CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
1534 Words
BASTIAN
“Since when did your sister stop insisting on marrying me, and now she wants me to marry a princess? Don't get me wrong, I am glad that she finally got rid of those silly ideas, but I am curious,” I ask August after the meeting with the alphas is over.
"I don't know, I guess her near death experience changed something in her, she hasn't been the same since then," he tells me with a shrug.
"Have she fully recovered yet?" I ask him.
"Yes, and she was asking about Elina's older brother," he tells me.
"The one in jail?" I ask confused.
"No, the other one, the one who left the kingdom with his mother and joined Elina, apparently he was the one who intervened when the two fought, and stopped Elina from killing her," August tells me.
"Oh, maybe Iris wants to know more about her savior," I tell him with a shrug.
"No, I know her, and she seems too interested in him, it's not normal, I think she likes him, although that could explain why she is no longer interested in you," he tells me amused.
“Are you telling me that the always proud Iris Cross fell in love with an omega? Oh, if we weren't in an impending war I would be having fun at her expense right now,” I reply with a chuckle, and he nods.
"I know, but don't even think about saying anything to her, she gets very defensive every time I bring it up," he warns me.
"Don't worry, I won't," I assure him.
"Well, now we must talk about more serious matters, what are you going to do about the marriage plan?" he asks me.
"I don't know, August, I know it is the most reasonable thing to do right now, I know that any regent with a little sense would do, but I can't even imagine marrying someone other than Elina," I tell him, and he looks at me with sympathy and exasperation at the time.
"I understand your point, but you must remember that she was able to marry someone else," he tells me.
"Yes, but at that time she did not know the truth, and I have been trying for weeks to convince her to forgive me and come back to me, tell me, do you think that marrying someone else will help me convince her that I am sorry and want her back? Do you think she will admit that Aiden and Alissa are my children if I marry a princess other than her?" I ask him.
“I know, but we still don't know if she believes you or not, we still don't know if she is willing to admit the truth about the twins, or if one day she's going to leave her husband and come back here, all of those are just mere assumptions, and don’t think that by saying this way it means that I no longer support your relationship, but we must be realistic, Bastian, as long as we continue at war with them we will be at a disadvantage,” he tells me, and I run my hands through my hair in a nervous gesture.
“We can find a way to get an alliance without having to resort to an arranged marriage,” I tell him.
"We have already tried our best to convince the other kingdoms, and so far, we have not achieved alliances powerful enough," he tells me.
"We have Moon Valley and Green Woods, along with the Varkolak army we are strong, we would only need one more kingdom to equal the numbers," I say foolishly, as I know they are vain attempts to maintain my position against an arranged marriage.
“They have the Crimson Woods forces who are quite good, the money from Blackshadows, apparently also Silver Moon, although that alliance has not been confirmed, and lastly, they have the Red Army, and Bastian, we don't even know for sure how many warriors are there in the red army,” he tells me with concern, and I exhale in defeat.
"I know, I know we are at a disadvantage," I reply.
"The time that Elina gave us to search for evidence is running out, the truce is going to end soon, and we couldn't even get away with a rogue attack, I don't want to sound pessimistic, but we are not prepared for a war," he tells me.
"What do you suggest?" I ask him.
“There are seven kingdoms on the continent, Varkolak, Green Woods and Moon Valley are on one side, Crimson Woods, Silver Moon, and Blackshadows are on another, the only one that remains neutral is Howling Creek, which is the one we need to balance the scale,” he tells me.
“I already know that, but old King Arnold has been very clear that he is not going to take sides in the war, there is no way to convince him, we would need the small towns where there are packs that are not within any kingdom, and convince their alphas to help us,” I tell him, and he shakes his head.
"You know well that those packs without kingdoms don’t get involved with us, there is a reason why they don’t have kings and it is precisely because they don’t go into wars that they cannot win," he tells me.
"So, you suggest we give up?" I ask him.
"No, King Arnold has no heirs yet, but he does have a niece, the daughter of his younger brother, Princess Eleanor," he starts to say, and I cut him off.
"No," I answer flatly.
"Bastian, we should at least try a proposal to King Arnold, if he definitely refuses to ally himself with us even with a married proposal on the table, then we will think of other options," he tells me, and I sit on the sofa with my face between my hands, racking my brains looking for the answer to this problem.
A couple of minutes later, I raise my head and look at August with a defeated expression.
"You know I would take your place without thinking, but no one will agree to go to war for the hand of a Beta," he tells me.
And then I feel it, the pain in my chest again.
Shit.
I had forgotten how much it hurt, and how disgusting it is to think that Elina is f*cking that i***t, it had been weeks since the last time, and I stupidly thought that what happened in the forest was going to change something, but I was a fool to believe that would soften Elina's cold heart.
August looks at me sadly as he notices the way my hand squeezes my chest tightly, knowing well what is happening right now.
"Okay, call Howling Creek, let's see what they think about an arrange marriage," I tell him, and he nods immediately.
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