Chapter 42 The War Council pt 1
Duncan
I stood off to the side, watching my mate fall apart in her father's arms. Conn was pacing. 'We should be comforting mate, not watching,' he huffed.
'I know, but she needs this connection with her parents, Conn. She's never truly had the comfort of her father's embrace or her mother's love. We need to let her build those relationships,' I told him. 'In the meantime, what do you think about her conversation with the Goddess?'
'Kara shared her memories with me. I think we need to start by tearing Blood Moon Pack apart, and then go from there,' he grumbled. My wolf was bloodthirsty, it seemed.
Gideon and I waited as patiently as we could, then King Cian called us over. We sat facing the three of them.
"Now, tell me. Who do we have to kill?" King Cian said. It seems that Conn is not the only one who wants blood.
Seren looked up at him, her mouth dropping open. Queen Gwen just rolled her eyes, and Gideon snorted. "Dad, don't scare her. You just got her back!"
King Cian just shrugged his shoulders. "Someone stole my daughter and placed her in a pack that has tormented and abused her for years. There will be retribution," he stated.
He wasn't wrong, but there was just so much to cover. "King Cian—"
"You're mated to my daughter, Duncan. I think we can drop the titles now, don't you?" I hadn't really thought about the fact that the King was now my father-in-law. My brain just short-circuited.
Gideon burst out laughing. "I think you broke him, Dad. I don't think he'd gotten that far yet." They were all smiling now.
"Well, I have been a bit distracted," I grumbled, but I smiled back at them. "Anyhow…Cian…we have a lot to cover and plan. If you're ready, we can head over to the conference room and start outlining what we know and what steps we need to take to get things started."
He looked down at Seren, who nodded, and agreed. We all stood then, and as we exited, Seren naturally fell in the middle of us. I led the way to the conference room, Seren at my back, and Gideon behind her. Her parents flanked her. I suspected we would be protecting her in similar formation for a long time to come.
Chatter died down as we entered. The group turned to look at us, and I felt Seren lean into me as the sea of faces focused on her. Her hand slipped into mine, and she stood just slightly behind me. I could tell that she was overwhelmed with all the attention directed at her. We walked to the head of the conference room table, where seats had been left open for us. I gestured for King Cian to take the head, and Queen Gwen sat to his right. That left Gideon on his left, and Seren beside Gideon. I stood behind the chair on the other side of Seren.
"Good morning, everyone. I hope that you've had a chance to grab some food, as we have a long morning ahead of us. However, first, I'd like to introduce you to my mate, your future Luna, Princess Seren Ashbourne."
The noise increased again as everyone welcomed Seren, who simply gave a shy wave. Once she finally focused in and saw Kayla, I felt her calm a little.
"I'll go ahead and make introductions, then we can get down to it. Beside Queen Gwen is Louise, as you know. Kayla is not only your friend and Louise's daughter, but our new Beta female and mate to Julian. Beta Julian is beside her, and you met Lucian outside. Beside Lucian is my mother, Catriona Ravenscroft, and my father, Aidan Ravenscroft. Julian's father and our former Beta is next, Bastien Everhart. Our Delta, Eric Stormbourne, and our head warrior, Alexander Goldenthorn. Here on my right is future royal Beta Axel Barlow, and beside him is future royal Gamma Malachi Steele. And I'd like to introduce to the group Elaine Thorrson, High Priestess of the Sacred Oak Coven, who joined us this morning." Once the introductions were finished, I sat down.
"Now, as you all know, Seren was recently found gravely injured in the dungeons of Blood Moon, and we rescued her and brought her here to Crescent Moon. She's been treated for her wounds by Doc Theo, and thanks to High Priestess Elaine, is fully and completely healed as of this morning." There were a few murmurs at that, and several of those at the table turned to look at Elaine. "You have our sincere gratitude for your help, High Priestess," I said. "You indicated that you had additional information to share with us once we had gathered. Are you ready to share?"
Elaine nodded, then took a deep breath. "First, I must apologize to you, Alpha King Cian and Luna Queen Gwen. You lost the first eighteen years with your daughter due to the heinous actions of one in my coven. This is something that I only recently found out, and I will share how as a part of my story. I hope that once I'm finished, we can move forward and be allies in the war to come." She gave everyone time to settle as her words had, understandably, caused some anger among the group. "I'll start at the beginning of my story, if you could bear with me for just a few minutes. I believe how I came to be High Priestess is relevant background for you to see the entire picture." She paused, gathering herself.
"My coven, the Sacred Oak Coven, is the oldest witch coven on this continent. Approximately eight hundred years ago, the High Priestess at the time recorded a prophecy. The full records were lost due to a war between the vampires and witches about four hundred years ago, but the warnings have been passed down through the generations. We have searched for the full prophecy, but still have found only pieces. This is paraphrased as a result. She foretold a coming time when sibling bonds would create a great divide in the supernatural community, and as a result, a being so evil and powerful that he could bring about the end of the supernatural world would rise. There would be a time when twins were born to werewolf royalty, and their bond would be so strong that they could move as one—ultimately harnessing the power of all the elements. This royal pair would rise against the evil, and the result of their ultimate battle would determine the fate of the world."