Defying the Lycan King (Kira and Derek) novel Chapter 162

Chapter 162: Hopelessly in Love

Derek walked into court flanked by Declan, Connor and some Gammas.

The hall rose as one. The elder wolves, the gathered officials, every figure in the room got to their feet and bowed as he crossed to the front and lowered himself into his chair, and gestured for them to sit.

One of the gammas stepped forward to deliver the report first.

"Your Grace. We’ve accounted for the dead from the attack. The Umbra bodies have been gathered and burned."

He paused. "We’ve also confirmed something concerning. The Northern Lycans who attacked were not Lycans at all. They were Umbras, wearing the bodies of dead Northern gammas."

A ripple of unease moved through the hall.

One of the elder wolves rose first, his face grave.

"Then we must address the true question. How did Umbras breach this stronghold? In the eight years since His Grace took Dravengard, not once have we had a breach."

The elders and officials nodded in agreement.

"Dravengard has been a fortress." He looked around the room. "And yet last night they walked straight in, and came directly to the palace. To the heart of the pack. That is not chance, Your Grace."

"There must be a mole among us," another elder said hesitantly. "There has to be. Someone fed them the way in."

The others nodded, exchanging glances. The room was filled with unspoken words that no one wanted to speak.

"Do we really need look far for the answer," a third bolder elder said, his eyes sliding across the hall scanning for support.

"We all know what changed. The stronghold stood untouched for eight years, and within months of a werewolf entering these walls, the Umbras find their way inside."

A murmur of agreement rolled through the hall. Some courtiers were openly agreeing, but others didn’t want to get on the King’s bad side.

"That is a serious accusation built on convenient timing," an older female elder cut in. "And nothing more. The Umbras are shadow shifters. Infiltration is their entire nature." She looked around.

"This could as easily be the work of a rival kingdom hoping we’ll tear ourselves apart looking for an enemy within while they do what they want."

"And if we ignore the obvious for the sake of being fair," the third elder shot back, "we hand our throats to the enemy out of politeness."

The argument swelled, voices overlapping, half the hall leaning toward suspicion and the other half urging caution, the room dividing along lines of fear.

Through all of it, Derek said nothing. He sat with his fingers loosely steepled, his face unreadable, letting them argue themselves out, listening to every word and giving away nothing of his own.

"We should strike Moonfang first," the first elder said. "If Rolf Thornclaw is behind this, then war is already here whether we name it or not. We should march before they regroup, and settle the question of the queen’s loyalty along the way."

"More than that," said the third elder, leaning forward. "We should postpone the coronation, until the investigation is complete. It would be reckless to crown her while a breach this size goes unexplained."

"There will be no postponement." Derek’s voice was quiet, but it cut the noise of the hall instantly. "The coronation goes ahead as planned. And we will not march on anyone. Not yet."

The third elder opened his mouth. "Your Grace, with respect—"

"If Rolf is indeed responsible," Derek said, "then he is expecting our retaliation. He’ll be waiting for us to come charging across his border in a rage, because a furious enemy is a careless one."

His amber eyes moved across the hall. "Any strike we make right now is a strike he has already anticipated. And anything an enemy is waiting for you to do is a trap."

The hall remained silent.

***

After the elder wolves and gammas had finally cleared the hall, leaving only Derek and his men, Declan stood near the window, Connor by the dais.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify