Chapter 147

When they were having dinner at a restaurant, Lucianne’s phone was suddenly bombarded with

‘breaking news’. Xandar was going to ask if everything was okay until his own phone started buzzing like

his mate’s just did.

Xandar reached for her hand and held it tight as he read the first headline: Ministers’ Lawyers DENIES

the Validity of Corruption Charges.

After tapping into it, the short article read: In a hearing of the charges against the ministers, the presiding

judge concluded that, due to the very conflicting version of events given by the prosecution and the

defence, the matter should proceed with trial for a detailed examination of evidence. Evidence had been

exchanged between the parties as part of due process.

The defence, upon receiving the prosecution’s evidence, made a public statement that reliance on that

particular evidence was “unjust”, “irrational” and most of all “unconstitutional”. The article didn’t mention

how it was so because the lawyers were in no position to release such evidence to the public when the

court had not made a final decision on the corruption case as of yet.

Xandar made an immediate call to the Attorney-General’s Chambers, enquiring about the matter. The

prosecutor in charge of the case told the King that the defence lawyers argue that the audits may be

fabricated since it has only surfaced very recently.

The silver lining, according to her, was the fact that they had received a court order to appoint a neutral

third party tech company to analyse exactly when the audits and the rest of the documents were first

created and were last modified. So, if and when the documents in Greg’s microchip get authenticated,

the case will proceed in their favor.

After telling his mate about it, Lucianne gave Xandar’s hand a gentle squeeze as she said, “When the

analysis comes out, they won’t be able to argue their way out of it.”

Xandar pecked a kiss on her hand before sighing, “I just hope Greg didn’t do anything to those

documents t o make us look like fools.”

“Me too. But if that happens, we could ask Ellia and the others to testify. Though we’d have to enhance

protection for them and their kids if it comes to that.” Lucianne said.

She was right. ‘Why didn’t I think of that?”, Xandar thought to himself. A smile graced Xandar’s features

before he looked at her with starry eyes and said, “You’re amazing, you know that?”

“So are you, darling.”

“You don’t have to say that just because I said it to you, Lucy. I mean it, you’re amazing.”

“I mean it, too, Xandar. I’m not just saying it out of courtesy.”

Xandar scoffed before he said, “I’m the scary Lycan King, sweetheart, remember? Amazing seems a

little too…good, too inspiring and too noble to be associated with a creature known to be the most

ferocious monster in the Kingdom.”

“That’s not true.” Lucianne argued.

Xandar’s eyes widened as he challenged, “Oh, really? And why is that?”

His mate’s response was immediate, “The way you lead and rule is so different from past Kings. I highly

doubt there was another King in the past who took the welfare of werewolves into account but you

consider our wants and needs so seriously. And the way you conduct meetings is another thing that’s

different about you. It was clear that you truly want to know what the others think, and when you listen…

you seem to listen to understand, not just to respond. Do you know how much humility that takes,

Xandar?”

Xandar’s eyes glistened in pure joy as he pecked another kiss on the back of her hand and said, “Thank

you, baby.”

There was a glint in Lucianne’s eyes when she said, “Anything for my history geek.”

Xandar’s eyes narrowed as he complained, “Okay, now you’ve just ruined the moment with that word,

babe.“

Lucianne chuckled cheekily at her mate’s annoyed expression but internally, happiness engulfed Xandar

with whatever Lucianne just said and how beautiful she looked when she laughed. How did he get so

lucky? He wondered.

###

In the Blackfur residence, Christian was not happy with the news he was reading on his phone as well.

And his cousin’s message about the conversation he had with the prosecutor did not put him in a better

mood. The only thing that kept the Duke from crushing his phone with one hand was the fact that Russell

was in the room with him because the little boy needed the space on the coffee table to build his next

contraption. Christian didn’t want to frighten the child.

Annie felt everything Christian was feeling, being his marked mate. So, she got out his favorite cinnamon

rolls from the oven before making her way to the living room. After giving Russell his share, she sat next

t o her mate and started tearing off bite-sized chunks before putting it into Christian’s mouth.

He was already smiling from the moment she entered the room, even before taking the first bite of the

cinnamon roll. After indulging in the perfect dessert from his mate’s fingers, he gazed at her the same

way he did when he first met her almost two decades ago as he uttered, “Thank you, my Duchess.”

Annie could feel his anger and anxiety easing, and she peeled off another bite-sized piece as she

asked,” Bad news?”

Christian’s sighed as his arm went over Annie’s shoulder while he explained the news articles to his

mate, which he finished off by saying, “…and the most frustrating thing is that Xandar can’t use the

King’s Authority in this case.”

Annie nodded in understanding. “That’s true. Even if he just used it to get the truth, it might look like he

used it to get the ministers to say something that Xandar wants to hear. Skeptics would say that Xandar

used his Authority to make them confess to the crimes only we say that they committed.”

“Conflicts of interests are a pain in the ast.” Christian grumbled.

“Well, it’s there for good reason, my love. Don’t worry, I’m sure there’s a solution. Xandar wouldn’t want

you to lose your peace of mind over this.”

“I just hope he doesn’t lose his own peace of mind over this. Do you remember how he’d have dark

circles underneath his eyes whenever we had to take care of something huge: change a policy, debate to

revoke a n old law, things like that?”

Annie stated matter-of-factly, “It’s kind of hard to forget. I always felt you two did too much. He’s probably

the most diligent King in our history.”

Christian muttered to himself, “And that’s what worries me sometimes.”

“Hey,” Annie touched his cheek and he leaned into her hand like it was second nature to him before she

continued, “We have Lucy now. She will look after him as much as he will look after her. Xandar’s going

to be fine. Weren’t you the one who said she was good for him from the very start? That you knew she

and Xandar were perfect for each other from the very first time you met her?”

Christian smiled at the memory before he said in a much lighter mood, “Never have I seen a creature

that size take down Xandar, and in record time too.” The Duke chuckled before he continued, “Our

Queen changed him a lot, as much as she won’t admit it if any of us said it.”

Suddenly, his eyes glazed over for a moment before they cleared shortly after. He rubbed his forehead

with his fingertips, and Annie waited patiently for him to speak. The Duke continued to complain, “So

much for not losing my peace of mind over his excessive diligence. We just had the government meeting

this morning, and he’s actually calling for a meeting with the alliance members about the rogue situation

tomorrow. Seriously? Tomorrow? Of all days?!”

Annie processed the information as she muttered, “But tomorrow is…” Her husband didn’t even let her

finish before he exclaimed, “I know!”