Chapter 8 : A Way To Win

Sierra Vallium

"You've been having up and down the room for a long time, my lady. Do you need help with anything?" My handmaid, Elara, peeked into my room before closing the door behind her.

She looked calm and sweet, but I couldn't trust her. I couldn't trust anyone in this estate, and that was what bothered me. Even though I was married to the Lycan Prince, no one was loyal to me. I had tested everyone around me, and I saw they were loyal to him instead with the way they reported my every movement to him.

"It's nothing, Elara." I forced a smile on my face to act as if everything was alright, but I knew she wasn't buying it. "I'm just extremely stressed, and I miss home, that's why." I lied smoothly, and watched her eyes soften.

"Oh, my lady." She crossed the room until she was in front of me. "Shall I have the Prince to come see you? Maybe you can speak with him and have him bring your family to the estate. That way, you will be more relaxed around us." She offered, which was sweet, but I hated that Kai always had to be brought into the picture.

I couldn't do that. Saving my daughter was my only goal, and if Kai caught wind of the fact that I had a child, I didn't know what he was going to do... What if he killed me? What if Aurora died before I could do anything to save her?

Those thoughts made me shudder because there was no way in hell that I would let that happen. Right now, I wanted someone whom I could trust to send a message to someone in Darius' pack. The only person I could trust with my life about Aurora's safety. Hearing that Darius had Aurora locked in a tower meant that she was going to be the one taking care of Aurora. The midwife that delivered her for me.

"That won't be necessary, Elara." I smiled at her. "You're really thoughtful and considerate, and I'm blessed to have you." I needed to be alone for a while to plan my way back to Darius pack because it would mean a lot of things. "Have you prepared today's broth for the Prince? It's almost time for his dinner, and he needs to have it before then. Can you hurry up with it?"

She smiled and nodded before she turned away and left, and I was alone again to my thoughts. If I wanted to enter Darius' pack again, I had to disguise myself and sneak in, but would that be possible now that he was planning to sacrifice Aurora? Word was soon going to spread around all werewolf packs about what he was planning to do, and I was certain he was going to tighten security.

I stood in front of the mirror and stared at myself. The woman who stared back at me couldn't save anyone. She was so weak and pathetic that even her eyes told her her the truth. It was like a knife twisted in my heart when I realized that I may not be able to save my daughter. I couldn't even run a short distance without being out of breath, how would I be able to climb the tower, take Aurora, and run out of the pack?

I already had a plan of after the rescue. I was going to go back home and give her to my mother, no matter how angry she seemed to be. She wouldn't turn away her granddaughter. Then, I was going to return to the estate and lie to Kai about my absence. All those were already in place, but the 'how' wasn't.

*

"The broth is ready, my lady." Elara reappeared by the door with the steaming tray in her hands. "Would you like me to give it to the Prince, or do you want to do it yourself?"

"I'll do it myself." I said without thinking. "Just keep it on the table here, and I would do that myself."

She nodded and went to do as I told her. That was one of the perks of being the lady of the estate here. Everyone was going to obey your every word, but the whispers would always go back to Kai. Elara turned to leave when I stopped her.

"Elara, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, my lady."

I thought about it for a while before I moved towards the table and took a scoop from the broth to taste in my mouth, wondering if this was the right way to gain more insight about my predicament. "If you needed to save someone you loved more than anything in the world... and you had no allies, no resources, and no one you could trust... how would you do it?"

Elara paused with the teapot still in her hand. "That's a very specific question."

"Well..." I tilted my head slightly. "I'm a writer, and I need inspiration on this new book I'm writing. I want to get the opinions of other people before choosing whose perspective to write from." I didn't expect the lie to flow that easily from my mouth, but I was pleased that it came out smoothly.

She folded her hands together against her laps and pressed her lips into a thin line like she was thinking really hard. "Well, it depends on the position of your character. Even with no allies, do they have access to resources that could be used to save the person they want?"

"Hmm..." I murmured slightly. "Continue..."

"Well, if the person was a pauper and had no allies, then saving the person they love is bleak, and they should have to accept that truth no matter how painful it may be." She paused, and I could see where she was coming from. "But if the person was someone in power, it wouldn't be hard to equip themselves with whatever resources they have. Then, saving the person they love wouldn't be so hard."

"With whatever resources they have..." I repeated while nodding.

What were the resources I had at my disposal that I could use to equip myself? What were the things I could do to help my situation.

"Will that be all, ma'am?" Elara asked when I didn't speak to her for a while as I was buried in my thoughts.

I waved a hand at her in dismissal, knowing that I had just given myself my first mission to saving my daughter's life. I needed to know the resources at my disposal. I could try building friendships, but this was a territory for Lycans, and people still saw me differently because not only was I a werewolf, but I was the weakest of them all. I had to find other resources that could help me.