CHAPTER 3: The Lie Begins

"The Lycan King?" someone whispered in awe.

"Impossible!" another voice cried out.

The pack members present at the meeting couldn't believe me, and I understood their reaction—it was a bold claim, after all.

What I needed now was time, a way to stall and gather my thoughts.

Ronan's Alpha and my father hesitated to complicate things with the lycans, regardless of whether they believed me. The truth was secondary to the risk involved.

"Come on, Alpha Heron," Ronan said. He turned to face my father, his broad shoulders tense. "Keira and I have waited for three years. You know how much your daughter loves me, how devoted she's been. She's just talking nonsense. Sooner or later, she'll come to her senses and admit she was wrong…"

Ronan shifted his gaze to me. "Keira, I've already told you—I'm focusing on you from now on," he insisted, unwilling to back down.

Alpha Heron frowned, understanding the implications of Ronan's words. Keira had cried to him countless times, saying she would die if she didn't marry Ronan.

This lowly dog continued to coax Keira after flirting with other she-wolves. What a despicable beast! And how naïve this descendant must be! My anger burned so fiercely that my vision started to blur.

Surprisingly, I've quickly adapted to modern speech. It may be because Keira has been feeding me details of what's in the present world.

As a final remark, Father spoke, "We all know we can't risk offending the Lycans, especially the Lycan King. If Keira rejects him, she'll face severe consequences. Even those of us here can't afford to cross him. The lycans' territory is nearby; it's not hard to imagine that the king and Keira might have crossed paths."

Finally, Ronan's Alpha, Zander, spoke. "Next Saturday, the Lycan King has invited us to their territory in Montana. I think we'll know by then. If this is just a matter of your daughter's stubbornness, she'll face the consequences." His eyes narrowed at me.

That's exactly what I want, I thought, keeping my face blank. A week would give me time to plan and figure out how to handle this dangerous situation I'd found myself in.

During Keira's years with Ronan, she never found her true mate. But now, I'm unsure if she will ever find him. I've experienced death once due to betrayal of my own kind, and I won't allow myself to face that again! That's why I refuse to die a second time. No—a third time!

Death haunts me like a persistent shadow, its cold grip always close. The fear of it guides my every move. I can't—and won't—let it retake me.

"Leave my daughter and me alone," Alpha Heron commanded. Every pack member left the room, and I stood still, not even glancing at Ronan.

Once the door closed, my father spoke. "Keira, if this is just one of your childish whims—"

"It's not, Father." I dared to interrupt him.

He straightened his back, his eyes fixed on me. "I don't like Ronan for you either, but he was right about one thing. Maybe I broke a truce with the Nightclaw Pack by arranging this union, but it was you who wanted to marry Ronan. You begged me for it!"

I searched for the right words. "Perhaps, Father. But I'm an alpha's daughter! Enough with my childishness and stubbornness! I will not marry Ronan!"

He heard the resolve in my voice and fell silent. I wasn't sure if he believed me, but he finally nodded.

"If the Lycan King accuses you of lying, what will you do?" he asked with seriousness. "You'll face consequences either from the Lycans or the Nightclaw Pack. We can't afford to offend the Lycans with their strength."

I frowned. Does Alpha Heron know that Lycans were once my slaves after I killed their prince? But this isn't Nameria speaking to the Alpha—it's Keira.

"Then I must prove to everyone that I'm not lying!"

Whoever this Lycan King is, I know he will eventually cooperate with me. I have no choice but to stick to my story. I must find a way to speak with him before the party that Alpha Zander mentioned.

***

This world was so different from the one I knew. Freya and I and all the shifters in my packs were enrolled in a special class at a university nestled deep within the Darkwood Pack's territory.

In my time, I had my workers, and if they failed to meet my expectations, their blood would flow from their necks, thanks to the edge of my silver sword. That's right—I was a ruthless queen back then, shaped by the betrayal of my own mate.

In this new era, our primary goal was to avoid scaring humans. We had to fit into their society without drawing attention—close enough to watch but far enough to keep our true nature hidden.

The Delta, a burly man, was in charge of our physical training. He was demonstrating various combat that was making me drowsy.

I knew it! I was certain this school, or whatever it was, wasn't for me. That was until he mentioned a particular event from the past.

"How do you think our Queen Nameria managed to strike her silver sword against the lycan prince during her legendary attack?" he asked. "We all know lycans are inherently stronger than us werewolves... Prince Valen could have easily torn her apart with just his bare hands without even needing to reach for a weapon!"

My jaw clenched that instant.

One eager student raised his hand and said, "Delta, there's no other plausible explanation. She must have used nightshade or wolfsbane to weaken Prince Valen before striking him with her sword."

The Delta shook his head. "It's an interesting theory, but it's not correct. Why? Because according to the elders who witnessed the event, Queen Nameria stormed directly into Prince Valen's chamber. There wasn't any time for her to administer poison—aside from the venom coating her blade."

My heart raced. The Delta was right!

"You want to know the real answer?" the Delta continued, "It's because Queen Nameria was consumed by her desire to kill the lycan prince after they slaughtered her Alpha! Her determination drove her to train day and night without rest, all with the singular goal of ending the lycan prince's life to avenge her father!"

"That is the true power of dedicated physical training! If you push yourselves to your limits, train continuously and without pause, you can defeat even the mightiest lycan!"

I couldn't help but voice my thoughts while sitting among his trainees.

"It wasn't because of her strength!" I declared, causing heads to turn in my direction. "It was because Valen loved Queen Nameria. The thought of killing his beloved with his own hands would have devastated him and paralyzed him with emotional trauma! Queen Nameria's goal during that attack was clear—she wanted to end Valen's life. But from Valen's perspective, it was entirely different. He hoped Nameria would end the war between the lycans and the Darkwood pack."

I carried that understanding in my heart throughout my years as a ruthless queen. I wrestled with the same questions until I found the answers, but it didn't help me either.

The trainees around me burst into laughter, their mocking tones grating on my ears. "Oh, listen to Keira, who has finally found her Lycan mate!"

They laughed while I furrowed my brow. Why? Was my comment funny? One after another, comments showed their displeasure towards me.

"Keira, it sounds like you're still daydreaming about your imaginary encounter with the Lycan King last night!" a she-wolf with fiery red hair remarked.

"That's right! No pack member has ever laid eyes on the Lycan King. He's not someone to joke about," a blonde male trainee followed.

"And seriously? A lycan mated with one of us werewolves? Just admit you're throwing a tantrum and made up this whole story to get attention!"

I stood up, my gaze locked onto the Delta, and I raised my hand, finger pointing accusingly at the three who had dared to mock me and my beloved.

"I challenge these three who dare to ridicule me!"