Chapter l205

Chapter 0205

Nicholas

I stood before the King in his chambers. He was angrily pacing the length of the room. Back and forth,

back and forth. Occasionally he would stop to shout at me, but he’d always break himself off, unfinished,

and continue pacing.

“How could you think –?”

“You deliberately disobeyed –!”

“What do I even –?”

A few minutes in, his face was turning red, and my mother, the Luna was forced to intervene. She stood

in his path to keep him from pacing, then whispered into his ear.

I never totally understood their relationship. My mother was a private person. And though the two of

them often gave compliments to each other, any meaningful conversations only went on behind closed

doors.

Truthfully, even after knowing them both my entire life, I had no idea if they even liked each other at all,

or if their marriage was a show they put on for the world.

My father took a few deep breaths. He nodded at my mother, and then turned to face me.

“You and Julian chose Piper after I specifically told you not to,” he said. Rage crackled under the false

calm of his voice, occasionally leading to a twitch in his eyebrow or a downward curl of his l*p. “That girl

does not belong here.”

“She is honest and genuine, with a sick child we are helping to take care of,” I said, my own anger

growing inside of me. “She deserves to be as much – if not more than anyone else.”

–

—

The King threw his hands up.

The Luna stepped forward. “She can be a fine person without being a good Luna, Nicholas.”

“She’s passed nearly every event with flying colors.”

They were being biased because she was common. I wanted to help them see without directly calling them out. To do so would be incredibly dangerous, even for me.

The King’s opinions could never be wrong.

The King huffed in the Queen’s direction. “He’s your son.”

My mother ignored him. “You know, Nicholas, what the weight of the crown can do to good people. It’s not just for the sake of the kingdom that I caution you, but for her sake, too. She cannot bear the weight required. Her goodness? Her kindness? Her spirit? All will be crushed, to say nothing of her little girl.”

As loathe as I was to admit it, in my heart, I knew she spoke true. Piper could be a good and just Luna,

but the burden of a cruel world would press down on her. It would wear at her soul, and I alone would not

be enough to protect her.

She had enough problems, with her sister and her wolf, and poor little Elva’s illness. She didn’t need the added weight of a near war and a disgruntled people.

“Tell me what you want me to do,” I said, burying the ache in my heart.

“Your favoritism of Piper ends today,” the King said. “You need to show more intimacy with Lilliana, to

help raise her popularity. I’ve already discussed this with her. –”

“You what?” I gasped.

The King lowered his brow, and I snapped my mouth closed. I hadn’t meant to speak out of turn, but

he’d surprised me.

And stoked my anger. He’d speak with Lilliana before his own son?

“We’ve arranged a secret rendezvous between you and Lilliana, during which you will be interrupted by a

camera crew. The public will see it all, and know she has your favor.”

“You can’t expect me to actually k*ss her,” I said. The disgust in my stomach was brewing into a vile,

sour mixture.

“Nicholas,” my mother said. “You will soon marry this woman. Kissing her is the least of what you will be

expected to do.”

I knew my duty. It still made me sick.

I wanted to argue. I wanted to raise hell, and demand they let me choose Piper.