Chapter 2

A couple of days had passed already. But the atmosphere from that conclave was still hovering about . Alpha Lahey stood before the window of his room , his gaze directed straight at the open space. He was staring at the kingdom that he ruled. It was without any sort of doubt that he feared greatly. He had his fears. Anxiety had gnawed at his very essence for the past couple of days. 

Was he going to go down? 

What would become of Ezra? 

These questions never stopped running through his mind. If he were to remain true to the decision that he had made, it was without doubt that Azra would sound the horn of battle at him. If that should happen, Ezra might fall or he might fall. Whichever the case maybe, Duncan would still have it his way. 

" Alvera. Give me the princess of Ezra."

The very words that Duncan had said that day never stopped resounding through his thoughts. What was he going to do? Handing his daughter over was definitely not the choice. Yes. The alpha king of Ezra might have betrayed their princess ages ago by throwing her out to save himself. But he was not like that. Alvera would remain with Ezra. 

Knock. Knock. Knock. 

Someone was at the door. 

" Send the person away. " He ordered from where he stood, his gaze not shifting even for a moment. 

" Your majesty," the voice of the eunuch came," you have—" 

He was cut short. 

" I said you should send the person away. I will entertain no visitors. " He said coldly. 

" Your majesty!" The voice of the chief guard thundered. 

Alpha Lahey could feel the tension right under the voice. What was going on? He glanced at the door. 

" Your majesty, we have a big problem." The voice said again.

What? Big problem? His thoughts raced. What problem could it be? 

" Let him in!!" He ordered , turning from the window and striding towards his bed. 

The door flew open and the chief guard at the palace stormed in, striding to him at a great pace. 

" What is the matter? What do you mean by a big problem?" He asked, taking a seat on his bed, his eyes staring widely at the chief guard. 

" Your majesty," the chief guard said, breathing heavily," there is a problem." 

" Go straight to the point!" He yelled , curiosity taking over him. 

" The kingdoms of Baduk and Yarna have fallen into the hands of Azra. " 

The words hit alpha Lahey like a bolt of lightning. His senses sharpened and his eyes dilated in shock. 

" What?" 

" Baduk and Yarna fell in one night. " The chief guard pressed further. 

" In one night?" Alpha Lahey asked , still in shock. 

" Yes. They both fell to Azra just in one night. As I speak to you right now, Alpha Lowell and Alpha Hadulf have been forced to submit to Alpha Duncan. " 

Alpha Lahey sank into himself. The thought of what he had just heard was driving him nuts. He knew Azra was powerful. But how was it possible to shut two kingdoms just in one night?

" Are you very certain about what you have just said to me right now?" He asked , still trying to wave off the possibility of it being true. 

" The news just reached me. They have both fallen." 

Alpha Lahey shut his eyes for a good while. He had thoughts run through his entire body. 

" What about the kingdom of Nitra? did any harm come to them too?" 

" No. " The chief guard replied as fast as the question came. He was agitated. 

The response made the alpha feel more terrible. Alpha Rufus was not touched basically because he had made the decision to yield to Azra. But that was not what he wanted. He couldn't bring himself to serve Duncan. But at this point in time, he questioned that decision. Did he make the right choice or was his ego merely speaking through him? 

" Where is Alvera right now?" He asked calmly. 

" She is in her quarters . " 

" Tell her I want to see her right now. " 

" Yes, your majesty!" The chief guard responded and turned to leave but stopped short. " Your majesty," he said very calmly as he turned. 

" What is it? You should get the princess. " 

" Please, slay me if you are offended by this . But what do you intend to do? Are you willing to give up the princess?" 

Alpha Lahey grinned . " What do you think?" 

" I have no idea , your majesty. " 

" Go and get me the princess. " 

In the chamber of the princess of Ezra, Alvera stood before the mirror . She had gotten dressed up and ready for the activities of the day. Her normal dress sense as a princess was a long gown. But today, it was not the case. She was dressed in a pair of trousers made from wool and silk which blended well with her long sleeve cloth. Her hair was pinned behind her. Today , she wanted to visit the warriors. Most princesses did not do much if at all they did anything in the kingdom. But that was not the case for Alvera. Being the only royal blood in her tone who would take over the affairs of the throne when her father , the alpha king, would be no more,she had no other choice other than to learn certain things. She was not left out of the worry over what Duncan would do to them. Her father had not told her about what Duncan had told him to do. But she had already spent a quality time in seeing that they were prepared in case of necessity. 

Knock. Knock. Knock. 

" You may come in. " She said. 

Her maid walked in with smiles all over her face. 

" Your highness, you look as gorgeous as you have always looked. " 

" Thank you. " She replied , grinning from ear to ear. 

Taking a last glance at her beauty in the mirror , she turned to the maid. 

" We are good to go." She said , twisting her neck in both directions. " Let's head out already."

" Yes, your highness."

She had barely made three steps towards the door when she heard approaching steps. 

Knock. Knock. Knock.

" Are you expecting someone?" The maid asked. 

" Not at all." She shook her head. " I'm expecting no one. "

" Your highness, the chief guard of the palace is here to see you." 

" Chief guard?" She muttered. 

Walking to the door, she unlocked it and pulled on it. The chief guard was standing erect just before the door. 

" Is there any problem?" She asked. " How may I be of help to you?" 

" Your highness, the alpha has requested your presence." 

She arched her brows . Since when did it become the duty of the chief guard to let him know that her father needed her presence? 

" Is everything okay?" She asked , studying the composure of the chief guard. It was obvious something was not right. 

" Yes, your highness." 

In the next couple of moments, she was striding as fast as she could to the chamber of her father. Her thoughts were over the whole place. She had studied the heartbeat of the chief guard. It was not balanced. Even though he had tried to pull it together in one piece , she could still tell there was definitely something that did not fit properly with the way he had spoken to her.

Could it be that alpha Duncan had decided to launch the attack on them ? No way. That was definitely not the case right now. If it were , the alarm would have been sounded for everyone to get charged in a time like this. 

It took a few more moments of active strides for her to get to the chamber of the alpha king. 

" Announce my presence." She said to the eunuch. 

" Your majesty, the princess is here to—"  

The voice of the alpha king cut him off. 

" Let her through!" 

The door was opened and she found her way through into the chamber. On getting in, she saw her father standing before the open window with his hands folded tightly against his chest. 

" Father. " She said. " You requested my presence. " 

Alpha Lahey turned and stole a glance at her. He smiled and faced the window again. 

" You know, Alvera," he grinned," there used to be a time when I wished that you could have been a man. " 

Alvera smiled . She had never heard her father utter such a statement before. 

" This is the first time I am hearing this from you, father. Why did you change your mind?" 

Alpha Lahey smiled . " Well, at first, I just came to the point of accepting it the way it turned out to be. Even if I continued to wish till this very moment, you still would not change from your gender to being a man. " 

" Do you mean that you are probably not happy enough with me having to be a woman? " Alvera asked , taking a few steps to the bed and sitting down. 

Alpha Lahey giggled. " You did not even get to listen to the remaining part of what I have to say. "

" Okay. I'm all ears. " 

" I finally got to the point where I realized that you,my daughter, are better than a thousand men that are out there . " 

This made Alvera to chuckle. " You are pulling my legs now, aren't you , father?" 

" Believe me, my angel, I mean every word that I have said to you right now. " He smiled. " What if I had had a son who did not know any stuff about how to run a nation?" He smiled. " I am pretty sure the daughter I have will be able to handle the nation even when my presence is no more." 

Alvera pinched herself at the thought of the statement. She linked it directly to the composure of the chief guard who she had seen not long ago. 

Was it really what she was thinking? 

Or was the alpha king just feeling the weight of the throne like he would mention to her sometimes? 

" Father, is there something you are not letting me know?" 

The alpha smiled at her. " Come here, darling. " 

Alvera rose to her feet and walked straight to his side, her gaze traveling far and wide like that of her father. 

" What do you think makes a perfect ruler?" The alpha asked. 

A perfect ruler? She thought. 

" One who will always have the interest of the people at heart . " Alvera replied. "I guess that is what a perfect king should be like. " 

Her father smiled. " My dear, there is no such thing as a perfect king. There is no perfect king anywhere. One has not existed and one won't exist. " 

Alvera furrowed her brows. " You mean there is no perfect king anywhere. What happens to the king who has the interest of the people at heart at all times?" 

" When you say that, remember that an alpha king of the kingdom of Ezra once pushed a princess into the arms of Azra in a bid to save the land. " 

" He was fighting for his own interest. " Alvera protested. 

Alpha Lahey chuckled. " That's what we all think. But then, Alvera," he turned to her with a look of tiredness," Duncan is demanding that I offer you to him to save everyone." 

Alvera twitched her eyes. It was clear to her the very reason behind the way her father had been these past few days. The chief guard did not look alright. It was now clear to her. 

" He said that?" 

Alpha Lahey nodded. " I just received news that Baduk and Yarna have fallen into the hands of Duncan. We are next. " 

" He already conquered them." 

" He did that in one night. " 

The words hit her from every angle. It was obvious they were next. Two things were bound to happen. 

It was either she gets handed over to Duncan…...or …...Ezra will fall!!