#Chapter 22: The Alpha’s Ball

(Lucian POV) The council chamber was carved from black stone and gilded restraint. Every torch along the walls burned low, as if even fire knew better than to shine too brightly in a room where power preferred the dark. I sat at the head of the crescent table, posture deceptively relaxed, fingers steepled beneath my chin. I hadn’t spoken in ten minutes. Silence made men nervous. Across from me, Baron Halvyr sweated through a brocade vest worth more than a farming village. His jowls twitched every time he tried to smile—an expression I hadn’t seen earned from him in years. “Your Majesty,” he ventured again, voice smooth as his lapel pin, “the council is in agreement. The territories grow… uneasy. An unmated king is an unstable kingdom.” “Fascinating,” I murmured. “I assumed instability came from wars and assassinations. But apparently, it’s my bed that threatens the realm.” A few chuckles. One cough. No one met my eyes. Halvyr pushed forward anyway. “The Alpha Ball prese