Chapter 52
Word about what Ralph had done in the dungeons spread across the dungeons and the entire Kingdom. However, unlike the whispers of fear and discontent she had heard in the dungeons, out here the Lycans were proud of her. They seemed to love her even more. Most of them looked at her with proud eyes, like they wanted to clean the roads she walked on. For people who had been blessed with a cruel King, a cruel Queen was not what they needed. And yet when they learned of what had happened, they chose to look at her in a positive light.
“To push someone so kind to the point of killing you, you’ve got to be some level of cruel and insane, that was brutal to the Queen,” some of the Lycans said as they defended what their Queen had done.
To them, their Queen couldn’t have done shit if Polina hadn’t messed with her first. It was crazy how everything had turned out and Ralph, all she could do was smile and hope that the coming days would be better. Her nights were no longer long like the previous times, and they weren’t shorter either. Everything was finally falling in place and the puzzle pieces were finally coming together, making it seem like the bond with the Lycan King was at its best.
Until they weren’t.
“Alpha Bashir is coming to stay at the palace for two weeks,” the Lycan King suddenly said and Ralph looked at him like he had undoubtedly lost his mind.
Surely the King couldn’t be talking about the same man he was so insecure of, when he was around his Erasthai, right? This just didn’t make any sense to her and frankly, she hoped it was worth it for Miro in the end. The fact that Bashir had looked at her with the strange determination, as if he wanted to get her back was not sitting so well with Ralph; and she couldn’t exactly tell that to the same King she had sworn to be there for. It was not supposed to be this complicated.
“Why?” Ralph asked her tone neutral as she looked at her husband. They were currently in the royal study and we’re going through some of the progress reports of the past week.
Taking out Polina had caused a ripple in their operations given she was one of the most trusted people in the Kingdom They still had to go through every operation that the Rostova warrior had been in charge of, since Ralph was brought to the Kingdom, to make sure there weren’t any threats to the Queen. It was a long list of projects and it was crazy how many missions Polina had been assigned. Perhaps that went to show how much the King had trusted her, only for the woman to turn around and betray their friendship.
“We’re creating an alliance with the Mirza pack, to make sure the region is stable. It’s just like the alliances with other packs. That way, we can help each other out in case of any unsolicited attacks on either side of the realm and the region,” the King said casually and Ralph stared at him keenly. She wanted to ask him if the werewolf Alpha would be staying with them in the palace or if he would be staying in the huts outside the palace, but then it would seem like she wanted to know more abour the man and encourage whatever shit show was going on.
“That sounds plausible. When will he come?” Ralph asked, right as the door opened to reveal her former best friend, standing there looking like the goddess’s favorite child.
Damn, Bashir was hot as hell, perhaps that was where Ralph was headed, one that was all over.. Or not, right? There was no relay because the man there looked like every girl’s dream. The Alpha was wearing a loose–fitted tank top, with skinny jeans, and his long hair was curled, something that got Ralph wondering if her best friend had been having curly hair the entire time or if this was just a look he had wanted to explore. He was carrying a small backpack like he wasn’t going to stay there for two weeks.
As much as Ralph wanted to consider that possibility, there was always a shopping mall around for the Lycans to go get their clothes and from the looks of it, Alpha Bashir was loaded with money and gold. So that wouldn’t be a problem for him, right? His ripped arms were visible and Ralph couldn’t help but swallow thickly when the Alpha kept staring deep into her eyes, as if to ask her if she was sure about her mating with the Lean King.
It was without a doubt, a stupid question, given the woman was the Lycan Queen, but perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to know the answers, right? That beautiful smirk sitting on the Alpha’s face reminded Ralph of all the times they had played around. running around and ignoring the pain they were both going through. It was one that they had gotten used to, but this time, Ralph wasn’t sure if it was a smile of pain or a smirk of the unknown making their way towards her
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Chapter 52
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“Are you okay, askim? Miroslav asked, snapping Ralph out of her trance. And from the way the King’s jaw was ticking, it was obvious he had tried to call her a few more times. What the fuck was happening with the Lycan Queen?
I–yeah. I’m okay. I was just lost in thoughts for a moment,” Ralphine said as she turned to look at her husband.
“You used to overthink everything when we were together, Shehzadi. I guess old habits die hard, yeah? Anyway, you look as beautiful as always,” Alpha Bashir said and Ralph fought the urge to facepalm. Was this man blind or was he intentionally refusing to read the tension in the room?
“Oh, yeah? I would LOVE to hear more about that sometime,” the King said.
can indulge me, or I will just come to you. We wouldn’t want to keep the] “Of course. Whenever we have free time, you Shehzada wai-” the Alpha said, intentionally looking at the King as if he was daring the great Miro to show that he was jealous of the Alpha. It was something so old–fashioned but then Ralphine Belyaeva was a beauty for everyone. She was a darling of hearts and the deities knew she would be the great King’s hardest test. Perhaps this was the beginning, yeah?
“Great. You’re here. For the alliance. Can you get on with it? Alpha Bashir?” Ralphine interrupted, clearly not in the mood to worry about whatever the fuck the Alpha wanted to do with the King in their free time. There was a chance that Miro would kill the man if he wasn’t careful then he had to be patient, right? Ah, the test of patience and time when there was a visible throne trying to poke its way into their relationship. What the fuck were they even to do with him?
“Oh, my beautiful Shehzadi. I walked the long roads from Mirza to Astoria to show how badly we need the alliance. I hope you don’t mind me taking a simple break for a moment. I would like to take a rest and we can discuss business later, yeah?” the Alpha said and Ralphine straight–up rolled her eyes at him. She knew what he was doing and she knew it wouldn’t end well for the both of them.
The Lycan King was raging in the links and Ralphine could feel too. It is just a matter of time before the entire Kingdom felt it too and then it would be war. As appealing as it was for Ralphine that men would go to war for her, she didn’t want to lose the only home she had felt safe in. She would protect Asmoria, even if she had to protect it from Bashir himself.
“Not a problem,” Ralph said,while the King just watched science. He wanted to see what she would do and how she would handle herself. The King knew Bashir was intentionally trying to fuck them up and he was painfully aware that there wasn’t much he could do, given they were both leaders of strong factions, though Miro was willing to bet everything that Asmoria would crush the damned wolves down.
“Viktor!” Ralph suddenly called out and the King’s beta showed up, bowing to his Queen.
“You called for me, Your Highness,” Viktor said.
“Where do the royal guests stay?” Ralph asked like she didn’t already know that there are special guest rooms for the Lycan visitors. They were really beautiful rooms with good standing and made the visitors feel like they were part and parcel of the beauty that was Asmoria.
the same floor as the King’s chambers,” Viktor said, as he looked at his King “The guest rooms on the west wing, on the worriedly. The Queen’s eyes held some sinister thoughts, and frankly, it scared the hell out of Viktor himself. If he didn’t know the Queen better, he would have assumed that the Queen had called him for some sort of punishment. And boy was he aware that not even Miroslay would be able to save him from that mess
“Oh dear…” Ralph said softly, tailing off, as she looked at her husband, almost like there was something she owned that they didn’t.
“What is it, askim?” the King asked and Ralph ran a frustrated hand through her hair.
“If I had known we were having a visitor today, I wouldn’t have told Kara and the high guards not to clean up the guest rooms on that wing. I wanted them to retouch the rooms to make them feel like home, and from what she said, it would take two months for them to be done,” Ralph said, earnestly in her voice, making the King stare at Viktor who was confused about what his Queen was saying. As far as the royals were concerned, there were no renovations in the palace, and even if they were they wouldn’t have taken place a week after the King’s address. It just made no sense.
What?” Viktor asked, the confusion clear on his face.
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Chapter 52
“I know, right? Are there either guest rooms in the palace that our guests can stay in?” Ralph asked and Viktor sighed. This woman was something else. Either she hated Bashir with everything had and didn’t have or she just wanted the man gone from their lives and for him not to fuck them up even more. Either way, it was commendable how she had kept her face so straight and conveyed emotions that even Bashir would see were not there. But then it wasn’t like the Mirza pack Alpha could question his shots, right?
“Uhh… Not exactly. But they are within Astoria, Viktor said as he looked at Miro as if pleading with his best friend to help him out. However, the King was smirking softly as he looked at his Queen amusedly. There was no way he was interfering with whatever the hell was going on here. He wouldn’t
“Alpha Bashir, I hope you won’t mind a change of location, seeing as the regular guest rooms are undergoing renovation,” Ralph said, her eyes glaring at her former best friend as if she was daring him to say no to the proposal. She was yet
here. discern what the Alpha was shopping to get
“My Queen… The guesthouses are a little to the south. They are quite isolated, and it might be insulting for an Alpha with a standing like Alpha Bashir. I doubt he will love it here,” Viktor said and Ralph stared at her beta, wondering if there was any other option. However, before anyone else could speak, Ralph did and the Alpha stared at her like she had grown another head. Perhaps she had, yeah?
“I just remembered. Polina once told me that we have special guest houses in the nearby town. Given that Moscow is a little far, and the guest houses within the Kingdom that are available are measly, perhaps we could consider taking the Alpha to the nearest town? From my data, it isn’t that far and it would be more convenient for the Alpha, rather than sleeping in houses that haven’t been lived in for years in the name of guest houses.
“What do you think, Alpha Bashir? I am certain the crown will make the treaty worth it if you just bear with us and sleep in the next town,” Ralph said, her tone scaring even Miro. He had never thought that his woman would do this and if it had been
someone else, Miroslav would have been quick to try and defend his Queen’s actions, however, here and now, he could tell that the Queen was a ticking time bomb. He may have loved to play with death, but his Queen wasn’t the kind he wanted to stay with, hence the silence the whole time.
“The ones in your Kingdom won’t be a problem for me, Your Highness. I am sure you did everything to make the conditions there better,” Bashir said and Ralph smirked at him.
*He was angry
So angry that he hadn’t even realized it yet.
But Bashir has finally called her ‘Your Highness.”
And it wasn’t because he was being formal.
Ralphine had won her first battle.
“Great! Viktor will show you the way. We will see you at dinner. Hopefully, you will be ready by then. You can dine with us
day, so you won’t feel isolated. Or wouldn’t you like that?” Ralph asked in a monotone voice. every
“Of course, Your Highness. I’ll see you at dinner. I must rest,” Bashir said as he walked out of the King’s office, closely followed by Viktor who was officially confused as hell.
With
Bashir gone, Ralph finally let out a sigh of relief, as she slumped on the earnest–seat, while Miro was staring amusedly. There was no need for comedians in the Kingdom. His wife was already one here. The only downside was that she was scarier than anyone he had ever met, but then at least she was his, right?
“I think you’re crazier than me, askim,” the king said after a short silence as he sat next to his erasthai who simply shrugged like it was nothing.
