Defying the Lycan King (Kira and Derek) novel Chapter 226

Chapter 226: A Month of Silence

A Month Later...

"The only logical way forward is to tender a formal apology to the werewolves," one elderly wolf suggested.

"I don’t think that’s necessary at all," another countered. "Yes, Crane pinned a heinous thing on them eight years ago. We all know that now. But let’s be honest with ourselves, the werewolves are a suspicious lot at the best of times. Why should we bend our knees to them?"

They were gathered in the council hall, the elder wolves seated around the great table, debating Crane’s crimes. Crimes which Derek had finally laid bare before them, after weeks of gathering gruelling, painstaking evidence against his uncle. The truth was out now. There was no putting it back.

After four long weeks of emotional numbness and grief, Derek had forced himself to start functioning again. He had thrown himself headfirst back into the work, into duty and council and strategy, anything at all to keep from feeling the ache that had taken up permanent residence in his chest.

He had searched for Kira, tirelessly and endlessly. But it was as though she had vanished off the face of the earth, leaving no trace, no scent, no whisper of where she’d gone.

And with every single day that passed, Derek felt Leo shrinking inside him, growing quieter, dimmer, more withdrawn, a beast mourning a loss it could not undo.

He trained harder now than he ever had in his life, pouring his guilt and his regret into his body until it screamed. He spent hours in the private gym, wallowing in his deep regret and punching heavy bags until his knuckles bled, even as he presented a solid, unshakeable front to the world outside.

"The question here isn’t about whether they’re a suspicious lot," the first elder pressed on. "It’s about doing what is right. We wronged them, publicly. For years. We should at the very least give them the benefit of the doubt now."

"But even if we accused and blamed them wrongly all this time," another elder said, "the werewolves still breached our security not long ago. They killed our people, and are in line with the Umbras. That happened. We can’t simply forget it."

"And we have been killing them for years," said a female elder quietly. "Let us not pretend our hands are clean."

The elders erupted into argument. Several of them, the female elders among them, advocated firmly for a formal apology to the werewolves, and for the removal of the heavy taxes and harsh border restrictions Dravengard had long imposed on them.

Through all of it, Derek sat in silence, listening.

"My problems with Rolf remain strictly with Rolf," Derek’s deep, booming voice suddenly cut through the noise, silencing the entire room instantly.

He didn’t yell, but the sheer command in his tone made several elders jump in their seats. He looked around the table with those cold eyes.

"This isn’t about bending our knees to them. The difference between the Shadow King and myself is a simple one. I know when I am wrong, and I am willing to acknowledge it." He drew a breath. "I will tender a public apology to the werewolves. And I will take every step necessary to right the wrongs we have done to them."

He rose from his chair.

"Arrange a meeting with the werewolf council as soon as possible," he said. "We need to admit to our mistakes, openly and without excuse. This meeting is ended."

He walked out of the hall, leaving the elders whispering amongst themselves in his wake.

Once outside, he turned to Declan on his right. "Have you managed to send out the invitations to the Alphas of the West, for the meeting?"

"I’ll see to it today," Declan said.

Derek turned to Connor on his other side. "Any news of the Queen? Any leads at all?"

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