A Queen's Game (Lauren/You)

Other Choice (Chapter 9)

A/N: Oh man! Have I got plans for this story. I'm very excited :D and with that said, I'd like to thank you guys for the support! To be honest, I thought this would flop cause I was inactive for so long but the fandom comes out in F O R C E. Also, I've been working on some music too and it would be great to see you guys support that too! Here's my latest one that I've written. Anyway, enjoy the chapter my loves! Enjoy!

(Y/N)'s P.O.V

"So how's Normani coming along?" Camila leaned up to my ear, trying her best to stay in a hushed tone, but knowing the bubbly Cuban, this was extremely difficult. My gaze shifted towards my mate, who was beside the woman we so badly needed to be on our side. By the annoyance laced in her eyes, it didn't seem too positive.

"Well, just by the look on her face, it doesn't seem too good." A long sigh left my lips, as I noticed Lauren's eyes connect with my own, a beg for help already etched onto her features. I couldn't help by smile weakly to her as to say sorry for putting her in that position.

My ears perked up at Camila's heavy sigh that seemed to create this thick tension within the air. It was obvious that we had a long road in order to gain the woman's trust. "(Y/N) we may not have the time to keep going in circles, hoping that Normani will see what we are trying to do..." I hated to say that I agreed with her.

I knew Normani could change, but time was limited.

"I know...it's just...she can change. But if we can't get her help, then we're on our own. In the dark..." My wolf, Nova, hated the thought of us fighting with our eyes basically closed. We had no idea where the rebels were and we didn't know who their leader was. Once the activity in the eastern region, they seemed to disappear. It was like they were making us chase our tail. 

Our tail...

My eyes widened as it hit me all at once. They want us to be chaotic. They want us to be so panicked that we are going around in circles. It all made too much sense. So much so that it almost scared me.

"That's it..." I mumbled to myself, gaining the attention of Camila. Her brows were furrowed as to ask for me to carry on with my all new found revelation. "We've been chasing the rebels since day one. We need to stop." By the look Camila had on her face, it was almost as she'd just seen me grow three heads. 

"You've got to be kidding me, right (Y/N)? You just want to stop our efforts to take them down?"

"No. That's how we're going to take them down."

"Wait...now you're just confusing me..." The grumble left my lips before I could stop it. Turning towards the Cuban, the plan was etched out perfectly into my head.

"We stop chasing them. We let them come to us. The rebels have been making us chase our own tail. It's exactly what they want, they want us to be chaotic and disorganised. Then they will attack straight at the heart when we least expect it. But this time, we'll be ready." My gaze flicked back towards Dinah, who just slammed a cadet back to the ground. I mean, points to the kid as they just kept getting back up.

"(Y/N), you can't really mea-"

"We're going to let the rebels attack the castle."

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"Are you out of your mind!?" The growl that left my mate's lips I would have found weirdly erotic if it wasn't of the pure rage she was looking at me with. Reaching out to hold her gently by her shoulders, Lauren simply shrugged me off as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, demanding an answer from me. I won't lie, it did sting a little bit since she shrugged me off but now wasn't the time for the mate bond to effect what I had to say.

"Lauren, we have been chasing our own tail since day one. It's what they want. They want us to be so disorganised that we wouldn't even realise if a surprise attack had happened on the grounds in the first place." I urged my mate to see my point of view, but it seemed that she still had to be convinced. 

And strongly at that.

"Look, all we have to do, is stop sending our men and women to go after them. Instead, we let them come straight to us. If anything, it'll freak them out that they wouldn't have met any resistance from immediately stepping onto our grounds. It could deter them completely." By the fact that Lauren still had her arms across her chest, it was obvious to anyone look at the two of us that she certainly didn't agree with my plan.

"I'm sorry? So you want people who want you dead, to just come marching straight up to the castle." Lauren's brows were firmly perked upwards as to question my thinking. Even my wolf grumbled at the thought of our mate disagreeing with our plan so strongly. To me, it was fool proof. It was perfect to stage the perfect surprise attack on our enemy.

"Yeah. That's exactly it. But we must be ready. If we reduce our scouts around our boarders by half, we will have more soldiers around our castle defences. When they notice a large gathering of troops in any region, they run and let them advance." I could tell that Lauren was still skeptical of this whole idea but by her longing gaze to the side, I knew she was considering the option.

"If you're sure this is the way, and that you know what you're doing. I have to accept it." Her tone was one that was reluctant, not wanting to be so open and vulnerable to the enemy but it was understandable. No one wanted that. 

But what other choice do we have?