Chapter 85 Matters Arising
Xander
Council meetings are a special kind of torment.
It's not the physical kind. No.
Death by patience is what I like to call it.
The chamber sits buried deep within the stone belly of the council building, cut off from sunlight and fresh air. A place designed for secrets and decisions that reshape entire packs.
Or ruin them...
Five council members sit around the circular stone table, watching me.
Their gazes feel like hands on my body, prying, measuring, weighing as I make my way to my own side of the room.
“Your Highness,” one of them begins, voice smooth and practiced. Wade. “We appreciate your attendance.”
I lean back slightly in the high chair, stretching my legs just enough to show I’m not here to play obedient ruler.
“Let’s skip the formalities.”
A faint ripple of disapproval passes around the table. It’s subtle, but I catch it. The tightening of a jaw. The flicker of irritation in someone’s eyes.
Good, let them be uncomfortable.
Another council member clears his throat, adjusting the stack of documents in front of him like they might somehow shield him.
“The matter before us is simple, your Highness.” He gestures toward the papers. “Your ascension.”
The word alone feels heavier than it should.
Since the pack officially recognized me as Alpha King, the council has circled like vultures that learned to wear silk instead of feathers.
Titles.
Ceremonies.
Territorial confirmations.
Political alliances dressed up as celebrations.
And now, the final leash they want to clasp around my neck.
“The bonding ritual, your Highness,” the woman, Sage, at the far end says, her tone calm, almost clinical. She's one of the pack's representatives and is rarely present due to the nature of her role.
“Your mate has been identified.”
I had wanted to keep the existence of my bond with Vanessa a secret for as long as possible. It wasn't because of anything but the fact that I didn't want her to get overwhelmed or pressured by anything that comes with being mated to me. But of course, they're the council for a reason, nothing ever really gets past them.
I nod once. “Yes.”
“Which means,” Sage continues, folding her hands neatly on the table, “the final step toward official ascension is available to you.”
I already know what they want.
The ceremonial bond marking, ancient and witnessed by council, alphas, and selected pack representatives.
A spectacle disguised as tradition and a declaration that the Alpha King and his mate are bound not just by instinct, but by law, by politics, by the unblinking eyes of every wolf who matters.
Permanent, irrevocable, and controlled.
My jaw tightens because right now, the timing couldn’t be worse. There's too much at stake at the moment.
“It's not yet time,” I say.
The words falling into the room like a stone dropped into still water. Everything ripples...but in silence.
And it's the dangerous kind.
One council member leans forward, frowning. “We will need a better explanation, your Highness.”
I fold my arms across my chest, meeting each of their gazes without flinching. “We’ve both been through a lot recently.” That’s the clean version anyways. The version that doesn’t include the chaos of what we survived.
Kidnapping.
Dark magic that still lingers like a shadow under the skin.
Her heat cycle hitting like a storm that nearly tore both of us apart.
My rut following close behind, just as brutal, just as consuming.
Moments where control slipped through my fingers like sand, and the Alpha inside me wanted to take, claim, mark—consequences be damned.
Moments where she looked at me and I couldn’t tell if she wanted to run…
Or stay.
Vanessa deserves more than to be dragged into a room full of wolves and turned into a symbol.
She deserves to breathe, to choose.
And if I’m being honest, so do I.
“I won’t rush her into a ceremony she’s not ready for,” I add, my voice quieter now, but no less firm.
The council members exchange glances, silent conversations passing between them in seconds.
Calculations, concerns, and opportunities. That's all what I read in those few seconds of their subtle glances and lip movements.
Finally, the oldest among them, an elite council member during my father's reign, Stephen, shifts forward. His age shows in the lines etched into his face, but his eyes are sharp. Too sharp.
“The bond between you is already evident, your Highness” he says. “It doesn’t need your patience to exist.”
I hold his gaze. “That also doesn’t mean it should be forced.”
A flicker of something crosses his expression. Not quite approval. Not quite annoyance. But recognition, maybe. Or the understanding that I’m not going to bend just because they expect me to.
Another stretch of silence ensues, longer this time, and thicker.
Then Sage at the far end exhales softly and gives a slow nod. “Very well, your Highness.” The tension in my shoulders loosens just a fraction. “We will grant you time.”
Time. Such a gift with a price tag attached to it.
She taps the table once, the sound sharp, final.
“But understand this, Alpha King.” I meet her gaze again, unblinking. “The longer the ceremony is delayed… the more attention it will draw.”
Of course it will, whispers travel faster than wolves.
An unmarked mate? A delayed bonding? Questions will rise, doubts will follow, and rival packs will start sniffing around for weakness like blood in water.
Politics again. It's always politics.
“I’ll handle it,” I say.
Because I will, whatever that looks like.
The council member studies me for a moment longer, as if trying to peel back layers I won’t let her see. Then she nods once.
“Meeting adjourned,” I announce.
Chairs scrape softly against stone as they rise.
Eyes linger on me just a second too long as the gather their documents, before they finally look away.
One by one, they leave, until it’s just me and the echo of everything unsaid. Pushing to my feet, I head for the exit, the heavy doors groaning as I pull them open.
The corridor outside is quieter, cooler, and less suffocating, but the weight in my chest doesn’t ease because the council isn’t the problem.
Not really, it’s what comes next.
As I walk down the dimly lit hall, one thought keeps circling, persistent, sharp.
Vanessa.
There’s a pull there, a thread between us that refuses to go slack, no matter how much distance we put between ourselves.
But right now, something feels...off. It's not broken or anything, but active, more than ever.
Like something has her attention.
Something she shouldn’t be touching...or doing.
I exhale slowly, dragging a hand through my hair. “She’s not going to sit still,” I mutter under my breath.
Of course she isn’t. Vanessa Collins was never built for quiet obedience.
She digs, she questions, she hunts – even when the prey is something she doesn’t fully understand. Especially then.
A memory flashes:
The way her eyes sharpen when she senses a secret.
The stubborn set of her jaw when someone tells her to stay out of something.
The reckless courage that makes her step forward when everyone else would step back.
Damn it. My steps come to a halt.
Because now I’m sure. Completely sure...
“She’s already into something,” I say, voice low, edged with certainty as I feel subtle rush of adrenaline flowing through the bond.
And if she is, then whatever she’s found isn’t small. Nothing ever is with her.
A slow, dangerous smile curves at the corner of my mouth; something darker. something protective, possessive.
I turn on my heel, already changing direction.
Time to find out exactly what kind of trouble my mate has decided to flirt with this time.
And more importantly, who’s going to regret catching her attention first.