Defying the Rogue Alpha
Chapter 150: Headache

Chapter 150: Headache

Ava blinked up at him, her eyes unfocused but trying to make sense of him. Her brows furrowed. "What...?" she whispered, shaking her head gently and immediately regretting it. "Ugh... headache."

Good. Headache. Understandable. Normal. She was weak. Vulnerable. Open to gentle influence and manipulation. All part of the plan. He exhaled only to freeze when her next word sliced through the air.

"Lucas?"

Herod’s whole body stiffened. Nope. Nope nope nope. That name was supposed to be gone. Deleted. Scrubbed clean. Alaric had sworn she wouldn’t remember.

"If that sorcerer screwed me again, I swear I’ll have him flogged." Herod muttered under his breath.

Ava squinted up at him, confused and half-dreaming. "What’s going on, Lucas?"

Oh, you sweet, lovely idiot, Herod thought.

"Ava, you should get some more rest," Herod said, forcing a smile that was ninety percent panic and ten percent kingly charm. "I’ll call for some tea. Herbal. Or... calming. Do you like mint?"

He stood up too quickly and nearly tripped on the ornate rug. As he stumbled toward the door, he muttered under his breath, "Grand gestures... grand gestures... What the fuck does that even mean?!"

*****

Across the castle, in Alaric’s work space, Queen Eliza stood before Alaric, regal as ever. Her back straight, her chin lifted, and her patience absolutely evaporated. Her golden gown shimmered.

Alaric bowed with the perfect blend of condescension and protocol. "What can I do for you, Your Majesty?"

Eliza’s nostrils flared slightly. "After everything we’ve been through together, Alaric... after years of loyalty, of secrets kept in the dark... this is how you repay me? You choose to backstab me this way?"

Alaric’s smile was as fake as a courtier’s sympathy. "I have done nothing wrong, Your Majesty."

Eliza took one elegant step forward. "You are merely doing all of these for your selfish reasons, Alaric. You don’t care about the king or his power."

"All I have done is only what my king expects of me," Alaric said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, his words laced with cold logic. He spread his arms with faux humility. "My loyalty is never to be questioned, Your Majesty."

Eliza’s eyes narrowed. "Your loyalty?" she echoed. "What loyalty? The same ’loyalty’ that makes you keep secrets from your king, secrets that could change the fate of the entire kingdom?"

"I also have to think for my king," he said, tone slipping into the dangerously condescending. "I remove distractions. That’s what I do. That’s what I am. And right now, you, Eliza, are becoming the biggest goddamned distraction of all." He sneered. "Try using your brain, Your Majesty."

Eliza inhaled, slow and sharp, and stepped forward with the grace of a queen and the rage of a woman done with everyone’s nonsense. "What will you do, Alaric?" she asked, every word calm and deathly. "Kill the queen?" She tilted her head. "Just so you know, I’ve made plans. Contingencies. If that woman takes my place, I’ll reveal everything."

Alaric’s nostrils flared.

"Yes," she continued. "If anything happens to me, I have people in place that will reveal that the king’s most trusted advisor kept his daughter hidden from him. That you turned a girl born to be a princess into a blade. An assassin. A weapon. You made her disposable. Inconsequential. His own daughter."

Alaric’s jaw ticked, but he didn’t speak. Queen Eliza saw him hesitate. Good. Let him stew in the truth.

"You refuse to see the bigger picture," Alaric finally said, biting off every word. "If the king takes full control, if he unites every pack, every clan; you, Eliza, you become the most powerful woman in the werewolf world. The Luna of Lunas. The Queen of Kingdoms. Who in their right mind wouldn’t want that kind of power?"

"I don’t want power," Eliza snarled. "I want the king to see me. Me! Not a replacement of my sister."

"Your Majesty," Alaric said smoothly. "He will see you. When he holds ultimate power in his hands, he will finally see what’s been standing beside him all along."

Queen Eliza stood silent for a moment, eyes fixed on the floor, as though trying to see through it. "I truly hope you are right this time," she whispered. "Because I’m getting tired of being invisible in a crown that doesn’t even fit properly."

"Excuse me, Your Majesty!" Lucia called, as she had entered without anyone knowing. "The King requests Sir Alaric’s presence. Miss Ava is awake."

Eliza turned to Lucia then to Alaric before walking past her.

*****

Alaric entered the king’s private chambers, back ramrod straight, spine rehearsed in the art of surviving high-stakes conversations with volatile royals.

King Herod stood at the window. "So," he began without turning, "the ritual went well last night?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Alaric responded crisply.

"No hiccups. No issues. No tiny, annoying oversights?" Herod asked, now swiveling around.

Alaric cleared his throat. "Just... one minor thing, Your Majesty."

Herod stalked closer. "Does this have something to do with the fact that she still remembers Lucas?" he asked.

Alaric swallowed. "That’s impossible, your majesty!"

"You are truly a waste of space," Herod snapped, eyes burning holes through Alaric’s soul. "And a waste of my time."

"The ritual was successful. The mate bond is gone. The spell was strong. It should’ve erased every meaningful memory she had of him."

"Are you saying I’m lying?" Herod growled, now inches away from Alaric’s face.

"No, Your Highness. I... I am merely suggesting," Alaric stammered, "that memory is fickle. Elastic. Occasionally stupid."

"She called his name," Herod said. "Right after she woke up. First thing out of her mouth was Lucas."

"Just his name?" Alaric asked.

Herod nodded slowly. "Just his name."

"Well then," Alaric said, regaining some of his footing. "Your Majesty, I believe we’re still in control. You see, their bond was quite strong. We’ve erased the bond, the depth of it. She may remember the name Lucas but the emotions? All of that has been swept clean. She is in a... malleable state right now."

Herod frowned.

"So," King Herod began slowly, his eyes narrowing with suspicion as he studied Alaric from head to toe, "what was that issue you mentioned earlier?"

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