Chapter 3: Ava’s Plight

"Are you really going to claim her?" Kaila's voice trembled with barely contained fury as she watched Alpha Axel sip his wine from a silver goblet.

"Perhaps," Axel replied, his expression blankly inscrutable. Whilst he could see the jealousy blazing in his mistress's eyes.

"How can you even consider it? That wench's father slaughtered your entire family! She's nothing but a beast like him. How can you think of claiming her, even if she's your mate?" Kaila's voice cracked with rage and jealousy, each word laced with hate.

Ava’s very existence threatened to shatter everything Kaila had worked for. If the princess became queen, it would undermine Kaila's position and make her seem useless in the eyes of the king.

"You shouldn't be so troubled, Kaila. I'm fully aware of who she is—the daughter of the mad king who annihilated my pack and many others. But she is also the last of the pure Lycans blood, and my mate. The moon goddess has her reasons," Axel said, his tone cold and detached.

Kaila was stunned. The man she knew harbored a deep hatred for the mad king and his offspring. How could he soften toward the princess now? Her ambitions felt as though they were crumbling, threatened by this girl who would take everything she had acquired with just her privileges.

"My king! What about me? What about our daughter Alys? she is to be your heiress, are you going to take in that vicious princess as your queen and make us worship under her feet?"

Kaila immediately pulled out the daughter card, the only weakness of the king she knows of, the king loves nothing or no one more than his only 5 years old daughter he had with her, Alys.

"Do not bring my daughter Into this!" Alpha Axel dropped his wine and growled at Kaila immediately, his eyes which was unreadable some moments ago spelt rage now,

"Do you fear for my daughter or yourself?" Alpha Axel asked,

"I assure you..." Kaila tried to speak,

"And are you giving me the impression of what I think it is?" Alpha Axel cut her,

"I know you didn't swear an oath to marry me or make me your queen, I and my father willingly offered myself to you as your mistress, which automatically makes me a presumed queen, however my grievances are not all driven by that ambition!

I am just a mother who fears for her lovely daughter, Princess Ava is dangerous she would do anything to stop a possible threat,

Our daughter is a threat to her as long as she breaths! though the princess is powerless to go against you now, you plan to claim her giving her a new hope and ambition of being the queen and the mother of your children, Which queen wouldn't want her child to be an heir or heiress? And this has automatically put my little Alys in danger, considering how vicious she is like her father who annihilated all the powerful houses and packs he spelt to be Threat!"

Kaila broke down in a dramatic facade of tears as she said all her manipulative on-the-foot practiced dialogue.

"You may leave now Kaila!" Alpha Axel ordered.

˙⁠❥⁠˙

After a hell of a month in the palace, facing the rage and punishment of the king, though the people in the palace still anticipate her fate, Either Claimed as the king's mate or his slave,

However, Ava knows she's been rejected already and the only thing that baffled her was the fact the king still have her dress noble, kind of makes sense for the fact she ends up in his bed anyways and end up being punished brutally.

Ava strolled the palace garden as her appointed guard or more of a slave watcher, was three steps behind her, after being in the dark horror and punishment room of the king, seeing anywhere that is not her room or the punishment room of the king makes her feel some sanity.

She do spend her time reading books at this flower garden when she was a princess, and her father was alive and she hasn't been sent to the temple monastery.

However, Kaila was holding her five years old Alys as they walked towards the flower garden with four palace attendants holding baskets of fruits, books, mat and blankets for a relaxation picnic.

As Kaila sighted Ava roaming freely at the garden she was consumed by rage immediately, as she swallowed her saliva,

"How could a wench like her roam free the palace? She is a slave and should be locked in a dark room all her life!" Kaila grinned,

"She's not yet been claimed as a slave your grace that's why she has the privileged to roam free, unless the king barr her from seeing the light of day" one of kaila's attendant explained.

Kaila rushed towards Ava with rageful eyes, forgetting she was holding a five years old who couldn't keep up with her pace that little Alys fell to the ground on reaching Ava,

"Wench! Aren't you supposed to be locked in a dungeon?" Kaila's voice rasped with anger,

As Alys burst into tears, Ava immediately fell on her knees holding Alys up lovingly.

"Are you hurt? Are you okay" Ava inquired, this scene left Kaila expressively mad that she hurled a resounding slap on Ava's cheek that her cheek burned red.

"How dare you evil wench touch my daughter? Will you kill her too?" Kaila yelled on top of her voice as her vein contracts apparently in her neck...

And immediately the attendants helped little Alys up and escorted her away from seeing the dreadful side of Kaila.

"I was only helping her up, she clearly..." Ava was saying whilst holding her right burning cheek, and Kaila aggressively hurled another resounding slap on her cheek as she fell back hard, her cheek exploded in pain as the stinging heat spreading across her skin.

" Take this evil wench back and lock her inside she shouldn't be roaming about!" Kaila yelled on top of her voice and the guard immediately grabbed Ava by her arm so harshly and dragged her away.

"You can just say the word my lady I'd get rid of her" Kaila's bodyguard asked again, as he slightly unsheathed his sword,

"Do it!"

Kaila ordered at the spur of the moment.