My throat tightens. “Lucan...”
“Deep down, I knew it should have been you,” he says, a tear leaking down his temple. “But that just made me hate you all the more. I’m sorry, cousin.”
“It’s okay,” I whisper. “I forgive you.”
His lips curve into a weak smile. “You were always better at that too.”
I squeeze his hand harder.
He’s barely breathing now. Calista’s sword must have cut through his heart. I can see his eyes fading.
“Go to Ulissa,” I say softly. “Your father is there. Mine is too. And grandfather of course. They’re all waiting to greet you.”
His smile is the most peaceful thing I’ve seen on his face in twenty years.
“I’ll tell them the rightful Wolf King has taken his crown,” he barely whispers. “Long live Wolf King Kieran Stormfur.”
His hand goes slack in mine. His eyes go still.
And my cousin is off to Ulissa.
I stay beside him for a breath. Two. Three.
Then I stand up.
The courtyard is silent again. Every eye is on me—the entire Stormfur pack, the couples who came to be bound tonight, my mate and her crew, the nobles and warriors and the villagers and the pups—all of them are holding their breath, watching and waiting.
The high priest picks up the crown and the crowd roars in jubilation.
I can feel the thundering sound vibrating through my body. It gets louder as he walks over and places the crown on my head.
“All hail, Wolf King Kieran Stormfur,” he bellows.
The roar that goes up from the pack is the loudest thing I have ever heard. It rises and rises, wolves throwing their heads back and adding their howls to the chorus. The cascading soundrolls across the valleys and forests and rivers and mountains, stretching out into every inch of my kingdom.
The only one not cheering is Calista. She’s looking at me with a proud grin like she knew this would happen all along.
It takes the high priest a long time to settle the crowd. When he finally gets them under control, they all kneel before me.
Except for Calista. I don’t think this woman would kneel for anyone.
I feel the weight of the crown—the burden of responsibility—but I’m ready for it. With Calista by my side, I can handle anything.
The high priest takes a deep breath as he raises his arms to the pack.
Thousands of voices address me as one. “The pack endures beneath you, my King.”
I suck in a breath and answer them in my deep booming alpha voice.
“As one, we endure.”
Chapter Twelve
Calista
“That crown suits you,” I say, letting my lustful eyes roam over the most powerful man here. “You look sexy, my King.”
He just smiles at me. The sight is so sexy that I feel a shiver from my head to my toes. He’s standing there all smoking hot with that golden crown on his head, a fitted dark doublet, pants, and a fur-lined cloak hanging off his broad shoulders. I want to kneel before him, but not for the reasons why everyone else knelt. I want to be on my knees in front of him with that long hard cock sliding into my mouth.
