Chapter 156 I'm Not Your Daddy
Adrian’s POV
The heavy doors swung shut behind me with a solid thud that echoed through the hall.
Every head in the room turned my way at once. The council members rose to their feet in one smooth motion, chairs scraping lightly against the stone floor.
“Your Majesty,” they greeted in unison, voices respectful but tight with curiosity. Bows followed…deep and formal, shoulders straight, eyes lowered the way protocol demanded.
I gave a single nod and moved to the head of the long oak table. Only when I dropped into the massive carved chair did the rest of them sit back down, the rustle of robes and the creak of their chairs filling the brief silence.
Not everyone.
I lifted my hand, stopping Levi and Margaret before they could take their seats.
“Dear aunt… cousin…” My voice came out flat, cold, the kind of tone that left no room for bullshit. “I must say…that I’m impressed. I heard you both were quite the handful while I was away.”
The air in the room shifted instantly. A few elders exchanged quick glances, but no one dared speak.
I locked eyes with Levi first, letting the silence stretch just long enough to make it uncomfortable.
“Why did you go behind my back and bring your betrothed home after I gave you my word that I would be the one to make peace with the vampire king? The meeting was supposed to be between two kings…equals. How dare you beat me to it? What exactly were you implying by doing that?”
Levi opened his mouth, but Margaret beat him to it, stepping forward with her chin high like she owned the damn room.
“Your majesty… While we’re on the subject of who did what,” she cut in, voice rising with dramatic flair, “I would like to bring before the royal council how I, Margaret Rose Draven, have been treated like a commoner of lower birth…because my dear nephew decided that having me in the palace…and may I remind you, the palace of my birth…means I’m a threat to the inner court. He had his beta throw my things out of my father’s palace and sent me to some quarter like I was nobody. If that isn’t an insult, I don’t know what is. I want the royal council to judge this case. I am a royal princess! My place is inside my father’s palace!”
She finished breathing heavily, chest heaving like she’d just poured her entire heart out in some tragic love confession.
I clapped once. Twice. Slow and deliberate. The sound rang out sharp in the quiet hall, and low murmuring started rippling around the table.
I looked around at every face…calm, unreadable, waiting for any scapegoat to take the bait and speak up for her.
“Does anyone have anything to say regarding the royal princesses' petition? Does anyone want to file a complaint against my throne?”
No one spoke. They all shifted in their seats, eyes darting between each other, faces carefully blank. Smart choice.
I turned back to Margaret, my expression never warming. “I don’t know what your obsession with my palace is, but it seems your petition has been denied, Auntie. And in fact, you will be punished for causing a scene in front of the palace while I was away. Have you ever seen a royal member of this family causing a scene when your daddy was king?”
Her face flushed deep red, anger spiking so hard I could practically see steam coming off her. “That was because my daddy never sent any royal member of this family out of the palace and treated them like a commoner!”she shot back, voice shaking with defiance.
“Well, Margaret,” I said evenly, leaning back in my chair, “I am not your daddy. Grandfather tolerated you and your scheming face… I can’t stand it. I’ve got far more important things to handle. Like a mate to protect, a kingdom to protect, and actually getting a good night’s sleep for once.”
Her face twisted even more, eyes blazing. “This is against the books! This is not right!” she hissed.
“Sending me out of the palace is like demoting me!”
“Okay. Sue me, Auntie. Oh, I almost forgot. I’m also the judge,” I added sarcastically.
She wasn’t about giving up easily despite the situation not being in her favor. “This is unacceptable, your majesty! I demand to be treated right.”
“Exactly,” I said flatly. “I am Your Majesty. So you better keep quiet, or I might just have Thomas cut your tongue. Your choice.”
She gasped, ready to launch into another segment of declaring her place in the palace when someone cut in.
“It’s just a rearrangement, Lady Margaret. Let it go,”
Elder Simeon cut in from the far end of the table, his voice dry and unimpressed. “We have far more important things to discuss than your housing crisis.”
I turned my attention back to Levi, letting the cold king slip fully into place. “Now that your mother has made a fool of herself… Do you mind following the same path and telling the court why you thought it was wise to go against my word?”
Levi inhaled slowly, like he had all the time in the world, like the tension in the room wasn’t pressing down on his throat.
“I did what I had to do,” he said, voice steady but carrying just enough force to cut through the silence. “Everything I’ve done has been for the good of the kingdom.”
A faint murmur rippled through the council, but it died just as quickly as it started.
I leaned forward slightly, resting my elbows on the armrest, my gaze locked on him. “For the good of the kingdom?” I repeated, my tone dangerously calm. “Go on. Enlighten me.”
Levi didn’t hesitate. “The vampire king was growing impatient. Word reached us that he was considering calling off the alliance entirely.”
He glanced briefly around the room, making sure every council member was hanging on his words. Smart move. “And if that happens, we all know what follows. We lose a powerful ally. We weaken our position. Smaller packs become vulnerable to their attacks.”
His eyes came back to mine, unwavering.
“I couldn’t sit back and watch that happen even if I’m not wearing the crown. Not when you were… occupied…having a honeymoon with your bride.” A subtle pause. Calculated. “As a royal member of this kingdom and a prince, I had to step in.”
Silence.
Thick. Heavy. Suffocating.
Then I smiled.
Not because I was amused.
Because I was this close to snapping.
“You had to step in,” I echoed softly. Then my head tilted slightly. “And it didn’t occur to you…at any point…that informing your king might be… necessary?”
Levi’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t look away. “Time wasn’t on our side.”
“Oh, I see,” I said, nodding slowly. “So in your infinite wisdom, you decided to act first…and respect the throne later.”
I let the words hang there, letting them sink into the bones of every man and woman at that table like a blade pressed just hard enough to draw blood without killing.
Levi’s face remained composed…too composed. The mask of a prince who still believed his bloodline gave him leverage.
I could see the calculation behind his eyes, the same one his mother wore like cheap perfume. They thought they could play this game because they’d done it under my grandfather. Under my father. But I wasn’t either of those men.
I rose slowly from the chair with my mind set on one thing as the carved oak groaned under the shift of my weight.