Chapter 92

92 The Hearing At The Council

Lucien felt as if he carried a mark on his face.

As soon as the two she-wolves at the reception desk saw them, they did not bother to ask about their intention.

“Alpha Ronan and Beta Jake, you are cordially invited to go to the Crescent Hall.”

“Mr. Lucien Clearwater, please follow us.”

Lucien and Ronan exchanged one last look.

“Bye,” Lucien said softly.

Ronan nodded. He and Jake left for the hall. Lucien on the other side was led to a small room. Inside this room, a group of people were seated.

Dane Silverback as the council chairman, Elder Rick to represent the Silent Walkers Pack, Elder Jonas to represent the Night Prowler Pack, and of course Kinnon Youngshaper.

The latter’s eyes were pinned on Lucien the moment he appeared at the door. Lucien refused to look back, for fear of instigating Landon.

.....

“Good morning, Lucien,” Dane Silverback greeted him with an official smile. “Long time no see.”

Lucien nodded at Ronan’s father. “Nice to see you again, Mr. Silverback.”

The small group exchanged their greetings, and then they started to talk about the issue at hand.

“It has come to our attention that the feud between the Silent Walkers Pack and the Night Prowler Pack has yet to be solved properly.

Consent was given for the two packs to engage in a war. Said war took place between the two packs a few months ago, with Night Prowler Pack emerging as the winner. The Alpha of the Silent Walkers Pack, Deacon Clearwater, was killed during the confrontation, and the Silent Walkers Pack has been without an Alpha ever since then.

Is that correct?” Dane Silverback asked to the other four attendees after reading from the case record in front of him.

“Yes,” they all answered one by one.

“Alpha Kinnon Youngshaper made a proposal to settle the aftermath of the war by asking Lucien Clearwater to be his Luna and in turn sheltering the Silent Walkers Pack as a subsidiary of Night Prowler Pack,” Dane Silverback continued.

At this point he turned to Lucien and spoke to him directly, “Lucien Clearwater accepted the proposal. Is this true?”

“Yes,” Lucien confirmed.

“After that, both parties reported their intention to enter into a marriage to the council. The council recorded this, and then for a while, nothing happened.”

“You missed a little detail, Mr. Silverback,” Elder Jonas interceded. “There was a little incident at the East Temple City which resulted in Alpha Kinnon being injured by three rogue werewolves. Annalynne Clearwater was in suspicion.”

“‘Was’,” Kinnon Youngshaper followed up. “She and the whole Silent Walkers Pack are cleared from suspicion.”

Lucien was endlessly grateful. Elder Jonas on the other side assumed a sour expression upon Kinnon’s interruption.

Dane Silverback’s eyes moved from Lucien to Elder Jonas and finally settled on Kinnon, whose gaze was unwavering.

“Alright,” Dane Silverback continued.

“And then we come to the night of the Moon Goddess celebration.”

Upon hearing this sentence, the elders shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

“Lucien Clearwater who claimed to lost his wolf at the age of eighteen suddenly regained his wolf and proceeded to attack Alpha Kinnon.”

“Objection, Mr. Silverback,” Elder Rick had been waiting to speak up for a while now. “The wolf attacked Alpha Kinnon. Lucien did not mean for it to happen.”

“I don’t know about that,” Elder Jonas said. “How often did it happen that a wolf possesses a werewolf completely and runs rampage like that?”

“It has never happened,” Elder Rick claimed.

Just as Elder Jonas wanted to make it his point of argument, Elder Rick quickly followed up with, “It does not mean that it is impossible.”

“Lucien,” Elder Rick’s tone grew soft when he turned to Lucien. He had seen Lucien grow up. Although Lucien was no longer that sweet toddler from the past, Elder Rick refused to believe that Lucien meant for it to happen.

The elder man grabbed Lucien’s hand.

“That night, were you truthfully ready to consummate the relationship with Alpha Kinnon? Or...”

The last word spoke volumes. Elder Jonas rose to his feet right away. “What exactly are you insinuating? Kinnon Youngshaper did not do anything against Lucien Clearwater’s wish!”

And just to make sure he was not wrong, Elder Jonas turned to Kinnon to ask for support. Unfortunately, Kinnon had no interest in saying anything. His gaze was directed at Lucien instead.

Lucien swallowed hard. He shut his eyes for a moment before he looked up at the other people at the table.

“Kinnon did not force me. I willingly agreed to it because I thought I was ready.”

Turned out he was not. He never was.

When Kinnon was about to enter him, all Lucien felt was utter devastation. Hugs and kisses were trivial things that he shared with his family regularly. Sex, on the other side...

Lucien sighed.

“It was my fault,” he murmured.

“No, it was not!” Elder Rick howled. “It was an accident!”

It was indeed an accident but it was also his fault. If only he stayed true to his feelings for Ronan. If only he did not make promises that he could not keep. If only he gave himself more time... There were so many if only’s. And yet regret brought him no absolution.

“Or it might be deliberate,” Elder Jonas refused to back down. “There was no proof that Lucien’s wolf did not return earlier.”

Again, Kinnon came to Lucien’s rescue.

“I can testify that Lucien was still without wolf when we started making love. His wolf only appeared shortly before the actual intercourse.”

Elder Jonas looked as if he was about to throw a tantrum soon. His biggest enemy in this room was neither Lucien nor Elder Rick. It was the very person whose interest he was representing!

Elder Jonas sat back down with a huff. He crossed his arms before his chest and shot daggers at everyone.

“Then do we agree to blame Landon instead of Lucien?” Dane Silverback queried.

“If we do, the next step is clear. Landon shall be eliminated forever, and Lucien Clearwater will be cleared of all offenses.”