Chapter 135
Chapter 135
Lucianne took a moment to digest whatever Xandar had just told her before she blinked to bring herself out of her daze and asked, “Is there even such a thing?”
Xandar’s thumb tried to smoothen the lines on her tense forehead as he explained, “Not in a long time, sweetheart.”
After another moment of thinking, Lucianne said, “That makes no sense. I am not even a Queen, at least not in technical terms.”
Xandar smiled wider as he whispered excitedly, “That’s the thing! You’ve been our Queen long before anyone knew! Lucy, this is amazing!”
“Are you sure, Xandar? Don’t you have to mark me before I even stand a chance to get that power?”
“Well, you just proved that I don’t need to.” Xandar said matter-of-factly,
Lucianne was still skeptical. “No, that can’t be right. How do you even measure the level of energy required before it can be regarded as…”
Xandar planted a deep kiss on her lips before he released them to explain, “There’s never a need to measure such a power, my love. You felt the King’s Authority before. There’s no explanation for it, you just feel it.”
Lucianne pondered for a moment before she asked, “How do you feel yours when you radiate it?”
“Uh…it’s basically just emotions associated with the need to emit the Authority” Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.
“What does that mean?” She cocked her head to one side and asked in bewilderment,
Xandar’s hand went to touch the back of his neck as he explained, “Well, uh…when I want to activate the King’s Authority, I think of the person I’m trying to compel. And I couple that intention with a reason for the compulsion, harnessing the emotions that come with that reason.”
His lilac eyes met her black ones, and his voice turned soft as he continued, “In the rogue’s case the other day, the reason was to keep you safe at all costs. I harness all the emotions I felt from needing to keep you safe. The stronger the reason, the stronger the emotions, the more powerful the Authority will be.”
“Huh.” Lucianne continued to ponder before muttering, “I was definitely motivated by the need to keep Blue Crescent safe when I glared down at Dawson.”
“Did you feel a warmth in your chest forming an invisible field around your body?”
“Yes, but isn’t that just radiating anger?”
He took her hands into his as he continued to ask in excitement, “And did you feel like you were deliberately directing that warmth towards Dawson?”
Lucianne looked at him in confusion as she said, “Of course. Isn’t that what everyone does with their emotions?”
Xandar chuckled before cupping her cheeks and pecking a kiss on her lips before saying, “No, Lucy. Not everyone can do that. Everyone can emit an energy around their bodies but no one can direct it to another individual, not unless they’re cloaked with an Authority.”
Lucianne was lost for words, and the only thing she could say was, “Huh. Probably explains why the
wolves listened to me without question when I’m pissed-off with their pack-to-pack rivalry.” Another short moment, and she said, “I wasn’t able to do such a thing when I defended Luna Hale in the ladies room last year though.”
“It takes very strong emotions to activate the Authority, Lucy. Odds are, you were holding back to avoid a confrontation with a Lycan.” That was true. Rule number one for any wolf: never pick a fight with a Lycan, any Lycan.
Lucianne then asked, “But if I do have…such a power, why wasn’t I able to use it on the Lycans before until tonight? I wasn’t always in control of my temper. But I definitely didn’t radiate such an energy with Martin’s sons, Caunterberg and numerous others who pissed me off last year. Why is it that I’m only able t o do it now?”
Xandar sighed as he stroked her cheek, and said sadly, “Maybe it’s because your need to defend Blue Crescent far exceeds your need to defend yourself.”
Lucianne couldn’t mask her surprise. That was true. It had always been true. She’d fight to death to protect her pack and everyone in it. But she couldn’t remember the last time she put herself first. There was always something or someone that would take priority over her own life.
After taking a few breaths to calm herself, she asked, “So, I have this… Authority-like thing because-”
“Babe, it’s not ‘Authority-like’. What you have is an Authority. Own it.” Xandar said with a large and proud
grin.
“Uh…do I have it because I was adopted by a family of pack leaders?”
Xandar thought for a moment before he said, “No, I don’t think so, Lucy. Lunas don’t have such powers, do they?” 1
“Oh, good point. Hm…too much time with the then-Alpha Ken and now-Alpha Juan, perhaps?”
Xandar narrowed his eyes. “Lucy, you and I both know the only one among the wolves with such a power are the Alphas. No matter how close anyone is with them, the power doesn’t…spread. And I can tell you
right now that I feel nothing when Alphas radiate their Authorities to their pack members. But I felt yours, sweetheart. What you have is something stronger. With enough knowledge on how to channel it, yours may be even as strong as the King’s Authority.” 2
Lucianne just stared at her mate, unable to believe that she was bestowed the archaic power that was only known to be wielded by Alphas and Kings. Xandar grew worried with her ensuing silence so he stroked her cheek as he asked, “Baby, you okay?”
She blinked and shook her head a little before she said, “Yeah, yeah. It’s just…” she took a deep breath and exhaled before she exclaimed in a whisper, “Wow!”
Xandar chuckled lightly before kissing her forehead and said, “Let’s just take a shower and get some sleep, my love. We have a busy day tomorrow.”
Lucianne came out of her shock and smirked, “No, darling. Not ‘we’. You have a busy day tomorrow. I’ll be here reading up on techniques to weaken your animal before I eventually take it down.”
Her challenge turned on a switch in Xandar, and he pressed her waist to the wall as he uttered in a tone which left no room for argument, “Lucy, you’re the Queen. You are expected to be at the meeting with us tomorrow.”
Lucianne tried to ignore her wolf which got excited whenever Xandar pinned her to the wall like that as
she asked, “Has an unofficially-crowned Queen ever attended such a meeting before?”
“No, so you’ll be the first.” Xandar insisted.
“Darling, I love you but don’t you think you’re breaking a few too many rules for me? Getting everyone to call me by that title is one thing but allowing me to attend government meetings and be privy to those discussions when I’m not supposed to isn’t exactly legal.”
Xandar smirked cockily as he peered into her eyes and asked, “Says who?”
“The law, I guess?” Lucianne responded meekly
Xandar scoffed, and his hands moved down to both sides of her bum before he said, “My dear, the law says that the Queen may attend to ‘any’ government matters. And the Queen’, by legal definition, means the King’s mate. There is no mention of a need for a coronation before the King’s mate can exercise the powers and enjoy the privileges of a Queen.” 1
After pecking a kiss on her lips, he uttered in his deep, alluring voice, “I’m the King. You’re my mate. So, you’re the Queen. And, by law, you have every right to be with us tomorrow.”
“Oh.” Lucianne responded as she internalized his words, controlling her arousal while she was at it. Her wolf really didn’t make things easy for her with how it was walking seductively in her mind, prompting her human part to do the same to their mate.
“Hmm…that’s still not a yes, my Queen. Looks like I have to seduce you until I get the answer that I want.” Xandar’s arousal began filling the air around them.
Lucianne gave up holding back her own arousal as she replaced her look of contemplation with a flirtatious expression when she asked, “Weren’t you already going to do that in the shower, my indecent beast?”
Xandar was surprised by her response, and the way she looked at him made his animal emit the dangerous yet alluring growl, the one which instigated Lucianne’s arousal. Xandar lifted Lucianne up and carried her over his shoulder, squeezing her bum with his free hand to elicit her cute moans as he made his way to the bathroom.
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Some significant distance from the hotel, an underground casino just opened for business. The place was filled with large roulette tables, brightly-lit slot machines, gambling chips and numerous decks of cards. Lycans who crowded the place cheered for their friends, booed their opponents, slammed the tables at losses, and treated everyone to a round of drinks at victories.
A female Lycan was searching high and low before finally locating the person she came for. She casually slid into the seat opposite him in his private booth, seemingly undaunted by his menacing expression When she smirked, he asked, “Do you want me to throw you out again, Livia?”