Chapter 247 Acceptance of the betrothal

Chapter 247: Chapter 247 Acceptance of the betrothal

_Alaric’s POV_

The council hall was completely packed.

Every single high ranking noble, elder, and pack official was sitting in the gallery above the main floor.

The room was filled with whispering and the clicking of camera lenses from the approved media reporters in the back. Everyone was waiting to hear the outcome of the royal bloodline claim.

I sat in the Alpha throne at the front of the room, wearing my formal uniform. My hands rested flat against the armrests, my posture rigid and cold as ice.

Rowena was sitting right beside me in her chair. She looked completely calm, her hair styled back. She didn’t look nervous at all. Her face was a cool, unreadable mask, but I could feel the warmth of her presence right beside me, anchoring my raging wolf.

I looked down at the center of the hall.

Brielle was standing in the middle of the floor, dressed in a blue silk dress that made her look deliberately fragile and helpless. Her mother was standing right behind her, wearing a massive grin like she had already won the lottery.

I let out a slow breath, remembering the command I had given Brielle in the hospital office yesterday. I had ordered her to tell the council elders that she did not want to marry me.

One of the elders stood up from the center gallery, clearing his throat loudly to bring the room to silence.

"We are convened today to finalize the matter of the royal heir," he declared, his deep voice echoing off the walls. "Lady Brielle Logan has presented a positive bloodline match, verified by the head physician. Under traditional pack law, an Alpha King must address the mother of his unborn child before the council."

The elder turned his eyes down toward Brielle.

"Lady Brielle," he asked formally. "Do you request the council to grant you a peaceful exit with a royal allowance, or do you stand before this court to claim your legal right to a royal betrothal?"

I leaned forward slightly, my eyes narrowing into slits as I stared at Brielle. This was her moment to follow my orders and walk away cleanly.

Her mother nudged her shoulder from behind, an eager look on her face.

Brielle took a step forward. She raised her head, looking straight up at me sitting on the Alpha throne. There was no fear in her eyes anymore. Instead, a tiny, wicked spark of pure victory flashed across her face.

"Elders of the council," Brielle spoke, her voice loud and clear. "I stand before this court to claim my rightful place. I accept the traditional royal betrothal. I will marry Alpha Alaric to secure the legitimate future of our child and our pack."

BOOM.

A sudden explosion of chatter and gasps erupted across the entire room. Her mother let out a loud, triumphant cheer from the front row, clapping her hands together like a madwoman.

The elders were all smiling, nodding their heads in approval as they began writing down the official declaration on their paper.

My whole body went completely rigid.

A wave of Alpha aura instantly exploded out of my chest, slamming into the room so hard that the doors at the back rattled. The loud chatter in the gallery died down instantly, half the reporters gasping as they struggled to breathe under the suffocating pressure of my rage.

She had lied to my face. She had completely ignored my direct command, using the public pressure of the entire council court to trap me in front of the territory.

I felt a headache throbbing right behind my eyes. I was so exhausted. I was tired of the endless games, tired of the fake lies, tired of people trying to force me into corners using old pack laws. I wanted to stand up, shift into my wolf right then and there, and tear the entire hall apart until there was nothing left but dust.

I slowly turned my head to look at Rowena sitting beside me.

My voice was low with exhaustion as I leaned closer to her ear. "Rowena... I can’t do this anymore. I am going to reject her claim right now, council laws be damned. I will strip every elder in this room of their titles before I let her trap me."

Rowena didn’t panic, she didn’t look angry or hurt by Brielle’s sudden betrayal.

Instead, she slowly turned her head to look at me. She reached across the small space between our chairs, her hand gently resting over my clenched, shaking fist. Her touch was like a cool splash of water on a burning fire, instantly settling the wild, murderous rage in my wolf.

"Alaric," Rowena whisperedt. "Look at me."

I locked my eyes onto hers.

"Agree to the marriage," Rowena said, her simple words ringing clearly in my ears.

I blinked, my jaw dropping open slightly in sheer shock. "What?"

"Agree to the betrothal," Rowena repeated, a tiny, smirk touching the corner of her lips. "If you reject her claim in front of the entire court right now, the elders will use emergency pack laws to freeze your Alpha authority and force the wedding anyway. They will paint you as a tyrant, and it will give Brielle full legal protection."

"Rowena, I am not marrying that woman—"

"You aren’t going to marry her," Rowena cut me off gently, her eyes flashing with a brilliant, dangerous intelligence that made my heart leap in my chest. "A formal betrothal takes thirty days to process before the actual wedding can happen. Give me those thirty days, Alaric. Agree to the court’s demand today, play along with their little show, and give me the time I need to find the real evidence and expose Brielle completely."

I stared at her, taking in her calm confidence. She wasn’t guessing or hoping. She had a plan, and she was asking me to trust her to execute it.

I let out a long breath, feeling the heaviness in my chest lift just a tiny bit. I flipped my hand over, wrapping my fingers tightly around hers, squeezing softly.

"Thirty days," I murmured deeply.

"Thirty days," Rowena promised, giving my hand a firm squeeze back before pulling her hand away and sitting up straight in her chair.

I turned my head back toward the terrified room. I looked down at Brielle, who was standing in the center of the floor with a smug, victorious smile on her face, thinking she had just backed the Alpha King into a corner he couldn’t escape.

I let my Alpha aura settle back down, my face turning into an emotionless mask.

"The court acknowledges Lady Brielle’s request," I announced, my voice booming across the hall, loud and clear for every reporter to hear. "The betrothal is officially accepted."