Chapter 23

Xandar’s lilac eyes were turning onyx, furious that he was being disobeyed.

Sasha Cummings’s head remained low as she said, “Your Highness, I apologize for whatever I’ve said to

the wolf. I promise that it won’t happen again. It was a slip of the tongue, and I am deeply sorry for the

distress that I’ve caused you.”

Xandar was holding back a growl as he said in a low voice, “You insulted my mate and your future

Queen. After showing you mercy by letting you train, you’re now trying to push your boundaries by

entering this hall?”

Sasha’s head tilted lower as she explained, “If memory serves me well, your Highness, which I’m sure it

does,(This novel will be daily updtaed at www.noveljar.com)

I was told not to appear in front of the Gamma. She’s not here, so I’m technically not disobeying your

order.”

“Hey, Xandar.” Lucianne appeared by his side all of a sudden in a dark blue dress with a high ponytail.

Sasha flinched visibly when she heard Lucianne’s voice. Lucianne noticed Sasha with her head held low,

so she addressed her monotonously, “Oh. Hello again, Ms Cummings. Xandar, I’ll be right over there with

Juan and the others when you’re don—”

“Baby, don’t be ridiculous. You’re not the one who has to leave.”Xandar pulled Lucianne to his side, and

planted a kiss on her forehead in front of everyone before insisting affectionately, “Stay, Lucy.”

He then turned back to Sasha and said, “I’m sure you know what to do if you know what’s good for you.”

The moment he finished saying that, Sasha scurried out of the room with her head down. The other

female Lycans in the room exhibited two types of emotions. The first was being cynically happy that

Sasha was kicked out by the very person she had been trying to seduce for years; the second was being

jealous of how the King was completely smitten with the tiny, dull-looking werewolf. The younger male

Lycans were throwing flirtatious smirks in Lucianne’s way, taking in her whole figure with lustful gazes.

But they averted their eyes when they inadvertently met Xandar’s death glare. 2

Xandar looked at his mate and asked, “Lucy, I thought you would come with Juan and Hale. Did you walk

here alone?”

She explained simply, “I did come with them but there was a strong breeze on our way here, and my hair

flew out of place so I stopped at the restroom to fix it before I came in. That’s why I came in a little later.”

He smiled and nodded in understanding before looking in Juan’s direction and motioning him to come

over with the rest of the alliance. Before Lucianne could ask what he was doing, Christian appeared next

to her and asked his cousin, “I’m not late, am I?”

Lucianne looked puzzled. “What do you mean ‘late’? Dinner lasts for the next five hours.”

Ignoring her, Xandar said, “No. You’re right on time, in fact.”

Christian caught Lucianne’s confused look, and he grinned cheekily as he explained, “You’ll know soon,

my Queen. And it’s great to see you up and energized again.”

Lucy looked at Juan, who was walking over with the rest of the alliance, and she asked in confusion

through their mind-link, ‘What is going on?’

He shrugged his shoulders and linked back, ‘Your guess is as good as mine, Lucy. I have no

idea.’

Seeing their eyes glaze over and Juan’s shoulders shrugged as he looked at Lucy, Xandar caressed his

mate’s shoulders before whispering, “Relax, beautiful. It’ll be fun.”

caress

Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked up at her mate and questioned in disbelief, “Fun?”

Christian then chimed in with a mischievous smile, “Yes, fun.”

The Duke moved to his cousin’s side, and the alliance took their place beside Lucianne.(This novel will

be daily updtaed at www.noveljar.com) Xandar then took one more look at his confused mate before he

smiled at his subjects and started speaking, “My loyal subjects, may I have your attention please?”

The room fell silent and all eyes were on them.

“Many of you may have heard, but some of you have yet to know, that the Jewel Pack had to face two

rounds of rogue attacks earlier today. The first started after midnight, which cost the pack eleven

warriors. Needless to say, their sacrifice to protect their people will not be forgotten.” All the werewolves

had distressed looks as they empathized with one of their own. Lucianne’s gaze met the floor as she too

mourned for the loss.

Catching Lucianne’s expression, Xandar laced their fingers together before he continued,” The second

attack came at dawn. Eleven rogues invaded, three of whom…were Lycans.” There were audible gasps

from everyone in attendance, particularly the Lycans who hadn’t had to face a single threat in their lives.

“The people standing by my side here are members of the alliance who have put an end to the threat at

the Jewel Pack. It is because of their own initiative that there were, thankfully, no further casualties. It is

because of their nobility that the Jewel Pack can now honour their fallen warriors in peace. It is because

of their bravery and sacrifice that the pack remains in existence. But their victory came with a price.”

Xandar’s expression turned hard, and his grip around Lucianne’s hand tightened as he said,” The leader

of the alliance came out badly injured. In efforts to follow a runaway rogue wolf, she came head-to-head

with three rogue Lycans.” Juan’s eyebrows furrowed as he recalled the incident, and he placed his hand

on Lucianne’s shoulder in remorse. She gave him an encouraging smile, signifying that it was okay, not

that it made her brother-like figure feel any better.

Xandar continued, “She was alone and surrounded. Even so, she managed to kill one of them before

help arrived.” The werewolves’ claps and cheers obliged Xandar to pause. Some, if not most of them,

already knew who he was talking about. Lucianne wondered how Xandar knew what happened in such

detail, and gathered that Juan must have told him somehow.

When the applause died down, Xandar proceeded with his speech, “Sadly, that was where things took a

turn. They attacked her. She was wounded so badly that she bled. She was weakened so much that she

couldn’t even stand. And later, her energy was so drained that she couldn’t even speak. Three members

of the alliance came to help her but the rogue Lycans were not faltering. Thankfully, the Duke and I

managed to get there on time to help out before the unthinkable happened.” He patted his cousin on the

shoulder and threw him a grateful glance.

“The people before you knew the likelihood of losing their lives. They were fully aware of the risks. Even

when a new threat arose, none of them showed signs of wavering. They stood to protect, to fight and to

be ready to die trying. Never in my years as Prince and as King have I witnessed what I saw this

morning. Lycans, we have been living in the dark for far too long. Our cousin species have been facing

this all on their own. It’s time that changed. I doubt that the three rogue Lycans we met today are the only

ones in existence. The stakes have never been higher. It’s time to take training seriously, regardless of

whether you were ever taught to fight.”

“That being said, I expressed my highest gratitude to the members of the alliance for what they did. But,

it would be arrogant of me to think that they protected the pack for their ruler. Their intention was clearly

to protect their ally. As King, I feel ashamed,” then he looked at Cummings and Whitlaw, and said

condescendingly, “that my own governing body could not handle what my people had so willingly taken

into their own hands.” All eyes fell on the minister and his deputy, whose heads faced the ground.

Lucianne started stroking Xandar’s hand to calm him down before he continued,(This novel will be daily

updtaed at www.noveljar.com)

“Members of the alliance, it was an utmost pleasure to have fought alongside you but the Duke and I

apologize for arriving late on the battlefield.” The alliance and the other werewolves in the hall started

laughing at this point.

Xandar’s eyes then met Lucianne’s, and his loud voice continued to ring loud and clear through the hall,

“And it is my greatest honor to be bonded by our Goddess to the noble leader of the alliance, Lucianne

Freesia Paw.” Lucianne’s smile fell, and shock replaced her features. Christian was grinning at her

cheekily from the side as she waited for what was about to happen next.

Xandar’s smile broadened as he went on, “Lucy is known to put the lives of others before her own. And

today, I personally witnessed her doing so. She held off the Lycans alone until help arrived. She suffered

the highest degree of anguish from the attack yet she forced herself to stay awake until she was certain

that the threat had been neutralized. (This novel will be daily updtaed at www.noveljar.com)

And throughout the entire ordeal, never did she resort to complaining or blaming. Her actions have been

far more

selfless than any ruler I’ve heard of. Her contribution as a warrior, a friend and an ally are far more

significant than anyone I know. Her grace and humility is something one can only wish to replicate. But

her noblest act didn’t come from the battlefield.” Everyone in the room was left in suspense, even

Lucianne herself.