips would be very unfriendly.
“You must hate me even more,” I whispered, taking the conversation into my hands. “I caused you quite some pain the last time we saw each other. Shall I let these men know about how I caused you pain? I am sure they are thirsty for some information.”
“Alpha Ezra must be teaching you well, Thalia,” he replied, his voice filled with terror that managed to unsettle my soul. “Your rudeness sounds alike now. Like husband, like wife. Very cute.”
“Your point?”
“Get ready to die soon, Luna Thalia.” His respect was laced with poison. “Put your affairs in order and prepare to meet your parents in the world beyond.”
My hands pulled into fists and I wished to strike him. But my weak punches would do nothing to him.
“Die?” I did not say that. “If anyone’s dying soon, it will be you, Octavius.”
“Alpha Ezra,” Octavius sounded amused but he didn’t step away from me.
As I tried to check if the person who spoke instead of me was indeed Ezra, a hand reached for my waist from behind and the familiarity of the touch made me certain that it was Alpha Ezra.
“Lycan Octavius,” Ezra’s voice was dry yet powerful, “how dare you threaten my mate with your weak proclamations? Is it not enough that you sent that evil creature after her?”
Huh? Evil creature?
I was concerned with that part of the man’s statement but Octavius settled on something else.
“Mate?” the Lycan growled. “What do you mean by mate?”
“You heard me.” My eyes traveled to Alpha Ezra’s. The second we made contact, my heart thudded just as it did on the beach on that rainy day. “Thalia Zahara is my mate.” He didn’t break the contact and I proceeded to fall into the allure of his gaze. “And I, hers.”