4-Birth of the rebellion

CHAPTER FOUR

ZANE

When I stepped into the glass-walled citadel, it was already full. My footsteps resonated in the thick silence. I went past the tables of high-ranking wolves, past the other Alphas. I didn't look at any of them. I didn't need to. I could feel their eyes and the heat from their quiet rebellion, not just because my spy from amongst them had previously briefed me on what evil they were plotting, but because the air was thick with betrayal. I could smell it.

Rhett was at the center of the citadel, guilt on his features. I wanted to shred it with my claw because I knew what it was even from the entrance. A facade.

High Elder Dario stood up to address the council when I sat. Dario was the highest in the elder ranking.

“King Zane, I believe you know why we are here,” he started, his voice sharp and conniving.

I folded my arms and smiled. “Just go straight to the point,” I snapped, my jaw clenching. “I have other places to be.”

“We all do,” Dario began, cracking his knuckles. But that doesn't mean we should skip necessary protocols. If you want me to go straight to the point, I'll do that,” he concluded, his voice deceptively even.

I knew he was intentionally trying to get under my skin, but instead of letting him succeed, I turned my head toward the window, looking at the sky in an attempt to contain my brewing rage before fixing the man with a stare.

“Then speak. Don't keep the King waiting,” Kieran, my beta, said, his voice tight. Dario smiled— slow and poisonous, and I knew that whatever he had to say next wouldn't be good.

“By the binding of the Alpha Code, Rhett has been ousted as your heir since he can not have a Luna in the future, and the council will never accept a bastard child from a surrogate or lover. If you don’t provide a legitimate heir of your own blood, you risk dethronement, and if you try to fight the binding of the Alpha Code, then you risk civil war.” Dario said in one breath, and my ears perked and my lips twitched at his words; however, Rhett's voice cut in before I could speak.

“No, that can't happen. I can't be ousted as Blackwood heir. I’m my father’s only son” Rhett queried, his once guilt-ridden face now awash with panic.

“You are your father’s only son, but every Alpha requires a Luna. Since your sexuality prevents you from having one, the council has no choice but to dethrone you as your father's heir,” Dario explained, and Rhett’s expression soured as if this was someone else’s fault.

All this shit wouldn't be happening if he hadn't cheated on his mate with a man in the first place. I had no problem with the fact that he was into men. My problem was that he kept quiet about it for far too long.

Dario turned to me, expecting to refute or flare out in anger, but I remained cool. After a moment of tense silence, Dario finally broke it.

“Alpha King, you need a new heir; to get one, you must take a wife.” He paused, as if giving me a moment to let his words sink in. “For this reason, the Alpha Council has decided you must marry, and we will pick your Bride,” Dario said, and I immediately uncurled from my position.

Pick my Bride? The question had barely resonated in my head when he continued.

“A decision has been passed. You will marry Eileen, my daughter. Effective immediately.”

Dark, joyless laughter shook my chest. I could see what game they were playing. “You want me to mate your daughter?” I asked, my tone laced with amusement.

“Yes”

“I’d rather fucking mate a deer than anyone from your bloodline,” I tipped my head in the direction of the rest of the elders and Alphas. “If this is your idea of a rebellion, you’re a few centuries out of practice.”

“This is not a rebellion,” another elder said coldly. “It’s a mandate…” I hissed, shutting him up.

“I will not take a wife; even if I do, it will be someone I choose.”

Dario snarled, “You’ll be stripped of your title! If you decline this mandate, you and your entire bloodline will be wiped out. You do not wish for that to happen, Zane.”

I inched forward one step at a time. “You’re threatening the Alpha King.”

“We’re doing what should be done,” he snapped.

I felt my wolf prowling under my skin, growling. The air burned in my lungs. This wasn’t politics—it was rebellion.

“You have no right to dictate what should be done for me! I make the decisions; you have no choice but to follow.” I banged my hand on the table, and everyone around me flinched.

“I will not marry Eileen,” I repeated, more loudly this time, a tremor of rage in my voice, yet somehow, low and leisurely cruel, keeping in mind what was at stake.

I moved forward, watching my Elders now. “If I'm required to produce an heir with someone I'm legally married to, expect one in nine months. As for my bride, expect my wedding tomorrow, but get one thing straight, I won't be getting married to Eileen.”

The silence that followed wasn’t simply stunned; it was scorched. Dario stiffened, jaw locked tight.

I stood up, and Kieran, my beta, and Nacho, my bodyguard, slowly followed suit, assuming their places behind me. The meeting with the Alpha Council had been unpleasant enough, but it was getting decidedly too long. I locked eyes with the Alphas and Elders gathered in the room and headed to the door, knowing none of them could stop me, and headed to my office.

The second I stepped into my office, the proverbial scale fell off my eyes. An heir in the next nine months and a wife by tomorrow? What the hell was I thinking?

I groaned and punched my fist at the wall. I clutched my hair tightly in anguish. I was having a breakdown.

I took my jacket off and undid another button on my black shirt. My entire body was breaking out with sweat even though the room was blasting with the coolness of the conditioned air.

Ryder, my wolf, was so angry; it was his pup’s fault. If only Rhett hadn't dishonored us like that, those motherfucking elders wouldn't have placed me in such a tight corner.

My wolf growled, begging me to release his pent up anger and frustration. As if on cue, my cock stirred in my pants. I sighed, grabbing it through the fabric and squeezing hard.

But even after jerking off a few times, Ryder was still unsatisfied. He was still angry. He required a she-wolf to cool him off, so I sent for my beta.

“Bring me someone for my pleasure. The usual” I instructed Kieran and in less than a minute, five women, all-smiles, adorned in flimsy lingerie were walking my way in sky-high heels.

Fuck, I swore silently, my wolf purring at their physiques. Amongst them was my favorite woman to fuck—Adaline.

Adaline and I have been secretly screwing each other for years. We have an unspoken agreement to keep our relationship a secret because she was my late wife’s younger sister.

No, I didn't cheat on my wife with her. Our relationship started after my wife's passing. My wife had passed immediately after birthing Rhett, and Adaline was the one who took care of him until he came of age. She is practically Rhett's Mom, and I guess that drew her to me- her striking resemblance to my late wife and her role in my son’s upbringing.

Touching Adaline almost felt like touching my late wife, and each time I touched her, I envisioned my wife's face since they have the same blood flowing in their veins. Once, I proposed we make our relationship official and get married, but Adaline declined, saying she only wanted to be with me secretly, so I agreed.

Adaline approached me, her scent was intoxicating as always. A mix of sex and power. She gave the other ladies some instructions before placing herself between my legs. She swallowed hard, her enormous eyes fastened on my face, waiting for my command.

“Kneel,” I growled. She did as she was ordered without hesitation. I purred, praising her submissiveness, and trailed a thumb along her lips. They parted obediently, her tongue tracing a line over her lower lip.

Naughty girl.

I unzipped my pants and my cock sprang from my brief, rock-hard and painfully stiff, then I pushed her head against it so my cock was resting against her mouth, lightly brushing over her lips.

“Open,” I said, and she obediently opened her mouth. Wide, and I pushed my prick all the way into the back of her throat while holding her head so she couldn’t move. I felt her choking on my hard flesh, and I thrust even deeper until her eyes bulged, then I slowed and uttered the word

“Suck”

At once, she clasped her lips around my cock, then she began sucking, twirling her tongue around my cap and length. I fisted her hair into a tight ponytail in my right hand, then threw my left hand at the back of my head and relaxed on the sofa, taking in all the pleasure from her blowjob.

At that moment, my declaration at the Alpha Council flashed in my mind, and driven by desperation, I thoughtlessly spoke.

“Marry me,” I said, but she didn't reply.

I knew it was weird and foolish to ask at that moment but Adaline and I had never done things the normal way. Plus I thought it was only right that I asked her. I mean, we both had chemistry, and we’d been fucking for years, so I asked again. “Marry me, Adaline.”

Again, no reply.

Angered, I gripped her harder until I could feel her fighting for a breath against my cock. I withdrew a fraction to allow her to breathe and spoke

“I asked you to marry me, Adaline,” I growled, pulling her hair again.

“I can't marry you, Zane. I won't. I do not love you as a person. I only love fucking you.” She replied, then continued with the blowjob.

“Fair enough,” I replied. The truth was, I didn't love her. I hadn't loved anyone since my wife died. However, we both had chemistry and understanding.

Considering our history together, I thought she’d be willing to marry me, which was why I dared to make that declaration in the Alpha Council. Despite her refusal, I knew I couldn't force her.

I wouldn't.

I needed to devise a plan to buy me more time with the council because marrying Eileen, Dario’s daughter, wasn't an option.

‘I’d probably go to an audition and buy myself a wife.' Just as the thought came to mind, I felt a strange presence in my office.

Curious, I turned, and then I saw her.

I saw her tiny legs first. Yet the owner stood with such confidence. My eyes roamed her legs, then her body, and lastly, her face.

It was Aria Nightwind, my son’s ex-mate.

Her scent saturated my office, but it wasn't just her scent—it was a warmth–a foreign heat that forced a ripple in the air, crashing against my world built on stone and slipping into my senses like an unspoken promise, igniting a pull I had never felt before.

My wolf reacted to her, stirring in a way it shouldn't for my almost daughter-in-law. I tried to school my thoughts, but I couldn't ignore how my wolf reacted to her presence. I couldn't ignore how her presence clawed at the recesses of my being—at all that I was.

I told myself it was nothing, but deep inside, I knew this moment meant something… something primal, something rooted to the core of who I am; in that instance, I knew fate had brought her back to Blackstone… to me.

The question was why?

I didn't know, but I would find out one way or another.