Chapter 539 – A proposal
Voren had never fully trusted Killian, not for a single day since their paths first crossed. The second he felt sure Seraphine could handle the leftover scraps of her old pack from inside the SUV, every bit of his focus locked onto Alpha Killian standing out there in the cold.
"You’re on my territory, and I don’t like it one bit," Voren said directly, Alpha Killian’s mouth pulled into a nervous smile that never reached his eyes.
As much as he feared Voren, it would be worse for him to walk away without getting the chance to have the princess on his side, so he put behind the consequence and squared his shoulders.
"Alpha Voren, Athaliah comes from the Silver Moon Pack. Since when does that put her inside your territory?" Before Voren could even open his mouth, Killian kept rolling.
It was as if a break in his words would drain the sudden adrenaline, he got to face Voren head on. "You really think I don’t see what you’re playing at? You want her for your Beta. That’s the only reason you handed Corvine the right title so he could go head-to-head with me."
A smug little curve twisted his lips. "But you’re off the mark. King Jaron’s sharper than that. He wants you married to Athaliah, not Corvine."
Suspicion flickered hard across Voren’s face. Killian arrived late to the moon festival, and he wasn’t the time he cared about pack politics so how did he get this information so fast?
"You talk like you’re not even one of the candidates yourself. Wouldn’t it mess you up if I’d taken her on?"
Killian smiled again, but the look in his eyes stayed cold and empty of any real humor. "Alpha Voren, you’re sitting so damn high up you can’t even see what’s crawling around underneath you. I suggest you climb down off that pedestal if you ever want to understand what’s really going on in the underworld."
To Killian, Voren has been focused on love matters and most spent his time at the human world to know all that had been going on behind his back.
That was why he wasn’t surprised by Voren’s move on Seraphine but what surprised him was all that Ravyn had done to his ex-wife.
However, things would have been okay if Voren had not made that announcement. If Voren wanted the kingship title, then Killian would gladly step down but how could he allow himself to lose to a beta? No way.
The more Voren listened, the more the uneasy feeling he had been carrying around for weeks tightened like a fist in his chest. Something was coming. He’d felt it for a long time now, a low constant pressure he still couldn’t put a name to.
He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Killian without blinking once. "What makes you think I give a damn about whatever’s happening in this so-called underworld of yours?"
Killian was trying hard to read him but was failing badly at it. In the end, he could only try to annoy Voren a little to see what would come of it.
"If you really don’t care," Killian answered, his expression turning serious, "then stay the hell away from Athaliah. Her father’s pushing hard to get her married before the Blood Moon Festival because he’s terrified she’ll end up mated to some low-ranking warrior. If that happens her Love Wolf won’t let her reject him."
Voren’s eyes narrowed. "So you even know about her wolf." That piece of information sat heavier on him than he wanted to admit. His voice dropped lower.
"Tell me something. For a guy who’s spent years hiding in the shadows, how exactly did you get close enough to King Jaron? Especially when just two days ago, he was breathing down my neck trying to force me into marrying his daughter."
Killian’s hands slowly curled into fists at his sides. He hated being questioned like this, but he also knew that if he shut his mouth Voren would make damn sure he never got another chance to speak with Athaliah again.
For the main reason why he wanted the princess, he could not tell anyone, not even the King Jaron but what Voren did not know was the powers attached to the kingship crown.
Even Jaron himself had discovered bits of it too late and with the mess the elderly man had entangled himself, he needed an alliance with a very strong Alpha to get out of it.
"You rejected her. Even though he figured you’d come crawling back because of the title, he still needed another option on the table." Killian gave a short shrug. "So he reached out to me."
Voren studied him carefully, reading every little twitch. "Then there’s got to be something in it for you aside from the authority."
Killian shot him a sharp glare due to how fast he was catching up, feeling like he was giving out too much information. "Alpha Voren, why don’t you go ask some of the elders? Our generation hasn’t gained much of anything from the Alpha King title, but those old men sure as hell have. Have you noticed how much more united and organized they are compared to the rest of us?"
His eyes locked onto Voren’s and held it. "That’s because we’ve been left to scrape by on our own. But the crown carries a power that’s meant for this new generation, a power capable of pulling the packs together before..."
He stopped himself cold, but Voren caught it instantly. "Before what?"
Killian lowered his head, a frustrated laugh slipping out of him. "I don’t know what the hell you’ve done to me. I don’t usually run my mouth like this."
Truly, Killian was talking too much, but Voren could only discern it was because the man was frustrated.
"Before what?" Voren pushed again, his voice rising.
Killian pressed his lips into a thin hard line before lifting his eyes once more. "I can see you want that crown just as bad as the rest of us. And if you think I’m going to stand around and let Corvine take it..." He slowly shook his head. "You’re wrong. But I do have a proposal for you."