Auctioned to the Cruel King - Chapter 67: Chapter 67

Lance’s POV
The council room emptied in measured silence. One by one, they bowed, scraped, or offered shallow nods. I didn’t acknowledge their departure. I hadn’t acknowledged much in the past hour.
They all called me King. But not one of them truly wished I remained seated on this throne.
The last of them left.
Now I stood alone, arms crossed behind my back, gazing out the tall arched windows. The horizon bled sunlight over the distant hills.
My reflection in the glass was faint but unmistakable: cold eyes, a jaw set too tight, and the beast behind them simmering just below the surface.
I’d tried not to let Landon burrow under my skin. But that bastard had a talent for it.
The reminder of Kane's death left a rancid taste in my mouth too…not because the man hadn’t deserved a blade through the ribs, but because of what it meant. Who had done it. The timing. The message. The threat stitched into silence.
And silence, I’d learned, was rarely innocent.
A knock rattled the chamber doors.
“Enter,” I said without turning.
I smelled who it was without needing to look.
“Alpha,” Ric greeted.
I kept my gaze on the horizon. “What are we hearing?”
“Still silence from Landon,” he reported. “No direct word, no messengers. Nothing but what the maid we placed in his manor has fed us.”
Typical.
My hands flexed behind my back. “And Kane’s pack?”
Alaric stepped closer. “There’s infighting among Kane’s people,” Alaric continued. “The pack is split, scrambling to crown a new alpha. Commander Corlys appears to be the most likely successor.”
I exhaled through my nose, the sound sharp, humorless. “Have they even acknowledged Kane’s death?”
“No official statement. The focus is on replacing him. No formal hunt for the daughters also.”
Of course not. They want a seat at the table, not blood. They’d rather climb over Kane’s corpse than avenge him. They were all the same. These councilmen. These hollow-bellied men masquerading as executives.
“This is a clusterfuck,” I muttered. “And we’re still in the dark. Who else do we have close to Landon?”
“Only the maid we slipped in weeks ago. She's the one feeding us these fragments,” Alaric replied.
“And yet we didn't hear anything till it was over.” I sighed.
He didn’t speak for a long moment.
Then— “We’re still trying to make contact...”
Then the doors opened without permission.
I turned this time.
Kayla stepped in.
She looked like she hadn’t bathed, but she’d dressed, quickly, judging by the mismatched buttons on her collar. My scent still clung to her. It stirred something primal in me. But my chest stilled at the look in her eyes.
“What is this I’m hearing about Landon and Alpha Kane?” she demanded. Her voice was sharp and urgent. “Is it true?”
I didn’t answer at first. Just looked at her.
“Is what true?”
“Don’t do that,” she snapped. “Please. Don’t play word games with me.”
A long silence settled. Alaric shifted beside me.
“I’ll… excuse myself,” he murmured and ducked out before I could stop him.
I faced her fully now. “We’re still gathering the full scope of it,” I said. “Nothing is confirmed yet.”
Her hands clenched. “Oh come on,” she spat. “You know what kind of bastard he is. You know what he’s capable of. And you’re just sitting here?”
“You’re letting emotion lead your mouth,” I said, flatly. “We need clarity before action. If I go for the kill now, without leverage, without knowing the scope of what happened, it makes us vulnerable and desperate.”
She took a step closer. “While you wait, he’s pillaging. He’s already taken what he wanted, and now he’s carving a legend from it.”
“And what would you have him do?”
The voice didn’t come from me.
Vivian strolled into the room. She perched at the edge of the council table like a lazy cat.
“Well,” she purred. “Someone’s full of fire this morning.”
I didn’t look at her. “Where did you come from?”
“Oh, you know me.” She waved a hand flippantly. “One with the wind.”
Kayla’s eyes snapped to her then back then back to me. Clearly didn't approve of her presence.
“My parrots have something for you,” Vivian said.
I finally looked her way.
“Well?”
“We’ve tracked the girls. The daughters,” she said. “Alive. Caged. But alive.”
A sliver of tension loosened.
“Can we get them back?”
“Possibly. Might be a struggle if we choose to go that route and we'll be exposed…spoils of conflict.”
I hummed.
But Kayla wasn't having it. “Wait—what the hell does that mean? Spoils of conflict?”
Vivian arched a brow. “It means we can’t just rip them out. Not without making this war. We need Landon to slip or hear him out.”
She flinched at the last line.
“No,” Kayla said. “What he needs is to be put down.”
Vivian blinked slowly, like a cat amused by a mouse’s final squeak. “Well, well. Didn’t know you had that kind of venom in you.”
“You need to calm down, Kayla,” I tried.
“I am calm,” she bit out. “This is me calm. But while we sit here and breathe palace air and debate policy, he’s gaining ground. Sooner or later people are gonna start talking…this move of his shows direct defiance… whose pack next is he going to take down?”
Vivian leaned back. “Seems personal.”
“Vivian,” I warned.
“What?” she said innocently. “We’re all friends here. Or are we keeping secrets now?”
“Enough.” My gaze cut to hers like a blade. “Me and you will talk later. Alone.”
“Oh, we’re having private meetings now?” she mused, already rising. “Lovely.”
She left without another word.
Kayla turned back to me, her chest rising and falling.
“We strike now,” she said. “While he’s bloated on victory. While he doesn’t expect it. We don’t wait.”
I studied her. The fury. The shaking in her hands. The glass in her eyes.
“You’re not well,” I said. “Sit.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not.” My tone left no room for argument. “Sit. Now.”
Reluctantly, she obeyed, sliding into a chair.
I walked slowly around the table to her.
“I know he hurt you,” I said. “I know what you endured. And I won’t insult you by pretending it doesn’t matter.”
“No,” she whispered. “He didn’t just hurt me.”
I continued, my voice low. “But what you feel right now—that fire, that rage—it’s compulsion. It's the hunger to act without knowing what you're walking into. You want revenge, but revenge doesn’t care what it costs you. And if you move too fast, too blind, you’ll bleed. Or worse.”
She didn’t speak.
“Then you’ll die with regret. With hate in your throat and no justice to show for it. You’ll be another body on the pyre. Another name in his victory.”
I stopped in front of her. She looked up.
“You are my Luna,” I said. “You are not alone. And I will not lose you to recklessness.”
Kayla blinked. Just once. Her expression was childlike as she stared up at me, then she swallowed.
“Then when?” she whispered.