The Alpha's Blind Fate
Chapter 163: Replacing The Four Houses

Chapter 163: Replacing The Four Houses

The Four Houses:

In the North, the Alpha King has four Houses that occupy the positions of Beta, Delta, Gamma, and Enforcer. It is tradition that these four positions must come from these Houses, although the Alpha King is at discretion to pick whoever he chooses from the houses.

It is only the position of Theta that is not represented by a House for the role of the Theta lies with the Temple.

ZINA

"You went temporarily blind during your heat?" Sybril asked after Zina finished laying her heart bare before the woman. At least, Sybril was addressing the lesser evils first and seemed to be intentionally avoiding addressing the more graver topics that Zina spoke of.

Zina nodded in response. "I was thinking it might have something to do with my vows, or maybe my wolf." She said, unsure.

"Every vow has repercussions of breaking it. And for the vow of chastity, taking away one of your five senses is a well known punishment...." Sybril trailed while she lit one lone, giant candle in the shrine room.

The candlelight reflected on the diamonds Zina wore, giving it an otherwise otherworldly shine. Zina sighed as she was once again reminded of her state. Mere seconds after Daemon made the announcement, she had bolted off the banquet room, simmering with... was it anger? Or just confusion?

Honestly, she didn’t know which. But next thing, she had found herself at the Temple under Ablanch’s escort, and there she was, pouring her out before Sybril.

"I thought as much," Zina said in response as she dredged herself up from the well she was spiralling into. "However, it can’t be said that I’ve broken my vows."

"But during your heat...?"

"There was no... actual sex."

The words were hard to say, but she said it anyway, a blush creeping to her cheeks.

"Then it could be related to your wolf. You say she speaks to you?"

Zina chuckled awkwardly. "Surprisingly so."

"During the time of old, communicating with one’s wolf was a normal thing. Now it’s only an ability few in the highest hierarchy of shifters possess.

"But I am just an ordinary shifter." Zina protested.

Sybril shook her head. "No matter, it is not exactly out of the ordinary for yours to speak to you, if anything, you could use it as a means to foster a deeper bond with your wolf."

Zina breathed deeply, nodding her head in understanding as she assimilated the elderly woman’s words. "What of Norima Talga? Since she had reached out to me so aggressively, do you think she would pose a problem to Daemon’s reign?"

Just as any other time when the Night Mages were mentioned, Sybril’s face darkened as if she was struck by thunder.

"You should know that anything or anyone related to the Night Mages will always be a problem, Theta." The woman gritted, her hand that clutched her walking staff trembling with rage. Zina’s eyes followed the gesture, concern igniting anew within her.

"Will you never tell me the reasons why you despise them so?"

As Sybril had always done, she averted her eyes, changing the conversation abruptly without recourse to pretence or finesse for the matter.

"The Night Mages can clamour all they want, but the Temple will never approve of joining them in marriage with the NorthSteed House. Now tell me, Theta, why are you averse to the Alpha King’s decision to host a tournament as a way to fill the pack positions?"

Zina shot the woman a glare that said ’was the reason not obvious’. "It is bad enough that he took the heads of the former four, and now, he will blatantly ignore their Houses and appoint unsure bloods to the very position? The houses are sure to riot against him sooner or later for this very reason!" Zina growled at the end, frustration tempting her to tug at the strands of her well packed hair till the whole thing was a scattered mess.

"Has it not occurred to you that maybe that is what he wants?" Sybril said amusedly as if thinking of some funny memories, "Late Alpha King Xavier NorthSteed was once a good king, but do you know what pulled down such a great as himself?"

Zina staggered back as if she took a hit to her guts. Hesitantly, she answered, "His Beta, Moorim StormWalker."

Sybril nodded grimly. "Perhaps the Alpha King only wishes to escape the control of the four Houses. You must agree with me that the StormWalkers did terrible things during Eldric’s reign. They possess too much power, Theta."

Zina lost herself in the lone candle that illuminated the Moon Shrine. The soft gush of the stream water that flowed in the shrine was lost on her as she herself was lost in the light.

How could she forget the StormWalkers? They took respectable men and women reducing them to slaves for their boudoir, and they blatantly upturned law and order for their own gains. And throughout it all, The Eldric was silent while Moorim pretended not to see what they did.

"Do you think that is the only reason?" Zina asked as she pulled herself from her deep thoughts, "he plans something, and I am so sure it is going to cause a big wave like none other."

"Why don’t you ask him for yourself what he plans?"

Zina wanted to scoff, but she held herself back. It was unbecoming of her to act like that when Daemon had not done any actual wrong save to make a decision he rightfully had the power to make.

And yet, she couldn’t help that forbidden part of her that yearned to know everything about his thought process and the reason behind his decisions.

She sighed petulantly, feeling slightly lost. It didn’t help that Sybril wouldn’t stop looking at her with an expression of extreme amusement. Finally, she spoke.

"You were once a piece in his games, so why don’t you really think about it? We might not know all of the reasons behind this decision, but an important one should come to mind?"

Sybril’s voice was calming and soothing, almost drawing Zina into some sort of hypnotic bubble. Without actually being conscious of it, she got rid of her distress as she really thought hard about it.

Sybril didn’t stop there, "Is there not something odd with his circle? Something you might have overlooked?"

That was when something snapped in Zina’s head. Something she had totally not thought about.

Marcus was now the Alpha of the DireWolf Pack, but what of Yaren, the very man that was closest to Daemon? Zina had almost totally forgotten how high a regard Daemon held family.

"Do you mean he intends to have Yaren compete?!" Zina exclaimed, aghast at the thought.

Sybril smiled shrewdly. "A contest without clear rules. It’s only safe to assume that the Alpha wants to pull one over the four houses."

"But the first Alpha King NorthSteed made a vow with the four houses that no one from his descendant will ever take over the four positions."

"Perhaps it’s time to break that vow." Sybril said as she waved her way to the glass floor to ceiling windows of the shrine, her walking stick clattering against the stones of the shrine. She gazed out at the waning gibbous moon.

"The full moon is getting smaller." She said, a look of despondence that Zina didn’t know of its origin took over her features, and in her eyes, Zina saw great sadness.

She knew nothing of this woman’s past, however somehow, she had come to trust her simply because of the words of a now dead woman.

Theta Amelia once told her that the Temple would protect her. And Sybril who was once the deceased woman confidant now turned to Zina’s confidante.

Cautiously, Zina walked to the woman, gazing at the waning gibbous moon as well. The full moon was leaving, but soon, it would come again.

"I shall set his coronation for the next full moon then." She announced to the woman who only smirked on hearing that.

"You’ve made a wise decision, Theta. The closer his coronation, the less time evil minds would have to formulate a plan."

"You said you would help me uncover my identity?" Zina probed on a far sour subject matter.

"I’ve already sent trusted Temple Knights to the East. I can’t assure you of any news so don’t keep your hopes up."

Zina nodded grimly as they both took comfort in the fading full moon. It had only been a few days since her heat, and yet, it didn’t seem like that for she had experienced centuries in its wake.

What waited for her in the future? There was Freya, Fionna, Igar, Modrich, Norima, the Five Great Evils, her terrifying scream that day she was with Daemon in his office, and then the mystery of her origins. So instead of bottling them in, she told the tale of it all to Sybril who only offered silence as Zina stripped her heart of any clothing it retained.

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