Page 28 of Lycan King's Claim
Fury courses through my veins, a fiery rage threatening to consume everything in its path. The revelation that Sienna is fighting for my hand has struck me like a thunderbolt, shattering the fragile remnants of trust I had left.
With trembling hands, I reach for the phone on my desk, redialing the number when the phone call rings out, the weight of this decision heavy upon me. Finally, someone answers. And I snatch the phone from my desk, placing it to my ear.
“Council member Ridion’s office, how may I help you?” Says a feminine voice on the other end of the line.
“I need to speak to Ridion about the fated bond challenge tomorrow,” I tell her. “Kingdom identification number?” She asks, and I rattle the number off, which is basically the last three letters of my last name and date of birth.
“Transferring you now, please hold the line,” she tells me, a little too chirpy. My eyes flick to my mother as the hold music plays, the tune grating my raw nerves. My mother sits quietly like a child scolded for throwing a tantrum, she has not said anything about me calling the Council.
“King Xandros, what can I do for you? This couldn’t wait until tomorrow when I see you?" A deep baritone voice comes through the speaker.
“No, it couldn’t; I understand you had a challenge put forth for my hand sometime today?” I tell him.
“Ah yes, from Miss Sienna Dravin,” he answers. “Why does that last name sound so familiar?” He seems to mumble to himself.
With trembling hands and my voice dripping with barely contained anger. “Cancel the arrangement,” I demand, my words laced with venom. “It wasn’t Sienna. It was my mother who made the request.”
The silence stretches on the other end of the line, a pause that amplifies the moment’s intensity and increases my anger. Finally, a voice responds, authoritative and unyielding.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness, but the date has been set. Unless Sienna forfeits on the day of the ceremony, there is nothing we can do.” He seems confused. “Is she not your mate?” He asks.
“She is, but I have a treaty agreement with the Dresden Kingdom; the wedding is tomorrow,” I tell him, catching my mother sneaking out the door. I growl, pointing, and her gaze moves to me; I point to the chair. “I’m not a child; come find me afterward, preferably with others present,” she snaps hastily, leaving the room.
“I’m well aware of the wedding tomorrow; King Vin has been blowing up my phone so much that I had to block his number for the past hour. Hopefully, he pesters another Council Elder. But this is good news, my King, you found your true mate, the Council was hoping, and it seems our wishes were granted,” he babbles on. I roll my eyes.
“There is one issue with the situation, my mate was human, and Carina will kill her tomorrow; I need this challenge called off, or I risk losing my mate to my wife,” as I say the words, they taste funny on my tongue, bitter. I shake the strange feeling away.
“I’m sorry, Xandros, but my hands are tied. You said so yourself, she is your mate, and she has every right to challenge for your hand.”
The words hit me like a physical blow, the realization that I am trapped within the confines of tradition and obligation. The Council’s iron grip tightens around me, squeezing the life out of any hope for a different outcome. Anguish wells up within me, the weight of responsibility bearing upon my shoulders.
In a frenzy of emotions, I storm through the palace’s corridors, my footsteps echoing in the empty halls. I find myself standing before my mother’s chambers, my heart pounding with rage and confusion. Pushing open the door, I confront her, my voice seething with anger. “What have you done, Mother? Are you trying to kill my mate?”
“Of course not; I’m assuming you couldn’t get the challenge removed?” I glare at her as she sits beside my father; he grips her knees gently.
“Of course not, only she can do that, and I doubt after earlier she’ll do that now, not after she tried to kill herself,” my mother gasps at her words. “She what?” She sits forward suddenly, and I see the worry in her eyes, which confuses me.
“You’re still training her, aren’t you?” She purses her lips. “What is your intention, Mother? Because besides helping her accomplish what she nearly did earlier, I don’t understand you,” I snap at her.
Her eyes meet mine, a flicker of regret and guilt passing through them. “I was wrong, Xandros,” she admits, her voice laced with sorrow. “I misunderstood Sienna.”
“Excuse me?” I ask, and she sighs.
“I was wrong about her, Xandros. She isn’t her parents; I see that now,” she admits. “Wow, you just came to this conclusion?” I scoff.
“In the accident, she had the chance to leave me for dead, but she chose to save me instead.” She murmurs. “I knew then, even though I hurt her, even though I dragged her name through the mud, and she despised me, she saved me. Sienna didn’t have to, but she did,” my mother states.
Confusion washes over me, my mind struggling to comprehend her words. I remember that day, the accident that left my mother bumped and bruised while Sienna was knocking on death’s door. But she wasn’t gravely wounded, not enough to warrant such a change in my mother. What is she hiding from me? What truth lay buried beneath the surface?
“Explain yourself, Mother. What are you talking about?” I press, my eyes searching hers for any hint of the truth.
Frustration wells up within me, threatening to overflow. I grab her shoulders tightly, my voice quivering with emotion. “For once, can everyone just speak the words they mean and not drive me insane by having me guess?”
“You’re punishing her for running, and now she challenges for your hand. You punish her again?”
“She left me!” I snarl.
Her gaze softens, and I can see the pain etched into the lines of her face. “Sienna is not our enemy. I was wrong to judge her. She didn’t warrant my anger; she may not believe in the mate bonds or believe that she loves you, yet she was trying to escape the pain of seeing you with Carina. How could you cause her so much pain if she didn’t love you? Unfortunately, all she has known is pain and this entire thing with Toby.” I snarl at her causal use of that vermin’s name. My mother glares at me.
