Defying the Lycan King (Kira and Derek) novel Chapter 169

Chapter 169: The Coronation

The Grand Hall of Dravengard had been transformed into something out of a fairy tale.

Kira had not expected anything like it. She had braced herself for something formal, something stiff and ceremonial, but not this. The great hall had been transformed entirely.

Banners in the deep colours of House Wolfe hung the full length of the walls. Flowers spilt from every surface.

Hundreds of guests filled the rows, Alphas and Lunas and high-ranking Lycans from across the territories, all of them dressed in their finest, all of them turned toward the front of the hall in anticipation.

She felt a flutter of nerves in her stomach as she stood just outside the massive double doors with Derek.

She let out a long, shaky breath. This is really happening, she thought. I’m about to become a queen. A real, actual queen.

"All Hail His Grace, King Derek Wolfe, and Her Highness, Queen Kira Wolfe!"

The announcer’s voice boomed across the hall as the double doors swung open. As one, every soul in the room rose to their feet and bowed.

Maya led them in, looking adorable in her flower girl dress, scattering soft white and pink petals along the long red carpet from a basket with grace.

Kira walked beside Derek, her arm tucked into his, and she tried very hard not to think about the photographs under her mattress in the main mansion, about the note, and about Ward 45.

She tried, and she mostly succeeded, because Derek was beside her and his arm under hers was rock solid, and for a brief, glorious stretch of red carpet, she let herself simply walk.

They reached the dais and turned to face the hall. The crowd straightened and settled back into their seats. Then, they turned to face each other.

An elder wolf stepped forward, robed and white-haired, and raised his hands. He read out the prayers for the land first

"Beloved sons and daughters of Dravengard," he began. "We gather today under the watchful eye of the goddess, beneath the canopy of our ancestors, to witness the joining of crown to the head."

People nodded collectively.

"May the goddess bless this kingdom with strength in its roots and peace in its borders. May its rivers run clear and its people run free. May those who lead it lead with wisdom, and those who follow it follow with honour."

"So shall it be," the hall echoed.

The elder wolf turned to Derek and Kira.

"You will now recite the traditional Lycan coronation vows. Repeat after me."

"I swear, by the moon and the marrow of my bones," the elder began.

"I swear, by the moon and the marrow of my bones," they repeated together. Derek’s voice was deep and even. Kira’s came out a quarter pitch higher than usual, and trembling slightly.

"To give myself to this land and its people. I will guard them with my body and my breath. I will not turn from them in hardship, nor abandon them in fear. What threatens them, I will stand against. What heals them, I will nurture. From this day, their fate is my fate, and their blood is my charge."

As Kira recited the words, her hands would not stop shaking. She tried to clasp them together in front of her. It only made it worse because now she could feel both of them shaking against each other.

Derek noticed.

Without a word, or breaking from the vow, he reached over and took both of her trembling hands into his own, steadying them, holding them firm.

He looked directly into her eyes as he spoke the rest of the words, and she found herself looking back, and somehow, with his hands wrapped around hers, the shaking eased.

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