Chapter 4

I jumped out of my carriage and hurried into the palace, rushing past lords and ladies of lesser houses who weren't in a hurry to be there first. There was an atmosphere of fear and secrecy inside the castle. Werewolves whispered to each other's ears in hushed voices, their eyes wary and their bodies rigid and alert. Although House Finley was most definitely not an important House, I was representing the entire army, and I couldn't afford to be late. Unfortunately, I was already a little late when I got to the throne room. The lords and ladies from the important houses had already arrived, and around half of all the nobles had already arrived. Hopefully I'm not so late that the Alpha and Luna will get suspicious. I wasn't surprised to see Nicodemus and his family of five among them. From what little I saw of him, he was a family man, and he would never jeopardise his family's safety for politics. Fortunately, when I arrived in front of Hayden and Annabelle to swear my allegiance, they didn't question my lateness. I had no good excuse or reason to be late.

Around twenty minutes later, everyone had already arrived, and the Alpha and Luna stood up. Everyone bowed to them, like we would at the beginning of a Court session. Hayden already wanted to cement his status, I see.

"Today is a very tragic day for House Belmont, as well as our whole Pack. We lost our Alpha and Luna today, my beloved mother and father," he began, his voice catching in this throat.

In that moment, he looked a lot younger than 18. He looked like a lost boy, crying for the death of his parents. If I didn't know the truth, I would feel sorry for him. I guess that was what he wanted people to think so they would underestimate him and his cunning. I will not make that mistake.

Whoever gave him acting classes is the best acting teacher in the continent, I thought.

"We lost them, as well as our precious Princess, my dear sister Isabella, to my traitorous brother Edwin. He bribed corrupt guards in the Alpha's Guard to kill my parents. When I walked in on their murder with more good, loyal guards, he fled the Pack with Isabella as hostage," he continued, crocodile tears leaking out of his eyes.

The way he twisted the events angered me to no end. My stomach twisted with rage, and I barely kept my wolf from coming out and tearing Hayden to bits. My dark brown eyes flared with rage. I hope no one saw.

"Now I must take up the heavy burdenship of Alphaship. I was never meant for this role, this greatness, but unfortunately, it has been passed onto my shoulders. The Pack is going to be in great turmoil in the following months. My parents' death would tear the Pack apart and cause instability, challenges and revolts. I vow to try my hardest to keep the Pack together, but I can't do it without all of your help. So please, for the sake of the Pack, swear your allegiance to me so that I know I can depend on you, trust you. Do it one by one, so I know that you really mean it. It's the best you can do for the Pack right now," he finished, his tears gradually subsiding as he put on a braver face.

I was the third one to swear my allegiance to Hayden and Annabelle. I marched onto the carpet and up to the podium wordlessly, my face blank with a solemnity that covered my rage. I kneeled on both my knees and offered up my sword.

"Rise," Hayden commanded after a while.

I stood up slowly, tucked my sword away and looked up to see the Alpha and Luna.

"Where's the head of your House, Meriam? I know your father said that he didn't want to be in Court, but surely he could spare a bit of his precious time for such a momentous occasion," Hayden questioned.

Though he tried to make himself sound more gruff and mature, I could still hear the boyishness in his voice. He was trying to seem mature and in control now, but it seems like he is already failing.

"He went back to Garrington with my family yesterday. My siblings can't afford to miss that much of their education. I will represent House Finley today," I lied, keeping my voice perfectly even and innocent.

They seemed to accept the lie, though Hayden slightly narrowed his eyes in suspicion. I hoped he would not send a patrol to look in Garrington for them. My family and I were banking on that. After all, they would not find my family there. They nodded for me to continue.

"The Belmont Pack Army and House Finley send their deepest condolences to Your Majesties. We mourn the loss of Alpha Ronald and Luna Penelope, and we will do whatever we can to help Your Majesties through these difficult times," I began.

They do have difficult times ahead, I mused, but not because of Ronald and Penelope's death, and I'm certainly not going to help them.

I kneeled down on one knee again and put my left hand on the ground, putting the right in a fist and over my heart. My medals jangled, almost as if they were protesting at what I was about to do.

"The Belmont National Pack Army and House Finley swear their allegiance to Alpha Hayden Julius Belmont and Luna Annabelle Alden Belmont," I vowed, putting some what I hoped was genuine-sounding passion and fervour into my voice.

"Long live Alpha Hayden!" I yelled, pumping my fist into the air.

"Long live Alpha Hayden!" the Alpha's subjects echoed, pumping their own fists.

"Long live Luna Annabelle!" I yelled again, pumping my fist into the air a second time.

"Long live Luna Annabelle!" the rest of them repeated.

"Your loyalty is accepted, Finley. You may stand," Hayden said.

"Thank you, Your Majesties," I replied before I stood up.

Hayden had an arrogant smirk on his face that I would've loved to wipe off. Instead, I nodded to both of them and took my place beside the other nobles. Lord Chandler Herrington and his family entered the throne room, kneeling on the ground, about to do what I just did. I sighed inwardly. This was going to be a very long night.

When I finally returned to my residence after the lengthy ceremonies, it was already nearly dawn, so there was no point in going back to sleep. Looks like I would just have to endure my tiredness for the rest of the day. I was relieved that my family was gone. They left me a note saying that they were planning to go to Brackenridge in the far north-east of Belmont. Iit was safe enough. I burnt the note immediately, treating it with more caution than I would if it were contraband. My family and I would be doomed if anyone saw that.

The day passed quite uneventfully. No Court sessions were held, so I just spent my whole day in the Army Headquarters. At around 9am, Edwin talked to me through the link.

"Hi Meriam, are you there?" he asked.

"Yes. Are you alright?" I responded, glad and relieved to hear from him.

"Isabella and I are fine. We arrived at Lynch Manor in Warlington, and as I predicted, my uncle Bruce took me in. I can't stay for long, though. My brother will probably send soldiers to look for us here. I plan to get to Keswick territory and stay there until we figure out our next move," he informed me.

"You should've seen his performance of a lifetime when he was explaining to the nobles what happened. I was so tempted to march the army of 100,000 strong into the palace and kill him, except they'll all stop at his command. He has real control over the army, not me," I said glumly.

"Yep, that sounds like my brother. Is your family safe, by the way? Should I bring them with me to Keswick?" he offered.

I could tell from the mate bond that his intentions were pure, and that he wasn't planning to use my family as leverage against me. My heart melted at his kind-hearted offer. He was in terrible danger himself, yet he still offered to help my family.

"Thank you so much for your offer, but they'll be fine. They're hiding out in a village in Brackenridge for now. Your brother won't be able to find them easily," I replied.

A short silence passed between us.

"Did you really mean it when you said you loved me?" I blurted out, no longer able to keep the question in for any longer.

He paused for a while too. Finally, he answered:

"Yes, I did. I love you for putting you and your career in danger for me, someone you've only known for a week,"

His words were gasoline poured onto my fiery heart, and I withheld a cry of joy. However, I felt a little uneasy about getting too close to him, as we both could get killed at any moment. That would be devastating for both of us. Because of that, I was going to reply that I was doing this for justice, but the mate bond wouldn't let me lie.

"You would be a better Alpha than Hayden," I said instead.

It was the truth, but not the whole truth. The mate bond demanded that mates tell the whole truth to each other at all times. So I couldn't help myself as I added:

"And also because I love you,"

I felt his happiness, akin to mine, across the bond. It was delightful to know that he was overjoyed by my confession too. After a while, we stopped talking and I went back to work, though I didn't concentrate on it. I felt giddy with relief and joy, and that seemed to wash away all my worries for the time being.