Chapter 226

Fiona

I stay back as Ethan greets several large men who walk into the meeting room. He greets each of them with the Alpha title.

The meeting isn’t set to start for another few minutes, so I watch Ethan interact with these new men. He seems familiar with them, enough that he didn’t stay by my side like he’s been doing since he came back from interrogating those rogues two days ago.

And when I say he has stayed by my side, I mean that he hasn’t let me go anywhere without him being directly beside me. It’s not much different than his usual protection, but then again, he even followed me to the bathroom this morning.

I finally asked, and all he would say is that he’s worried the rogues were sent after someone at the party, possibly one of the royal family, himself, or me. Since rogue attacks have happened on our land and now on palace grounds, he decided to call this meeting of Alphas to discuss the problem.

“Alpha King Montgomery,” a deep voice booms through the room.

A tall man, larger than any of the others, saunters into the room. He’s could easily be described as a hulk of a man, and I swallow the nerves that jitter around in my stomach as he comes closer.

“Alpha Mandra,” Ethan greets, bowing slightly. The man returns the respectful gesture as Ethan looks behind him. “I see none of the other Northern Alphas have joined.”

“No, they didn’t.”

His clipped tone and short response could be considered as rude, but I remember that Ethan said the Norther Alphas are one of the reasons he’s been busy lately. He’s been stressing about them, even before the rogues attacked, but now I’m sure it’s worse. It probably doesn’t help that this man is the only Northern Alpha to bother to show up

“And this is our new Queen?”

His dark eyes land on me, and I stiffen in my seat. Beside me, Aaron also lifts his head and narrows his eyes on the man. I’m not sure what the problem is, but I lay my hand on his arm to let him know it’s alright.

If I’m going to be the Queen Ethan needs, I have to get used to meeting and greeting new people, so after taking a deep breath, I stand. I walk toward my mate and Alpha Mandra. Ethan immediately wraps an arm around me when I reach his side, but he doesn’t stop me from bowing then looking up at the enormous man in front of me.

“I’m Fiona, and you are?”

“Grayson Mandra, Alpha of the Nightstar Pack just past the boarder to the North,” he says, holding out his hand. Of course, I think he’s going to shake my hand until he takes it in his and touches it to his forehead.

I feel the weight of every eye in the room as Alpha Mandra silently pledges loyalty to the crown and to Ethan by offering his respect to me.

“Thank you for coming, Alpha Mandra. Would you like to sit by me during the meeting?” I ask, wanting him to feel the respect returned. I don’t know if what I’m doing is alright, but when I look at Ethan, he has a small smile on his face.

“I’d be honored, Luna Queen Fiona.”

With that, everyone makes their way to the meeting table, the Alpha’s sitting on one side and the Council members sitting on the other. I take my seat beside Ethan with Aaron moving to Ethan’s left and Alpha Mandra sitting on my right.

“I’ve called you all here to discuss the growing number and troublesome actions of rogues. We have had several attacks not only in my pack but now in the Kingdom Center. Just two days ago, a group of thirty-five rogues attacked the celebration that we held after our announcement. The royal family as well as civilians were there, put in danger by the gathering of these rogues,” Ethan explains. He continues, telling them how the rogues were taken down, killed or captured.

The Alphas and Council Members listen to Ethan’s explanation of what went down. My fingers fiddle with the hem of my sundress, listening as he goes on to talk about how the rogues attacked me twice on our pack land.

Everyone then looks at me, including Alpha Mandra with his heavy gaze.

“Did you fight them off, little Queen?”

“I helped one time, which is how I found out I’m a Lycan like you all,” I tell them, leaning my arms on the table. “The first time they attacked, they came out of nowhere while our main Gamma, Laxus, was escorting me through the forest to find herbs so I could make Ethan’s antidote. I almost drowned while trying to get away, but Ethan and Laxus saved me. The other times, I was walking through the Silverclaw land, coming from some shops and they attacked without provocation.”

Low chatter hums through the room before an Alpha with blonde hair speaks, “I am Alpha Reeves of the Crescent Warriors Pack, and we are near neighbors to the Silverclaw Pack. One of my pack members was also attacked near the boarder that we share, Alpha King Montgomery. She was hospitalized and in critical condition.”

“We had a similar situation in the Windfang Pack. My daughter was attacked and also hospitalized, though her mate found her before her condition became critical,” Alpha Brooks says, his face crinkling in anger.

Two more Alphas mention that there were also women from their pack who were attacked. They discuss how worrisome it is that the rogues are targeting women, as they are generally weaker than the males.

Alpha Mandra hums beside me, stealing my attention as he rubs his chin in thought. The bear-like man then glances at me, and I jerk, embarrassed that he caught me staring.

“What do you think, little Queen, about all these women being the one attacked?”

I think about his words and what the other Alphas have said. Each person attacked was a woman, and all while they were close to boarders. Each is in close to critical condition, which means the rogues attacked to kill, not merely harm them.

“Are they searching for someone?” I ask, and Alpha Mandra smiles.

“I believe they are. They have not come North, unless they avoided my pack and went to the ones further North from mine,” he says, addressing everyone. “Could these rogues be after our Queen?”

“Me?”

I look at Ethan and realize he had the same thought. My mate also thinks these wolves are after me, which has my insides shaking. I don’t want to be anyone’s target, but at the same time, a realization hits me.

“The direct attacks on me didn’t start until I was announced as Queen.”

“That’s correct,” Ethan states, taking a deep breath. “Am I correct to assume that the women in your packs that were attacked look similar to my mate?”

The Alphas that offered stories all confirm Ethan’s words, making my stomach churn with worry.

“Why would they want to attack me? I haven’t done anything.”

A scoff sounds from the other end of the room, drawing everyone’s’ attention to a man sitting with his feet up on the table. His nose wrinkles in disgust as he looks me over, eliciting growls from Ethan, Aaron, and surprisingly, Alpha Mandra.

“Why wouldn’t they want to get rid of a weak Queen?”