Bound To The Ruthless Lycan

Chapter 10 : The Council's Rejection

Damon didn't loosen his grip on my wrist. He slowly lifted my hand closer to his lips. His warm breath fanned over my scratched finger, sending shivers through my entire body.

"Damon, what are you doing?" I whispered, my voice trembling in the silent room.

Without breaking eye contact, Damon lowered his head. He slowly licked away the drop of blood on my thumb with the tip of his tongue.

A surge of warmth radiating from his touch suddenly seared through my chest. An unfamiliar thrill coursed through my bloodstream, as if an invisible bond had just forged between the two of us. Damon's broad chest pressed firmly against my shoulder as he pulled me closer to him.

Damon closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. His face, once taut from the residual poison, now looked remarkably serene.

"Your blood..." Damon whispered huskily, his voice low beside my ear. "Your blood instantly silenced the madness in my mind, Sera."

He gently kissed the tip of my injured finger, then wiped the stray blood from his lips with the back of his hand. His large hand shifted to my jaw, cupping my cheek in a deeply protective touch. His thumb stroked my tear-stained skin.

"Never hurt your own finger again in front of me," Damon said, his golden eyes gazing at me intensely yet filled with warmth. "I don't like seeing you bleed, even if it's to heal me."

My heart pounded fiercely. His gaze made my chest tight with emotions I could hardly explain. This wasn't just gratitude; this was the touch of an Alpha acknowledging his Luna completely.

"I did what I had to do," I said, trying to steady my voice even as my breathing remained hurried. "Now stand up. Morning has come, and the High Council is already waiting for you in the Grand Council Chamber."

Damon offered a faint smirk, a dangerous smile that made my chest flutter. He stood tall, straightening his shirt and black cloak.

"Let's go meet the old men who want to overthrow you," Damon said coldly.

The Grand Council Chamber stood magnificently, featuring a high glass dome ceiling and black stone pillars. Dozens of noble lords and royal elders sat in a semicircle along rows of carved wooden chairs. In the center of the room lay a massive, thick teakwood table.

The atmosphere inside the room grew thick with tension the moment Damon and I stepped inside.

Lord Vane, the tall council leader with graying hair and ceremonial robes, immediately stood up from his head chair. He slammed his palm against the wooden table.

"King Damon!" Lord Vane shouted, his loud voice echoing across the chamber. "We, the members of the High Council, are officially convened today to refuse the ratification of Seraphine's appointment as kingdom Luna!"

Murmurs of agreement echoed among the other noble lords.

"That's right! She isn't worthy!" yelled a lord from the back row. "She's a former mute kitchen servant! She has no legitimate noble bloodline to rule our people!"

"The people outside the gates are furious!" Lord Vane chimed in with a sly smirk. "Choosing this woman as Luna will only trigger a massive rebellion in the city. We demand that you revoke this decision immediately and banish her from the castle!"

I stood beside Damon, tightly gripping the rolled documents hidden in the folds of my gown. My eyes locked onto Lord Vane without a shred of fear.

Damon stepped forward toward the council's main table. His footsteps were heavy, bringing an instant hush over the elders who watched the King's terrifying expression.

"You reject my decision?" Damon asked, his voice low yet laced with heavy emphasis.

Lord Vane straightened his posture, trying to look imposing. "This is the council's right! You cannot rule without our ratification, King Damon!"

Damon didn't answer with words.

Suddenly, a golden Lycan aura erupted from Damon's body. A powerful shockwave of air pressure slammed across the room.

Damon raised his right hand and slammed it onto the thick teakwood table in front of him in a single violent motion.

BOOM!

A deafening roar shattered the silence. The massive, thick teak table shattered in two, splintering into debris that flew through the air. Stone dust and wood shards rained down on the council members' faces.

Several lords shrieked hysterically, scrambling backward from their chairs and falling onto the stone floor. Lord Vane stumbled back, pale as death, eyes wide as he stared at the ruined table before him.

Damon stood tall amid the wood splinters, his golden eyes blazing with lethal threat.

"You are not taking a vote to approve my Luna," Damon said in a deep, thunderous rumble. "I am telling you who will cut off your heads if you disobey."

The council chamber turned dead silent. Not a single council member dared to breathe loudly. Some trembled, clutching their noble robes.

Lord Vane worked his jaw, his voice shaking violently with fear. "Your threats cannot kill the entire council, King! This kingdom needs laws and order!"

"Which order, Lord Vane?" I called out loudly, stepping forward past Damon.

Every eye in the room snapped toward me.

I stepped forward and hurled the stack of notes from the kitchen and private vault onto the splintered ruins of the table before Lord Vane. Papers scattered across the stone floor.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Lord Vane snapped, trying to conceal his nervousness.

"That is proof that the laws in this room have rotted because of you," I said coldly, pointing at the pile of documents. "For the past five years, you have extorted grain taxes from the outer townspeople, forged land transaction deeds, and funded rogue rebel groups along the border!"

The other council members began whispering in panic, staring at the exposed papers on the floor.

"Lies! Cheap slander from a former slave!" Lord Vane shrieked hysterically. "You forged those documents to bring me down!"

"I forged them?" I chuckled softly, my expression dripping with contempt.

I pulled a thick sheet of parchment from my scroll and held it high in the air so every noble lord in the room could see it clearly.

"Open your eyes and look at this!" I shouted, my voice echoing strongly through every corner of the room. "This is the purchase order for three hundred spears and the Wolfsbane poison weapon used to attack the King last night!"

I walked up to Lord Vane, pressing the paper right against the chest of his luxurious robes.

"And at the bottom of this document," I said, pointing to the thick red seal on the paper, "is the secret wax seal of House Vane. The official seal bearing the double-headed eagle held by you and you alone, Lord Vane!"

Gasps echoed through the chamber. Several senior lords stood up immediately, staring at Lord Vane in disbelief and disgust.

"Vane, you sold palace weapons to rebels?!" shouted an old lord in the right corner.

"This... this is impossible!" Lord Vane whispered, his once-arrogant face suddenly as pale as a corpse. His eyes darted wildly toward the red seal on the paper. "How? Where did you get these documents?!"

"From the common folk you step on every day in the kitchens and underground halls," I replied right in his face. "You thought those servants were mute and blind. But they are the ones who recorded every crime you committed behind closed doors!"

Lord Vane collapsed back into his chair, unable to utter a single word in his defense. The entire council now glared at him with rage.

"Who else among you wishes to question my fitness to be Luna?" I asked, turning around to lock eyes with each of the noble lords in the room.

Not a single one dared to answer. They hung their heads, terrified that their names might appear in the crime ledgers I held.

But before I could turn back to Damon, the scent of the air in the chamber shifted drastically.

A pungent stench of ozone and the heavy metallic smell of fresh blood filled the Grand Council Chamber. The air grew stiflingly hot, making my throat suddenly dry and tight.

I turned back quickly to Damon.

Above the glass dome, thick black clouds slowly parted. A brilliant silver light pierced through the glass dome, bathing Damon's body directly in the center of the room.

The full moon had risen completely in the night sky.

Damon's breathing turned harsh and heavy. His chest heaved rapidly, exhaling hot steam tinged with the scent of blood. Thick black veins spread rapidly from his neck to his jaw, and coarse black fur began to sprout across his skin.

"Damon?" I called out in a panic, taking a step toward him.

Damon let out a gut-wrenching groan, clutching his head in both hands. He threw his head back toward the glass ceiling.

His golden eyes were gone, replaced by a glowing crimson burning with madness. Damon's monthly Frenzy curse erupted violently inside the council chamber, triggered by the full moon's rays.

Damon roared, a savage wolf's howl that shattered the surrounding glass windows. The council members shrieked hysterically and scrambled in a frenzy toward the exits as the King completely lost his human mind.