Her Alpha - Complete

Chapter 45

"What am I facing?" Tatiana asked, looking between Bernard and Rufus. Two of the senior-most Ivashkovs, after herself, now they'd been released from detention they could serve and advise her as she awaited sentencing in prison.

"It's hard to know," Rufus replied honestly. "It will be at the discretion of the Representative Council, and until the composition is known, and they're sworn in, there's no knowing how they will respond. Best case is they'll try then convict you, but allow you to go away somewhere where you'll be kept in isolation but well treated. The worst case is..."

"That I'll swing," Tatiana finished for him, her voice devoid of emotion. A part of her, admittedly a small part, almost wished for the finality of death. Her life before becoming Monarch had been so short and curtailed. It was hard to even remember a time when she didn't have the privilege, along with the burdensome responsibility, of being Queen. More than anything, now, she wanted peace. Yet she'd signed on for a lifetime, and she'd see it out—no matter how long or short that life would be.

"I doubt it will come to that," Bernard interjected. "While there is still ill-feeling about the age decree, you have a lot of support amongst the Royal families. They will not allow you to suffer."

"That all depends on how many Royals end up on the new Council," Tatiana mused. "How does it stand as of today?"

"There are no official figures, yet," Bernard prefaced, his eyes meeting Rufus' seeking support. "So far it looks like a seven Dhampir, six Moroi Council," he admitted apologetically. "The known Dhampir are Erskine, Schoenberg, Sokolov, and Kuznetsov. No one particularly radical, but that might be a problem. All the Dhampir are solid, known, and respected by the populace, so it will dispose the uneducated to trust them."

Rufus growled under his breath. As a family, they'd been busy focused on the wrong issue. Clearing Tatiana's name was a lost cause—they'd have been better off doing their utmost to influence the outcome of the elections! Now they'd be stuck with a bunch of moderate and left-wing Council members! Vlad knew how much damage they'd be able to inflict in their first term of representation!

"And the Moroi?" Tatiana snapped, dismissing the Dhampir representatives as a useless bunch of rabble.

"Ariana, Vasilisa, and Igor are certainties," Bernard replied. "The other three are still in contention. With so many candidates, every vote counts. We won't know for sure until the last count is in..."

"Mazur played us like a cheap piano," Tatiana growled, furious that the Turkish mobster had recognized Moroi self-interest and ambition, exploiting them to further his own agenda. Her greatest failing in a life of service to her people—she should never have taken her eyes off him—not even for a moment!

"It would seem so," Rufus admitted. "Yet we're in this for the long game... Let the Dhampir have their little taste of power. Overall, they're a lazy bunch. They don't have the intelligence or dedication to see this through. Give it a term, maybe two, then they'll go back to their own normal lives, and voting for the Council will be a novelty they've forgotten. Then we can stack the Council with Royal Moroi, and everything can get back to normal!"

"So you've given up on restoring a Royal monarch?" the former Queen questioned, finally putting into words the question they'd all skirted around since Bernard and Rufus had arrived to visit.

"I'm afraid it has to be so, Auntie," Rufus said. The truth was, every Royal family—including her own—appreciated Tatiana's reign was over, as was the time of a Moroi ruler. For better or worse, the Representative Council was the way forward. Even if most Royals didn't want it to be that way. "Public opinion all but demands it." Bernard nodded, verifying Rufus' words.