Chapter 5

THANE.

I walked up and down the length of the room that I was ordered to wait in with agitation in my heart.

    What if she refuses? Or worse.

What if she sees me as a threat and murders me right here?

   

    My mind conjured up different possible ways by which this could go all wrong but a nagging intuition whispered that she wouldn’t hurt me.

    

    Maybe it was the short fleeting glance we shared last night.

    A glance that seems to speak volumes of word even though we didn’t utter any.I don’t know what it is, but from the moment she whispered her name to me, I knew I wanted to see her again.

   

    I feel drawn to her in an unexplainable way. Formerly, I’m here to solitude for her expertise and help, in defeating our enemy as I hear we share common grief with them but I couldn’t deny the spark of curiosity that drove me to want to see her again.

   An approaching footsteps made me jolt in my movement across the room as I stood at alert.

   Soon her face appears as she enters the room with the same man I’d earlier spoken with. She had the same tough expression on her face as from last night.

A stone cold face and an unyielding demeanor which is evident from the way she walks and poses.

Through all her toughness, I could still see the faint part of compassion that she tries so hard to cover up.

   What was her story?

In this regent and time, it was hard to see a woman rise so high and rule a clan as large as the Vikings. 

   “To what do I owe this visit…”

She loooked on to me with creased brows and only then did I realize she was requesting for my name.

   “Thane, it’s thane” I responded sharply.

“Thane,” she retorted like she was trying to memorize the name.

     “What are you doing here?”

I wouldn’t say that I was shocked by her lack of hospitality, in fact I’d expected it.

“Wouldn’t you offer your guest a seat?” I dared to ask but immediately regretted it.

   

   The way her eyebrows creased and her face darkened suggested that she was vexed and definitely not enjoying this conversation.

    “Need I remind you that you’re no guest here. Off with the reason why you’re here or be gone immediately.” Her voice although not as deep as she tries to make it to be, carries a surge of urgency which made me realize that she might be busy with something else.

   I cleared my throat out of habit and began.

   “First of all, I and the members of my clan would like to thank you for your show of strength and bravery last night.”

   To this she nodded.

“We would also like to solicit for your help in our upcoming battle against the enemy. I hear…”

She cut me short abruptly with a question.

   

   “And why should we offer you any help? You’re an outsider, why should we trust you?”

   Lyra narrowed her gaze until her piercing eyes settled on me awaiting my reply.

   I cleared my throat again, battling with words in my head.

I have to chose my words wisely now.

“After the surprise attack that was launched on our clan yesterday, I have decided not to just seat and watch yet another one occur. We received intel that our enemy is been aided by Ozark.” 

I paused as I watched her and her subordinate whisper something to each other.

Perchance, she has no idea of who Ozark is.

On that I decided to give full information.

   “Ozark is a tyrant rogue who has grown not only in strength,but also in army and his sole aim is to exploit any clans weakness and eventually dominate it. He has been on it for years.”

Lyra’s expression remained unreadable but I could sense a flicker of interest in them.

She turned around and headed towards the wooden seat that was in the room. I took her wave of hand as a gesture that I could also take a seat.

Her man guard stood like a tree beside her.

Lyra leaned back on her chair steepling her fingers together as she considered my words.

  “So after all been said, you have come to us for help?” She asked assessing me again.

  To her question, I only gave a headshake because I knew there was more coming.

“What makes you think that I will want to help you?” She questions.

   I took deep breath, aware that I was threading on a thin line.

Stephan had outrightly told me that this was a bad idea,but I reminded him that we weren’t rich on choice. Lyra is a proud ruler and the Vikings are not known for working well with others. If I’m to win her with just words, then I have to be really good at it.

   “Charity isn’t what we seek Lyra,” I started, meeting her gaze directly.

“As I’ve said, Ozark is a menace and it is only a matter of time before he tries to infiltrate your clan. What I seek is an alliance. With two houses united and strong together, he wouldn’t dare and even if he did we’d crush him easily.”

   A hint of amusement played on Lyra’s lips as she looked at me squarely in the face.

“You’re brave Thane,I give you that. But an alliance like the one you’re talking about requires much more than just that. It requires trust and the Viking clan have only made it this far because we trust no one. And the last time I checked, you’re not even the Alpha of your clan.”

She links her fingers together under her chin giving me a measured look.

I knew it was going to come to this eventually.

“You’re right, I’m not the Alpha of my clan. But my brother has made me an acting leader in his absence. And as a leader wouldn’t you want to do anything you can to keep your people from harm’s way?”

It was a rhetorical question but I could see the effect on her as she shifted on her chair uncomfortably.

  “I’m not here for myself. I’m here on behalf of my people and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to help them. 

I’ve seen them suffer, I’ve watched them struggle to survive and get butchered in their own lands.

With the recent blow that we’ve just received we might not be able to defeat our enemy on our own.

Hence, why we need you and your clan’s expertise, strength and strategic skills to defeat our common enemy.

Help me Alpha Lyra, and our clan would never forget this favor and as you well know, the Moon black clan always pay their debt.”

Lyra’s eyes had become softer and I could only hope that my speech brought a change in her heart because in truth my heart was still shattering from last night’s massacre.

The murder of my brother’s wife and many other members of my clan have left me feeling bereaved, angry and vengeful.

  Lyra was just about to speak when a loud thud from the door distracted us.

   A young man bursted inside. The look on his face was like that of a man who had come face to face with death.

 “The northerners’” he managed to say with shortness of breath, his hand pointing outside.

  “Yes?” Lyra’s tone was impatient.

   “They breached on our agreement on the battle taking place in a fortnight. They’ve reached the outskirts of our camp and is burning down everything in their path.”

 I quickly turned to look at Lyra whose expression had turned glacial, eyes flashing with anger.

  “Cleo, sound the alarm and get our warriors ready for battle,” she growled to the man standing beside her.

“On your command my lady” he bowed and sprinted out of the room. 

  

   Lyra’s face was turned to me and her eyes were as piercing as ever.

   “I’m afraid our conversation would have to wait. But you sure have an interesting timing.”

“Oh, I know nothing about this, you must believe and to prove my loyalty to you, I’m willing to join you in battle.”

Lyra’s gaze lingered on mine for a short while as if she was searching for any signs of deception. Then with a nod, she turned to the guy that came with the report.

  “Dion, take him to the armory,” and with that she left the room in a manner of urgency that befits the situation at hand.

 Dion gestured to me to follow him and I did.

Outside it was all smoky and dusty as the wave of war sprung across the camp.

Women and children ran for shelter while the young warriors brandished their weapons surging forward.

We walked through the chaos until we reached the armory.

Swords, shields and other fighting weapons laid across a wooden table.

I was handed a sword with a gleaming blade.

“Nice blade,” I complimented.

Dion took a blade of his and off he went.

I followed and we advanced to the entrance of the camp.

The northerners were easy to detect with the ugly animal skin tied over their head as ornament.

I came in close proximity with one and before he could strike,I half shifted into my wolf form and launched my sharp claws into his throat.

He died choking on his own blood.

After shifting back into my human form, I made a loud growl as the scent of blood filled the air invigorating the spirit of war in me.