The Stand-In Queen Chapter 10
A spark of relief lit inside me. The time I had bought had finally paid off.
“Pack Enforcers! Traitors and outlaws-drop your blades and submit!”
Torchlight flared. Elite warriors in silver mail poured from every direction, sealing the forest tight.
The assassins fell into chaos. Some tried to flee, but the trained Enforcers cut them off and herded them into pockets, leaving no escape.
The chief saw his doom. His eyes turned savage. Abandoning all caution, he lunged at me, his blade slicing straight for my face.
He knew he wouldn’t escape today. He meant to take me with him.
“Ayla, watch out!”
Kael shouted in terror, ignoring his wounds to rush toward me.
But I was faster.
The image of my foster mother clutching the bread. The faint cry of my lost child. The countless nights I woke from nightmares, gasping.
All my grief and hatred crystallized into strength.
I sidestepped the blade. Knife sank intothe chief’s chest.
Warm blood sprayed across my cheek.
His eyes widened. His mouth opened. Then he crashed to the ground, dead.
Elara screamed and turned to flee deeper into the woods.
I blocked her path. A flash of my blade caught her knee. She shrieked and collapsed, blood soaking her white furs. Two Enforcers seized her without mercy.
“Ayla! You wretched-! Kael… Kael, save me!”
She thrashed and shrieked like a madwoman. Kael didn’t look at her.
He only looked at me.
The remaining killers were crushed by the Enforcers’ assault, killed or captured within moments.
Three days later, in the Great Hall.
1
The High Elder listened to the full report, his expression grave.
“Ayla, wise and courageous, calm in the face of death. You used yourself as bait to lure out the rival pack remnants and aided the Enforcers in exterminating them, cleansing the pack of treachery. Elara conspired with rival pack outlaws and framed the Luna Queen. Her heart is rotten. She is stripped of all pack standing, cast out as an outcast, and thrown into the dungeon to await execution.”
I bowed, my voice steady.
Elara’s fate had been sealed long ago.
The High Elder paused, then added:
“You are a woman, yet you possess the mind of a strategist and the courage of a warrior. I hereby appoint you Council Scribe of the Pack. You will hold authority over all territorial records and decrees, enter and leave the inner chambers freely, and advise on all matters. Continue to serve the pack with your talents.”
“I accept the appointment.”
I bowed again. I shed the Luna’s ceremonial gown and donned the formal robes of a Scribe. This path was the new life I had carved with my own hands.
The pack dismissal bell rang. Clan representatives filed out.
The sunlight was blinding. I narrowed my eyes slightly.
“Ayla.”
The familiar voice came from behind me. I did not slow my steps.
“Ayla, wait!”
Kael hurried after me and blocked my path. His face was pale, his eyes filled with pain.
“Congratulations… on your appointment.”
I gave a slight nod and moved to step around him.
“Ayla!” He reached for my sleeve, then pulled his hand back.
“I’m sorry…”
His eyes reddened instantly. “I know it’s too late. I know it’s laughable… I didn’t know Elara held that token. I didn’t know she had conspired with those outlaws. I was a fool, blind and stupid, deceived by her performance. 1 let you suffer, and I nearly cost you your life.”
“But Ayla, from beginning to end, my heart has only ever held you. I know I was despicable. I hurt you. But what I feel for you is no longer what it was at the start. I beg you… give me one more chance. Let us start again, please?”
His eyes held a begging I had never seen.
I listened quietly. But inside, there was nothing left.
Those once-burning feelings had scattered long ago, carried away by disappointment after disappointment.
“Kael,”
I lifted my eyes and looked at him calmly. “The one who killed my foster mother-I have killed him with my own hands. The outlaws who took my child have been brought to justice. The Elder’s grace allows me to stand on my own merit. Old debts are settled. Grudges are cleared.”
“From the moment the Bond broke, we owed each other nothing. From now on, you are the Lycan King, and I am the Council Scribe. Our paths are long. Take care of yourself.”
Then I turned and walked steadily forward.
The sunlight stretched my shadow long across the floor.
It would never again touch his.
