Chapter 115

Chapter 115
Samara's POV

The rogue attacks did not stop, but the situation at the palace had gotten better. Those who had hidden themselves for fear of being torn apart by the rogues had come out of their hiding places, and the palace was mostly functional now. However, it was obvious a lot of damage had been done to some of the structure, especially the field where the rogues had descended upon the guests like ants.

The rogues, however, continued to plague the rest of the pack. Alpha George had coordinated his men, the guards, the army, everyone who could fight and was willing to give up their life to do so, to help push the rogues back. But no matter how many men he sent, a lot died, and the rogues kept coming back. It felt like their numbers multiplied by the second. The more you killed them, the more they increased.

The very next scheme emerged during a court session, when Aeron mentioned that the pack was not the only one going through this. It appeared as though all over the werewolf realm, the rogues were swarming into packs in droves, trying to annihilate everything within their sight. It was then George suggested that they round up all the Alphas, or as many as they could, and figure out a way out of the mess.

"What do you think, Aeron?" George asked after he had made the suggestion.

Aeron looked at Alpha George, as though trying to decide what to say to the Alpha. "You are the one who does not like convening with other Alphas," he said eventually.

But Alpha George could not afford to be proud. He could not afford to be a lone star this time. He looked quite defeated. I doubted there had ever been a problem that had been so insurmountable to him before. "Yes, yes, I know I'm a bit of a loner, but this is beyond me. This is beyond us, Aeron. And I think it will be detrimental for me not to admit that we need help."

Aeron agreed with George. "We should let Alpha Lucian know that we would like to meet. It is best if we send a letter. That would make him come to us, instead of us going to him."

George seemed to think about this for a while. "Lucian is my worst enemy."

It was then that it occurred to me who they were speaking about: my first mate, Alpha Lucian—the one who had kept me in his palace, refusing to reject me and yet refusing to accept me, until his Beta drove me out. A shudder ran through my spine. If Lucian was going to come here, what would that mean? Would his Beta, that evil, bitter woman, follow him too? I would have to do my best to avoid her if she ever came to this pack. And yet, a part of me wanted to leap at the possibility of seeing Lucian again.

"Get me a pen and paper. I'll write him a short message," George said. "I just hope our messenger does not meet rogues on his way to Lucian's pack."

Aeron said nothing. A pen and paper were given to Alpha George, and he scribbled something on it, then handed it over to his brother. "Please see that this gets to Alpha Lucian. We must find a way to end this nonsense."

Aeron nodded and placed the letter in his pocket. The council meeting continued. Everyone shared opinions on what to do next and how to protect the pack.

Then Laura's father reminded Alpha George of the deal he had made. "I believe I have shown myself worthy during this time. I have provided reinforcements in army men and weapons to help push back the rogues.”

Alpha George seemed to consider it for a moment, but he was not really biting.

He continued, afraid that he was losing the Alpha's attention. "I will have Lilian marry you instead," he said.

Laura immediately voiced her objection. "Never," she said. "I am going to be Luna."

But everyone turned to look at her, at the ugly scar that ran from the center of her face to her jawline. The scratch marks had turned her skin into something that looked scrambled and rather unsightly. She used her scarf to cover up her face.
"What are you all looking at?" she snapped bitterly.

No one said a word, except Lilian, who stood up and said, "I will not marry Alpha George. There is nothing stopping the marriage between the Alpha and my sister."

Laura clapped her hands in approval of what her sister had just said. Their father looked conflicted, but he was looking at Alpha George.

Alpha George cleared his throat eventually and spoke. "I can't believe we are talking about marriage at such a time. We have lost so much already. Marriage? I don't know. We just need to lean on each other for support during these turbulent times. Who is to say you have a pack to even return to? What would marriage do for us now? How would that be advantageous to any of us if we are to lose it all to the rogue wolves?"

The council hall quieted. Alpha George had spoken the truth.

I caught Laura's scornful eyes. They were filled with hatred toward me. She hated me even more than she ever had. I could see the resentment in her eyes. She was not lunging toward me today, trying to scratch my face and deface me like she used to, but I knew if she got the opportunity, she would pour acid all over my face. I knew she blamed me for what had happened to her; yet every time she spoke about how it was my fault, how I had watched her get defaced by a rogue, the others looked at her as if she had lost her mind. I believe the question they had on their minds was: how could a human girl possibly have stopped a rogue attack?

"And then what happens after we take care of the rogue attacks?" Laura's father was determined not to give up. He was the Alpha of a small but very powerful pack. They had thousands of men willing to fight, and their territory was such that the rogues, according to them, could not really get through. So it made sense politically for George to be married to Laura. "I need some sort of insurance, Alpha. If we are to continue like this—I have given you my men, my weapons—I need insurance. I need to know that after we are able to overcome these attacks, you will marry my daughter and make her Luna in your pack."

Alpha George looked conflicted. He turned to look at Laura's face, and I could see that he felt a bit of pity and, at the same time, repulsion toward her. She was never beautiful, in my opinion. She had an ugly soul and a wicked heart. But the fact that her ugliness now reflected on her face just made it all the more obvious.

"If you will not marry Laura, or at least one of my daughters, I am afraid I will have to withdraw my support."

Alpha George's face turned into one big frown. He looked like he wanted to stand up, flip the table, and tell Laura's father to go to hell. But at the same time, these were trying times, and if Laura's father withdrew his support, then his pack would fall into shambles. He needed every single one of those men to keep fighting the rogues and protect his people.

"Fine," George conceded. "We shall have a small engagement to acknowledge our alliance. But that is it. No marriage will happen formally until we are past this."

Laura's father nodded. "That is fine by me," he said.

Laura's face looked relieved, even though half of it was covered.

But George spoke up. "I cannot marry Laura. I am sure you understand why that is."

Laura hit the table with her fist and stood up. "Nonsense! Because of my face? I will have it corrected!"

George looked away. He could not even bear to look at her. "I am sorry if I have offended—"

"And so what?" Laura interrupted. "You have an ugly scar yourself from the rogue attacks, and no one is judging you because of it! You are only judging me because I am a lady!"

That was true, but she had forgotten that George's scar was on his stomach and not on his face where it would be visible. There were some scratch marks on his arms too, but those only made him look cool and not ugly like she did. It sounded unfair, but her ugly soul radiated on her face.

Lilian was the one to save the day. "I will not marry a man promised to my sister. It is unfair."

"Laura," her father corrected. "I..."

Laura scoffed scornfully at her sister. She hated that her sister was the one to refuse this. I knew she had always looked down on Lilian, and now the tables had somewhat turned to her disfavour.

"Lilian cannot marry George," Laura declared. "She is already promised to another."

It was the first time such a thing was revealed to anyone, and the surprise was clear around the council hall. The only person who did not look surprised was Laura's father.

Lilian raised an eyebrow. She was calm, but the shock was apparent on her face. "Promised to another?" She looked at her father and her sister, and they both looked away. "I don't understand. Who have I been promised to? This makes no sense. I have said it before—I have no intention of getting married. I would never be someone's wife. I—"

"Shut up, Lilian," her father snapped. "More important matters are at stake right now than your lack of vision to see why."

Lilian stood up in anger and stormed out of the council hall. I felt obligated as her friend to follow her, but I could not; as George's personal maid, I had to stay right in the council hall and by his side until he let me go.