THE COUNCIL
1154 Words
CHAPTER 9:
Lyra's POV
My chest tightened at his words, fear lancing through me.
My wolf sensed my fear and her hackles went up, a low growl droning in the back of my mind.
I spend a second calming myself, both my wolf and my own fearful mind.
Eryx held my gaze steadily, like as if he hadn't just told me that I was genuinely about to die.
"What do you mean?" I asked softly, barely able to keep the hutch out of my voice. Eryx raised a brow. His ability to leave me confused and unsatisfied was very annoying.
"I mean, why? What am I being executed? What did I do?" I asked.
He looked at me and then shook his head. "Honestly? I don't know."
I was shocked for a second. "What do you mean you don't know?"
His eyes snapped back to mine, a look of slight irritation building. I suddenly realised that the fact that he didn't know irked him. More than that, he didn't want it to happen. Whatever this execution plan was, Eryx was not party to it.
He didn't support it. That made me feel something, a slight warm feeling in my chest. At least I had one person in this place rooting for me.
Then my wolf reminded me that I was here against my will. Maybe he didn't want me dead, but that didn't mean he didn't wish me harm.
He was not an ally. As long as I didn't know his true intentions.
He sighed and leaned back in the chair, unaware of the calculations going on behind my eyes.
"The council has been in a kind of stalemate since you arrived”. “A very, very local part wants your head on a platter”. “The others aren't so sure. They think you might be useful. But barring that, they'd rather have you dead too."
"And you?" I whispered. "What do you want?"
He shook his head. "They won't have you. Over their dead bodies." He c****d his head, like a thought had occurred to him that hadn't previously been considered.
"What do you want?" He asked.
I immediately wanted to say to go home. But then I stopped. What home? I'd been betrayed by the only man I'd ever loved, by the only woman I'd ever hated that much. He had chosen her over me. I was cast out.
But then here, I was a captive, regardless of the fact that I'd been saved from danger. The ruling council here wanted me dead, and this man, this Alpha King, I had no idea what he wanted of me, just that he wanted me. And that kind of scared me more.
"I don't know," I answered. "I want to be safe."
"You're safe here." He pointed out.
"Safe, until someone decided I'm either useless or too dangerous to be kept alive. You don't seriously believe that," I scoffed.
He remained unruffled. "No one would dare. They know you're under my protection”.
“To hurt you would be to insult me. I don't look too kindly at insults."
"So my life and death remain solely in your hands. How reassuring." I rolled my eyes.
"Remind me again where we know each other from? Oh, that's right, we don't. Trusting you would be stupid. Why the f**k would I trust you?"
"Trust me, don't trust me. You're not dying while I'm alive." There was a tone to his voice. It sounded like a promise, like a fact. Like he was simply telling me a truth. Nothing will happen, not while I'm here.
For a second, I remembered my mother, stroking my hair, kissing my forehead.
"Nothing can hurt you dear, not while I'm alive." Her voice whispered to my ears, the wind tickling me, making me giggle.
But then she wasn't alive anymore, was she?
"So what do we do now?" I asked. He gave me a look at my use of pronoun, but didn't ask.
"The council can't move without my approval, and I don't approve. So there's not much they can do. However, seeing as they can't kill you, they'll be trying to find ways to use you."
He paused. "You should play into that. They won't fear you if you're on their side."
"Why would they even fear me in the first place? I'm not even a true wolf." I pointed out.
All this talk of being dangerous and useful was getting into my head.
He kept quiet, then continued. "You've felt her, haven't you? Your wolf."
I nodded slowly. "I can feel her too. She's strong. And stubborn. She doesn't cow before me”.
“Maybe because you're not part of my pack, but I doubt that's it. You can't say you're not a true wolf anymore, you can't hide behind that.”
"Haven't you started to feel it? I saw you in that hallway. You can already tap her senses”.
“Soon, you'll be able to draw on her strength. After that, you will become her. It's only a matter of time, Lyra. You're a wolf now."
Him saying it made it dawn on me for real. I felt my wolf slink around in the back of my head, satisfied that she'd been acknowledged. I reached out to touch her, to brush my mind against hers and again my senses exploded with new inputs, before she drew away, deeper into my mind.
"Don't rush it. She's obviously been suppressed for long. Although I don't know why or who would do that. But now she's coming back, and you're as alien to her as she is to you. However, you should start training."
"Training?" I asked.
"I did say you would have to make yourself useful. We always need strong wolves in our pack, and most are... not at home”.
“We need fresh blood. Also, a strong mind and body are more than necessary for you if you're going to be ready for your first Change."
I nodded at everything he said. He was right, of course, I'd watched everyone else go through these motions, all in preparation of their first Change.
"Or, I could return you to where I found you. And then you could go your way."
My head snapped up at this suggestion. Eryx's eyes were hard.
"That's also an option. It is your life, in the end, yours to use as you wish. You don't have to stay here."
"But then..." I heard the unsaid parts of what he said. I wouldn't be under his protection anymore. People would come for me, for whatever reason that the Council was coming for me now. I would be hunted.
"Make your decision when you're ready. For now, you stay. You train. You become stro
nger. Then you choose."
I nodded slowly. That seemed reasonable.
"When do we start?".
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