Chapter 192 THE LIE OF THE HEIR

Chapter 192 THE LIE OF THE HEIR

Chapter 193

Lyra pregnant?

The words felt like a sharp knife stabbing into my heart, ripping every single part of it apart.

“Lyra pregnant?” I muttered, the words bitter on my lips like a bitter leaf.

I stood still in the middle of Lyra’s room—completely frozen and confused.

I couldn’t swallow the lump of phlegm stuck in my throat.

Was this the reason she carted away every one of Jax’s items from his quarters, just to protect him, his assets and bloodline?

I knew it. Those bastards had been sleeping together.

I knew Lyra was the one who had been with Jax that very night, Brielle, was shot down at the border, the night I tried to escape the border scene, only to return and find Jax in bed with a stranger.

So that stranger had been Lyra?

I couldn’t have been more right.

The dampness of his bed that day when I stepped into his room was enough evidence to show they had been together. The odour in the room too gave him out completely.

But by the time I rushed in, I saw no one. I checked every nook and cranny of the room, including his wardrobe. Everywhere devoid of no she-wolf or concubine hidden in his room.

I even went as far as going to Lyra’s room to check on her.

Nothing gave her away. She looked neat and fresh, like someone who had just woken from a deep, peaceful sleep. From a bed.

My hands creased through my hair as I lowered myself to the center of the room.

I didn’t even care if Lyra had met me in her room.

I promised myself I would plunge my hand into her throat and violently rip her heart out through mouth , with the fierce rage burning inside me.

My mind drifted to Jax. His fertility status. The report from that healer.

Healer… my brain paused, trying to remember his name.

“Healer Firkley,” I muttered to myself, as though the wires in my brain had suddenly connected.

All the reports he gave us then in Crimson pack that we could have sex, but none of us could ever dream of producing an heir Though surrogacy could be allowed, sank into me.

So Lyra carrying Jax’s child was impossible.

The thought hit me, quenching the earlier thought of Jax having an heir with common omega like lyra.

The thought gave me a sudden breath of relief.

That would have been a big disaster if Jax had been sleeping with Lyra under my nose, and she was carrying his heir.

The distant blaring of the public system broke through my long spiral of thoughts.

I stood up from the center of the room and moved outside. The door shut behind me.

My feet clicked rapidly against the floor as I headed toward the palace hall.

At this time, it was eerily quiet, like invaders had stormed the palace and taken everyone away. Everyone had found their way to the palace hall waiting for me.

I walked through the hallway, my shoes echoing against the floor.

By the time I reached the palace hall, everyone, those seated, standing, and chatting, quickly arranged themselves into neat lines.

Three-pack soldiers followed me into the room as I stepped onto the platform where Jax’s throne stood.

Over eight hundred workers—ranging from skilled to unskilled laborers—lived and worked within the walls of this palace Jax’s father had built.

He had always wanted convenience and a way to employ jobless pack members.

I stood before them as they lined up, hands behind their backs, all eyes fixed on me.

Many looked angry, while others had questions written clearly across their faces.

“Where is Alpha Jax?” one of them muttered, seeking answers from the person beside him.

“Is everything fine with the king?”

“God forbid this wicked she-wolf rules over us before Alpha Jax returns.”

Voices like that rippled through the crowd.

That phrase, coming back, cracked something inside me.

They didn’t know Alpha Jax wasn’t coming back.

They had better prepare themselves for seeing my face instead.

“Decorum!” the guards shouted, and silence fell over the hall.

I scanned the room slowly—left, right, and center.

I waited for the silence to settle, like a drop of rain hitting a still pond and forming ripples.

“I want to use this moment to inform you that Alpha Jax will not be returning to this pack for the next three weeks. And since his Beta has been away on pack duties…”

Murmurs rose again.

I knew they caught the lie, especially about Alpha Ryder being away.

“I will temporarily take over all administrative affairs of this pack.”

The noise grew louder, like porcelain shattering across a polished floor.

An old she-wolf muttered loudly, not even caring about the consequences.

“A she-wolf leading the pack?” she hissed, rolling her eyes. “How interesting. What a reputation Stormfang Pack is building.”

I wanted to drag her out and make an example of her.

My reign, my fucking reign, would not be like those weaklings who once sat on that throne.

But I held back, waiting patiently to finish delivering my message.

“I am not your Alpha King,” I said. “I am still your queen. But leaving this pack without a head invites chaos. It sends signals to invaders and rogues.”

The murmurs intensified.

“Order!” the guards barked again, restoring silence.

“But here are my instructions,” I continued, my voice rising. “I will not stand here and allow rebellious elements among you to desecrate the throne I swore an oath to uphold.”

I let that sink in.

“All activities, tax, revenue, commercial, and political, must be reported to me at my table, my decisions are final and the balls stop at my desk.”

More murmuring followed.

“If you disobey pack laws, then go ahead. But the hand of the law will find you, and grind you into dust.”

A few grumbled under their breath as my eyes swept across the hall.

“I will… not…”

Then I saw someone.

Like a ghost hidden within the crowd.

He wore a hoodie—though few others among the audience did too.

But this was different.

He wore it deliberately, hiding his face from everyone.

I had already seen him—just barely—because he stood at the end of the line, partially blocked by others.

I leaned forward slightly, hoping the people in front of him would shift.

I forced myself to look away and continued speaking.

“I will not sit here and allow—”

Then a few people moved.

And I saw his face clearly.

“Leo!”

Gawd.

My breath caught.

I clutched the hem of my trousers tightly.