Chapter 106
106
106
Third Person’s POV
+10 Free Coins
Lance stared at the cold–gleaming moon–crown emblem on the throne. His wolf’s–head mark burned with agitation.
The Lycan King before him was no longer the brother who’d given him frosted cakes in childhood but a sovereign wielding authority.
He realized from the start this argument was unwinnable.
If Lycan Erasmus issued a decree, Adelaide would have no choice but to comply.
Yet, he refused to back down.
0
His fingers brushed the wolf–bone dagger at his waist. “Adelaide has just returned from battle, her glands still searing from prolonged shifting. You’d have her become a priestess in such a state?” he said.
His battlefield edge seemed to return. Standing before Lycan Erasmus, he made no effort to hide his protective stance regarding Adelaide.
“Besides, after the Davidson family was slaughtered, and with Adelaide now having earned merits for our kingdom, can you bear to force her into priesthood? All for such a ridiculous concern?”
Erasmus’s vertical pupils narrowed to silver lines in the candlelight, his white musk pheromones rolling in like glaciers.
After a silence, Erasmus sighed, ” Honestly, I’m not really worried about her building her own power base -that’s just an excuse. I genuinely like and admire her. Making her a priestess is about protection, and also…”
“Also possessiveness?” Lance shed his cloak, revealing his smoke–stained armor. “The Davidsons sacrificed their lives to guard the southern border for the kingdom. Would you chain her with ‘protection“?”
Erasmus’s palm clenched, and high–rank pheromones shattered the starlight gems on the ceiling. “Watch your tone, Lance. A priestess is the highest honor for a she–wolf in the palace.”
“You have no shortage of beautiful she–wolves. To bind her life with mere fondness and admiration is unjust.”
Erasmus slammed the table. “Who I appoint as priestess is my prerogative. Don’t meddle in my private affairs just because you’ve earned some merits.”
“I will meddle. To the end,” Lance roared, his face flushed.
“I’ll issue the order tomorrow!” Erasmus declared.
“Then I’ll stay here. Whoever drafts that document will answer to me,” Lance shouted.
“Then I’ll draft it myself. Do you dare stop me?” Erasmus sneered.
1/3
12:59 am D
106
+10 Free Coins
Lance bellowed, “Beta Fabian, send word to my pack. Let my Beta prepare clothes. I’ll be staying in the palace these next few days. If Erasmus writes that priestess–appointment document, I’ll snap his quill.”
Erasmus glared. “How childish can you be?”
“Adelaide is my subordinate. If I don’t protect her, who will?” Lance retorted.
“How do you know she won’t consent to being a priestess?”
“How do you know she will? ”
They were brothers, locked in a face–off, while Fabian outside seemed used to such scenes.
He just smiled slightly, gesturing to keep others away.
“I promise,” Erasmus turned, his voice softer, “I’ll have my Luna speak with her. If she chooses to stay in the palace, the priestess crown awaits. If she wishes to return to the Frostfang Pack…”
He paused, gazing at the darkening sky. “The southern border’s defense is vacant. It needs a general so formidable that the Western Tribes quiver at the mention of her name.”
Lance sat down, stretching his legs. “Not returning today. Staying here, drunk.”
Outside the palace, Beta Fabian listened to the banter from the hall and shook his head helplessly.
Erasmus ordered Lance sent to Priscilla Daniz’s residence.
Priscilla, Lance’s birth mother and Clarissa’s sister, was the former Lycan King’s priestess.
Erasmus had planned for Priscilla to live with Lance’s pack, but Lance, mate–less, hadn’t made room.
After seeing Lance off, Erasmus chuckled wryly.
This younger brother of his was incredibly brave in battle, yet when it came to relationships, he was as indecisive as they come, totally unlike a werewolf general.
“Keep the cedar incense burning for two more hours in the corridor,” Erasmus instructed Beta Fabian, the wolf–head ring on his finger gleaming under the wall lamp. “Lance’s battlefield stench could wake the moon goddess statue.”
Fabian acknowledged. Once the attendants left, he asked quietly, “Shall we head to Lycan Luna now?”
“First, the moon goddess altar,” Erasmus said, sinking into the carved throne. The moon–crown emblem on his forehead faintly glowed. “The wolf–head banner flies again over Darkclaw Town’s battlements. The moon goddess should hear our howls.”
Closing his eyes, Erasmus still saw Adelaide’s signature on the war report–elegant silver–sage script, smudged with blood.
Fabian offered warm moon goddess tea. The broth reflected the crimson in Erasmus’s eyes–three days of reviewing military reports without rest .
2/3
12:59 am
106
+10 Free Coins
“Have you truly set your sights on making Adelaide a priestess?” Fabian’s pheromones trembled with caution. “I recall Lycan Luna Clarissa always said Adelaide’s wolf spirit belongs on the battlefield, not at the altar.”