After a full night of running fast on wolf legs. Valledor had reached alpha Jireh’s court by dawn. The red moon alpha was surprised to have received a visitor so early, but upon hearing who it was, he didn’t waste any time in honoring his presence.
“Beta Valledor, this is the first time I’ll be seeing you in my court. I didn’t receive any message from you prior to this visit.”
“I’m sorry for the impromptu visit, alpha Jireh, but it was an urgent matter I came for, one that I am sure will capture your interest.”
Jireh creased his brow as he took his seat, “what sort of matter is this?”
“The lotus princess, she is to be crowned today.”
It came to Jireh’s remembrance then. Of course, inevitably resulting from the death of her father, Miranda was next in line to the alpha seat. Still, there was something Jireh wasn’t clear about.
“If there is a coronation taking place in your pack today Valledor, then why are you here? Are you not a high-ranking officer of the Lotus tribe? Aren’t you supposed to be there when it concerns the leadership affairs of your community?”
Valledor nodded, “I am fully aware of all that, Jireh, but the only reason why I am not there is because what I came here for is far more important.”
“In what sense could seeing me be more important than that?”
“I am here… because amongst plenty things, I do not support the decision the lotus circle has made in letting Miranda take the seat.”
Valledor’s words surprised Jireh even more. “The fact that you support it or not shouldn’t matter Valledor. That decision is the sole responsibility of the circle, and for them to have concluded, they must have thought well about it and I’m sure they had good reason to do so.”
“Miranda is not fit to be a leader, my Lord! Her husband might be a good alpha, but she is far from that! She’s just a child, who has no idea of…”
“Enough, Valledor! Apart from the fact that it’s disrespectful for you to be calling her like that in her absence, I also think it’s not right to be judging when you haven’t even given her a chance. You haven’t seen her in action, so how do you know she’s not fit?”
The red moon king is clearly on Miranda’s side. Valledor realized then that coming here was a mistake, he’s never going to agree to betray Miranda nor her husband no matter how much he persuades. No, Jireh surely won’t, not when he speaks like this. Valledor decided to calm his tone and push his words aside, as he didn’t want to give alpha Jireh the slightest hint of his true purpose here. At least now Samara won’t say he didn’t give it a shot.
“I’m sorry my lord, I realize my mistake now, thank you for telling me that all I had to do was give her a chance. I think it’s time I take my leave now,” he got up.
“Valledor?”
“Yes, alpha Jireh?”
It looked as if you had something else to say, surely you couldn’t have travelled such far distance only to whine about how the Lotus circle chose not to listen to you?
“Um… no sire. That’s all I came here for, you see after the meeting yesterday, I had to let my wolf out to clear the frustration, and I went for a very long run. By the time my mind had calmed down a bit, I saw that I was close to your place and I decided to drop by for a visit.”
“Are you sure? Because your story does not correlate with the manner in which you marched in here.”
“Absolutely sure sire. I assure you that there’s nothing else on my mind.”
“Very well then, I bid you good day, Valledor, and I still hope you’ll find it in your heart to accept Miranda, she’s a good queen. I already know that because I’ve met her.”
Valledor didn’t respond, only took to walk straight out of the court, back to where he came from.
**********
That night, Jireh couldn’t sleep. His wolf always knows trouble when he sees it. Valledor does not have good intentions with the Lotus queen, that fact is certain. Only the goddess knows what he’s planning behind the curtains. Only the goddess knows the real reason he came here today.
“What is it dear?”
He turned to see his mate watching him with concerned eyes, she must have woken up and noticed his unease.
“Nothing Priya, I was just thinking of something, that’s all. Please go back to sleep.”
“You and I both know that something great troubles you. You know well that I won’t sleep until you tell me what it is.”
Sighs, Priya knew him well. Too well. He began to narrate everything that happened today to her, from the few minutes he spent with Valledor to what sparked the troubled thoughts in his head.
She gasped, “Jireh, I’m surprised you’ve kept this all to yourself since! Of course, you do not need a soothsayer to tell you what’s going on!”
“I know treachery when I see it with my own eyes Priya, I just didn’t expect it from someone like Valledor. I’ve known him for years, but it turns out I’ve never seen this side of him. Today he spoke with so much loathe and despite for the one he is supposed to serve.”
Priya nudged closer, taking his face in her two hands, “Jireh, you are an alpha. You should not let fear or pity get in the way of your better judgement. You know the right thing to do, please do it now for the sake of the queen.”
He nodded, “thank you, Priya. It means now that I’ll have to head to the Lotus pack immediately. I should get there by morning. It seems even right that apart from reporting the beta, I ought to pay homage to late alpha Luther.”
Priya then gave him a soft kiss on the lips, “may the gods be with you as you head on your journey, dear.”