Their Warrior Queen

Chapter Three

‎~Alpha Albert

‎Alpha of Black Water Pack

‎I sat at the head of the council table and looked around at the men seated before me.

‎"Good day, my loyal council members," I greeted.

‎They all returned my greeting before settling into their seats.

‎I had called them for another important meeting because we hadn't been able to finish our discussion the last time.

‎"Our meeting today is still about the rogue attack during my son's naming ceremony," I began. "It was a great disaster, and we cannot pretend that it didn't happen."

‎The attack had caused a lot of damage to the pack's reputation, and although we had managed to drive the rogues away, I knew it was only a matter of time before they tried something again.

‎"The Lycan King has already heard about the attack," I continued. "He made it clear that we cannot sit back and wait for another attack because the rogues may become bolder and strike again."

‎"And what does he want us to do?" Councilman Kallistus asked.

‎"He has reached a decision, and all the packs are expected to follow it."

‎Everyone became attentive.

‎"Each pack is required to send fifty able warriors to the Lycan King's Palace. The warriors will be trained and prepared for the coming battle against the rogues."

‎"Fifty?" Councilman Kael asked, his eyebrows rising. "Isn't that too many?"

‎"It is the Lycan King's decision," I replied. "He also made it clear that any pack that fails to provide fifty warriors will be considered too weak and too small to remain independent."

‎The council members exchanged worried looks.

‎"And what happens to such a pack?" Councilman Troy asked.

‎"It will be erased."

‎The room immediately became quiet.

‎"The members of the erased pack will then be distributed among larger existing packs that have enough land and resources to accommodate them."

‎"So what are we going to do?" Councilman Troy asked.

‎I leaned back in my chair.

‎"We all know that we don't have fifty warriors," Councilman Mich, who was responsible for the pack's warriors, finally said.

‎Nobody spoke after that.

‎The silence in the room made me uneasy.

‎The deadline for sending the warriors to the Lycan King's Palace was only a day away, and I couldn't afford to lose the Black Water Pack. I had spent years building my reputation as Alpha, and I wasn't going to watch everything disappear because we couldn't produce enough warriors.

‎"How many warriors do we have?" I asked Mich.

‎"The last time I checked, we had thirty-seven."

‎I sighed.

‎Thirty-seven.

‎We were thirteen warriors short, and there was no way we could send that number to the Lycan King.

‎"Does anyone have a suggestion?" I asked.

‎Councilman Zac slowly raised his hand.

‎"We could add some of our high-ranked wolves to the warrior group," he suggested. "Most of them are strong enough to fight, so that should increase the number."

‎I considered his suggestion before nodding.

‎"That's a good idea."

‎"Thank you, Councilman Zac."

‎We continued discussing the matter, and eventually, we agreed to add the strongest high-ranked wolves to the war sector.

‎It wasn't the perfect solution, but at least it gave me some hope.

‎Still, I wasn't completely relieved.

‎★★★

‎Later that evening, I paced around my bedroom while thinking about the conversation I'd had with Councilman Mich over the phone.

‎They had searched through the pack and selected every high-ranked wolf who was capable of fighting. After adding them to the existing warriors, the number had increased from thirty-seven to forty-nine.

‎Forty-nine.

‎We were only one warrior short.

‎Normally, that wouldn't have been a difficult problem, but almost every able wolf in the pack had already been selected.

‎"There's no way we can search again," Mich had told me over the phone. "We've already selected every high-ranked wolf who can be added."

‎I ended the call feeling frustrated.

‎One warrior.

‎We needed only one more warrior to complete the number required by the Lycan King.

‎The problem was that our pack wasn't large enough to sacrifice another member. If we took another wolf from the pack, we'd weaken the people who remained behind, and that could become another problem if the rogues attacked again.

‎I continued pacing as I tried to think of a solution.

‎The Lycan King was not someone who accepted excuses. If he demanded fifty warriors, then fifty warriors were what I had to give him.

‎I was still thinking when I felt someone touch my back.

‎I turned around and saw Circe standing behind me.

‎She looked into my eyes with concern.

‎"What's wrong? You look worried."

‎I sighed.

‎"It's nothing."

‎I tried to dismiss her question, but she wasn't convinced.

‎"That's not true. You look troubled. Tell me what is bothering you. Maybe I can help."

‎She stepped closer and gently ran her hand over my chest.

‎I sighed again.

‎"Fine. I'll tell you."

‎I explained everything to her, including the Lycan King's order and the consequences of failing to provide the required number of warriors.

‎"What?" she exclaimed when I told her that the pack could be erased.

‎"We currently have thirty-seven warriors," I continued. "We've added the high-ranked wolves, and now we're at forty-nine."

‎I ran a frustrated hand through my hair.

‎"I don't know how we're going to get the last one. There aren't many members left who can be taken without weakening the pack."

‎Circe remained quiet for a moment.

‎Then she smiled.

‎"Relax."

‎I frowned.

‎"Relax?"

‎"Every pack member has a wolf, right?"

‎I nodded.

‎"Even the low-ranked wolves have their wolves?"

‎Again, I nodded, although I still didn't understand where she was going with this.

‎She stepped closer.

‎"Then why don't you add Zuri?"

‎I stared at her before bursting into laughter.

‎"Zuri? My daughter?"

‎"Your wolfless daughter," she corrected.

‎I shook my head.

‎"She's wolfless, Circe. We can't send her with warriors."

‎Circe chuckled.

‎"Really?"

‎She looked at me knowingly.

‎"She's wolfless and of no use to this pack anyway."

‎I frowned slightly.

‎"The other pack members have wolves, even the low-ranked ones. That makes them useful. But Zuri has nothing."

‎She paused before continuing.

‎"And isn't she also becoming a threat to your reputation?"

‎Her fingers moved through my beard as she spoke.

‎"Think about it, Albert."

‎I fell silent.

‎Zuri.

‎My daughter.

She had no wolf and had never shown any sign of developing one. She had always been a burden to the pack, and recently, she is becoming a threat to my reputation.

‎And if she continued, she could eventually damage my position as Alpha.

‎Circe was right.

‎She was the perfect choice.

‎She couldn't contribute anything useful to the pack, and sending her away would solve two problems at once.

‎Besides, she was only a girl.

‎Girls had never been the ones we relied on during battles.

‎And now that I had a son, I no longer needed to worry about Zuri's place in the pack.

‎I looked at Circe and smiled.

‎"That's a perfect idea."

‎She smiled back.

‎"I'll do it."

‎I left the room and went to find Pevia.

‎My first Luna and Zuri's mother. She was sitting quietly when I entered.

‎"Good day," she greeted when she saw me.

‎"We need to talk," I said as I sat beside her.

‎Her expression immediately became serious.

‎"What is it about?"

‎"It's about Zuri."

‎She frowned.

‎"What about her?"

‎"I'm sending her with the warriors."

‎Her eyes widened.

‎"What?"

‎"She's joining the warriors. They're leaving for the Lycan King's Palace tomorrow."

‎"How? Why would you do that?"

‎I looked at her impatiently.

‎"She's of no use to this pack. She has no wolf, and she can't contribute anything."

‎Pevia shook her head.

‎"Albert, she's your daughter."

‎"How long are you going to keep defending her?"

‎She opened her mouth to respond, but I raised my hand.

‎"I'm not here to argue with you, Pevia. I'm informing you that she's leaving tomorrow."

‎She stared at me.

‎"You can't just send her into a battle. She doesn't even have a wolf. She can't defend herself."

‎"I'll explain the reason later," I said firmly. "For now, tell her to pack her things. She'll be leaving with the warriors tomorrow."

‎Pevia looked devastated, but she eventually nodded.

‎Before either of us could say anything else, a cry came from the cot nearby.

‎My son, Bryan, had woken up.

‎He had been sleeping peacefully, but perhaps my voice had disturbed him.

‎Pevia immediately turned toward him.

‎"I'll take care of him."

‎Just then, the door opened.

‎Zuri stepped inside.

‎"I... heard Bryan crying," she stuttered.

‎I looked at her.

‎She still had that innocent expression she always wore, as though she believed there was still a place for her in this family.

‎I looked away in disgust.

‎"I'll take care of him," Pevia said quickly.

‎Then she looked at Zuri.

‎"I actually wanted to speak with you."

‎Zuri looked between us.

‎"What's it?"

‎I remained silent as I watched Pevia struggle to find the right words.

‎I knew this would hurt Zuri.

‎But I didn't care.

‎She needed to understand that she was no longer important to this family.

‎"You're joining the pack warriors," Pevia finally said.

‎Zuri stared at her.

‎"The warriors are leaving for the Lycan King's Palace tomorrow, and you're going with them."

‎For a moment, Zuri simply stared at her mother.

‎Then she laughed nervously.

‎"This is a joke, right?"

‎Pevia shook her head.

‎"No, Zuri. I'm serious."

‎Zuri's smile slowly disappeared.

‎"That can't happen."

‎Her voice trembled.

‎"I'm wolfless. I can't defend myself in battle. I can't join the warriors."

‎"You're wolfless and useless," I interrupted. "That's exactly why we're sending you. You're of no use here."

‎Zuri visibly shuddered.

‎Her eyes slowly filled with tears.

‎I could see the fear spreading across her face, and for a brief moment, I wondered if I was being too harsh.

‎But I quickly pushed the thought away.

‎"You heard your mother," I said coldly. "You're leaving with the warriors tomorrow, whether you like it or not."

‎Zuri stared at us in disbelief.

‎She looked at her mother first, as though she was hoping Pevia would change her mind.

‎Then she looked at me.

‎Her eyes were filled with pain.

‎She had finally realized that no one was going to save her.

‎She lowered her head as the tears finally spilled down her cheeks.

‎I didn't feel sorry for her.

‎This was her fate.

‎And she would simply have to accept it.