Chapter 9
Chapter
Nine
Grateful for having coffee and protein bars in Dad’s boardroom, I wrapped my fingers around the warm mug and blew over the surface. I took a sip, savoring the rich flavor.
Hayden sat next to me, occupying the adjacent seat and his hand gently resting upon the armrest of my chair. Dad sat beside Hayden, and the three Alphas, with their stoic expressions, sat across from me.
I crossed and uncrossed my legs under the conference table. The urge to run away pushed me forward, but I planted my feet on the ground, halting my fidgeting.
Fighting a yawn, I listened to the men discuss appointing a new Alpha of the Black Lunar pack. I heard them talk about ascending Alexander to replace Torin, but I couldn’t focus on their words. I only nodded in agreement because I knew Alexander would take care of the pack for Torin.
Dad talked about the Full Moon Festival that would still be held this year.
As werewolves who howled at the moon and worshiped the Moon Goddess, the kingdom celebrated once a year.
It was another way for the people to come together as a community.
Despite the looming danger, Dad must have realized that our people needed hope and laughter, so he would allow the preparation for the festivities but with heightened security.
After my visit with Layla, I couldn’t quiet my mind last night. She knew the traitor among the werewolves and refused to share the information. I tossed and turned until six in the morning when I finally fell asleep, only to be awoken by my phone alarm at eight.
I slightly shook my head to focus on the Alphas and their agendas. The chances of having the traitor in this room were high.
Alpha Henry’s mouth moved, but his words sounded muffled. I blinked repeatedly, and when the familiar spark ignited under the skin of my forearm, I looked at Hayden. He had leaned over to my side, smiling.
“I’m okay,” I said and lifted my mug to my lips.
Hayden withdrew his hand to his side. Over the brim of the cup, my gaze locked with Alpha Henry’s bright eyes.
“Princess, we have to talk about your wolf spirit.”
The last sip of coffee scalded my throat. I frowned as I tasted the bitterness on my tongue.
“What about it?”
At my casual tone, the Alpha furrowed his eyebrows.
“We’ve discussed the options,” he said, and I flinched.
“You can have a werewolf King next to you since you don’t have your wolf spirit, or you can get your wolf spirit back and take the throne.
You must fight Cordelia for your wolf spirit and kill her.
Without it, you can’t be the werewolf Queen, and we need you. ”
I ignored the part where the high-ranking wolves pushed Hayden my way as my King. I didn’t need a King to become the werewolf Queen.
I had dreamed of my wolf. The color of her fur would be like my chestnut hair. Powerful, free-spirited, running through the enchanted forest of my dream realm.
I used to long to reclaim my wolf spirit and to find my true strength. But now this task seemed impossible. The loss of my wolf spirit had devastated me, and I feared that I would never regain it.
I wasn’t sure if I belonged on the throne. I wasn’t a human anymore. But I was also not completely a werewolf or a witch. So what did that make me? My abilities were incomplete, and I couldn’t fulfill my true potential.
What was I even doing here at the round table?
I looked Alpha Henry straight in the eye.
“I will not be able to confront Cordelia. It’ll only lead to my demise. I also don’t want to bring more fighting to the kingdom. Couldn’t you accept a Princess without wolf powers?”
Who was I to stand up to the dark witch? And without my wolf spirit, I wouldn’t be strong enough to stand up to the vampires, either.
And then it suddenly hit me. This wasn’t about me going against the dark witch, but rather, it was about my desire for the Alphas to accept me as their leader the way I currently was. Defective. Incomplete.
I didn’t want to fulfill a particular role in order to belong in the kingdom.
Alpha Henry cleared his throat, drawing my attention again. This meeting wasn’t going the way I wanted.
“If Victoria captures Torin, which will happen soon enough, and he doesn’t have the protection of his pack, Torin will destroy the werewolf kingdom. The other option is for us to capture Torin first, but the vampire Queen will then pay us a visit.” The Alpha paused, studying me carefully.
I nodded my understanding, and he proceeded.
“We will need to strike the Queen first. And for us to do this, you must have your wolf spirit back. Otherwise, you will not stand a chance to go against her.” He then added thoughtfully, “Well, unless you have more protection.”
My body trembled at his last statement.
“With all due respect, Alpha Henry, I’ve seen my mates fight Cordelia, and they were unable to kill her. What makes you think I can?”
Hayden’s body jerked beside me, but I didn’t disconnect my gaze from the Alpha.
“We have the same concern. The other option, as I said, is for you to receive the protection of your mate. It would be best if you mate fully with Hayden. And he will be your werewolf King to support and guard you.”
A wave of heat washed over me. My blood boiled in my veins. The Alphas wanted me as their puppet Queen while allowing Hayden to lead. Was this what they really wanted—Hayden to take over the King’s position? If one of the Alphas was the traitor, why would he push for Hayden and me to be mated?
I was missing something, and the thought caused more confusion to overwhelm me.
“The time has come to attack the vampire Queen. We have to get rid of her before she gets her hands on Torin again. He will be her strongest weapon against us,” Alpha Henry said.
My dad quietly listened to the conversation without interrupting. Alpha Leo adjusted his position on the chair.
“Princess, we cannot hide the kingdom people in the secret tunnels anymore. Torin knows about them,” Alpha Leo said.
My heart dropped, and I glanced at Dad. I wasn’t sure what he saw on my face and in my eyes, but he spoke.
“Anna, it’s not my war to fight. I can no longer do so.
Get your wolf spirit back so you’re on a more equal standing with the vampire Queen.
With your wolf spirit, you’ll ascend as the next werewolf Queen.
It will be a war between the two Queens.
Otherwise, you’re too vulnerable right now. You only have your bracelet.”
At least Dad wasn’t pushing Hayden my way.
I let out a heavy sigh. The pressure of my choice burdened my shoulders. Fight Cordelia to regain my wolf spirit or mate with Hayden to have his support by my side.
Alpha Michael tapped his fingers on the round table.
“Princess, most of us watched you grow into a responsible person. You have a duty to the kingdom and its people. Unfortunately, you don’t get the luxury of waiting. With royalty power comes duty and sacrifice.”
I swallowed the dryness in my throat. I was supposed to observe and listen to the Alphas for hidden agendas.
Layla was locked away in prison. My father could not fight the vampire Queen, and the woman would stop at nothing to destroy us and use me as bait.
We’d only recently finished rebuilding the marble hall after Cordelia and the demonic hound dogs destroyed it.
I couldn’t bring more destruction to the kingdom and its people.
If I didn’t accept the throne, the werewolf kingdom would not succeed against the vampire Queen and would therefore fall. My family would die. There would be extinction, torture, and destruction. It was a choice between sacrificing myself or dooming my loved ones to a tragic end.
I had to fight and kill Cordelia to regain my wolf spirit.
The thought made my stomach churn. I’d tried hard to forge my destiny, but now I was stuck.
With this realization, a strange sensation enveloped my senses, chilling and unsettling, as if an invisible, cold hand gripped my heart and squeezed from within.
Tingling, prickling sensations, somewhat painful, coursed through my body.
I didn’t know what was happening. My heart raced, and my breath quickened as if a suffocating fog clung to my skin and lungs.
Sharp electric currents shot through my veins like searing lava.
The stabbing pain made my muscles tense.
I struggled to breathe as a dark sensation seized my rib cage.
Something was happening to me, and it wasn’t anxiety. It was an ugly sensation that threatened to tear me apart from the inside out.
I tapped my foot under the table, clenched and unclenched my hands. When I dropped my gaze onto my lap, I barely stifled the gasp that almost escaped my mouth.
The color of my bracelet had changed to a dark brown like the rusty metal of street drains. What had happened to the magic of the bracelet?
Hurt and pain consumed me as outside forces pushed me into following a destiny I did not want. My emotions must have something to do with the change of color of my jewelry.
“Fine,” I snapped, still gazing at my jewelry. “After the Full Moon Festival, I’ll fight Cordelia for my wolf spirit.”
I would need every minute to think about and research how to meet and kill Cordelia. A storm of betrayal, distrust, and anger swirled behind my chest, overshadowing the bracelet’s glow.
I kept my hands underneath the round table as dark magic engulfed my bracelet. My heart pounded against my chest with ferocious intensity. A jolt of fear coursed through my veins, paralyzing me momentarily as I witnessed dark magic emanating from my bracelet.
The realization of what I had unknowingly become overwhelmed me, sending shivers down my spine. A dark witch. No, it couldn’t be. I felt Hayden’s gaze on me, and I turned to look at him. His gaze aimed at my witch jewelry.
He spoke without disconnecting his gaze from it. “Then we start training with your bracelet. That will be the key to defeating Cordelia. I’ll be with you, sweetheart,” he said, lifting his gaze and adding, “to keep the darkness away.”
I gasped and swallowed hard. But what if the darkness entirely consumed me? The shadows my bracelet cast over my skin and the dark energy emitting and merging into my flesh reminded me of Cordelia’s dark magic. Was I turning into a dark witch? Would I become the very thing I was trying to defeat?
My golden jewelry had been a source of power and comfort, but now it burned the skin on my wrist. Hayden promised to be by my side, but I couldn’t shake the fear that the darkness would consume us both.
Hayden reached out for me, but I recoiled, pulling back my hand.
I couldn’t exactly whisper how afraid I was that he would become corrupted by dark magic or hurt by it.
I only shook my head, but Hayden narrowed his eyes at me.
Whatever emotion he wrestled on his own made him press his lips into a taut line.
I attempted to smile at him, but it felt forced. This board meeting had turned out to be the worst. I had to find out who the traitor among us was. Instead, I found out I could manifest dark magic. Did my biological mother have dark magic, too?
This wasn’t about fighting Cordelia anymore. This was about surviving the darkness lurking within me, which could overtake me when I faced the dark witch.