Chapter 7

In the city of Wilpur, Lord Blukett sat in his study. With him were four of the most important men in Shezlam. The aged King, seventy years of age, and silver haired, yet the years had done nothing to dull his very sharp wits. He was sitted opposite Lord Blukett, his sharp brown eyes perusing pale green ones.

Beside the King, Thomas Scawscarce, the richest man in Shezlam looked slightly bored, like he would rather be somewhere else.

Lord Gareth sat beside Blukett.

It couldn't really be said, why Gareth deserved to be in a meeting with the King, the richest man in Shezlam, and the formidable Lord Blukett since Gareth himself was not rich, and being Lord of his very small household hardly qualified him to be considered as a political heavyweight. It was however common saying among those that knew that the fear of Lord Gareth sired wisdom, and underestimating him when it came to important issues could be disastrous.

Lord Gareth's face at the moment was an impenetrable mask and both His Majesty and Lord Blukett would have given a sizable chunk of income if only to know what went on behind that mask.

'"Blast it all.'' The King said sorely. "Why can they not just co-exist with us? They are smarter than us by far, why do they fear us so?"

Lord Blukett shook his head. "I do not think the Werewolves are afraid of us Your Majesty." But he did not elaborate.

The Werewolves had been rulling Shezlam for the past ten years and lately their stringent laws and taxes had become unbearable, making the commoners face starvation. With the impending famine, and taxes they still had to pay, there was little to feed themselves and their households. However, the men gathered in Lord Blukett's study at the moment cared little or nothing about what happened to the commoners, what they feared was the rumor that The Alpha sought to destroy the entire Shezlam, including everything living in it.

Before the Werewolves had taken over Shezlam, the two kingdoms of Shezlam – belonging to the humans, and Fharez, belonging to the Werewolves had coexisted somewhat peacefully. Until King Harold of Shezlam had taken it upon himself to colonize the more industrious Kingdom of Fharez, and the then-Alpha, Nerris Dhal Harris had clapped back in the worst counter attack ever, beginning the reign of Fharez over the kingdom of Shezlam. The King seated presently in Lord Blukett's study, winced. What indeed could have possessed him to think he could colonize Fharez!!.

Now there was a new Alpha, a ruthless one, perhaps more ruthless than they feared. Legend had it that before a new Alpha was to emerge, he was required to battle the previous Alpha till the death. The legend made people even more afraid of the new Alpha, Rheaga Dhal Harris, since the former Alpha was his father.

"Give him a bride – a mate as they would like to call it, as a symbol of our trust." Lord Gareth spoke for the first time. "Heaven knows our young Alpha is probably too busy fighting threats against his reign to focus his malevolence on us – especially if we show our loyalty and support."

"And pray tell me what unfortunate young lady we are to give out to this monster as a bride?" The King asked warily. His three daughters were already married with children, and it was no secret that his youngest daughter was his favorite. A daughter born in his old age. He was not prepared to agree to give her out to the Alpha.

Lord Gareth paused a while, until he had the attention of everyone on the table, then he said, "Blukett's granddaughter."

Blukett went from confused to furious, then livid with rage. "Have you gone completely mad! None of my granddaughters are yet twelve years of age. I had no idea the werewolves preferred marriage coupling with children, but I would not have my granddaughters abused so."

"I am talking of a young woman named Hazel." Lord Gareth said, getting up to stand by the window. "If you recall, your son Thomas once put a scullery maid in the family way –"

"Do not," Lord Blukett said, sounding dangerous. "Speak of that incident again."

"Oh! Allow him to go on." Thomas Scawscarce said, seemingly interested in the meeting at last.

"The scullery maid gave birth to a beautiful daughter, who I must say, has your hair color, and your eyes." Gareth continued, ignoring the murderous look Blukett was shooting his way.

"Even if it is as you say, and Blukett does have a granddaughter growing up somewhere in the country side, and who is pleasing to the eyes – as you claim, it would be a fatal insult to give this peasant, this bastard daughter of a scullery maid the Alpha as a mate. Knowing Rheaga, he can kill a thousand of us just to salvage his pride."

Lord Gareth nodded, as though he agreed with what the king had just said, but then, his next words were in contradiction. "But then, there is nothing like marriage for the werewolves, and so the concept of bastards is above them. As for her manners, if you give me a year or two, to prepare her for the Alpha, I shall have such a sweet offering ready for Rheaga, our dear Alpha, that even he shall be pleased, and forget for a moment about tormenting this kingdom."

Scawscarce was shaking his head slowly, disappointed with Gareth's proposal, and angry that he had been dragged into the conversation. "We are looking for a solution to an immediate problem, and you speak of one that would take effect in the next two or three years. Probably by then, the Alpha would have destroyed all of Shezlam, and your plan as well." Scawscarce was secretly not afraid of the impending threat, he believed his money could buy him anything, including citizenship at Fharez, should Shezlam prove to disadvantage him politically.

"One or two." Lord Gareth muttered, then raising his voice, "we could tell Rheaga that we had a bride for him, from the noble Blukett's loins, but that we wanted her groomed to suit his tastes, and that perhaps, he would send over one of his women to instruct her grooming, so that in the end, she would suit his tastes perfectly."

"That's a lot of assuming." Scawscarce who had not become the richest man in Shezlam by making assumptions chirped in.

"Oh! But they are concrete ones." Lord Gareth stepped away from the window, and back to his sit. He took a swirl from the glass in front of him, giving the other men in the room time to digest his proposal.

Blukett was reluctant to admit to himself that it was a brilliant idea. He had no use for some bastard daughter growing up somewhere in the country side, and if any good was to come of the scheme, it might be good to have an Alpha's mate for a granddaughter. He did not nod or say a word, but the three other men in the room knew the moment he had decided in favor of Lord Gareth's proposal.

The King himself was in deep thought. It was obvious that Lord Gareth's scheme was a brilliant idea, but he didn't trust Lord Gareth. He could only hope that this time, the conniving Lord was plotting in favor of the entire Shezlam, for the king was ass sure as his hair was gray, that there was a lot about Lord Gareth's plan that he was not telling them.

"Think about it." Lord Gareth prodded. "The Alpha has nothing to loose. He would probably send us one of his women, and even he has to be curious about the outcome."

The King nodded, suddenly feeling weary. "Take the wench then. Send for her from the country side, let's see how much we can mold her to his liking."