Beyond A King

Alpha summit

( Lucas pov)

All the scents of the leaders overwhelmed the room for a moment making me nervous but my face remained an emotionless mask. I looked towards Alisha and Mitchell who were now sitting almost directly opposite to me, my friends both nodded in encouragement.

I breathed in again and swore I had caught the familiar scent of lavender and it instantly calmed me but Ace had other ideas. MATE.

Don’t be stupid she is nowhere near this kingdom. I pushed him down before he could argue because now wasn’t the time. What was with him today?

The only way she would even be close was if she had come with Mitchell and Alisha, who I knew had only declared that Alisha’s friend Jasmine and brother Johnny would be joining them for this trip. It was fine she wasn’t here, we would never see her. The only way that would happen is by some cruel trick of fate on the goddess’s part. I just had to hope she granted me mercy this time.

The long dark oak table began filling up with the other leaders. All in business suits apart from the Fae queen and her second, they are a flourish of florals, and bright colour.

To say her highness is petite would be an understatement she could almost pass for a teen but she enters the room emanidating power and grace, her wings catch the light in the room just enough to offer a warm glow around her, her long gown is made of a light material that bellows out behind her as she walks, meaning the male at her side had to step back to make room or he’d be smothered by layers of pinks and lilac.

The queen's long dark hair was elaborately styled with a combination of braids and curls pinned around her delicate floral crown with a few strands flowing down her slender shoulders, she was breathtaking, like something out of a child’s fairy tail.

The male that was with her was only slightly taller, with white blonde hair but was constantly surveying the area ready to pounce if danger came near his queen. The white floral blazer he wore was a complete contrast to how the male carried himself and I got the impression it was not his usual attire. His wings were not on display but that was not unusual, Fae were able to make their wings retract into their backs when needed otherwise they would never be able to enter the human world undetected.

None of the leaders made any comments about my position at the head of the table but curious glances were sent my way. It was to be expected but soon my face would be known by everyone. There was to be a huge news cast later this evening and let’s not forget the storm that would rage on social media. Soon my face would be everywhere.

Elder Stephan paused from his conversation when he entered looking slightly irritated. I didn’t see how a frown could deepen but it did.

He marched towards me and I half expected a scene but that wasn’t his style. When he reached me he took a deep breath as if to calm himself “Lu…” he began but I gave him a look that said if he tried to disrespect me right now in front of everyone it would be the last thing he would do. The old man coughed trying to cover his words before he lowered his voice so only I could hear him.

“ your highness, I thought we agreed I would lead the meeting and introduce you later, since you're new to all of this…”

“There’s no need, I decided to dive straight in. After all We wouldn't want anyone questioning who’s in charge of the kingdom now would we” I give him a sickenly sweet smile that only grew at the sight of his jaw clicking. I knew he wanted to protest and haul my ass out of the throne but we both knew he couldn’t. He simply nodded stiffly before moving to the seat next to me.

I waited till he began to sit before I spoke again. “ That's alright elder you don’t need to hover you may go sit with the other officials” I commanded pointing towards the row of chairs laid out to the side for the observers, I didn’t spare him a glance and pretended to be engrossed in my papers on the table but I could feel his rage boiling under the surface he said nothing and without being able to resist my command he had no choice but to slowly move away from the table to join the others.

I know it was petty but elder Stephan had needed taking down a peg for years and I was only too happy to do it. I had never had confirmation but I always felt elder Stephan held my secret existence over my father. How else would an elder get a seat at the high table during alpha summits?

The man never sat with the other elders, Someone like Stephan would no doubt have used that knowledge to his advantage to gain power and he was a very powerful man in this kingdom.

Despite all his so-called achievements within the pack I noticed the council saw through his facade. He had never gained favour with any of the council leaders despite his many years of attempts. Most of the werewolf council barely acknowledged him, which was unheard of for a man of such power among the werewolves, especially since he seemed to be very popular with the pack leaders within the kingdom.

Whatever the reason, I was grateful, it was because of their mistrust of him and thankfully his little stunt with the council trying to get me dethroned showed us all early on the kind of snake he was.

Once everyone was seated I stood to address the room, a hush fell over everyone without me needing to wait which was a good start

“ Good morning ladies and gentlemen,

As you are all aware our beloved king magnus is still missing..” my heart clenched in my chest because I couldn’t include my mother.

The council had sided with the elders to keep my true identity a secret and although I was still planning to let my people know who I really was, now is not the time. Exposing myself to Juliana right now would leave my people open to war.

My voice caught in my throat at the thought that my parents were dead. I wasn't naive. I knew the chances of their survival were slim.

My mother was a powerful witch and if they had been captured she would have found a way to get a message to me. I had held on to that slither of hope for months while we searched for them, the longer the silence went on the more that hope had been crushed.

I just couldn’t bring myself to say the words out loud, as the leaders waited for me to continue I looked towards Alisha and Mitchell who both smiled sadly, encouraging me to carry on. “ I am king magnus’s heir, king Lucas Stormthorn” I could feel the elders' eyes trying to burn into me for using my real name but I didn’t pay them any mind. I may not want to bring a war down on my peoples head whilst the kingdom was still mourning my father but I was done lying about who I was. There were a few murmurs but they all patiently waited for me to continue.

I knew they would be waiting for me to give some speech about how I hoped to rule the kingdom to the same high standing my father had and how I hoped to become the king he was or declare my dedication to the people of this kingdom.

I had done all of that already when I had been crowned king by the council. They had pulled me into their offices and forced me to listen to the royal elders as they made their case against my ruling. Only two out of the ten had stood in favour of my rule. It had been hard to hear but I knew why the council had done so. They wanted me to see who I was up against and who was in my corner. I was grateful for their assistance and the council leaders themselves had performed my ceremony there and then. I was not given a grand ceremony in front of my people nor was a crown placed on my head but the vows spoken that day were just as real and carried the same weight of responsibility.

When my fathers kingdom was passed to me through the exchange of blood the power I felt was overwhelming as well as the link I now had to all of my people. I vowed to rule with a pure and fair heart, to always have the people’s best interests in mind with every decision I made, and to defend the kingdom till my dying breath. I meant every word and it would show in all of my actions.

No, I wouldn't give them some speech and make empty promises. Instead I would move forward and take action to show my dedication to the people, beginning right now.

I watched to see the faces of the leaders take in their new king of werewolves. I saw some defiance in the crowd and made a note of the individuals for later. I also saw smiles which surprised me, although Juliana’s was sinister and more like a sneer as if she had just learnt a wicked secret.

While others like the Fae queen Celeste looked indifferent which didn’t surprise since her kingdom resides outside of my own, she like a few others were only here out of curiosity. Some of the leaders had brought their mates to sit beside them; only not many of the alphas had brought their Luna's, showing once again that sexism was alive and well among the werewolves.

“ As you may have noticed this summit has not just been held for werewolves but all supernatural leaders” I continued.

“ this is highly unorthodox your majesty” alpha Douglas an older gentleman chimed in irritated, his son sat behind him with the other observers rolling his eyes at his fathers pettiness, alpha Douglas was far beyond the age of retirement and had no real reason for not handing the reins to his son, especially since he was my age already, had a mate and heir of his own but the old man refused to let go until the hand of death came to collect him.

“ Is it? I may be the king of werewolves but this kingdom doesn’t consist only of werewolves, other leaders have their right to speak and it is how we will move forward in future” my words left no room for argument but I waited a moment to see if any of them would challenge me all the same.

My kingdom actually housed several witch covens, all of them present with the exception of Juliana’s. We also housed the panther king W’Kabi and his queen Akita. They had come to us when their people had been hunted to extinction and they were forced to leave their homeland. My father extended his hand to help keep them safe so they could rebuild a pack here with what was left of their people. My father had offered to make them a part of our pack but W’Kabi declined wanting to keep his people independant so they did not get lost within the werewolves. My father completely understood and instead gifted him the land the pack resides on. Their pack is now the only known pantha pack in existence.

It was that act of kindness that touched me. We need to move on from our ideas of which species must be superior. It was why I was going to propose the new laws. We couldn't keep up with the delecat peace treaties until another inevitable war broke out. We had to try and build something that would last.

There were more than a few angry faces, elder Stephan glared daggers at me as did alpha Montgomery but his face had been that way since he sat down, no doubt still reeling from our earlier conversation. They had been keeping the other leaders away from the alpha sumit for years making it exclusively for werewolves only. it was to make the other leaders think we were superior to them since they resided on our lands.

Moving on I pulled the file from infront of me, some of them did the same but others hadn’t ever bothered to bring it. “ lets begin then, everyone will have a chance to address any issues but first we have some important new laws to decide on, I trust you’ve all read the file that was sent to everyone” I looked around the room seeing some confused faces from the younger leaders, one of them even whispered not so quietly to another asking him ‘ we were supposed to read it?’ I held back an eye roll at the question, the other alpha however didn’t and nodded to the young alpha.

“ It was a very interesting read” Alpha Joel, one of my fathers good friends, commented, his face masking his opinion and for a moment I was worried.

I heard someone scoff before they spoke “ That's one word for it” alpha kellen said bitterly and from the way he pushed his file into the centre of the enormous table it was obvious he didn’t like it one bit. He wasn’t as old as my father. He was only thirty six but he was a sexist pig and instead of a Luna he had a personal harem of women he used for breeding his heirs which included his fated mate. I already knew he would never get on board with the women’s equal rights law but I had hoped he wouldn’t dismiss the entire file since it also included working with other species for alliances, something I knew his pack desperately needed.

Before I could say more a familiar voice interrupted “ I’m glad you thought so his highness has been working on this for some time” Mitchell interjected, Alisha looked across to her mate smiling at him. It wasn’t common knowledge but one of the reasons I wanted this new law to pass was so others wouldn’t have to go through what she went through with her fated mate.

It angered me every time I thought about how her previous mate had used her. Alisha’s fated mate had decided to take a chosen female but instead of offering a rejection he attempted to make Alisha his mistress as a way to keep both of them. It made me sick that Alisha had been at the mercy of the mate bond and had suffered at the hands of a man meant to protect and love her.

It was all I could do not to kill him to free her from her fate but I would never have risked what breaking the bond would have done to Alisha and her wolf, it’s known for mates to perish as well when they feel their mates death.

Thankfully the male eventually saw sense and broke the bond when she and Mitchell fell in love. It had worked out well in the end but there were still so many out there with similar stories. With this new law in place those werewolves would be protected from such sufferings. The pack alpha would have the power to force a rejection and if the alpha showed a conflict of interest the council would be able to protect the victim from their awful fate.

No one would have to feel like there was no way out of the mate bond, they would feel heard and protected.

“ So you support these changes, Alpha Becker?” Alpha Harper from the eclipse pack asked bemused. He was a newly appointed alpha, a little over nineteen, he was forced to take over his pack after his parents and older brother had been killed in a sudden rouge attack last month, I didn’t know his take on any of the policies and he was the youngest leader here, so I hadn’t expected much from him however unlike the other alphas around the table that were still wet behind the ears Harper seemed intrigued.

“ as do I? I think all the changes will take some getting used to but ultimately it will move us into a better future, the alliances with other species will be particularly beneficial to everyone ” alpha Harrison from crescent moon pack chimes in. He had recently formed an alliance with Mitchell’s pack and the two seem to have formed a surprising friendship.

Alpha Harrison was fast becoming a rapid influence with the other alphas, especially the younger generation who were the ones we needed on side. I knew well enough to know the likes of alpha kellen and Montgomery wouldn’t change their opinions on female rights or improving relations with other species, especially since the former would forbid the likes of kellen from keeping his harem of breeders.

The younger generations we still had a chance to change their minds before they became too set in their ways.

No man trusted another more than one who had built himself up as the powerful and feared alpha that alpha Harrison was. He wasn’t an entitled alpha like some that had been groomed from birth and thought their title was a right, he had won his pack, worked hard to be where he was- albeit I wouldn’t say it was honourable since he had challenged a very old man for it but he had built the pack up from what it was and his people respected him. I also knew he had a young pup, he was trying to build a better world for her to grow up in just like Mitchell was for Mina. Where alpha females would not be used as collateral like alpha Montgomery was trying to do with Vanessa.

With the new laws if they so wished it the alpha’s would be able to make their daughters the next alphas of their pack. Something that the current laws forbid.

If Harrison and Mitchell credited themselves behind the new laws the younger generations probably wouldn’t even bother to read the fifty six page document filled with elaborate sentencing and phrases that none of them really wanted to read and now probably wouldn’t thanks to the word of two well known and respected alphas.

“ The king's proposal for the new laws have my vote” king W’Kabi spoke out, It was shifters like him I wanted on side hoping it will see other non wolves to follow suit. I wanted them to trust I was trying to improve relations for them too. the only reason W’Kabi had agreed to become part of our kingdom was because of the protection it would offer his people but other than that he never really trusted us.

The witches hadn’t said anything yet but they all seemed sceptical which I couldn’t blame them for, given our history, expect for Juliana who looked ready to kill as she skimmed the file infront of her trying to catch up with what we were discussing. I wouldn’t have expected her to have read the proposal since she probably thought they wouldn’t affect her coven, which was true, her coven wasn’t a part of my kingdom but the new laws would affect the witches within my kingdom. Her people.

“ I have nothing wrong with women gaining power” alpha archer agreed, he had recently taken over the blood rose pack that bordered my own pack, we already knew the story of his father and the abuse he and his mother had suffered at his hands, it wasn’t even that the man was brutal and abused the mate bond but he also took credit for his mates leadership skills and ideas. She was a good Luna who could easily have been an alpha but the laws had restricted her to follow a man less than her, if she had left him she had no rights to her pack, money, even her own son. The new laws would prevent alphas like that to abuse their position and Luna’s.

“ I disagree, don’t females have enough rights as it is, let’s leave the leading to the men as it should be, I mean I wouldn’t suddenly want to stay home and raise pups, that’s a females job”alpha kellen chimed in, he laughed like it was funny to assume a woman’s place was only to produce and raise pups. A few chuckles rang out indicating there were still too many alphas in agreement.

“ I second that” alpha montgomery injected before he gestured towards Alisha “ I mean no offence my dear you’ve given me a great view to look at but what have you done besides sit beside your alpha and look pretty” he sneered, a few laughs rang out and I heard Mitchell growl knowing he would be on the man in seconds. I couldn’t blame him. I wanted to kill the man for his comment as well but a brawl was not going to help this deal.

As Mitchell began to rise I spoke giving Alisha enough time to calm her mate “ Luna Alisha has been indispensable in help writing this proposal for the new laws” I glared at the alpha seeing out of the corner of my eye Alisha had her hand on Mitchell’s forearm soothing him, his nose buried in her blonde hair.

The laughing had died on my words clearly the men were stunned that a female could write such a detailed proposal. It wasn’t a lie Mitchell and Alisha had been conferencing with me for weeks via video chat to get this ready for today. Alisha had come up with the idea to hide the specifics of the women’s rights law in plain sight knowing full well the alphas wouldn’t read the entire fine print.

“ oh? And what qualifications does she have to do so, is it not true she was just the alpha’s bed warmer before he made her his luna "Montgomery challenged and I lost my s**t.

Standing suddenly I growled unleashing my aura onto the whole room montgomery wasn’t happy and I could feel him fighting my aura but he bowed in submission once again “ choose your next words carefully alpha, they may be your last, Luna Alisha has been vital to the creation of these new laws and you will show her the respect she deserves” I looked around the table glaring at the other leaders the werewolves were squirming under my scrutiny, even Gwen looked awkward, only the Fae queen looked amused at the drama as did Julianna no doubt we were proving to be nothing more than wild animals in their eyes. “ for your information Luna Alisha was the beta female before she was silver moon’s Luna'' I turned back to Alpha Montgomery and finally I saw real fear on the old timer's face. '' Apologise if you plan to leave this room with your head still attached to your body” I challenged. I didn’t care if I had to kill him to prove my point things would change starting right here.

Through gritted teeth the alpha spoke without looking at Alisha “ I apologise Luna, apparently I was misinformed” he said very unconvincingly like he had something bitter in his mouth, he gave her a side glance and Alisha gave him her best ‘f**k off’ look that works surprisingly well. Making me smile, Mitchell still looked ready to kill alpha Montgomery. He suddenly moved her from her chair beside him and placed her gently in his lap. I noted a few alphas had done the same thing with their Luna’s that were present. Obviously not all the alphas shared alpha Montgomery's opinion and needed their mate to calm them.

When no one spoke again I sat back down “right I think we know all the facts, I don’t see anymore discussion will prove fruitful, so let’s begin the vote” I nodded towards Ronaldo who was sitting in the far corner giving him the go ahead to begin taking everyone’s tally’s, he went around the room taking everyone’s votes while another male showed the votes on a big screen behind us all.

I sat there unmoving and emotionless as the votes were tallied, my stomach plundering at one point when the royal elders began to cast their votes and it looked like the vote would go in favour of the old laws. Elder Stephan sat in his seat looking smug. Even Juliana couldn’t keep the smile off her face.

As the final votes were cast I was relieved when the tally showed the new laws had won favour. I watched as elder stephans face dropped at the victory. It was a victory, a victory for the people and it was my chance to show there would be real change throughout the kingdom.

I couldn’t believe it. I let out the breath I didn’t realise I was holding before turning back to address the table “ Very well, the new laws have passed and will take effect immediately” I declared quickly. I wasn’t going to split hairs over when they would take effect and have to deal with more loopholes and later trials. I saw elder stephans jaw click, obviously sensing my train of thought.

After that we addressed many other issues and in giving all the other leaders a chance to speak it was very interesting to hear how other leaders had to deal with threats without any real aid from the kingdom. I eyed the elders, most of which looked like they were sitting on pin needles and looking for the nearest exit. Of course elder Stephan kept eye contact but his jaw clicked constantly indicating he was not happy the elders were being shamed like this.

I was shocked at how many packs were having problems at the moment some had reported attacks, kidnappings.

Alpha Harper had no army since the rogue attack that wiped out his family; it had also wiped out almost their entire army; if he was to be attacked again the pack would be wiped out. He informed us there had been warriors from the kings army protecting the borders up until a few months ago and they were pulled back to the kingdom without any explanation.

So I had immediately asked why the elders had not acted immediately to help rebuild the warriors. That’s what they should have done, sending the warriors to guard the border was the minimum they should have done. Pulling them back and leaving the pack unprotected was outrageous.

Once again no one said anything which pissed me off. “ if I ask a question I expect an answer” I growled at them until someone answered but their response pissed me off more. “ s..s..sir we don’t have the resources to rebuild the …”

I wouldn’t even let him finish “ we command the largest and most skilled army there is but we can’t spare a few to help rebuild the pack. A pack that is under our protection, Unacceptable” I declared angry before making arrangements with Ronoldo to send as many of our warriors needed to keep the pack safe and to begin training for new warriors.

“ Do we have any other business?” I wanted to bring this to a close. The meeting had only highlighted how many problems there were in the kingdom and was already building a list of tasks I needed to take care of.

I was about to dismiss everyone when elder Stephan stood and stepped towards the leaders table “ actually my king some of us would like to address a serious issue”

“ What issue is that?”

“ Your future queen my king” I fought the urge to roll my eyes at them. So this was his plan, to corner me with everyone in the kingdom present.

I meant what I said I had nothing personally against the woman chosen to be my bride. However Vanessa was of the opinion women did as they were told and produced pups while the men ruled. They were not values I shared and it was clear her father had rather a lot of pull with her, no doubt he planned to use my title to elevate his own.

“ As I have stated already I will only be mating with my fated mate” I smiled at them shutting the topic down. For once grateful for secrets. My father hadn’t told them I already found and rejected my mate.

Stephan would not respect the mate bond but many elders did. They would not force some woman on me and they had no grounds to do so.

Most of the mummers that came after were in agreement and I thought that was the end of it but stephans smile made me uneasy. “ Well then I shall begin plans for the queen's coronation” he said triumphantly and I realised it was a trap.

Stephan nodded towards the doors as they were opened and the last person I ever expected to see again stepped into the room with the same smug smile as stephans plastered across her face. “ hello love”

Maddison.