Dark Alpha: A Fated Mates Novel

39: THE SEVEN TERRITORIES

~VANNIE~

"We have seven territories in the lupine community. And they may pretend otherwise, but each and every one of them want to be the seat of power in the Realms. The only people loyal to Alpha Sin are the Inlanders, because like the lands, we're also tied to his soul."

Vannie stared blankly at the female that was talking. She was one of the elders in the Circle, apparently, and a high official at that. When she spoke, the others listened.

"I know my history and geography," Vannie replied tiredly, hoping this whole meeting would end soon so she could retire to Sin's bedchambers. "What's the point of this?"

"We suspect that three of the territories may have joined forces to take over the Inlands, but the real fighters are from Crin and Aben. We got some information from the leaders of the rebellion and identified them as Generals in both territories' army."

Vannie's throat tightened with the reminder that she'd actually willingly entered a portal for the purpose of destroying the Inlands. But none of that mattered now. When she came into the Great Hall this morning, she'd taken the throne — Sin's seat — and no one had batted a lash. Because she was Alpha in place of Sin now that he was indisposed.

Now that she'd made him indisposed.

She couldn't do it. She knew nothing about ruling a pack. Her brother was always going to be the Alpha of Zhode, and it looked like his training did pay off. Vannie knew fuck all about controlling territories or making people bend to her will.

"How long will Alpha Sin be indisposed?" she asked, voice dead. She still had a lot of issues to unpack from the last few days, but she wouldn't think about any of those now. How her brother might have betrayed her family. How Crom's plan ran deeper than it originally seemed. How she still didn't know the true masterminds behind the attack. How she heard Sin's voice in her head that night he was shot. How there was another traitor nobody knew about yet.

She couldn't let herself get caught up in that. All that mattered was that Sin come back to take his rightful place so she wouldn't be in this position anymore.

"The King will be unable to move for at least, a month. The magick of the poison is too powerful for a straight heal. And let's not forget he was poisoned twice."

At that last part, Vannie expected at least for censorious looks to be given to her, but there was nothing. They were all moving along as if she hadn't done anything. As if this was just another day in the Inlands.

And then, Alaric looked to her with a smile, "We're lucky you're here with us. The King would have died without your blood."

And she quite literally lost it. There was not one person in this room that did not know that she poisoned the King. That she helped the rebellion and brought their enemies to their territory. And yet, they were all acting like nothing had changed, like she was not a traitor.

It made her body rigid with something she could not identify. Anger? Self-loathing? Pain?

"What are we expected to do in the meantime?"

A very loud silence passed through the assembly, and she realized that they weren't expecting that question. They've always had to take orders from an Alpha, as did every wolf in a pack. It must seem strange now that the roles were being reversed for a change.

Was it that, though? Aside from the biological roles that each wolf inherited from the caste system, there was something else below the surface.

These people had actually never had to strategize on their own before. Sin was the backbone of the Inlands. Screw that, Sin was every visceral organ the Inlands boasted of. This pack would be unable to function without him. She saw that now, and it made her heart shatter inside her chest.

"Alaric?" she called, a little fearfully. "Please, tell me we have a plan."

Alaric looked away.

"Listen," she said with rising desperation. "I know it's my fault that we have to be in this situation at all, but I can't lead the Inlands till Alpha Sin comes back. Where the fuck is Maeve? Why isn't she in this Circle? Shouldn't this be her responsibility?"

"She's doing damage control. Assuring the Inlanders that the King isn't dead and that we're prepared for war is a time-consuming task."

Vannie froze. "War?" More war? After the havoc the Crinites and Abenites already wrought to the Inlands?

"Your Majesty," a rather booming voice interrupted her thoughts. She found the eyes of the male who had to be the first Elder's mate, because they smelled the same way, musky and powerful. "We tried to warn the King that the Crinites were building an army bigger than any we've ever seen, but he hesitated to investigate."

Why? she wanted to ask. He usually didn't hesitate whenever it came to talks of rebellion, and she knew that.

The Elder continued before she could ask. "So it's very obvious what has happened. They sent just a slice of their troops to come destabilize the Inlands. The King is incapable of stopping them now, so all they have to do is attack before he regains his strength. I regret to inform you all, but we should be preparing for a complete repression at any minute."

More of that cursed silence, as though they'd all thought the same thing but were just waiting for the brave person to point it out. Vannie gritted her teeth. "That's a good place to start. We'll secure the walls and keep the Inlands in a state of emergency for the month Alpha Sin will be unavailable."

But even as she said it, she knew there was something fundamentally wrong with that plan — something flawed. The lupine inclination was to protect what belonged to them, not hide and wait for it to blow away. The Inlands was the seat of power, so there was definitely no way they could sit back and do nothing till Sin was healed.

Also, no matter how indestructible the Inlands seemed to be now, the Crinites and Abenites would very likely be able to demolish their walls after a solid month of persistence with no resistance.

"So you're trying to imply that we're not powerless without the Alpha?"

They sent sly looks amongst each other. "We are powerless without an Alpha. So thank the Goddess that we have one sitting right here."

The only option was to fight. Vannie didn't think she'd survive it.