Chapter 34 BURNING CROWN
Lucian's POV
"Your Highness I'm sorry none of us here wish to disrespect you but I feel like you have disrespected the crown of the Queen Lycan Luna by bringing the worst possible candidates!"
I had arrived in my park and was now within my Palace the first hurdle to pass was the approval of the Royal lycan council, laterally some of them were in support of their own personal agendas the council was made up of the highest ranking wolves many of which could take over my position especially now as I have no air many of them sorts to puncture holes in my choices just to invalidate my legitimacy as King.
I crossed my legs as I sat at the head of the meeting table.
"Afraid I'm failing to spot the problem here, she comes from a respectable high high-ranking family, she has previous experience with being a luna. In fact, what I think you meant to say is that it would be hard to find a better candidate than her,"
Ray Stone who was a very distant family member of mine yet seem to forget that several times had his jaw to the floor, she looked around at the table to see if people shared his August expression and truthfully a good number of them carried the same fractured looks as if I just said that I wanted to cell of their children or personally extract their organs when I was just trying to give a woman a chance at life and not only that she was also qualified.
Matilda a much more level-headed member of the council spoke up, they were still disapproval tinting her voice but unlike many others she had open ears to listen not like many of them had much more choice than to listen to me but the line between a tyrant and a ruler was also granting his people a listening ear, if the screams became too loud I might not be able to keep the promise that I made to Celestia or at least not all of it as I would like to.
This was supposed to be a brief meeting that would more or less focus on her coronation ceremony but instead, it was fixated on whether or not she was worthy enough of becoming the cookie Queen Luna, it was tiring.
I had her taken to a guest room first so that she could rest comfortably and I just wanted to smoothing out some details with the council I did not imagine that they will resist so strongly unless in my absence so somebody was building up this strong resistance planting doubts here and there this is why I never like to leave for 2 months this was often bound to happen.
I was not full. I knew that my position was coveted by many.
That was why I was so willing to be involved in an arranged contract marriage instead of waiting to eventually meet my mates. It would make no difference if by that time I had lost everything I had ever worked for my entire life.
I placed my palm on the table and without needing to see anything the others of the council who were overshadowing Matilda's words by volume alone became quiet. She cleared her throat and spoke up again.
"Let us say we consider the things you have mentioned about her your Highness, but there is something we cannot look beyond. Anyone who has ever committed a crime worthy of being exiled from their Pack cannot sit on such a pure throne, because they will only be tainting it and undermining the authority of all those that allowed it to happen,"
I knew that Matilda was on my side so I could see where she was heading with this.
"But what if she was proven innocent?"
A small smile hits the corner of Matilda's lip but she doesn't allow it to survive long before drawing it out into a thin line.
Without exaggeration, Matilda was one of my greatest supporters I knew I could rely on her in a moment like this however she was tactical about it she appeared to be neutral to others but if someone paid extra attention they would know that ultimately she was always on my side or at least that is how I like to think of it.
"But she has already been proven guilty, there is so much evidence standing against her that she actually did what they accused her of, that she kidnapped the child of another woman and tried to pass that child off as her own, everyone said that she was guilty. What use would opening up the case now be?" Ray looked so personally offended by this suggestion and I knew exactly why he had about three daughters and he did not miss a single opportunity that came his way to shove them in my face.
I would kindly decline him each time, there was even a period when I heard that one of his daughters had found their fated mate. I was relieved that at least that was one last person for me to worry about, only for him to show up and tell me that such a thing happened and all his daughters were really available as if they were no more than livestock that had to be sold off.
I already knew that he was so desperate to make a connection with the royal family that he might have actually found a way to ruin their bond just to keep her as an available option for me even though it was becoming more and more clear that I would not pick his daughter I could imagine that all of that must be boiling up to his frustrations right now however I decided that I would find the evidence that everyone so grieved for evidence that the woman I had chosen would be the most fit Luna and that was by proving that she never did with claimed all those years back.