The Future Alpha's Forbidden Love

Chapter 8 : Fortified and not so fortified

“ Is that so?” Alpha Rendell inquired, stepping closer to Alpha Landon, a muscle twitching in his jaw.

Assessing his stance and posture, Alpha Landon offered a brief smile. “ Why else am I here, R?” Leaning his head to the left, he stared back with the same hostility radiating from his old friend.

When no one bothered to answer his question, and Alpha Rendell chose to stay quiet too, refusing to entertain him, Alpha Landon shrugged a shoulder and rolled his lips together.

“ I suppose I have to answer my own question.” Clapping his hands once and rubbing them together, he continued,” Well, as I said, I want to protect Lysabel. But…” His gaze drifted from face to face, scanning their expressions, silently deciphering the thoughts behind them. “ There is a far better reason behind me offering her protection than simply keeping her alive.”

He could feel the air change in the room, and Alpha Landon knew he had struck a chord. He shook his head, thinking how easy it was to provoke them. Yet, he resumed, “ Whether you like it or not, she is an Alexandrite Phrynge. It has been long enough for the stone to stay on its own without a guardian. Consequently, taking a toll on the other Phrynges.”

“ How do you know what is happening with the other Phrynges?” Lysabel interrupted, shoving her way between Archelaus and Alpha Rendell, tired of just peeking.

She couldn't walk far from them as Archelaus pulled her back by her wrist.

It didn't go unnoticed by Alpha Landon, who clicked his tongue with disbelief. Lysabel was not backing off; she kept her gaze on him, adamant.

“ Because I know everything,” He responded with a careless smile. “ And don't ever interrupt me, kid. I don't like it when I'm interrupted,” He warned, his eyes glinting with peril. Pausing for a moment, he waited for anyone else who would like to speak. Expelling, he muttered under his breath, “ It's so difficult to talk to you people.”

He pressed two fingers against his eyes, dragging them down before lifting his gaze to Alpha Rendell. “ R, you know I am all about rules, and a stone without its guardian is against the rules. Therefore, I am here to protect your dear Lysabel so that she can guard the stone. And once she is trained well enough and can use the stone’s powers, she will not need anyone's protection.” Pausing for a second, he turned his right palm upward and said, “The stone is safe,” then turned his left palm upward and announced, “ And your darling daughter is safe,” Balancing the weight—first on his right, then on his left—he slowly stated, “That’s the balance I prefer.”

When he was done explaining, he clasped his hands in front of him and waited.

It was Alpha Rendell's turn to speak. So, he exhaled from his mouth, and his muscles relaxed. He knew Alpha Landon was telling the truth. It was in his eyes and his words. He was known for respecting rules; breaking them was not something he would do. He truly wanted to keep Lysabel safe—otherwise, he wouldn’t have visited them in the underground vault, which was strictly off-limits.

Bobbing his head up and down, he asked, “ What do you prefer?”

Without any hesitation, Alpha Landon stated, “ She needs to go to Livara.”

“ No!” Iora shouted as Santiz growled, “ She will not be safe there, and you know it!”

Luna Beatrice shook her head, trying to wrap her head around the matter. Her lips twisted into a grimace as her eyes darted towards her husband, who was staring at her. Something in his eyes told her that he would agree with Alpha Landon. But she couldn't understand why.

‘ He is right, Bea. She needs to be trained. And once she is trained, no one can harm her.’ Alpha Rendell's voice echoed in her mind, trying to explain.

“ Livara is full of fighters. All the fighters from the four kingdoms are trained there. They are all capable and are under the guidance of four incredible teachers. She will be the safest there,” Alpha Landon elaborated. He needed them to understand. Lysabel is the only chance to keep their home safe. The Alexandrite stone has been acting strangely since Anzer Garcia died, and the Phrynges are using more than enough power to hold it in place. But if they can't contain it any longer, Salvantine could be attacked by the same evil presence he believes still lingers there. Lysabel owes this to the wolves of Salvantine. She was the one who wished to be the Alexandrite Phrynge after all. Now, she needs to fulfill her duties. And he will not take no for an answer.

Alpha Landon grounded his heels and rolled his shoulders back. Mind cleared and gaze set on the Garcias, he waited patiently.

“ She will not be going. That's our final decision,” Iora declared, jutting her chin up, eyes unwavering from the Alpha of Dribera Kingdom.

His lips parted, ready to argue against Iora, but Alpha Rendell cut him off before he could speak.

“ He is right, Iora. I agree with him.” His voice drilled into Iora’s skull, and she veered towards him.

“ What?” She snapped, her eyes blazing with fire, blood simmering with rage.

“ I think he has lost his mind,” Santiz whispered, exhaling deeply through his nose, a vague attempt to clear his mind of confusion.

He heard every word, yet Alpha Rendell held his ground without flinching. “ I said I agree with him because he has a point. Lysabel needs to be trained. You can't protect her all the time.” He stepped beside the person they were talking about.

Staring down at her, he asked, “ You understand, don't you?” His eyes glimmered with desperation as if begging Lysabel to understand him.

Lysabel could see how much he wanted her to understand him. She knew the way Alpha Rendell had always protected her. She remembered how he comforted her after Anzer’s death. He was always there for her, just as he was there for Archelaus. He treated her as his own.

“ No. She is not an adult. She doesn't need to understand or decide on this matter. We, her parents, are the final voice regarding this. “ Iora’s words were clipped and cold to the core. She trembled with barely contained fury. This was her daughter they were talking about. They portrayed her as a savior, but she was only 16. 16 was an age to shift and learn more about their origin and powers. It was definitely not an age to be a guardian of a cursed stone and its rotten power, for which her son was murdered.

Gulping down the lump forming in her throat and untangling the knots in her stomach, Iora reminded Alpha Rendell, “ She is my only child.”

“ I know, Iora. I know how hard it can be for you.” Alpha Rendell stepped closer to the Garcias in three long strides, frantic that he would be misconstrued. “ I have always considered Lysabel as my daughter. I love her just as much as I love Archelaus. Believe me. I would never have agreed if I had not seen Livara through my own eyes. It is safe. She will be trained by professionals. I, myself, have trained there and lived there for years. And you certainly do not need to worry because Archelaus was supposed to go there alone. Now, he will go there with Lysabel. She will always have him by her side. You trust him, don't you?” Alpha Rendell rested a hand on her right shoulder, his stare cutting through Iora's flesh and soul.

Her eyes drifted to Archelaus, who stood beside her daughter, holding her wrist in his grasp to keep her from doing something reckless. After all, he was the most sensible one of the two. She observed his messy hair, the sleeves of his white shirt stained with dried blood, dangling from his arms, and the blood matted on the left side of his face. She remembered the ceremony when Lysabel needed him the most, and he was there. His body told him to run because he knew running would keep him alive, but he focused on Lysabel, guarding her with his frame. Iora knew in her heart that, if need be, once more, Archelaus would think of Lysabel’s well-being before his.

Iora gave a nod. “ If Archelaus is going to be with her, then she can go. But only if she wants to,” she spoke in a low murmur, but her words cut through the silence, sharp and impossible to ignore.

The room fell still as every gaze locked onto Lysabel, the weight of their silence pressing down, awaiting her reply.

“ I will go to Livara.” As soon as Lysabel uttered the words, Iora lunged toward her, pulling her into a fierce embrace as if it would shield her daughter from the very words she had spoken.

Alpha Landon blew a tired and sharp breath, the hiss indicating that he’d had enough of the conversation. Rubbing his temples, he glanced at the clock on the wall, the weight of wasted time pressed his lips into a thin, hard line.

“ How did you get here, anyway?” Alpha Rendell asked, maybe because he was enjoying the other Alpha’s distress, or he genuinely wanted to know how, in the name of the moon, Alpha Landon, an embodiment of a rule-follower, found his underground fortified vault.

Dragging his eyes from the mother and daughter who were starting to get on his nerves, Alpha Landon replied with a brittle smile, “ You are forgetting about my specialties.”

Raising a brow, he waited for the odious intruder to explain.

Rolling his eyes, Alpha Landon lifted his hand with lazy precision. A smooth purple ring gleamed on his forefinger with an otherworldly sheen. The tiny violet hoop pulsed faintly—an eerie echo of the portal that had torn through the study moments before.

Confusion streaked Alpha Rendell’s eyes, brows pinching together as he questioned, “ Where did you get that? That is supposed to be hidden inside Dexter’s safe. “

A slow, playful smile tugged at the corners of his lips, eyes flickering with mischief. “ Well, I simply took the ring from his safe, and as for Dexter,” a soft chuckle escaped his lips, yet, he continued, “ He is trapped in his nightmares.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Alpha Rendell squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head with disapproval. Only Landon Petrez could do something bizarre, such as creeping into another kingdom without the Alpha King’s permission and trapping the said King in his nightmares.

A tremble tore through her legs, and before she could steady herself, her knees buckled. If not for Iora’s steady grip, she would have collapsed, face-first, onto the unforgiving cold of the floor. Concern with a hint of puzzlement coiled tightly in their chests as the ground beneath them began to quiver.

Archelaus kept Iora and Lysabel firmly in his grasp, his gaze burning into the floor. “ This wasn't supposed to happen.” He muttered under his breath. His gaze darted towards the Alphas.

“ We have to go. Now!” Violet sparks flared through the ring as Alpha Landon’s hand circled in a controlled, precise motion as if he had years of practice. The air shimmered and warped into a swirling ring of glowing violet light, pulsing with energy. He locked his eyes with Archelaus, and the future Alpha knew delaying any longer would have brutal consequences.