Moonfire:Chosen by the Lycan king

Maximus's POV

The council chamber buzzed with quiet hostility long before the meeting began. The air was thick with power—old power, brittle and rigid, like the minds that sat at the curved stone table.

I stood at the head of it all, arms folded behind my back, staring out the tall window toward the training grounds. I could see Althea far below, her silver hair catching the wind as she sparred with Kaelani. Even from a distance, she was breathtaking—fierce and fluid, unshaken.

I needed that calm right now.

Behind me, advisors murmured over scrolls. Elders shifted in their seats. The room smelled of leather, ink, and tension.

Lucien leaned close. "They're going to test your patience."

"Then they can test the strength of my control," I muttered.

He gave me a half-smile. "You sure you don't want me to speak for you today?"

"I need them to hear me. And to remember who commands this realm."

The High Scribe banged his staff once against the stone floor. "The Crown Council is in session."

I turned, letting my expression harden as I took my seat. My Beta sat to my right. Elder Varric of the Northern Wilds spoke first.

"Your Majesty, the situation along the Frostwood border has worsened. Three more patrol units have gone missing. One confirmed dead. The others… vanished."

Murmurs spread.

Elder Nyra leaned forward, her silver braids trembling with the motion. "And now rogues have been sighted near the eastern rivers. That's dangerously close to the inner packs."

"The incidents are not random," Lucien added. "They're coordinated."

"That would suggest leadership," Elder Thorne said, stroking his chin. "Rogues don't have leaders. Unless…"

He looked at me with narrowed eyes.

"Unless they're following someone who used to be one of us."

A few heads turned in silent agreement.

I clenched my jaw. "I've already ordered increased patrols. Southern reserves are being reassigned. We're also sending Seeker wolves to track any surviving patrols."

Nyra nodded. "Efficient. But we must also address the disruption within our own walls."

I knew what was coming next.

"Your mate," Elder Alric said, tone sharp as broken glass. "Her arrival has unsettled the balance."

"She has brought no harm to this court," I said calmly.

"She's untested. Rejected. Unfit," Thorne snapped. "A Luna should be chosen from strength, not sympathy."

A low growl escaped before I could stop it.

Lucien tensed beside me.

My lycan stirred violently inside, clawing at the edge of my control. Let me speak. Let them feel what disrespect costs.

"She is not your concern," I said coldly.

"She is if she weakens the crown," Alric said. "The people are whispering. Your judgment is being questioned."

That was the final push.

I rose from my seat with a fury that cracked through the room like a silent thunderclap.

A growl deeper than anything human rumbled from my chest. Power surged through my veins as my Alpha aura slammed down over the chamber.

Chairs scraped back. Elders clutched the table. Even seasoned warriors flinched as I released it all—my authority, my command, my wolf's dominance. I didn't shift. I didn't have to.

"You will not speak of her again in that tone," I said, voice low, dangerous, final.

Every head bowed. Even Thorne's lips sealed shut under the force of the Alpha command.

Lucien didn't move. He knew this side of me too well.

Silence reigned for a long, trembling breath.

Then… the chamber doors creaked open.

Everyone turned.

The Royal Seer entered without a sound, her hood draped over her eyes, her steps slow and deliberate. The golden tattoos along her arms shimmered faintly with power.

No one had summoned her.

Which meant the gods had.

She walked past the elders and stood before the council table. Her voice, when it came, was soft—but it rang like prophecy.

"It is beginning."

The room froze.

"The rogue chaos is not the root," she said. "It is a shadow cast by something older. Something waiting to be awakened."

Her eyes, glowing faintly beneath her hood, fixed on me.

"The King and his true Queen," she said. "They are the storm that will burn the darkness. He is fire. She is moon. Their bond is the final balance. The one foretold."

Someone choked. Another elder whispered, "The Prophecy...?"

The Seer nodded. "They are Moonfire reborn."

I couldn't speak. My chest felt tight. Althea…

The doubters who had scoffed at her strength now looked shaken. Faces pale. Eyes wide.

No one dared utter another insult.

Lucien leaned closer. "You just became more than a king."

I stared at the Seer.

And I knew—we were no longer fighting politics.

We were preparing for destiny.