Chapter 87: 88: The Pen or the Sword

ARIEL

Natalia and I follow Vivian up the long, winding driveway toward the palace. Looking back, I notice we’ve turned out of sight of the soldiers at the gate.

In a flash, I grab Vivian by the collar and pull her toward me.

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t take you down right now,” I say fiercely.

Vivian quickly recovers from the shock, knowing exactly what I’m talking about. Guilt covers her face like a shadow.

“Ariel, I can explain. My father is the president. The reason he sent me was to gain your trust and sow chaos in the pack. He wanted me to make Alex look weak.”

“Well that doesn’t exactly help your case,” I growl.

“But I didn’t know he wanted to use the treaty to take over the Royal Pack!”

My claws dig into her jacket. “I’m still waiting for that good reason.”

“Because I really ~do~ want unification between the humans and werewolves. Ever since you took me into the woods, and I reconnected with my wolf I… I understood that that’s what needs to be done for ~all of us~.”

“Why should I believe a word you say?”

“Because you saw what happened when my wolf came out. You saw the ~real~ me.”

I tighten my grip on her collar for a moment, searching her face for any trace that she might be lying.

But I know there’s nothing on her face but genuine guilt. She’s right.

I did see it.

And if I’ve learned anything from spending the past several hours with my sister, it’s that people ~can~ change.

But if Vivian really has changed, she’s going to have to prove it. My claws retreat into my fingers, and I let her go. Her face is awash with relief.

“So if you’re really one of us now, then you’re going to help us stop this.”

She nods seriously.

“Let’s go,” I say, and we rush up the hill toward the palace.

ALEX

The ceremony has begun.

I stand on the stage, doing my best to smile and wave into the dozens of cameras filming.

Behind the camera crews, the entire Royal Pack has come together to witness this event.

I smile, pushing away my nervousness by imagining my dad in the crowd somewhere, nodding proudly.

I search the crowd for others.

Dom, Helena, and Camelia are in the front row. My beta gives me a reassuring wink.

I see Amy and Marius, but they’re just making out, not paying me any attention.

My mom is in the front row, smiling.

But the seat next to me, the luna’s seat, is empty.

~Where is she?~ A wave of anxiety surges through me.

Ariel, the one person I really need by my side right now, is nowhere to be seen.

I take a deep breath, sending out one last mind-link to her, hoping somehow she’ll get it:

~“Hey you.”~

~“I don’t see you anywhere, and just wanted to say before this starts that none of this would be possible without you. I guess all those stupid luna lessons preparing you for this didn’t matter in the end, huh? Maybe I should’ve taken them instead.”~

~“I know you know this, but…you’re my queen no matter what you’re wearing or where you are in the world.”~

~“But still, come back soon.”~

~“I love you.”~

Suddenly, the crowd erupts into thunderous applause, and another man steps up on the stage.

President Cooper.

It’s the first time I’m seeing him, because when he arrived he was “too tired from his travels to greet me.”

Or so Vivian said.

Honestly, I’m a little underwhelmed.

I’m a whole foot taller than him, and he’s not exactly the best to look at. But then again, that seems to be a trend with human presidents.

He flashes me a smile and reaches out his hand for a handshake.

I take it, grinning as thousands of cameras snap a picture of us greeting each other.

“Mr. President,” I say cordially.

“Your Majesty!” he says excitedly. “What a pleasure to finally meet you. Should we get this thing started?”

“I’d be honored.”

The president flashes me one more smile and then pulls away, walking up to the podium, lowering the microphone to his short height.

Seeing him about to speak makes me slightly nervous. Since he refused any rehearsals, I have no idea what he’s about to say.

“You know, it’s good to be here,” he says, his voice carrying through the speakers to the crowd. “I gotta tell you, it’s really nothing like those bloody werewolf movies I grew up with as a kid. Not at all.

“You all seem like good people, you really do. But you know, when the world’s getting crazier—and believe me, it’s getting crazier—sometimes you just gotta do something to fix it.”

He holds up the paper containing the terms of the treaty—the future of the kingdom.

“And this treaty right here in my hands is that solution. I mean, you people have had it tough. Just look at this past year. First, you had those rogues sneaking in, that whole fake marriage fiasco.”

I try to hide my grimace when he brings up Lola and the rogues.

“Then, of course, you had that criminal—Xavier was his name, wasn’t it? First he was working with the Hunters, then he was attacking his own people, now he’s escaped jail and he’s somewhere out there on the loose.”

When I finally see what he’s doing, it makes my blood boil.

He’s recounting my failures one by one.

“I mean, at some point you people gotta ask yourselves,” the president continues, “when is enough, enough?”

I hate to admit it, but that’s the question I’ve been asking myself every waking moment.

“That’s why I’ve come here today,” he says. “By allowing the humans to give you a little military help, you’ll all be safer. That’s a promise. And—”

He turns back to look at me for a moment, grinning.

“You’ll be able to give your alpha a little break. He’s a nice guy, your king. Probably a little too nice. But he’s doing the best he can.”

I can’t help but growl at that.

~Stay cool, Alex.~

~He probably doesn’t mean anything by it.~

He grabs a pen from his front pocket and signs the treaty on the podium, then holds it out to me. “So, with just one stroke of the pen,” he says. “The rest is history.”

I look at the pen. I can see the cameras trained closely on me, zooming in for their close-ups.

I glance up one more time, searching for Ariel somewhere in the crowd.

But sadly, I don’t see my mate anywhere.

So I look out at the sea of faces from my pack, my family, my loved ones, all watching me intently.

Seeing ~me~ up here, not my father.

Seeing what kind of alpha I ~really~ am.

I take the pen.

ARIEL

I push through the crowd as quickly as I can, Vivian next to me and Natalia in tow.

In the distance, I can see Alex standing up on the stage.

My heart flutters when I see him there, looking regal in a double-breasted suit. In any other circumstance, I’d feel the urge to tear that suit right off.

But right now, the only thing I need to tear is that treaty on the podium.

He reaches over and takes something from the president.

A pen.

~Alex, no!~

Glancing down at the treaty, his brow is furrowed.

“He’s going to sign it!” Vivian gasps.

Panic rising, I start to move closer as fast as I can, but there are too many people in the way. Every damn wolf and their mother came to see this.

My heart drops. It doesn’t seem like I’m going to make it.

But then suddenly, he puts the pen down.

He doesn’t sign it.

The president turns red, flushing with displeasure.

“What the hell are you doing?” The president’s voice is close enough to the microphone that it echoes into the crowd through the speakers.

“I’m making a decision,” Alex says. “Not the easiest decision, but the best decision for my people. I’m not going to sign this.”

A smile blooms across my face when I see my mate turn away from the president and toward his people in the crowd.

“This treaty only shows the problem, not the solution,” he says. “And the problem is that humans and werewolves live in completely different worlds.”

Alex turns to the president. “We don’t understand each other at all. And bringing more soldiers onto our pack lands isn’t the way to fix that.”

“Alex—I mean, Your Majesty,” the president pleads. “My soldiers are the only way to protect your kingdom.”

“Mr. President, my luna is a warrior, and she’s saved our kingdom more times than I can count. Our people may all be from different packs, but we’ve always protected one another. And that will never change.”

I keep moving toward the stage, wanting nothing more than to throw my arms around Alex.

The president looks like his head is going to explode. “And what about your father, Alex? Think about how disappointed he would be with this.”

“I can’t live in my father’s shadow anymore. So I have to do this my own way, not yours.”

My heart swells with pride for my mate. I’m close enough to see him better now, standing tall, his eyes sparkling with confidence as he looks out into the faces of his pack.

Alex doesn’t just look like a king.

He looks like a true leader.

Alex lifts up the treaty and rips it in half, and the crowd erupts into cheers.

“Okay, FINE!” the president yells. “I wanted to do this the nice way, I really fucking did. But it looks like you mutts don’t respond to kindness at all.”

He glares out at the pack. “The only way to teach you mangy monsters to sit nicely is to show you who’s your master.”

The crowd erupts in boos, telling the president to get off the stage. The president points at Alex and yells at the top of his lungs:

“Enough of this shit. TAKE THE KING!”

In an instant, dozens of agents in black suits swarm the stage, all converging in one place. All moving toward Alex.

Chaos ensues, and people start to scream and yell. I’m close to the stage, but making my way through the panicking crowd is nearly impossible.

Attempting to fight my way closer, I pull out my sword as I see the men swarm Alex, who tries to fight back. But there are simply too many.

Please, Goddess.

Please let me make it there in time.