CHAPTER TEN

LOCATION: RANGERS PACK

LYZARA, QUEEN OF THE RANGERS PACK

"No... No... No... No..." Lyzara continued screaming before she opened her eyes, still screaming until Lucien forced her into his arms, his arms whipping around her back to still but she doesn't seem to be in focus.

"No... No... No..." she continued. Her eyes were wide and glazed, darting around the room as if searching for enemies hidden in the tapestries. She tried to grip onto Lucien’s tunic, her nails digging into the fine fabric.

"It's okay... I'm here... I'm here now," Lucien whispered into her ears. He held her firmly and slowly, the rhythm of her breathing began to even out. Her eyes began to focus on the familiar carvings of the ceiling, and her heartbeat slowed its panicked drumming. Lucien did not stop patting her back, offering a steady comfort until she finally snapped back into reality. She pushed back at Lucien, needing to disentangle herself so she could look at his face and be sure he was real.

"What happened?" she asked. Her voice was weak, and she looked around to see her maids and servants moving with hushed urgency. They were wringing out wet towels and carrying away buckets of water as if a great struggle had taken place while she was unconscious. The air in the room smelled of damp stone and medicinal herbs.

"You were unconscious since last night," he said. He reached out, bringing his hand to her face to brush away a stray hair. "You were right. I should have listened to you... Navine is in the pack. I should have paid heed instead of letting him get to you last night." He spoke softly, palming her cheeks while she breathed out a heavy, shuddering sigh. "Do you want to lie back down?"

"Where is he?" she asked, her voice instantly sharpening at the mention of her tormentor.

"We are looking for him. He has not been found yet," he said. Lyzara’s eyes immediately swept across the room, landing on Derreck. He stood by the far wall, his expression unreadable, as if they were not discussing the whereabouts of his own mate.

"And he doesn't know where he is?" she asked, her finger trembling as she pointed directly at Derreck.

"He says he doesn't know where he is," Lucien replied, Lyzara snorted, a sound of pure derision.

"How did you believe that he doesn't know? There is no way he doesn't know where his mate is... there is always a connection, always a strong bond. If Navine is never found, I want him locked up, Lucien. I want him in the dark unless he reveals where he has hidden Navine."

"I cut off my bond flow with him so I could..." Derreck started, stepping forward to defend himself, but Lyzara was in no mood for negotiations or excuses.

"That is a lie! You know where he is. Lucien, why do you keep him so close to you when he is so sneaky? I know what he is up to and I clearly want Derreck beheaded if I can't find Navine."

"Lyzara..." Lucien intervened, trying to temper her bloodlust, but she shook her head violently.

"Don't refuse me this time if you really don't want to see me die. If you don't want to see me give up on this life I have, then please don't shut this down. It is getting out of hand for me, Lucien. Either he provides Navine or he will lose his life."

Lucien looked from his trembling wife to Derreck whom he had clearly suspected of having an affair with Lyzara. He had occasionally seen him walking out of her room late at night but he had never been able to bring it upon himself to ask her. The tension in the room was suffocating. Finally, Lucien waved his hand in the air, his face hardening.

"Okay. Guards, arrest Derreck."

"My king..." Before Derreck could protest further, the guards moved in. He was bundled away, his boots scuffing against the floor as he was hauled toward the door. "My king... I truly do not know of Navine's whereabouts!" His voice faded as he was dragged across the hall, if Lyzara wanted Derreck gone by herself simply because of the reason of Navine and no other, he will gladly lock him up. He's been looking for a reason to punish him anyway.

Lucien clasped his hands with hers, trying to bring the warmth back into her fingers. "Now rest easy, would you?" he said. Lyzara nodded her head, letting him guide her back down onto the pillows. She closed her eyes, but sleep was the last thing on her mind. The images of her dream still burned into her retinas. "You had a bad nightmare this time, didn't you?" he asked.

She nodded, but then her eyes snapped open and she sat up with a sudden, jarring energy.

"That Queen Nyra... do you know about her?" she asked, her voice intense.

"What queen?"

"The one from the Blood Moon Pack. Do you know anything about her?" she asked again. Lucien peered into her eyes, searching for the source of her obsession. He had heard the messengers' reports from the neighboring territories. That Lycan King Derula had denounced and rejected the new queen for a new Luna who was with his child.

"Why are you so interested in her?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be thinking about getting some rest? The elders actually came back with the result for our consummation date while you were out."

The change in Lyzara was instantaneous. The terror and the shadows seemed to evaporate, replaced by a desperate, leaping joy. "You really looked into it?"

Lucien smiled, a rare, soft expression. "I clearly told you that I would find a consummation date for us."

Lyzara didn't wait for another word. She rushed into his arms, almost hobbling over the edge of the bed in her haste to reach him. She clung to him as if he were the only thing keeping her on this earth.

"I said it! I said it!! I knew you would find a consummation date! When is it?" she asked, her eyes searching his face with a happiness so bright it was almost painful to watch. Lucien couldn't help a little grin.

"In three days," he said.

Lyzara jumped out of the bed immediately, her weakness forgotten. "Lyzara, you were supposed to rest!" Lucien called out, but she totally ignored him. She was already spinning around to address her maids, her face glowing with a triumphant, frantic light.

"You heard him, right? My consummation date is in three days! Please, I want all hands on deck! Organize everything! I want the finest silks, the best oils... everything must be perfect!"

CHAPTER ELEVEN

LOCATION: BLOOD MOON PACK

NYRA OF BLOOD MOON PACK

"Consummation date?"

Nyra whispered the words to herself as she opened her eyes. She snorted, a bitter sound that echoed off the cold walls of her small, shadowed room. She looked around the cramped space, wondering if there was ever a day when she had a real consummation date with Derula. There had been no elders, no joy, and no holy preparation. There was only Derula, who nearly forced himself into her before he could bond her, before he could even mark her as his mate.

She could remember it vividly, the memory playing out like a recurring nightmare. "I can't wait, Nyra. I just can't wait to have you in my arms," he had told her. And he had her, despite all her pain. He had her so roughly that she felt like a piece of glass being shattered, but at the time, she thought that was just him being gentle. She had lied to herself, thinking that was him being careful with her. It was her first time; it was supposed to hurt, right?

Even when a part of her soul didn't accept that logic, she suppressed it. If it was going to make Derula happy, then she convinced herself she was fine. Even when she wasn't fine for days afterward. Derula is a Lycan, and his power cannot be compared to ordinary alpha energies. She felt her own body burning up as if she were being eaten alive for days after that night. And he didn't stop sleeping with her then. He didn't stop wanting her, and she felt like her whole life was being drained away, drop by drop, each time he slept with her.

So, having a dream about a consummation date being fixed for her... maybe her subconscious had not yet gotten the hang of her reality at the moment. Perhaps her mind was trying to invent a version of her life where she was actually cherished.

She reached up to her neck, her fingers trembling as they searched for the bright red mark that had always existed there. It was gone. It was no longer there, no longer existing, just like she no longer existed to anyone in this kingdom. She was a ghost in her own home.

She was no longer the queen. She was no longer anything but a wasted omega who was lesser than a slave in the palace. All of a sudden, her door was thrown open with a violent bang. Eidlene walked in, looking bright and triumphant, accompanied by a group of servants. They were Nyra's servants once, but now they belonged to Eidlene.

"Why are you still sleeping until this time? You must really think you are the queen, right?" Eidlene started, snorting as she looked around the small space. She plucked at her nose, her face twisting in disgust. "You don't even air your room... God... you are worse than a slave in this house. I wonder why Derula is insisting on keeping you here. I wish I knew the reason, but if you are going to still be in this palace, you must earn your keep."

Nyra sat on the edge of the bed, her body feeling heavy and disconnected. She didn't know how she was supposed to react to that. She didn't know how she was supposed to respond to a new power that was not hers anymore.

"You don't know how to bow?" a servant yelled. The girl moved over Nyra’s head, forcing her down and pressing her face toward the floor. "This is how you bow down when your queen is speaking to you."

Nyra's head remained bowed against the cold wood. Her hands clutched the sides of her dress. Was she fighting off shame or embarrassment? She didn't know anymore. But those hot tears clinging to the corners of her eyes were unmistakably painful, begging to be shed.

"You clean my room from today henceforth," Eidlene said, "And you start now! I want every inch of my new room wiped out."

The new room? Nyra knew exactly what she meant. That was Nyra's old room... the one reserved for a queen.

"I want the scent of the old Queen gone from that room," Eidlene continued. "Clear out every space until there is nothing left but the scent of me and my unborn child." She said the last part clutching her stomach shamelessly, and Nyra dared not look up to see the pride in her eyes.

"You need to get going. The queen has spoken," one of her favorite servants said, her voice cold, acting as if she had never known Nyra at all.

Nyra scurried out of the room, her heart leaping in and out of her chest. She walked past an array of judgmental eyes. She could feel them watching her hair, her stained clothes, her shuffling gait, and her defeated stance. Then came the whispers. They followed her like a swarm of insects.

Was Eidlene the kind of queen they wanted? The kind they could embrace with no prejudice? Nyra wondered what kind of queen she had been all this time. No... she wondered what she had actually given to the kingdom and what they had given her in return. She realized the answer as she opened the large oak doors of her old room, now Eidlene’s. The cool air of her own lingering scent filtered into her nose. Every bit of her was in this room, but that was the only thing this kingdom had ever given her. It was a title she gave herself and nothing more. She was never an action. She just existed, for no one... not even for herself.

And why was she realizing it now? Why was that dream about a consummation making her realize all that she had allowed to be taken from her? How was it that her dreams lived a better life than her reality? In her dreams, there was luxury, and she was more outspoken than she could ever be in her real life. Even her dreams were mocking her, day after day, screaming at her about the choices she could have made if she had only chosen differently.

She stepped into the room and began the work. She dusted the furniture, she cleaned the windows, and she washed the floors. All the things she had never done throughout her time as a queen, she was doing them all now with a feverish desperation. She worked until her vision blurred and her legs gave out. She passed out on the floor, her cheek pressed against the stone she had just scrubbed.

A loud whoosh of cold water spreading over her jolted her awake. The shock almost choked her to death instead of bringing her back to life. She sprang up, gasping for air, to see Eidlene standing over her with an empty bucket. Eidlene flung the bucket at her almost immediately, the metal clattering loudly against the floor.

"I asked you to clean up my room and not sleep!! How dare you try to sleep in the chambers of the queen!!!"

"I am so sorry, my queen..." Nyra mumbled. She lowered her head, feeling horribly queasy. Her head was spinning, and she didn't feel fit enough to stand on her feet.

"Sorry? You are sorry? Sounds like you are being arrogant and disrespectful to me as your queen. Get me a whip!!" Eidlene yelled.

One of the maids ran out of the room instantly, and Nyra panicked. The word whip echoed in her ears, terrifying and sharp. Her eyes cleared out immediately and her knees hit the floor. She bowed her head as low as it would go.

"I am sorry. This will never happen again. Pardon your servant, for I know nothing..."

Eidlene didn't wait for her to finish. She stepped forward and kicked Nyra hard in her stomach. Nyra fell flat to her side, the air escaping her lungs in a pained wheeze. She curled into a ball, clutching her midsection as the room spun.

"Get the whip and have her stand on her feet!" Eidlene screamed at the returning maid. "I need to teach her a lesson... especially a thorough lesson on how to be a queen!!!”