Defying the Lycan King

Chapter 230: A Very Small Fish

The SUV pulled up in the Wolf Council driveway in Aethelwulf, and Gavin climbed out first, moving quickly to open the door for Kira and her mother as the rest of the convoy stopped in front and behind.

Kira stepped out into the sunlight, dressed in a sharp, formal beige suit that hugged her figure and accentuated every curve.

Her hair was swept up into a high ponytail, her makeup flawless. Inside the SUV, Claire sat, elegant in a crisp peach suit that made her look every inch the heiress she had been born to be.

Kira stood and looked up at the imposing Wolf Council building. Then, she closed her eyes and drew in a slow, deep breath of the fresh air.

It had been only a few weeks since she’d left the neutral grounds of the Central, but it felt like years. Being out here again, out in the open, standing tall instead of hiding, felt so good she could have wept.

She opened her eyes and looked at her mother inside the car, who was smiling gently at her. She took Claire’s hand and felt at once how it trembled with nerves. She squeezed it gently.

"I can do this, Mother," she said softly. "We are reclaiming what belongs to us."

Claire nodded, exhaling a breath she seemed to have been holding for so long.

Kira nodded, placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and turned to walk toward the building. Gavin gave some gammas signals to guard Claire outside, while he and the rest of the security detail fell in around Kira.

Once inside, Kira approached the reception desk. "Hi," she said.

The receptionist looked up and returned her smile. "Good morning. How might I be of help to you today?"

"My name is Serene Ironfang," Kira said. "I am originally from the Moonfang Pack in the Eastern region of the werewolf territories. I have already sent a formal legal petition against the current Moonfang leadership via email, and I am here for the physical clearance meeting today."

The receptionist nodded and turned to her computer, her fingers flying across her keyboard to check the daily schedule. But the moment the file popped up on her screen, her fingers froze.

She slowly looked up, staring at Kira as if the girl had just casually announced she was planning to lift a mountain with her bare hands.

She then looked Kira up and down. "Are you seriously the one planning to challenge and take over the Moonfang Pack?"

Kira nodded. "Is there a problem?"

The receptionist chuckled softly. "Look, girl, do you want some free, honest advice?" She leaned in.

"Don’t waste your precious time, your resources, or your physical strength trying to fight for a pack when you are a woman. It simply doesn’t work that way, love. Women don’t become Alphas. Have you ever seen a female Alpha successfully claim a pack? No."

She shook her head. "And to make it worse, you’re talking about the strongest pack in the entire Eastern region. Darling, you’re setting yourself up for heartbreak."

Kira let her finish, unbothered, and then smiled.

"You see, that is where your calculation is wrong," Kira said smoothly. "I’m not just any woman. I’m the woman who’s going to defeat the impostors and take back what is rightfully mine. Now, which room is it?"

The receptionist’s jaw dropped, and she gave a little nod and a mocking smile, pointing her pen toward a heavy set of oak doors down the hallway. "Right through there, then. Best of luck to you. You’ll need it."

When Kira walked through that door, she found several council elders already seated around a long table. Her steps faltered, just slightly, when she saw Scott.

He was pacing up and down at the other side of the table, dressed in a dark, well-cut suit, looking far more chiselled and commanding than the last time she’d laid eyes on him. Becoming acting Alpha had clearly agreed with him.

Pity, Kira thought, recovering her stride. He won’t be holding the position much longer.

At the table sat Chloe, her face immaculately made up, without a single trace of the ordeal she’d suffered in Dravengard’s dungeons only weeks before.

Scott turned around at the sound of the door opening, and the moment his eyes landed on Kira, he froze. His face twisted into shock, followed by understanding and immediately by a loud, incredulous chuckle. He pointed a finger directly at her.

"You? You are the mysterious Serene Ironfang who filed the petition?"

Kira did not so much as acknowledge him. She walked further into the room, pulled out a chair and sat down quietly and composed. Most of the elders were staring at her now, exchanging surprised glances, murmuring amongst themselves.

Scott scoffed and turned to the elders. "Are you honestly going to sit here and listen to her?"

Kira turned to him at last. "Why are you so agitated to see me here in the flesh, Scott? Is it because you’ve decided I’m not worth fighting?"

She tilted her head. "You had no trouble at all agreeing to meet a Serene Ironfang. So what’s changed, now that you see my face?"

Chloe laughed scornfully. "Please! You literally had to use a fake name just to be able to slither your way inside this building! We all know what happened. After the Lycan King threw you out like trash, you realised you had nowhere else to go. Now you suddenly have the guts to come crawling here for the Moonfang Alpha seat?"

She looked around at the elders. "Elders, how could you possibly hold her credible when she is hiding under a false identity?"

Kira smiled, reached into her bag, produced a birth certificate, and handed it to the nearest elder.

"That is my official birth certificate," she said evenly. "The names written on that certificate are legally mine, given to me by my biological parents. If anyone in this room truly thinks they aren’t, I invite you to produce an original certificate that says otherwise."

Scott was practically fuming, his face turning a dangerous shade of red as he slammed his fist on the mahogany wood.

"Elders, you cannot seriously be considering this nonsense! This girl doesn’t even possess a wolf! She is an ordinary human! Her father explicitly named Chloe as the true, rightful heir of Moonfang."

Kira’s smile widened. "You know, Scott," she said, "you seem to have lost your sense of smell. Because if it were still working properly, you’d have caught the scent of my inner animal the very moment I walked through that door."

And with that, Kira released her aura.

She had held it carefully leashed since the instant she’d entered the Wolf Council. It was another gift of the Nexus, the ability to mask her own nature completely. Now she let it roll out of her, powerful and undeniable, filling the room.

Scott’s and Chloe’s jaws dropped.

Kira rose smoothly to her feet, that same serene smile on her lips. "I believe this initial meeting is officially over," she told the elders. "I’ve now acquainted myself with my rivals. I’ll await your next summons."

She turned her gaze back to Scott, who was currently standing frozen like a statue. "Tell me, Scotty... am I wolf enough now to contend for an Alpha position?"

She walked up to him, brushing an invisible piece of lint from his shoulder. "It has always been about the Alpha seat for you. But don’t trouble yourself, though. My business was never with you. You’re a very small fish in this particular pond."

She turned to Chloe, and the smile slid clean off her face. "And as for you," she said, her voice cold and clear, "tell your father to stop hiding like a coward. Tell him to come out and face me himself."

Both Chloe and Scott were all too shocked to say a word.

Kira turned and stormed out of the room, her head held high, as she hurried down the corridor. She was already three strides into the corridor before she registered the figure rounding the corner. But it was too late as she walked straight into a solid chest.

She stepped back with a small gasp, already lifting her head to apologise to whoever she’d collided with. But the apology died in her throat.

Because she found herself staring straight up into the face of Derek.