Chapter 8!No Alliance!

AYLA

I stood in the high hall holding my breath as Queen Lyra walked around me, measuring me up with her eyes.

“The goddess plays games,” she said, and I swallowed hard. What does she mean by that? “Giving an omega such an amount of power,” her words brought tears to my eyes.

“Mother…” Slade’s voice stretched.  Like he was giving her a warning. 

“It’s fine. I can handle it, Slade,” I said, and she gasped.

“Your Highness,” she said, and I looked confused. “You do not call my son by his name in this palace,” I nodded and bowed slightly in obedience.

She turned around and walked towards her chair. I looked at Slade, who just shook his head in exhaustion.

“Where are you from, girl?” she asked as she took her seat.

“Stormbringer pack, my Queen,” I answered, and she rolled her eyes. Other members of the council murmured among themselves.

“What’s going on?” I asked Slade.

He cleared his throat, “Stormbringer pack aligned themselves with the Moonlit pack and declared war upon us years ago,” he said, and I scoffed.

“I don’t think they did that on their own accord,” I said to him.

“That’s no excuse, they fought in the war, and their Alpha is behind my pain.” his words made my eyes shine.

“What do you mean?” I asked, confused. He turned to look at me, and I did the same without looking directly into his eyes. 

“Alpha Cedric saw me weak and injured. Instead of giving me an honorable death. He made me crippled,” I swallored hard. My father never told me about a war he fought with the Lycan. He never spoke of any war.

“That’s horrible,” I said, struggling to find the right words.

“He is lucky he doesn’t have any sons. Their fate would have been much worse,” his tone was cold and direct. I could see the need for revenge in his eyes.

“And the daughters?” I asked without thinking.

He scoffed and turned around. “Last I heard, his daughter was sold to a King and died giving birth. She was lucky,” I swallowed hard and turned to face the council.

I inhaled deeply, with multiple thoughts running through my head. How does Slade not know I’m Alpha Cedric's daughter? And what kind of rumor is going around that I was sold to a king and died giving birth? This has to be the doing of my Stepmother and sister. One of their many plot to get me out of my father’s line and the line of succession.

I tried to push the chaos that is swirling around in my mind aside. I need to be in the present. Now more than ever. No one in this Kingdom can find out I’m the daughter of Alpha Cedric.

My father would do anything to save me, and I will be stuck in the dungeon with no one to save me. Queen Lyra's gaze never left me as she settled into her seat, a small frown displayed on her forehead.

“How can we trust her?” She asked, and the council member nodded at her question.

“I trust her, that should be enough,” Slade said, and the murmurs increased.

“The last time we trusted someone, we almost lost our King,” Queen Lyra said with anger and sadness in her voice.

“I understand. Mother, but we can’t live in fear forever,” he said. “We haven’t recovered from the last world. I need to be seen by the people. Ayla can provide that for us.”

Queen Lyra's eyes narrowed as she studied Slade, “What happens when you are in public and she can’t use her powers?” she asked, concerned. 

I looked at Slade, he didn’t say a word. His face looked like he was searching for the right answer for her. “I have been training, Queen Lyra,” I said, and she gave me a disdainful look.

“Training?” she scoffed. “Will those trainings save my son on the battlefield?” I swallowed hard at her question.

“Battlefield?” I asked and looked at Slade. “No one told me about a battlefield,” I said out loud. “What is she talking about, Your Highness?” I directed my question at Slade.

Slade stood tall, his broad shoulders commanding attention in the dimly lit room. His dark, piercing eyes were sharp.“I will be going into battle soon, to recover a land stolen from us. And you will be there by my side,” he said, and I felt cold chills down my veins.

“Making a statement like this in front of the council isn’t as funny as I would want it to be,” I said to him, blinking my eyebrows

“The jokes are on you, Ayla, not me,” he said and walked towards the council. “This battle has been one we have longed for a long time. And I will need every asset we have with me, and that includes Ayla,” he pointed at me.

“I don’t need your permission,” he said, and Queen Lyra looked uneasy. “But I do need your blessing.” The silence in the hall was deafening. “So what’s it going to be?”

I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as all eyes turned to Queen Lyra. Her gaze was cold, but beneath that, I could sense the weight of the decision she was about to make. 

“You are asking me to gamble everything on her?” she pointed at me with displeasure on her face. 

“Yes, mother, I am. Because, now more than ever, we need to fight,” he said, and the members of the council nodded. “We need to show the people we are stronger than ever, or we will have a rebellion on our hands.”

“Queen Lyra.” One of the members of the council spoke. “My Queen, I understand your hesitation about not trusting the wolf,” he said, and I scoffed silently. 

“But she is of no royal line. Just a peasant,” I gasp slightly, and Slade turned. I shook my head, signaling I was okay. “She is a nobody, which means there is no alliance. She will only be at our service,” he said, and the other members nodded in agreement. 

The queen’s eyes settled on me. I tried to look away, but I couldn’t. “Okay, she can stay,” she said, and I exhaled. “But I’m going to need something from her,” she said, and I looked confused. She clapped her hands, and the door of the high hall opened. Two guards walked in with a woman. The woman was brought before me.

“Mother, what’s going on?” Slade asked. 

“Heal her,” Queen Lyra directed her answer to me.

“Mother,” Slade tried to speak, but she wouldn’t let him. 

“If she is the all-powerful healer like you said she is, then she should heal the peasant woman in front of her,” her words struck me.

I froze, staring at the woman who had been brought before me. Her clothes were ragged, her face pale, and her body slumped in exhaustion, but it was her eyes, wide, fearful, that caught my attention. The room was heavy with tension as Queen Lyra’s command rang in the air, and I could feel every gaze in the hall fixated on me.

Slade’s face hardened, his brow furrowing in disbelief. “Mother, this is not the way…..”

“I gave you my blessing,” Queen Lyra cut him off, her tone leaving no room for argument. “Now prove she’s worthy of it. Heal her, Ayla.”