The Council Members
Adams’ POV;
I was still reeling with anger from the incident at dinner with my brothers, and now it was this?
I didn’t need to open it to know what it was about. I had a conversation with Ronan regarding this a few weeks ago.
Flashback
“Don’t you think this will pose a problem between you and the members of the council?” Ronan asked after being quiet throughout the drive until we got to the pack, and I had made sure that the royal doctor checked her.
“Is that what you’ve been thinking about all morning?”
“I mean, she is technically a criminal. That’s you interfering in Greenforest’s personal business. I don’t think the members of the council will like that very much.”
“Does it look like I care about what they think?”
“That’s the problem, your highness. You have to care. If your brother could capitalize on this fact and get their support, then there will be nothing stopping him.”
“I am the Alpha King!”
“Your Highness. The real power resides with the members of the council; you know that! I think you should send her back to Greenforest immediately. I know you only wish to help her, but you have already gotten the attention of Alpha Rivers. He might want to-”
I swallowed hard and turned back, gazing squarely at him.
“She is my mate, Ronan.”
He looked taken aback, and I turned back to look out the window. I had decided to just watch everything play out and not interfere; besides, it wasn’t in my jurisdiction. But after seeing my mate being mistreated like that, I couldn’t just sit back.
“Oh,” was all he said as he nodded with understanding.
“I know they’re going to try using her against me, but I will be prepared. I can’t let anything at all happen to her.”
“Are you going to make her the queen?” He asked after a while of silence, and a sigh was expelled from my lips.
I sat down in front of him, feeling the urge to drink the whiskey that was atop the table.
“What do you think, Ronan?”
“I think you shouldn’t. She’s an Omega and Greenforest’s traitor. To clear her name, it will require you to reveal that you know about the ploy between Alpha Haines and your brother.”
“I couldn’t wait to make her mine when the time was right.”
“You do know that once the members of the council find out that you rescued an Omega and she is currently in one of your rooms, not the maid’s quarter, they’re going to realize that she is either your mate or someone special to you, and they won’t hold back.”
“I will be ready.”
Present
I had shared my surprise with Ronan about how the elders had all been quiet, even when I had introduced her to them as my mate and future queen. They had all given their approval and blessings during the mating ceremony, and now, all of a sudden, they were sending me a letter for an emergency meeting.
“What if it isn’t what we’re thinking?” I glanced at the maid, who was always following us. I wondered if it was Lilith who had instructed her to follow us because she didn’t feel safe with me.
Although I wanted to ask, I said nothing as I felt it was going to be awkward and she was going to get mad as to why I was questioning her maid.
“You!” I said, glancing at her and motioning for her to come closer. “Come. Come escort the Queen to her chambers.”
She hurried closer, bowed, and muttered something that sounded like a greeting. My mind was too preoccupied to think about anything.
“I’ll see you later, my queen,” I said, and she nodded and walked away with her maid. I watched her retreating figure, feeling determined more than ever to protect her.
I frowned as I realized something-that woman who walked away with her just now wasn’t the personal maid I had assigned to her. Had she requested a change?
“Your Highness, after dinner today, I think we’ve been looking at the wrong person,” Ronan said, breaking my reverie, and I glanced at him.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, we’ve been looking at Ben and disregarding the rest.”
“That’s because they don’t have the balls to do anything. But I know Ben. He is daring, and I’m very much convinced that he is the mastermind behind everything. Who have you been thinking about? Raoul?” I burst out laughing.
As a child, I looked up to Raoul, but later, I got to know that Raoul’s got a big mouth. He was a talker with no action. He was a coward, and his mind was too shallow.
“Raoul is a coward, and Bartholomew is too busy taking care of his skin to go out and plot anything. I know this is Ben’s doing. He’s a snake!”
I broke the seal and opened the letter, sighing as I read the content.
“Bloody idiots!” I muttered and tore it to pieces. The letter didn’t give details about what the meeting was about. It was only stated that it was going to be about the progress of the kingdom.
I hissed in annoyance and walked to my room. I had slept in my room that night instead of the room I shared with Lilith.
Throughout the night, I kept tossing and turning as I tried to think about the best course of action at the moment. I also tried to be positive. It could be that the reason they were summoning an emergency meeting wasn’t at all because of what I was thinking.
That morning, I dressed up quickly and sent a message to Lilith that I wasn’t going to have breakfast that morning. I knew that she wasn’t going to say anything, as she was still indifferent towards me even after several weeks of being here. According to the doctor, her trauma ran deep.
When I got to the conference room, they were already seated and waiting for me. They stood up as soon as they saw me, and I grunted and took my seat, my eyes scanning all of their faces as if I were looking for a trace of whatever they had called this meeting for.Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.
“Your Highness, as concerned members of this kingdom, we cannot fold our arms and do nothing when it’s going to ruins,” one of the council members, Darius, spoke first.
I scoffed. Concerned members indeed. More like convinced members.
“And tell us, Darius, how this kingdom is going to ruins.”
“I know, as a youngster, you just want to follow your heart and love. I’ve been there before.
“So, you’re saying there’s something wrong with following one’s heart? Aren’t you married? Are you trying to tell us here that you don’t love your wife?”
“No, Your Highness. I do love my wife. Very much. She was given to me by the moon goddess. He suddenly stopped talking, and I chuckled slowly as I saw that he was being nudged by the person seated beside him.
“Our queen was also given to us by the moon goddess. Now, what were you saying?”
Another council member stood up. He was the oldest and most influential member of the council and a good friend to my late father. I wondered if he had also been brainwashed by my brother.
“Your Highness, without wasting much of your time, what we’re trying to tell you now is that we think we all might have made a mistake. I acknowledged that she was your mate, but her heritage is the problem. I am talking about the new queen,” he paused as a sigh expelled from his lips.
“That aside, she has not been performing the duties of a queen; I even heard that she’s always gloomy and devoid of life. Another piece of information that got to us was that our archenemy, the Redvine pack, called you weak for having a weak queen who is also a… the word is abominable.”
The others murmured in approval, and I sighed. They had all been brainwashed.
“But you all gave your approval before and during the mating ritual,” I pointed out.
“That was our mistake, your highness,” another member of the council chipped in.
“Well, I have heard you all, and I appreciate the concern. But there is nothing we can do about that.”
“Your Highness, on the contrary, there are things we can do.”
I furrowed my brows, wondering what nonsense they were going to spew this time around.
“And what are they?”
He glanced at the others, and from the way he looked nervous, I knew that I wasn’t going to like whatever he was going to say.
“Your Highness, we could change the queen.”
He was still talking, but I wasn’t listening anymore. The words kept ringing in my ear. ‘Change the queen’. I clenched my fist tightly, and I felt my fingernail dig into my skin.
That was the last thing I expected them to say.
“You want me to DIVORCE her!” It wasn’t a question, but he nodded.
“Yes, Your Highness.”