Defying the Lycan King (Kira and Derek) novel Chapter 65

Chapter 65: The Law of the Jungle

Two gammas bowed low as Rolf and Lydia approached the double doors. They pushed them open, revealing the grand court beyond. The other seven alphas of the Eastern werewolf packs were already present with their betas and a handful of gammas. The hall was packed, thick with the mingled scents of different packs—pine, musk, damp earth, and forest. As Rolf and his Luna entered, every beta and gamma rose to their feet and bowed. He marched to his central seat, dropped into it and gave a curt wave of his hand.

"Sit," he commanded.

He had avoided court ever since Derek’s humiliating visit to Moonfang. The other alphas had been hounding him for answers, demanding to know why their economy was collapsing and why the Lycan King had suddenly turned his attention their way again. The news of the Lycan King’s visit had spread like a plague. But Rolf had called this meeting for one reason only.

"Thank you all for honouring my invitation," he began.

Alpha George of Storm Forest cleared his throat, clearly in no mood for pleasantries. "Alpha Rolf, let’s forgo the circles. What is going on? Your dealings with the Lycan King are bleeding us dry, and you’ve been silent for a month. We deserve answers."

A murmur of agreement rippled through the room as the other Alphas nodded.

Rolf sighed, keeping his face carefully expressionless. "As you are all painfully aware, King Derek is at it again. He intends to crush our spirit by crumbling our economy with these new tariffs and impossible tax rates. And despite what you might all think, I did nothing to warrant this hostility."

"But we heard there was deceit," Alpha Zev countered, narrowing his eyes. "That you tried to trick him."

"I did no such thing," Rolf snapped, his eyes flashing. "He demanded my first-born daughter, and I delivered her. But because the King is as arrogant as he is ignorant, he assumed I only had one. He chose to label the existence of my wolfless daughter as ’deceit’ simply because she wasn’t what he expected."

The Alphas looked at one another, their scepticism clear, but none dared call him a liar to his face.

"Which is why I have called you here," Rolf continued, sensing the dip in the room’s energy. "It is time we stopped begging for scraps from the Lycan table. It is time we took the power back into our own hands."

"And how exactly do you propose we do that?" Alpha Rowan of the Shadow Pack asked.

Rolf sat up straighter, his gaze sweeping the room. "I am suggesting we declare war."

The silence that followed was loud. For a heartbeat, even the sound of breathing seemed to stop as the Alphas stared at Rolf in stunned disbelief.

"Have you lost your mind, Rolf?" George asked, his voice trembling with incredulity. "The last war ended only two years ago. We are still burying our dead. We’ve lost far too many people to that King already. You expect us to march back into the slaughterhouse?"

"He’s right," Alpha Randon of Moon Valley added, his voice grim. "Derek Wolfe is a butcher. He has the resources and the sheer brutality to wipe us off the map."

"What if we sought support from the Northern and Western packs?" Alpha Rico of the Blue Rock Pack suggested, his eyes darting around the room. "The last time, we fought in isolation, and maybe that was why he won. The population of those cursed Lycans is a pittance compared to ours if we truly unite."

The court erupted into chaos. Voices clashed as the alphas argued, some leaning toward Rolf, others too scarred by the last war to even consider it.

"I lost my Luna to that senseless war!" George bellowed over the noise, his face flushed with grief and rage. "I will have no part in anything that provokes that deranged King!"

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