All Chapters of The Alpha's Beta: Once Rejected, Now Desired: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

225 Chapters

031_The Council Of Three

Lloyd’s POVLetting Elora attend the council all by herself didn’t only sound foolish but dangerous too. But my beta had just suggested it.“Surely, you should let her handle her own, hmm?” Xavier’s words in my study came back to me. “If she doesn’t have anything to hide, she shouldn’t have so many problems with the council."But I understood that Elora’s life wasn’t like that. If Elora’s life was anything, it was complicated. Too complicated.And some of these complications happened even without her will in the picture. She didn’t ask for any of these. I knew that more than anybody. And I didn’t attend the council with her to serve as emotional support.Elora didn’t need that. I attended to know the outcome of the meeting, and know how the balance swings from here hence forth. Before Elora arrived, I was there. I was greeted by the chilly room as I walked in, taking in the mighty dome.The high walls appear like something carved out of grey stone. A gallery overhead rounded the b

032_Devious Question

Elora’s POVI was standing inside the council’s chamber right now, gazing on the floor. The air in the room was crisp and cold, and I couldn’t tell why. Maybe it was always like this, or the weight of what was about to happen here was weighing down on me.The area where I was standing, in the center of the large emblem on the floor, appeared to be colder than the rest of the floor. I’d noticed Alpha Lloyd standing on one corner of the room. I assumed he was part of the counsellors. It never occurred to me that he wasn’t a member, and I never saw the need to ask him about it.But why was he here? Did he think I can’t handle myself? Was he here for emotional support? He sure has a lot of explanations to make after now. But in the meantime, I should focus on the three people in front of me. I knew the man in the center was Darius, the devious one. Never in my dreams have I prayed to have to answer that man in the high council.I was not familiar with the two others, but I had an incl

033_Men At The Council

Lloyd’s POVElora was looking at the three men now, and from her blank face, Darius was pushing her to her limits now. She had to do something to get herself out.It made sense why Darius was part of the council. He knew something, and he was intent on forcing it out of her.Elora also seemed to know something too. She didn’t answer any of the questions directly. She was clever, and the way she handled the questions today said so much. She knew something, and it was that none of these people were on her side at all. All of them were looking for something, and whatever they were looking for, she had it.The challenging glare between Elora and Darius continued for a moment later before Darius spoke.“Are you going to start talking now,” he growled. “Or are you going to be needing a little help doing that?”Elora’s voice was sharp. “I have told you the truth, and nothing but the truth.”“You have to swear it,” he retorted.“I just did, sir,” “Not in the order you were told,” I said. “N

034_The Circle Breaks

Elora’s POVDarius wanted to get words out of my mouth, but I’m so glad he failed. He tried to get smart, but I saw his hand before he even stepped into the room. He was going to spin the laws against me, but swearing with the protector vows was the only way to stay safe.With the old protector vows, I’ve kept myself safe from any shady action that Darius or anyone might want to take against me in the name of the council. That assurance of safety was more important to me than anything. And amongst all things, it prevented me from being ensnared by my father’s legacy because of some hideous demons. Behind me, Lloyd’s pleas fell on deaf ears. If anything, Darius is angry that I beat him in his own game, and the card he pulled was to make me feel bad. He knew I should be released outrightly, but he thinks that keeping me in the custody of the council is going to make me crack. Well, he’s in for a rude shock.The echoing footsteps behind me came to a stop and a hand reached out to

035_Between Stone And Silence

Lloyd’s POVI was still standing in the tribunal hall, stunned. Shocked. Unable to move. Still by the corner of the wall, I watched as Darius and the other councillors stepped down from their seats and walked out without sparing a glance my way.Of course, they knew I was there, but they also knew that what they were doing was wrong in itself. So, it could be their conscience dealing with them. Their absence, however, didn’t do much to deal with the air in the room. If anything, it just made it thicker. Elora had answered the questions thrown at her strategically, without making the mistake of revealing the connections to her father. Somehow, she got to the conclusion before I did; their end was about finding out if Henry Stark was her dad. The end point was to clear evidence and keep things hidden.The look on her face came back to me, and all of a sudden, it was like the hearing was happening again. I imagined swooping in and trying to pull Elora out of the place. It sounded li

036_The Cell Below

Elora’s POVThe cell swallowed me completely. It’s not large enough for me to pace, nor is it tall enough to stretch. The ceiling is so low and heavy with mildew. I tilted my head, and I noticed some cracks, where water leaked, trailing down the wall in small rivulets. The surrounding air smelled of sour straw, rust, and the damp, rotting moss. Each breath in that room felt like drinking something stagnant.I’ve tried to keep track of time, to know how long I’ve spent in here, and failed. There’s no light around here. The darkness around here lacked edges; it pressed against my eyes whether I had them open or closed.Eventually, the hours began to blur together. I can’t even tell if it’s days now, but I sure have lost track of time in here.The only measure of passing time is the dripping. A single drop falling, its echo filling the silent air of the corridor like a nail tapping against stone in tap, tap, tap.The repetition is steady enough to mock the beat of my heart.The guard

037_Between Stone And Silence

Lloyd’s POVI got out of bed. There was no point lying here when sleep wasn’t going to come to me. Exiting the bedroom, I made a beeline down the hallway for my study. The door creaked slightly as I pushed it open, hoping I didn’t wake anyone.On my desk still lay Elora’s note. I rounded the desk and sat, my eye grazing over the note once more.‘I have no faith in them.’I leaned back in the desk chair, rocking it gently. Something is definitely off about the last hearing at the High Council.First, it seemed like the questions were rehearsed. I replayed the hearing in my head and then it suddenly occured to me. All the questions came from councillor Gaius. And Gaius was a good friend of Darius. The only one who seemed different in a way was councillor Epaphras. Could it mean that the idea of arresting Elora was planned from the beginning?One thing is certain; these men know something, and whatever they know involves them and Elora. And they think that by silencing Elora, they c

038_Not Alone

Elora’s POVDarkness. Umbra Darkness. My eyes flipped open, but all I saw was darkness. The surrounding air was damp, filled with burned herbs and ancient dust. Every part of me felt heavy. I felt like a log of wood. I tried to make sense of where I was and failed.But something was off. My hands and feet are not supposed to be free, but they are.What happened to the chains? Where am I?My body ached as if it were dragged for miles. I felt around the cobblestone floor and I struggled to sit up, peering into the darkness. The walls are colder here than it was in the cell. Most of it felt rough, but rare areas felt smooth. My finger grazed a groove and I paused.I peered at it and suddenly I noticed. This was a line. A rune. Faint, almost erased with years. Then suddenly, I noticed it. All manner of runes carved into the wall. Different kinds of lines, odd shapes, forms and symbols, scattered across the walls. I was not in the dungeon. I was somewhere else. But how?I tried to rem

039_Bloodline Secrets

Lloyd’s POVThe fire in my study was almost dead. The embers were glowing faintly and red in the hearth, the weak glow casting shadows that crawled up the walls and shivered across the rows of books on the shelves. I was pacing long before now. I was still pacing. So long that the boards creaked in rhythm with my boots. My hands were aching from clenching and unclenching them. Above all, the anger was still there. I assumed it would leave with the motion, but it never did.The logs were empty now. The guards swore blind that they never moved Elora from her cell. I’d taken liberty when the council saw the gravity of the situation and decided to involve me as Alpha.All of them kept giving me the same answer; I’d questioned them until their fear curdled into silence, but their answer didn’t change. She was there. Then out of the blue, she wasn’t.This situation didn’t look like incompetence. The guards kept in charge of prisoners waiting for trial were the best in what they do, beca

040_Valerija Selene Stark

Elora’s POVIt’s as if the stones in the tunnel are holding their breaths right now. My hands were up now, my palms glowing faintly. Every muscle in my body was tight now and ready to burn the shadow or what the being towarding in the distance is. I’m ready. I was going to give it my all. I was going to give it my best shot. And if it means I go down swinging, then so be it.But I didn’t move. I can’t. Something made it impossible. Something the shadow said.“Selene.” My mother’s middle name. It unfurled in the air, deeper this time. It didn’t come through as harsh or a threat.It came through layered, heavy, as if the voice had borne the burden of the name long enough before now.The voice of the shadow that said it either wasn’t something relatable. It wasn’t human. It wasn’t masculine nor feminine. It sounded like something older, infused with so much magic so thick tha that it vibrated my teeth and pulled my spines like lead strings.My throat was tight, but I managed to forc

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