10

DRAEKON stared at Vaelora, anger evident in his eyes. He understood her tricks and knew the law scroll she had decided to use to her advantage. But he was going to frustrate her.

"Silence."

The moment the word dropped from his mouth, the entire place went calm, accompanied by a feral growl from Andronikos, which resonated through the roof.

"Chief Wofah, I do understand your concerns." Draekon nodded. "However, this hypothetical point of yours, regarding the Luna's inability to birth a werewolf heir isn't valid."

The place remained calm. No one dared cause chaos when Draekon spoke.

"Her wolf's dormancy, doesn't necessarily equate to her inability to reproduce pups with wolf genes. I mean, both my parents were werewolves but I still managed to be partly DragonBorn by the virtue of a six-hundred years prophecy. Who is to say I wouldn't be the first and last DragonBorn-wolf?"

The chiefs hummed in support, nodding their heads. Zayn had known from the very start that this was going to be such a big feat to pull off.

"If I may speak, Veylor," Om'zaar requested, and Draekon nodded.

"All these are assumptions. It would be unwise for us to be uncertain, before taking a consort for the king," he reasoned.

Vaelora exhaled hot air, praying within that her plan wasn't squashed.

"Any pup born without a dragon egg is presumed a werewolf. And even if it is born with a dragon egg, it could be a hybrid like the king," Om'zaar finished, striking right where it mattered most.

"Exactly!" Chief Toi'fah agreed. "I suggest the king and queen make haste to give the kingdom a pup within the next few months. Then, we should be able to tell."

"And even if their first pup turns out to be DragonBorn, the queen can always birth more pups after him," Om'zaar supported.

Goddess!

Vaelora didn't want to believe she had been cornered. How had her plan come to this?

To make pups with Draekon?!

"According to the historical law scrolls on succession," Zayn began slowly, trying to steady his voice, "the firstborn son of the Alpha King is required to succeed his father as heir."

The room went still and all eyes fell on him. Had Zayn just say that?

Draekon’s cold stare locked on him instantly, the weight of Zayn's betrayal getting heavier between them. Zayn knew he had crossed the line.

"Zayn…" Draekon’s voice came, low and lethal.

"My Lords," Vaelora eventually spoke for the first time since they began deliberating on that issue. She swallowed hard, realizing she had just caused trouble for Zayn.

"As Luna, I believe it is my duty to serve the kingdom. I mean, that was why I was made to marry the king in the first place."

Vaelora had one last trick up her sleeves, and she had to use their own strategy against them.

"I am the topic of discussion, and only I can tell you accurately how much disadvantage it would be to solely hope on me to provide a befitting heir for the throne."

"How do you mean, Luna?" Om'zaar asked, his complete attention on her.

"We all tend to forget that my mother was a witch."

At the sound of that, little whispers erupted.

Funny how they could do that when she spoke, but dared not try it when Draekon did.

"I am still speaking."

The audacious manner she said that made the entire parliament as calm as night. Good.

"Like I mentioned earlier, I am a werewolf and witch hybrid. And realizing that there is a lot at stake here makes us all very responsible aides to the crown. I only want what's best for this kingdom-- An heir without... tainted werewolf blood and genes."

Vaelora had dared to use those particular words!

They dared not say it to his face of course, but those were the same words in the whispers that questioned Draekon's legitimacy to be king.

Draekon was deeply aggravated. But no, he wasn't going to let Vaelora make him act out of character.

"My queen, what are you saying in essence?" chief Wofah asked, trying to hide his inner delight.

"I am saying that we cannot treat matters concerning royal succession, based on a gamble. And to show how much this matter troubles me, I would like to invite every chief on this table to contribute to the potential solution of the problem on ground."

The chiefs wondered what she meant by that.

"What are you inviting us to?" Chief Toi'fah queried.

Right there and then, Vaelora played her last card. Her only hope for escape.

"I am inviting each chief to bring forward one of their daughters, for the royal consort selection. That way, they all have a hand in ensuring the safety of the royal bloodline."

Vaelora had just indirectly offered them all a stake to the throne. A chance for their bloodline to become part of the royal bloodline.

Zayn had no idea how Vaelora had thought of such, but it was brilliant. As royal consort, any of their daughters could possibly birth the next royal heir, and Zayn knew most of them wouldn't want to fumble such opportunity.

"I think..." Chief Toi'fah began. It seemed as though he was battling between integrity and ambition. Who wouldn't want the royal heir to come from their bloodline?

"I think this is a brilliant idea," he finally said, making all eyes fall on him.

Not long after, another chief nodded in agreement. "It is definitely the best idea, yet."

"I think so too," the third chief agreed.

And before they could tell what was happening, eight chiefs and a hand full of High Lords had concurred to Vaelora's latest scheme.

Even she, couldn't believe it had worked.

"I don't think this is the best course of action," Om'zaar opposed. "The king and queen have barely been married for two weeks!"

Only he and three other chiefs hadn't succumbed to the idea. Vaelora prayed they didn't make things unnecessarily difficult.

"Majority of the chiefs are in support of this idea, chief Om'zaar. I think majority carries the vote," Zayn said, making Draekon even more enraged.

He and Vaelora may think they had won, but what they failed to realize was that Draekon was very much still in control.

"An excellent idea indeed." Draekon nodded, surprising everyone. "I think the consort selection is in order."

"Veylor..." Om'zaar began, but Draekon shook his head at him to not bother.

"Seeing as we have only eight chiefs interested in giving out their daughters for the royal consort selection," he said in the most demeaning tone, "then I believe two months shall be enough for the selection."

He paused briefly.

"For the next eight weeks, each of the noble ladies would spend a week in the royal house, to be interviewed and evaluated by the Luna."

At the sound of that, Vaelora looked at Draekon, completely at loss. What was he saying?

"According to the laws for the royal consort selection, the Luna MUST see to the selection of consorts herself. Because of course, no one else knows the king's preference as best as she does," he mocked. "Only she can secure a perfect match for the king."

"Fair enough," Toi'fah supported, even before Vaelora could speak.

This was just the beginning of Draekon's game. He was going to play Vaelora like he pleased, and still ruin her efforts.

He had never taken a consort before, and he wouldn't start now.

But then again, he wasn't going to spoil the fun so soon. He was going to let Vaelora deceive herself. And when he was ready, he'd have her bear his pups.

As the council began to buzz with the logistics regarding the consort selection, Vaelora glanced at Draekon once more, only to find his burning gaze already on her.

It wasn't anger or fury. Just a quiet promise of war.