The Lycan King (Book 1)
Chapter 22. Court Hearing

Avalyn

Today was the day of the court hearing. I was ready at eight in the morning and the hearing started at nine thirty sharp. Andrei was with me the entire time and I had not seen Nikolai since the morning. I knew he was very busy but I was feeling very nervous and I needed him to be with me. "Don't worry Avalyn, Alpha is the one who will carry out the ceremony and I have no doubt that you will do good.” He smiled at me. We were on our way to the building where it would take place.

"He is a fair Alpha, I will be presented like a rogue in front of him and I have to prove that I am better now, right?" I asked him.

"Not necessarily. It's different every time. But that was what happened the last time." He replied and took a left turn.

We came to a stop at the end of the street and I was gawking at the mansion in front of me. It was almost twice the size of the one we stayed in.

"Impressive, I know. You should check out the interior."Andrei smiled and opened my door.

"Thank you. Who stays here anyways?" I asked.

"The Alpha was supposed to stay here but Nikolai prefers staying by the bay and likes his own space which we don't get in the town so we shifted there.” He shrugged.

All I could do was gawk at the mansion. Castle was the right word. It was made for royalty. He really was the king. The interior was even better with the vintage vibe. There were big chandeliers and the had splashed of golden red and royal purple everywhere. To say it was extravagant was putting it lightly. I have never seen anything like it. And I liked the place.?

"I'll have to leave you here. I have ordered the guards to keep an eye on you. You will be safe. Just come in through those doors when your name is called.” Andrei told me as he pointed towards a set of double doors guarded by two men.

I nodded at him. He left quickly after that. I looked around to see that there was one huge scary looking man, who looked at me and I quickly averted my eyes. Then I saw one little girl, one boy and my heart filled with sadness for them, the girl looked like she was three and the boy about ten years old. They were clearly siblings. They belonged in a pack with their family. Then there was a man with a scar down his face. Lastly, there was a pregnant woman and my eyes widened. She shouldn't have to be here. Where was her family?

"Emily Withorn.” The guard called out. The pregnant girl stood up and walked through the double doors.

"John Mayors." The guard called out and the huge man stood up and walked in.

"Avalyn Alvarez." The guard called me in next. I stood up from my seat and entered the court room. My gaze fell on Master, sitting on the throne, looking at me with those piercing grey eyes, his expression was cold and impassive but his eyes spoke volumes. He looked every inch of the Alpha he was. A step below him was Dimitri, Vladimir, Mikhail and Andrei. And then a step below them were everyone else. There was a red carpet in the middle and the pack members were sitting on either side of it.

I was guided towards my seat where I sat down. After me came the man with the scar and the siblings after him.

"Good morning everyone. We have gathered here today for the yearly court hearing. Without further ado, lets get started.” Andrei announced.

"Rogues, step forward.” Andrei announced and we did as we were told. We were guided by the guards to stand in the middle of the carpeted aisle.

"State your reason to leave your pack.” Andrei told.

"I slept with the Alpha and got pregnant but he didn't want to mark me. He met his mate recently and she didn't want me around so she forced me to leave the pack.” Emily said.

"I got kicked out of the pack because I killed one twat who was harassing my mate. The Alpha didn't allow my mate to leave with me because he didn't want a female to be a rogue. I promised my mate that I would be back for her though." John said.

"The new Alpha killed my father who was the former Alpha and kept me captive. I was rescued recently.” I told the watered down version of the truth.

"The alpha has a stick up his ass and I wanted my freedom so I left the pack.” Peter, the guy with the scar said.

It was the kid's turn now. "W-we ran away," Adrian said as he clenched Vanessa, his little sister's hand. They both looked terrified but the boy was stepping up for his sister. "The Alpha was a bad man." He nodded.

"All of you will be given a situation and that will decide your fate, you can join the Rogue Pack. You all can take your seats.” Vladimir said as he got up.

I returned back to the chair I was sat on before and waited. For some reason, the time slowed down as I looked in Master's eyes. He was already staring at me. I could feel that he believed in me, he knew I would be able to do the task I was given.

Vladimir walked to Emily and whispered something in her ear and then placed his palm her head. Then did the same with John.

"L??sku alebo strach.” He whispered in my ear and placed him palm on top of my head.

Then he did the same with Peter and then Adrian and Vanessa. He flicked his fingers and suddenly my eyes closed.

A light blue eyed lady in white dress and pale blond - almost white hair appeared in front of me. She looked so beautiful, so peaceful that I wanted to go and hug her. But I didn't want to taint her by touching her.

"I am you Avalyn." She gave me a soft smile.

"How is that possible?" I asked her, but my voice sounded so far away.

"Believe in something and it's possible, my child.” She replied. The smile was still there on her face, calming me.

It didn't make sense, but somehow I understood what she was trying to tell me.

"You have to save Nikolai, Avalyn."

"Lead them all to victory.”

"Brighten the darkness.”

"The time is coming.”

Then she faded away, slowly and then all at once.

I opened my eyes and saw that everyone was looking at me with wide eyes. For some reason, it didn't bother me at all. I felt more peace than I had ever felt in my entire life. I had no idea who that woman was but she was a blessing to me.

I looked around and all the rogue’s eyes were open. It was done. I looked at Master and saw that his gaze had not wavered from me. I gave him a small smile but he didn't react to it. I understood that he had to maintain a front in front of everyone here. His sweet smiles and laugh was reserved only for me. I was content with that.

"Emily Withorn- rejected.” Vladimir announced. Why would master do that? She was pregnant and she and the child needed protection!

"John Mayors- rejected.” Vladimir announced again. Were they rejecting everyone? He had said that he was protecting his mate from harassment and he was rejected? I didn't understand this system. "Avalyn Alvarez- accepted.” Vladimir announced. I breathed in relief. I knew Master would accept me but I still feel relieved.

Similarly, Peter, Adrian and Vanessa were accepted. Accepting the kids was understood, but accepting Peter because he didn't want to live according to rules? I had so many questions. "Andrei, lead Emily and John out.” Dimitri said.

Emily was crying as she was handcuffed by the guards and John looked angry. They both were guided out by some guards.

"The acceptance ceremony will now begin.” Dimitri announced

"Avalyn, step forward.” He said. I got up from my seat and walked ahead. I stepped on the first level where a gold cup was placed.

Master got up from his throne and stood in front of me.

"Kneel.” He ordered.

I kneeled on my right knee in front of him and looked up at him.

"Do you, Avalyn Alvarez, agree to be a loyal member of the Rogue pack?" Master asked in his deep voice.

"I do." I said softly.

"Do you agree to respect, honour and obey me?" His voice rang out.

"l do."

"Do you vow to give your life for this pack, if needed?" He asked.

“l do."

"Stand up." He ordered.

I stood up in front of him. He took the knife that was in the bowl and took a hold of his hand before making a small cut in the middle of my palm. He looked in my eyes and I looked back without flinching. These small cuts didn't bother me anymore. He brought my hand over the cup and squeezed some drops of blood in it. Then he used the knife to make a cut in his palm and then squeezed some of his blood in the bowl too. The blood sizzled when it mixed together and then turned into water before evaporating.

"The Rogue pack, I present you Avalyn Alvarez, a part of the Rogue pack, rightful heir of? the Monta?a Pack and the future Luna of the Rogue Pack." Master announced and the whole pack burst into cheers.

I blushed at his words and gave a small smile to everyone. I had no idea that he was going to tell everyone about me today itself. I knew I told him I wanted to meet everyone but I expected a much more informal meeting. I blushed further under their stare.

"She will officially become the Luna during the Luna ceremony but I expect everybody to address her as such from now on." He ordered and the pack happily agreed. They all clearly respected and loved him very much.

I stood by his side as he did the acceptance ceremony of Peter and then the kids. Everything was same except he didn't squeeze their blood in the bowl, he shook hands with them to seal the bond. After that was done, the party started. The mansion had a big backyard where a buffet was laid and all the pack members were having their lunch. Music was going on and people were chatting and dancing and basically having fun.

This was my first time being around so many people but I felt at ease. I wasn't scared or uncomfortable as I had expected to be. I had been introduced to more people than I had met in my entire life. My head was buzzing with names. But at the end, I was happy.

The sun was going down and the party was towards the end when the music slowed down. The pups were running here and there while the couples started slow dancing.

"What are you waiting for? Nikolai is waiting for you." Natalia said from besides me, motioning towards Nikolai who was on the other side of the backyard with her head.

"Thanks." I murmured as I started walking towards him.

I was captivated by his gaze. He was also walking towards me. I saw a female stop him, for like the tenth time today. I paused. Something that didn't settle well with me was the attention he got by the she wolves. Good thing we didn't stay in the town. And another good thing was that he didn't pay attention to any girl.

I saw him say something to her before he came to a stop in front of me.

"I expected you to come rescue me." He told me as he put a lock of my hair behind my ear.

"I didn’t know I was supposed to do that. I'll do it from now." I whispered.

He played with my fingers before bringing my hands up and putting them around his neck. It felt very intimate. His hands came around my waist and he lifted me up and made me stand on his shoes, making me come up till his chin now. I didn't know how my heels weren't hurting him.

But if he didn't mind, I wasn't going to mind either. He bent his head down and rested his forehead against mine and swayed to the music.

"I love you Ava." He whispered softly in my ear.

"I love you too Nik." I whispered back.

"Nik?" He asked with amused eyes.

"I thought that since you have a nickname for me, I should give you a one too." I said shyly.

"The last person to call me Nik was my mother." He said softly.?

Did I overstep by calling him Nik?

"I love it." He smiled widely.

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