The Alphas Forgotten Daughter

Episode 12 - Chapter 8 - Accusations and Aperitifs

Chapter 8 - Accusations and Aperitifs

The king did not want to confront Sylas about these accusations his son had levied, but his wife was right. Amaris Silvermoon was still the daughter of an Alpha. Even if that Alpha was dead and she did not have a wolf, she was still the eldest child of an Alpha. Technically, Sylas was just a seat warmer until Amaris got her wolf or her mate. Which meant his son stood to be Alpha of this pack if the mate bond was acknowledged. Somehow, King William could not see Sylas being so magnanimous as to accept Dacre as his niece's mate, because that would mean giving up his position. He seemed to enjoy it just a bit too much for the king's liking.

Sylas was pacing in his office. The King wanting to see him so urgently couldn't be a good thing.

"Daddies little mutt must have gone crying to him for help claiming that little whore." Sylas thought to himself.

"No" he thought defiantly, "The pack law is on my side. She has no wolf, so she can't claim him and I won't bless the union. The king can't punish me for that; can he?" Sylas continued to contemplate.

Before Sylas could get too deep into his thoughts, the King was knocking on his door. Sylas straightened himself out and crossed the room to let King William in.

"My king, please; do come in!" Sylas exclaimed as he bowed his head and held the door open for him.

"Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Sylas. There is an urgent matter that must be addressed", the king said solemnly.

"Of course; please, have a seat!" Sylas gestured to a pair of plush leather arm chairs sitting opposite each other in front of a fireplace off to the side of the office. "Can I get you a drink?" He continued.

"No thank you Sylas, I won't waste any time; I'll just get right to it." The king sat down in one of the arm chairs. He didn't quite relax, he made sure to keep a straight back and open body language.

"My son has brought to my attention a few things of concern. Firstly; that he has sensed the mate bond with your Niece, Amaris." He paused to read Sylas' expressions but to no avail, "and Secondly; that she is being grossly mistreated. By you no less" The king kept a steady and commanding gaze on Sylas and waited for his response.

Sylas carefully constructed his facial expressions to shift from mildly shocked, to disappointed before settling on solemn.

"Your majesty, forgive me, but I must be brutally honest with you." Sylas began, "As well as being without a wolf, which is a tragedy within itself, the Girl is rather," Sylas paused deliberately, "shall we say, spitefully deceitful?" Sylas heaved a heavy theatrical sigh for effect before continuing,

"You see, not many know this, but my brother was a drunk and a mean one at that. He was awful to her. Ever since he died she has resented me for not doing more to help him, I suppose. I've done everything I can to prepare her for her future but she fights me at every turn." Sylas shook his head solemnly. The king wasn't buying a single word of this, but without evidence or a confession, it was his son and Amaris's word against Sylas's.

"The Prince came to me to announce his intentions to claim Amaris as per Wolf law the other night upon his arrival. But I am afraid, as I informed him then, I simply cannot in good conscience allow her to accept the prince as her mate." Sylas paused before the next part, so his words had more weight to them. "Amaris is not the Alpha's true child. Her mother was unfaithful and Amaris was the result of this infidelity." The king tried his hardest not to laugh at Sylas's pathetic lies. He had met Amaris and her father many times and there was no doubt in the king's mind they were Kin. He had an exceptionally good nose when it came to blood relations. It was usually something he kept to himself, but it had aided him in the pack disputes over infidelity in the past.

What Sylas didn't realize was that, up until he threw in the lie about the parentage of his niece; the king had actually believed him. As soon as he spouted that bile from his vicious forked tongue of his, the King suddenly saw through Sylas's entire intentions.

He was going to reject the mate bond between Dacre and Amaris then reveal the 'truth' about her parentage to give him cause to officially solidify his position as alpha. The sad fact was, even as king, he still needed proof or a confession of wrongdoing. He was sure is son would find it though. That boy of his was like a bloodhound on scent when it came to getting justice, he just wouldn't let up until he had found it. William just hoped that this remained true so that he could assist his son and his - hopefully - future daughter-in-law.

King William finally decided he had had enough of the web of lies Sylas was spinning for one afternoon. At least at dinner this evening they would be surrounded by countless other people, so Sylas would likely be more careful with his words.

"Maybe I can convince my darling wife she wants to play matchmaker and give the budding young couple an opportunity to sit next to each other. I'm sure she'd love nothing more than to be on distraction duty if it meant thwarting Sylas's plans", the king thought to himself.

William stood from his chair slowly to convey that he was done with his inquiries.

"Well, that has certainly cleared the matter up, Sylas, thank you!" the king said with feigned sincerity as he held out a hand to shake Sylas's.

"You are most welcome, my king, I am only sorry that your beloved son had to be matched with one so unfortunate as Amaris." Sylas took the king hand and shook it firmly. "Let's hope that once the rejection is formal and complete that he finds another mate quickly. I'm sure you want more grandchildren to look forward to!" Sylas forced a sickening and obvious laugh that made Williams' skin crawl.

The king headed back to his chambers wearily as he prepared himself mentally for what he could only presume was about to be a very taxing few days for him and his family.