Mikael sat patiently watching me as I processed everything he had said. If their first law was against the killing of humans, then the rest of their laws should line up with ours. I found myself thinking that I could live in such a society and family that would uphold the sanctity of life no matter the race, as I had been raised to believe. A ridiculous notion, for all I know he could be lying through his teeth about everything.
I pondered why this royal family had never come up in my studies. Perhaps because their realm of influence was where ours ended? Did that mean our family has been regarded as royal in our region due to our blessing from the Moon Goddess? Just as I was about to open my mouth to ask if he had heard of us as another royal family, a knock came at the door. Mikael jumped up as if shocked, moving swiftly past my piles of books and scrolls to the door, abruptly opening it with a growl.
"Care to give me a reason why you're disturbing my mate and I?" His voice was jagged, and the threatening undercurrent sent goosebumps along my arms. A deep voice replied calmly from the other side.
"Your Majesty, your brothers have convened a council meeting with the generals. A pack of white wolves is approaching from the North, and they have been defeating our troops on their way down. They've been ignoring all decorum of battle. It's been requested that your…mate…sits in on the meeting as she might know these wolves." My eyes widened as I hopped up from my seat, gliding along the floor to grab my robes, sliding my arms into them and clasping them as I made my way to the door. The Ice Claw pack was on its way, and they were brutal when provoked. How had news of our attack gotten to them so quickly? Had they informed any other packs? Were any others on the way? This would surely attract the attention of the humans.
"Let us go then, I know the pack he speaks of. What room are they convening in?" The man looked down at me, considering my authoritative tone, before looking at Mikael with storm grey eyes. His face was scarred from ear to jaw, four clear claw marks. His nose had evidently been broken many times over from the angle it sat at, and he had thin lips that were pressed into a line. I allowed my wolf forward, just enough to let my Alpha aura send a clear indication of who he was ignoring. His eyes darted to mine as he cleared his throat and stood a little taller.
"They're in what was presumed to be the main Council chambers, my lady. We had found several Council members in there when we…" I waved my hand dismissively at him as I moved past.
"When you took over my lands without provocation or just reason, I know. I was there." I made sure to lace my voice with the poison I felt was leeching into my body, my skin heating in fury at the reminder of the night's events. "I require my Council members Marcus and Antonio. Make sure they're brought there, gently, or you will be facing my fury," I began moving down the hallway towards my Council chambers, "and trust me, you don't want that. If there is so much as a scratch on any of my Council members, let alone my civilians, I want the names of every warrior who left them. I will punish each and every one of them personally. What is your name, warrior?"
I heard two feet rapidly following me, the proximity to my mate making my skin light up with the promise of a thousand kisses across every inch of me. I focused on my breathing and the mission at hand, making Temira whine in my head. He's not getting any closer until we can be sure that he's honest, I chided her. We have no choice in who our mate is, she reminded me in a sharp tone, we need our mate. There is no question about it.
"Name, warrior." I snapped, throwing a venomous look over my shoulder. I felt him pull himself to attention, a subtle change in his energy as he focused back on me. Surely he wasn't used to answering to anyone other than the trio of brothers who had stormed my lands, let alone a seemingly weak and small female. I allowed my Alpha aura to flood the corridor to poke the bear so to speak, and push my anger.
"Ezra, my lady. I am Mikael's Beta." As I thought. He cleared his throat roughly before continuing softly, "For the record, my lady, many of us were against the attack. We did not see the reason for it as you had not proved yourself a threat…we were simply following orders. To desert Lucien would be to desert the royal family, which is punishable by death."
"Oh is that so? Yet none of you saw the wisdom in dissuading him. What you could've been seeking to gain is beyond me, as I will not give my hand freely, even to my Goddess given mate." I sent a glare over at Mikael, who hung his head in assumed shame. The rigidity of his shoulders spoke volumes, but to what I didn't quite know. We wound through the corridors between my private rooms and the Council chamber, where I picked up on several scents, including one I did not want to encounter in this place. A place where I had spent more time in than my own bedroom, passed countless laws to better our people, spent hours debating on mundane things. The last bastion of memory that my parents were deeply ingrained in, years of everyday interactions with them lining every inch of the room.
Blood.
All I could smell was the overwhelming scent of blood.
Fresh blood.