Chapter 198

Chapter 198 Long live a fallen king Doris swore William was going to make her wait outside while he went in and finally faced his father, but he didn’t. He pulled her in after him as if she had every right to be by his side during this.

As if she had any right to see the king on his death bed. The king looked so much worse than he did when she saw him at the play. At least at the play he had a bit of color to him and could sit up. Now he looked as white as a ghost and sunk in deep to his bed. The door closed silently behind them with nothing more than a soft click. The guards outside the door didn’t follow William in. It was at least some form of trust from his father. Especially after all that had happened with the war and his family. The king’s room could have been mistaken for its own version of a grand ballroom with how big it was. Not one area of the room was untouched by elegance. It all screamed royalty with the golden vases and priceless sculptures. The king’s bed sat on a platform in the middle of the room that had beautifully engraved wooden steps just to reach it. Doris was certain it was the most gorgeous room in the entire palace—and she had only just seen it for the first time. “William.” His father said in a croak. Somehow, he still carried a presence even as sick as he was. Nothing dimmed the leader inside him. He would most likely take that honor to the grave. “Father.” William bowed his head. He released Doris’s hand for the first time as he stepped up to the man. “How do you feel?” “Let’s cut the small talk before I die halfway through it.” His father said before a fit of coughs. Doris didn’t know what to do with herself. She silently stepped back until she blended into the walls around her. She felt out of place like she shouldn’t have been here listening to this. 2 William pulled up a chair that was close to his bed and sat down in it. The king glanced over at Doris as if he saw her for the first time. “Is this her? The mate I’ve been hearing about?” The king asked. Doris felt goose bumped over his skin as the king acknowledged her for the first time since she entered the room. Her cheeks burned red as he looked her over. “I remember her. She was the one you wanted to bring to the north.” William nodded, his face remained emotionless. “She is.” His father looked at William for a long moment. Doris wondered if they were both thinking of his mother. Just when Doris thought his father would comment on it, he didn’t. He changed the subject.

“Is she the one I saw shift into the white wolf? I thought I hallucinated that.”

“No, you didn’t. She is the white wolf you saw.” William glanced back at her. “Extraordinary. I’ve seen a few when I was younger. I never would have guessed it by just looking at her now.” “Well, I assure you she is worthy of her wolf.” William said dryly. He flexed his fingers in his lap. “I got your letter. We came right away.” “Yes.” His father groaned and moved to sit up and failed. Doris shifted her weight on the other foot and wondered if she should help him or not. William told her not to act like a maid anymore, so she stayed where she was even when her body told her to remember her old duties. “I heard what happened with the war. I heard all of it.” His father stared down William and it hit Doris then-how alike they were. They both held power in a similar glance that held no emotion. It made the receiver shake with wonder of what they might be thinking. It frightened them to not know if they were in trouble or not.

@ “Have you called upon me to have me arrested?” William asked calmly. “No. I don’t have time to deal with that.” His father coughed. Doris swore she saw a bit of blood on his sleeve. “I don’t have much time before I go, and there’s something I’ve held back from you for a long time. Something I should have told you when you were a child.” William stayed silent, Doris could hear her own heart slam against her chest. “Martin was never the true crown prince.” The king said. His shaky hand reached out to point to a scroll next to the bed. William didn’t move an inch. “When you were born, I had it written in my will that you would take the crown when I died. I wanted the son of my mate to be the ruler of this kingdom, as it was always meant to be.” @ “I… don’t understand. You had Martin paraded around as the crown prince since we were children.” “When your mother passed, I saw her in you. It was hard for me to be around you and I knew that you would have to be everywhere I was if I had you study to be the king. But I knew… I knew since you were a child that you were the one that was meant to be where your brother was. I saw it in every decision you made.” I William closed his hands into fists in his lap. “Why wouldn’t you tell me this? Why didn’t you stop this war when you heard about it?” “I didn’t hear about the war until it was too late. I haven’t been told anything since I got sick.” The king could barely get through a sentence without another round of coughs. “And now… now I only blame myself for all the loss it has caused.” * William stood. “You should blame yourself! If you had only told me the truth, none of this would have happened. No one had to die over this!” “I wasn’t the one that started a war without the king’s approval! That is enough to see you as a traitor to this kingdom, William.” The king’s face suddenly softened. “I promised your mother that you would be king. I promised your grandfather the same thing.

Sir Antony swore not to tell a soul.” Doris’s eyes widened and she was glad neither of them looked at her. She didn’t realize that Sir Antony was his grandfather, he never once mentioned it. But now that she knew, it made perfect sense. “Is that why the Luna Queen wanted me dead?” William snatched up the scroll and opened it to read. “Did she find this and want me dead so her son could keep the role?” “I imagine it wouldn’t have made her happy to see that. I always let her believe Martin had a right to the crown.” His father watched as William read over his will. “I didn’t know she tried to kill you, son.” 2 William sat back in the chair slowly. Doris forced herself to remain still even when she wanted to rush over just to comfort him. “None of this had to happen. 1— I don’t understand why you didn’t tell me. I don’t understand why you wouldn’t have wanted me to train to be a king if I was the one set to be it.”

“Because I saw you become your own person. You became strong and I saw you make your own way in life. I wanted you to be that as a king. I wanted you to prove yourself and find your own leadership instead of taking the first one handed to you.” 2 William set the scroll down as if he couldn’t stand the sight of it. It held everything he always wanted, everything he ever wanted to hear. But it was tainted because it came too late. William lost two of his brothers when he didn’t have to lose either. “You’re going to be a great king, William. I watched you grow into the man you are today. I should have guessed that you would have done anything for the crown. I should have known you were going to bring this kingdom to its knees until you got what you wanted out of it.” The king closed his eyes. “I’m sorry it turned out this way. My sons deserved better than to end up the carnage of a war.” William stood again and walked to Doris. He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of her hand. “Will you meet me in my room? I need a moment alone.” “Of course.” Doris said quickly. She leaned up on her toes to kiss his cheek. “I’ll wait for you.” Doris turned to leave the room. Before she closed the door behind her, she watched William slowly lower himself into the chair beside his dying father once more.