“Aren’t you supposed to be working, not being a lovey-dovey here?” His Majesty said through gritted teeth.
General Cairo and I knelt before him. “May your anger dissipate, Your Majesty,” we said in unison.
His Majesty was angry based on the tone he was giving right now. The dangerous aura was emanating from him. One wrong move from us and he could punish us.
But how did he get down from the fifth floor? I saw him there. Did he jump or did he use his wolf speed to get downstairs?
“I am asking you two. Answer me!”
Cairo and I exchanged glances before our eyes settled on the angered Alpha King. I was about to answer Alpha King Claudian when General Cairo spoke.
“My apologies, Your Majesty. You misunderstood our situation.”
“Rise and explain,” he ordered coldly.
We both rose from kneeling.
“General Rachelle seems a little down so I consoled her, Your Majesty. We ask for your forgiveness if you misunderstood the situation.” It was General Cairo while I remained silent.
“Is that true, General Rachelle?”
I glanced at His Majesty. My wolf suddenly went on a rampage seeing him. I took a deep breath so I could calm her.
I nodded my head. “Indeed. General Cairo is telling the truth, Your Majesty. Forgive us for being insolent.” I lowered my head.
‘Ask him! Rachelle, ask him!’
I ignored my wolf. I raised my gaze again to look at His Majesty and saw an emotion cross his eyes. I shivered, feeling a desperate feeling from his wolf. His wolf was trying to communicate with us…
“Forgiven,” he said coldly. “Know your place, General Rachelle and General Cairo. If you two are being intimate, don’t do it right here in the palace grounds.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” General Cairo and I said in unison.
“You may now be dismissed.”
We bowed before him before we decided to leave. I gave His Majesty one last glance before I turned my back for good. I didn’t look back even though my wolf wanted to stop me. But I felt his intense glare penetrating my back that made me shiver a little.
“His Majesty is scary, don’t you think?”
I turned to General Cairo who was smiling wryly. “His stern expression makes me shiver,” I said honestly.
“And that’s how you execute that you are the highest authority.” He grinned.
“Aren’t you an Alpha to your pack as well, General Cairo?” I remember he told me about that before. He is the Alpha of the Moon Rising Pack.
“Was. But my second brother has to take over my Alpha position because I need to work here in the military.” He shrugged like it was just nothing for him. “But once I go back, I can’t be Alpha anymore. It’s fine with me because I can’t handle two positions.” He laughed a little.
“Being a General is a heavy job already.”
“Exactly.”
We met Colette and Benedict afterward. Colette couldn’t help herself clinging to my arm which I just chuckled.
“General, we will go to the assembly hall for the conference meeting. I wonder what the meeting is all about,” said Colette as we were on our way to the cafeteria.
“I surmise that it is about the brigade.” I turned to Cairo and Benedict. “What’s your hunch, you two?”
“Same. High likely that is about the brigade,” Benedict said.
Cairo nodded. “I also have an inkling that is the topic. Looks like His Majesty has already picked who will lead the brigade.” He looked at me. “Are you expecting an advance congratulation from us, Rachelle?”
I shrugged. “As if His Majesty will choose me. You see his disgusto expression when I volunteered.” I huffed. He couldn’t even decide. He could have just agreed.
“You have two Fleet Admirals in your back, Rachelle,” Benedict said. “They got your back. I’m sure you will be chosen. My Colette will be happy for you. Right, Colette?” He looked at his mate lovingly.
Colette looked at him and nodded, smiling from ear to ear. “Of course!” Then she turned at me. “I’ll be your first supporter, General!”
I just chuckled and didn’t say anything. Let’s see if that is going to happen. But I didn’t have high hopes for that.
“General Cairo, General Benedict, and General Rachelle have arrived!”
“C’mon! You can’t just announce our presence,” I said to the royal guard when we arrived at the cafeteria. We don’t want a slight commotion here.
All of the soldiers stood up and made a salute to us. When we nodded our heads, acknowledging their presence, they went back to their seats and continued eating.
We approached Captain Iris. “Greetings, Your Highness,” we said in unison and bowed before her.
“Greetings, Generals and fellow Captain,” Princess Cherish formally said with a smile. “You may raise your heads.”
We glanced up and followed her order. Then we went to an empty table beside the Commanders area and settled there. We got along as we were companions in the past. I missed hanging out with them. If only their day off was the same as mine, I would have hung out with them.
After that, we went to the assembly hall and went to our respective seats. We were in the rows where soldiers had a General position. Fleet Admirals are sitting in the front. Next are Lieutenant Commanders, and Generals. The three positions were considered the highest military authority. But the Fleet Admirals were considered as the higher-ups. Alpha King is also part of the higher-ups. The middle military ranks were Commanders and Captains.
That is the order of the military authority.
“His Majesty has arrived!”
The loud chit-chatting slowly died down as we both rose from our seats. The moment His Majesty arrived, we all placed our right palm to our left chest then our free hand was settled at the back. Then we all bowed down before him as we all uttered,
“Long live His Majesty!”
“You may all sit down,” Alpha King Claudian ordered.
I glanced up and saw the dignified figure of our Alpha King. I knew I had seen him like that but I couldn’t help but be in awe. That manly figure of his was enough for me to dart my eyes only on him.
But my wolf couldn’t appreciate it. Until now, she was still feeling bitter about him getting married to an unknown woman. As much as it hurt me, I couldn’t do anything about it.
He took a folder from Sir Felix and looked at us, waiting for his announcement.
“The Fleet Admirals and I have a thorough screening for the Generals who will be fitted to lead the brigade,” he started.
I inhaled. This is it. Although I am not expecting to lead the brigade because Alpha King didn’t seem to let me lead it. So, I already dropped my hopes on it.
“The brigade a General shall lead, they must go to the war with the rogues and their ruler, Magnius Lothim. What we have picked to lead the brigade is under unanimous decision. No bias intended. We based on the performance a General had done to showcase his worth of ability to lead. Hence, the General must be capable to control his subordinates and make a fair decision without the need of help of the higher-ups.” He sighed and opened the folder. His expression changed when his eyes focused on it before he raised his glance so he could look at us. But my heart leaped when his eyes suddenly darted on me. “General Rachelle Simon, stand up.”
Distorted, I stood up, feeling a little nervous. What made me even more nervous was that all of their eyes were on me. I stood up in the middle of the aisle while waiting for what he was going to say next.
He silenced for a moment the moment our eyes met. His cold expression was making me shiver down my spine.
“Rachelle Simon, 25th General of the military.” I bowed my head, respecting His Majesty for mentioning my whole name and my rank. “You are going to lead the brigade.”
My eyes widened. What? Lead the brigade? Am I hearing it correctly? Did he just tell me that I will lead the brigade? Is this for real? Am I the one who will lead it? A dream come true?
If people hadn’t made applause, I wouldn’t have snapped back. To my gratefulness, I knelt and placed my right hand on my left chest.
“You won’t regret choosing me as the one who will lead the brigade, Your Majesty,” I said in my calm demeanor but inside, my heart was already exploding from excitement.
I bit my inner cheeks so I would compose myself in a stoic expression. But I’m pretty excited that this would be the first time that I am going to lead my brigade.
“You may rise.” I followed his order. “You must come here and I will say the other details.”
I went to the podium and stood beside His Majesty. He gave me the folder. There, I saw my name as the General leading the brigade with my photo in it. I expressed a small smile. I lowered down my gaze as I saw that they already had decided the troops that would come to my brigade. I furrowed my eyebrows.
“Is there something wrong, General Rachelle?”
I raised my glance to meet His Majesty’s eyes. Sighing, I bowed my head a little. “I beg your pardon, Your Majesty but may I request that I will be the one who will pick my troops that will be sent to the Auritaurie?”
“Your reason?”
“The troops chosen here are not strong enough to join my brigade.”
“General Rachelle!” It was Fleet Admiral Francisco who had knitted his eyebrows. “The troops listed there have been handpicked by His Majesty and you dared to request to change it?”
I calmed myself. I should let them know that this wasn’t the perfect troop I had been looking for.
I turned to His Majesty who had been silently watching me. I made a slight bow before I spoke.
“I appreciate His Majesty’s personal handpicking of the troops but as the ruler of this brigade, I believe I can request to whom I should go with. I can assure victory if you let me pick who are my troops and platoons, Your Majesty,” I said as politely as possible.
I don’t mean to offend him. But if they want a hundred percent of victory, then they must let me pick what I want.
“Your Majesty, you must not forgive how insolent she is,” Admiral Francisco said.
“General Rachelle won’t go home failing her mission, Your Majesty.” I turned my head seeing Admiral Jose who already stood up. “I am the one who personally trained her and I know that what she is doing is for the benefit of the kingdom, Your Majesty. I can put my Fleet Admiral position for a gamble if General Rachelle is not fooling around.”
When Admiral Jose nodded his head at me, I respectfully bowed before him because of his perspective with me. I knew I had chosen a kind mentor and I didn’t regret it.
“Very well. I will let you choose your troops and discard the list in the folder, General Rachelle.” That made me relief from His Majesty’s decision. “Since Fleet Admiral Jose is willing to take the risk by putting his position in the line, I might say I will take this risk to see the outcome.” He smiled with a blank expression. “Enlighten me and choose your troops here.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty. It’s a great honor for me.” I smiled triumphantly, looking at them. “For the two companions who will lead the two troops, I picked General Cairo and General Benedict,” I said, not wanting to prolong this as I am getting hyped that my wish has been granted.
Cairo and Benedict stood up and saluted their heads at me. I nodded before I turned my attention to the Commander section. I picked Connor, Bricks, Howard, and unfortunately, Morris Highgate. For the captains, I need to pick ten. I picked the other seven Captains that are capable of leading their platoons. The last ones are Colette, Inkstone, and lastly…
“Captain Iris.”
“What?” His Majesty said, panicking. “General Rachelle, are you putting the Princess of Oakplain in the line of the deathbed?” he said angrily.
“Your Majesty, I am a Captain and I am honored to be picked by General Rachelle.” It was Princess Cherish with a confident figure.
“But Cherish…”
“I am a Captain and a Princess. I will serve our kingdom with all my might. Please allow me.”
Sighing, he surrendered and nodded. “You have my approval.” Then he shot me a glare. “Which platoons?”
“The Eagle Mist, Your Majesty. My elite soldiers when I was there Commander,” I said confidently. “And 20, 000 soldiers from each commander.”
They all gasped at my words. Each Commander consists of 40, 000 soldiers under their wing. But when I was still a Commander, I had a hundred thousand troops. Ten percent of them are my elite soldiers named The Eagle Mist which they were trained heavily and each of them can defeat a thousand people. They were trained heavily by me and the Grand Alpha has been keeping them in the shadows. They are going to be used when the time comes.
In the last battle of rogues, I wasn’t permitted to bring my elite soldiers to the battlefield. This is why it caused a lot of deaths that almost led me to despair.
“Don’t worry, Your Majesty, I shall only bring half of the Eagle Mist. The remaining are put on standby in case we need a backup.”
I saw him having a sigh of relief. He nodded. “Very well. Looks like you already have it planned.” But I saw a proud expression written in his eyes.
“I’m honored for your praise, Your Majesty.” I smiled triumphantly.
“I’m afraid General Rachelle must not pursue to lead the brigade.”
I furrowed my eyebrows from that statement as we all looked at the sudden opening of the two-way doors. There, Grand Alpha appeared, and alongside him was…
Huh? Princess Cassandra and Alpha Storm?
We all stood up and bowed our heads before them.
“What do you mean General Rachelle can’t lead the brigade, Father?” His Majesty asked afterward.
Grand Alpha narrowed his eyes at him then to me. That made me nervous. He was looking at me as if I had done something wrong.
“General Rachelle, do you know why your Luna and Alpha come here?”
I looked at Princess Cassandra and Alpha Storm. I don’t understand why they are here. I returned my gaze to Grand Alpha.
“My apologies, Grand Alpha for I am not sure why Alpha Storm and Luna Casey are here. Please enlighten me,” I said politely.
Alpha Storm stepped forward and waved a letter in his hand. “We are the representatives for the chosen betrothed for the Alpha King.”
“Huh?” Representatives? “Someone from our pack?” Storm forced a smile and nodded. I tilted my head then I looked at His Majesty. When our eyes met, he also had a perplexed look. “Who then?”
Grand Alpha tapped Alpha Storm’s shoulder. “You are my son’s betrothed, General Rachelle.”
I gasped. “What?” My world crumbled down and I immediately turned at His Majesty who had a shocked expression.
“Father, what is the meaning of this?! You said that Rachelle is not on the list of the candidates!”
“G-Grand Alpha, is this one of your j-jokes? If it is, this isn’t funny,” I said. My lips were quivering as I couldn’t believe what I just heard.
I’m Alpha King Claudian’s betrothed? The hell!
“Unfortunately, I am not kidding this time, Rachelle,” Grand Alpha said with a cold tone. He stepped forward. His hands were clenching. “I also found out that you two are each other’s mates.”
I gasped. My heart was pumping so wild. How did he know?
“Father, what nonsense are you spouting? W-We are not each other’s mates. Right, Rachelle?”
Hesitant, I nodded, looking at His Majesty. His expression was in turmoil right now. All of the military members were seeing this.
“Father found out, dear brother.” It was Casey.
“What?” His Majesty said through gritted teeth.
Casey looked at us, straight-faced. “He made an investigation as to where is the source of your mate. He was led to our pack. Also, we admitted to him that Rachelle is your mate and you are Rachelle’s mate.”