Chapter 82 Superior - Amelia’s POV
The Royal Council Chamber swallowed us as we entered, its vastness designed to intimidate. Obsidian floors caught and fractured light from tall arched windows, reflecting our movements like dark water. Ancient tapestries depicting wolf battles hung between columns of black granite that stretched toward a vaulted ceiling adorned with silver inlays, phases of the moon watching over proceedings below. Despite Aleksandr's solid presence beside me, my stomach twisted with nerves. This wasn't just any meeting.
This was my first official appearance before the council as Aleksandr's recognised mate, his Queen. The same people who had viewed me as nothing, a wolfless servant, unworthy of notice, would now be forced to acknowledge me as their superior. I felt the weight of that transition in every step.
'Stand tall,' Kaela urged in my mind, her presence lending me strength. 'We earned our place here. We fought for it.'
Four figures rose from their seats as we approached, Nora, her silver-streaked braid falling over one shoulder; Adrian Blackstone, his face carefully composed into diplomatic neutrality; Elara Juniper, stern and rigid in her traditional attire; and a woman I didn't recognise but instantly knew must be Lady Isolde Redwood. Unlike the others, whose postures conveyed at least formal respect, Lady Redwood's eyes tracked me with undisguised contempt. Her white hair was arranged in an elaborate style adorned with small bone beads that clicked softly as she inclined her head, the bare minimum acknowledgment she could offer without causing offence.
"Alpha King Aleksandr," they intoned almost in unison, though Lady Redwood's voice carried a subtle note of challenge that made Kaela bristle within me.
'Old bat,' my wolf growled. 'Thinks she's above us.'
Aleksandr's hand settled at the small of my back, warm and steadying. "Good morning, councillors," he replied, his voice carrying the natural authority that came so effortlessly to him. "I believe most of you have met my mate, Amelia Lovelace." His emphasis on the word "mate" was subtle but unmistakable. "Lady Redwood, however, has not had the pleasure. Lady Redwood formerly served on this council before her retirement. She has graciously agreed to step back in during Councillors Blackthorn and Kane's absence, until matters stabilise."
Lady Redwood's amber eyes narrowed as they assessed me, taking in every detail from my still-too-thin frame to my mismatched eyes. "An... unexpected development," she said finally, each word measured and cool. "The council has been hearing interesting stories about your... transformation."
The implication was clear, she didn't believe I'd shifted. Or if she did, she questioned its legitimacy.
"Perhaps you'll see for yourself someday," I replied, surprised by the steadiness of my own voice. "If circumstances warrant it."
A flash of something, respect, perhaps, or surprise, flickered across Nora's ancient face before disappearing beneath her usual composed expression.
Aleksandr guided me toward the head of the table where two high-backed chairs awaited us—his dark and imposing with the royal crest carved into its headboard, and beside it, one that matched in every detail but seemed newly placed. My chair. The Queen's chair. I swallowed hard as I settled into it, the leather cool against my back, the armrests polished by the hands of previous queens across centuries.
'You belong here,' Kaela insisted, sensing my uncertainty. 'As much as any of them. More.'
Once we were seated, Aleksandr called the council to order with a simple gesture of his hand. The formality of the proceedings surprised me—I'd never witnessed council business before, only heard about it secondhand from servants who cleaned these chambers.
"I call this extraordinary session of the Royal Council to order," Aleksandr stated, his voice echoing slightly in the vast space. "The primary matter before us today is the interrogation of Councillors Blackthorn and Kane, who have been detained on charges of high treason against the crown, conspiracy to overthrow the legitimate ruler, kidnapping of the Alpha Queen, and attempted murder."
"All this on the word of a wolfless girl," Lady Redwood interjected, her voice sharp with disbelief.
The chamber went silent. I froze, blood turning to ice in my veins as the slur, so familiar from my years at Frozen Mountain, echoed around us. Wolfless. The dismissal, the contempt packed into those two syllables.
'We'll show her wolfless,' Kaela snarled, rage flooding our bond. 'Let me out again. I'll rip that smug look right off her face.'
I kept my expression carefully neutral, but inside I felt the ground shifting beneath me. This was how it would begin, the undermining, the questioning, the slow erosion of my position. Just as it had been at Frozen Mountain when I'd failed to shift at sixteen. First the whispers, then the open contempt, then the cruelty...
Aleksandr's hand found mine beneath the table, his fingers squeezing gently, anchoring me to the present. His touch reminded me that this wasn't Frozen Mountain. I wasn't alone anymore.
"Lady Redwood," Aleksandr said, his voice deceptively soft; the dangerous quiet that preceded a storm, "please stand."
She did so grudgingly, chin lifted in defiance.
"Where were you on the afternoon Amelia disappeared from the castle?" he asked directly, catching her off guard.
"I—" She faltered briefly before recovering. "I was at my estate, as I have been since my retirement. But that's hardly relevant. The girl wasn't taken. She left of her own accord, as the security footage clearly showed."
"Interesting that you're so familiar with footage you shouldn't have seen," Aleksandr noted coldly. "Nora, please play the evidence we've prepared."
Elder Nora nodded once, pressing something beneath the table. A section of the wall slid away, revealing a large screen. Images flickered to life—the security footage I'd never seen, showing a woman with my general build and colouring walking through the castle corridors, then out the main gates.
"This is what the council was shown," Nora explained, her ancient voice steady. "And this—" The image split, showing the same footage alongside a magnified section that revealed subtle inconsistencies—lighting that didn't match between frames, a reflection in a decorative mirror showing a completely different woman, the slight height difference between me and my impersonator. "—is what analysis revealed."
"This proves nothing," Lady Redwood scoffed. "Technical glitches, nothing more."
"And this?" Aleksandr pressed a button, and new footage appeared, me walking through the east corridor, clutching papers to my chest, then turning a corner and vanishing. The timestamp jumped forward twenty minutes, and the corridor remained empty. "Twenty minutes of looped footage, conveniently covering the exact time of Amelia's abduction."
The council erupted into argument, Adrian Blackstone demanding to know who had access to the security systems, Elara Juniper questioning how such a breach could have occurred, Lady Redwood insisting this was all an elaborate deception on my part.
Through it all, I sat silent, watching the chaos unfold, Aleksandr's hand still firmly clasping mine beneath the table. This was only the beginning. The real storm would come when Kane and Blackthorn were brought before us to face their crimes.
'Let them argue,' Kaela murmured in our shared mind. 'The truth is already out. They can't bury it again.'
She was right. Whatever happened next, there would be no returning to the shadows. No more "wolfless girl" to be dismissed and forgotten. I'd shifted. I'd claimed my mate. And now, I would claim justice.