Chapter Forty-Two

Celina

Hurridly, I go try to find my mate. I need to tell Chris and Xander what I have found. Maybe Xander can tell me what happened when I left him alone with Declan and Randaul all those years ago.

I find Chris where I left him, in the Council Chambers. I found him by following the sounds of an extremely loud argument that is echoing down the hallway.

“Why didn’t you warn everyone about that monstrosity?” Ruben yells with so much anger that it stops me in my tracks. “We have a half-brother, and your moronic ass decided to try to ignore him? Do you know how much shit we could have avoided if you had just accepted him, or even acknowledged him? Danny might even be alive today if you had. Chris and Danny might not have been Kings of the Beasts, but at least Danny would be alive. You could have even spared Celina the pain of killing her own mate, and Mom from losing her son. Most of the Council wouldn’t have been massacred. Do you know how much easier our lives would be right now? Goddess Father, you’re such a moron.”

“Don’t you dare disrespect me like that,” Exzecial roars, pushing his angered aura hard enough that I can feel it in the hallway. I don’t so much as flinch, but I know it’ll be harder for the ones in the room with him to resist him. “I was young and dumb. It’s not an excuse, but I’m not going to apologize for the actions I took back then. The only thing I can do now is prepare for what the hell is about to follow.”

Oh this should be good. I fold my arms and wait a minute longer before revealing myself.

“Chris, you’re going to force Celina to go through with the coronation. When this gets out, I’ll be disgraced and there will be an overwhelming amount of demand for me to step down. At her coronation, I’ll announce my plans to step down by the end of the year and relinquish the throne to you and the Alpha Princess. She’s widely accepted and highly regarded. It might be enough to save our family’s reputation. The two of you are going to start appearing more publicly. You need to have her agree to carry your heir as soon as possible. We need to start damage control immediately.”

“I’m not forcing my mate into doing anything,” Chris snaps and then yelps.

“I’m still King,” Exzecial growls. “And you will adhere to my orders. You will show me respect. I am your king, as well as your father.”

I roll my eyes at the word king and walk into the room. Mia is currently hiding behind Leroy; a slight trickle of blood marking her neck. She’s pressed up against him, appearing to try to shield her naked body by using his. Everyone is missing clothing, to be honest, but that’s to be expected after all this bloodshed. Xander is wearing more wounds than most, but he appears to be okay. He’s standing off to the side with his neck bared in response to Exzecial’s anger. Exzecial has his hands around Chris’s and Ruben’s throats, his eyes revealing his beast while he lifts his sons off the ground. It looks like there is about to be another battle.

When I see my mate struggling under his father’s grasp, I see red. “You won’t be king for much longer,” I growl and push my aura at him; forcing him to loosen his murderous grasp on his sons’ necks. I toss my hair as I retract my aura while he lowers his sons to the ground.

I match his murderous glare with one of my own as I fold my arms. “A so-called king with an illegitimate son is nothing new in our history. These days, it’s even accepted. However, it was your asinine actions that were the catalyst to the death that currently surrounds our lands. Ruben is correct, and right, to be angry with you and your moronic actions. You may have made your mistake in your youth, but you’ve had over a century to correct it. Over a century Exzecial. The devastation your arrogance, and stubbornness, have caused is unforgivable. The only thing you can do now is step down, and own up to your mistake because there sure as hell will be repercussions for the hundreds of lives that have been stolen by your actions.”

Exzecial bares his teeth at me. “Who are you to tell me what to do? You were born as a pathetic she-wolf, and should be thanking me for even allowing you to be mated by my son.”

I cock my head. “Which one Exzecial? Which one of the three are you referring to?”

He pushes his aura at me at that point, taking a step toward me. “I will not be disrespected like this by a wolf who can’t even shift.”

My anger is flaring at this point. He doesn’t care what his actions have caused. The only thing Exzecial still cares about is his image. I scoff, “Is that supposed to insult me? You’re the one that put yourself in this position, not me. You’re not the one here that just watched a man lose his life by a bastard lycan prince in a matter of minutes. You’re not the one here that has traveled across all of North America and have seen the carcasses of dismembered packs, where no one was spared as a result of that abandoned son’s fury. Not even infants Exzecial. All of this was done under the direction of your progeny. All of this could have been prevented if you had actually been a decent human and faced your mistakes.”

I slam my aura on him, making him fall to his knees and submit to drive my point across. My eyes flash as Mara stirs, wishing to shift and beat him into submission. “And in case it wasn’t clear, it’s too late to fix that mistake.”

“Celina!” Xander yells in his surprise. “What are you doing?”

“Leo died Xan. He died right in front of me. Do you want to know how he and every other fucking traitorous council member died? They died because of a blood oath.”

I hear Xander suck in his breath while Exzecial gives me a confused look. “Are you sure,” Xander asks, stepping closer to me and giving clue to the seriousness this entails.

My voice is trembling in anger as I resist the urge to break Exzecial’s neck with every word I speak.“I heard every dying scream of the council members that were brought to the cells. I listened to each call for help that came over the radio while every single one of their family members perished. There is no mistaking it.”

“What is a blood oath?” Chris asks first, lowering my hostility only slightly.

“A blood oath is something almost as ancient as the moon goddess,” I start, refusing to keep my eyes off the foolish king. “It’s something wolves used to do to bind themselves to their alphas to show their unconditional loyalty. The blood oath strengthens the packlink so greatly, that an alpha could end the life of a packmate by killing that packmate’s beast if they deemed fit. It was how traitors of the pack were dealt with, so rogues were a rare occurrence.

“This was never an issue unless the alpha became corrupt. As territories grew, and packs strengthened, battles for more land increased. Tensions rose as did paranoia and conspiracy. Alpha’s started to mercilessly kill their entire pack if they even suspected that one of their pack members so much as even talked to a member of a neighboring pack. The reason why a blood oath is strictly forbidden these days is a case such as that.

“The deciding case is just as inauspicious as the others. One of the largest packs at that time was strong and everything an alpha dreams of. The young alpha was loved by its members. He had just inherited the pack from his father, and he had just found his mate. His mate was an omega, and he hated this fact. He thought it had to be a mistake. He was the strongest alpha in history, and he was paired with such a weakling that a mistake had to be the only option. He was cruel to her behind closed doors, trying desperately to make her become a strong Luna. Someone worthy of being with him.

“One day she was battered and desperate for some relief from her mate so she decided she had to make a run for it. The alpha’s mate managed to escape while he was out on patrol. She was heading to the neighboring pack to seek help to escape him, and that’s when the alpha discovered that she was missing. He sent out his Gamma and Beta to find her and tried using the blood oath link to search for her. Inexperienced, and too focused on his anger to even bother trying to decipher which lifeline was hers, he forced every single pack member to the ground until she was found.

“Well, he found her, right in the arms of his Beta. The Beta was simply trying to comfort her like he had done many times before, but the alpha was too far into his rage to realize this. He lost control of his beast in his fury and killed his entire pack. Thousands were killed in a matter of seconds, and their cries of pain were heard from miles away. The only survivor was the alpha, who was later hanged by the reining Alpha King personally.”

The room is quiet while they take that bit of history in. “I didn’t even think lycans could do that kind of an oath,” Xander mutters; breaking the silence first.

“Me either,” I admit while Exzecial’s body starts trembling under my growing resentment. “However, lycans and wolves are closely related so it appears it’s possible.”

“How-how is that even accomplished?” Ruben rasps, realizing the gravity of this discovery. “How do we stop it?”

I shake my head. “It’s been long since banned from our teachings, but I can let you know it’s sealed by blood in a very long and physically demanding ritual. The only way to stop it is to reject him as your alpha by his full title and name, and pray to the moon goddess you survive it when that bond breaks. It’s nearly as strong as the pain you feel when your mate dies.”

“Oh great!” Xander whines and then looks to Exzecial. “Do you at least want to tell us your son’s real name? That way we have a chance to warn any other beasts that are still sworn to that idiot?”

I let Exzecial drop when defeat finally registers on his face. He looks at the ground. “I-I don’t know it.”

“That’s just fucking perfect Dad,” Ruben growls while I take a step back and lift my head to look at Xander.

Xander gives me a confused look when I lift my eyebrow. “What?”

“Do you remember that time Randaul and Declan took us for a hike? After I had killed Danny?”

Xander’s eyes widen when his jaw drops. “No! That was him? I thought that mother fucker died.”

I look at Chris and explain. “For my mental health, after I had killed your brother, my family took me on vacation. We were dining at a local human restaurant when Randaul and Declan “happened” to run into us. The next day they took Xander and I on a hike. When I went off to get a break from them, I was attacked by a white lycan. I didn’t think about it since I could have sworn I killed him. Randaul had gone off to verify he was dead while Declan and Xander took me back to the house. Randaul returned with the man’s clothes and ID. The name on that man’s license was Damian Heath Jackson.”

“So the devil finally has a name,” Leroy says in his relief; reminding me that he’s still in the room. He smiles at me with a small smirk, “I’ll get started on finding out what I can on him. Welcome as our Queen of the Beasts, Celina.” He tells me this last part as he bares his neck freely.

Shock and surprise ripple through me as my abhorrent actions catch up to me. “Leroy no,” I tell him quickly. I continue as I ignore a sharp growl coming from Mia. “My official title is only Alpha Princess.”

He chuckles. “Too late Princess. The King of the Beasts has submitted to you. According to our laws, you are to take over as the ruler of the beasts.”

“I didn’t see any form of submission from him,” I state quickly in denial as I try to backtrack. Me and my anger. I’ve got to stop shooting myself in the foot because of it.

“No, Celina, Leroy is right,” Chris tells me and touches my shoulder, “and so are you and my Father. It’s time for him to step down, and for us to step up.” He kisses the top of my head. “Welcome to being the queen of the beast kingdom, my dear Celina.”