CHAPTER 19 – The Trial of the Moon Flame

“You would do that?” She asked with her eyes wide open.

“Yes,”

Aurora kept quiet for a few seconds,

“I think I’m good,” She said, “I want to do this all by myself.”

“Really?” Brynn asked, amazed by her refusal of help

“Yeah,” She said, “But thank you so much for offering to help.”

“You’re welcome.”

There was silence as Aurora went back to reading,

Brynn broke the silence, “Do you not think that the young master has suffered enough?”

Aurora grinned nervously, looking at Brynn, “He told you.” She said.

“He was obviously vexed today,” Brynn said, “so I was hoping for mercy from my princess.”

Aurora chuckled sweetly,

“I had actually thought about it, Mr. Luke said I should tune it down a bit.”

“Luke?” His brows lifted.

“Yes,” She answered, “But now that you’ve asked, I will stop it entirely.

“Thank you.” He smiled faintly.

“I was just pissed about how he treated me,” She said with a guilty expression, “but I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, as long as you have decided to show my son mercy. My princess.”

She bowed, “I will, my king.” She laughed, and Brynn’s lips tugged a bit.

“Now,” He said, “what do you already know about business?”

A few days later, Brynn was in his study room, going through some paper documents, when Theodore walked in.

“You sent for me.” He said, looking away.

“Sit,” Brynn ordered without looking at his son.

Theodore sat down, looking uninterested in whatever Brynn had to say.

There was a minute of silence, and then Brynn spoke.

“I want us to talk about your wolf.”

“There’s absolutely nothing to talk about,” Theodore answered, still looking away.

“So you mean, it’s still the same?” Brynn asked, still glancing at the paper document in his hand, “You haven’t been able to communicate with your wolf yet fully?”

“Not a word.”

Brynn sighed.

“I just wanted to make sure that you haven’t forgotten about The Trial of the Moon Flame, which is to take place in two days.”

Theodore’s heart skipped a beat, and his eyes widened as he snapped his head to look at his father.

“Two days?”

Brynn looked at his son with surprise. Was his son not prepared all along, or was he not?

“Don’t tell me that you forgot about the trial.”

“No, I didn’t,” Theodore said, “as a matter of fact, I am fully prepared.”

He wasn’t prepared; he had been distracted all this while either by Ingrid's hold or Aurora’s haunting presence. But he knew, if he lost, he’d have no one to blame but himself.

Brynn sighed, “The trial is to ascertain who would take over from me, and it’s going to be done in two days in the arena.”

Brynn felt like his son was wavering.

“It is a trial by combat, son.” He went back to glancing at the papers. “And whether you are ready or not, it must be done.”

“And you have a contender.” He added.

Theodore swallowed hard.

Although the trial was no news to him, he was just taken unawares. Why didn’t anyone inform him earlier?

“So, who is it? The contender.”

“He would only be introduced on the night of the trial,” Brynn answered.

Theodore masked the chill that ran down his spine; his pride was at stake if he wasn’t ready.

“I believe that’d be all.”

“Okay, Dad,” Theodore said, slowly standing up and walking away.

Brynn stopped what he was doing, removed his glasses, and pinched between his eyes.

“He’s scared,” He said, “What kind of man has Ingrid turned my son into?”

He dialed a phone number,

“The study room,” He said, “Now.”

Back in Northern California.

It was evening, as Lucius and his two men sat in the coffee shop where Aurora worked.

“So you think this would do?” The first man asked, looking at the strange object that couldn’t be seen, as it was wrapped in a piece of sackcloth.

“This would be my last resort,” Lucius said.

“Don’t you think that this is too much?” The second man said, “You have gotten into enough trouble with your father already. Doing this might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.”

“I need this,” Lucius said, “To redeem myself, to prove I’m worthy of Ingrid. Do you know the power that’ll come with it when I succeed?”

“Not that you are ever going to change your mind, so why bother?” The first man said.

“Exactly,” Lucius said, “And besides, my father already approves of it.”

“All the best, boss.” The second man said,

“By the way, I haven’t seen your girl for a while now. What happened?” He added.

“Stop that!” Lucius cautioned, “She isn’t my girl, Ingrid is.”

The two men chuckled.

“Soon, Ingrid, soon,” Lucius said, looking at the wrapped object on the table.

The High Keep mansion, the same night.

Brynn went to join Bianca in bed, and she looked physically worried as he tried to touch her. He hadn’t mated with her in a long time, and his wolf had been troubled and needed to be calmed.

The husband's instincts in him knew that if she weren’t calm, it wouldn’t be just his wolf that needed to deal with it.

He needed to sort out her mood first.

“What’s bothering you?” He asked.

“The Trial of the Moon Flame.” She answered calmly.

“What about it?”

“I’m worried about our son.”

“Why?” His brows furrowed.

“What do you mean, why?” Bianca said, “He could be gravely injured, or worse, killed.”

“Relax, Bianca,” He said, “No one is going to die, there’s a strict rule on that. You should know this by now.”

Bianca was silent,

“And besides, I did it, and succeeded.” Brynn said, “And if your son wants to prove his worth, then he has to succeed, too. Everyone important, including the whole pack that he is to lead, would be watching.”

Bianca bit her lip, “I hope he doesn’t prove himself to be a chicken.” He added.

“You are worried about him being a disgrace to the family?” Bianca said with an unbelievable look on her face, “Well, I am worried about his life, his safety.”

“Being a leader is selfless; you should be willing to sacrifice your life for the pack if the situation calls for it.” Brynn said, “And that’s what I have been doing.”

Bianca looked away in worry.

Brynn saw that none of it was helping,

“No one is dying, Bianca.” He tried again to persuade her, “I promise you.”

There were a few seconds of silence that followed.

“Okay,” She exhaled, “I believe you.”

Brynn saw that she was a little bit relieved,

“Now, for the highlight of the day.” He said, kneeling on the bed, over Bianca.

“Are you really serious right now?” She asked in disbelief, as her eyes widened, seeing Brynn’s member underneath, hardened for action, through his pants.

“Oh come on,” Brynn said, a subtle smile on his face.