Page 70 of An Omega for the Lycan Prince

He nods. “Of course, my love. You know about the Council, ruling over the werewolves and laying down the law?”

“Yes. They also have prisons established in case individual packs can’t deal with a crime on their own, right?”

“Right. Five royal families founded the Council,” he explains. “The original families, the very first wolves. My family line is one of them.”

I can’t believe I forgot about his family’s lineage. “I tend to forget how important you are.”

“The Council is a lot about politics,” he explains. “So, the direct descendants of the families are Crown Princes or Princesses and could take over the throne. The throne is symbolic, but it means becoming the head of the Council and ruling over the other wolves. My father is a Crown Prince. He is one of the descendants next in line. The King or Queen themselves get elected, though. Just being part of an important family isn’t enough – the Council has to want them too. There is no reigning king or queen at the moment. The last king passed away a few years ago, and ever since there has been a discussion about his successor.”

“And your father? Is he high on their wish list?” I want to know.

Liam nods. “My cousin Eric is a Prince of the Council. He is working for them and hence doesn’t belong to a pack. He really wants my father and mother to step up and claim their birthright. However, my father wants to have me take over his pack first before moving to Paris for the Council. In a way, he is stalling. I guess he hoped they would elect someone else in the meantime, but they didn’t. Eric might come off as juvenile to an outsider, but he is incredibly capable, and his opinion weighs a lot. There is no one sitting on the throne now, so the Princes and Princesses of the Council are representative rulers for now.”

“I understand,” I mutter. “But if your father becomes King, doesn’t that make you the next Crown Prince?”

He looks at me in surprise. “You already put two and two together, it seems.”

“What does that mean for me?” I whisper.

“The moment I mark you, your rank will change drastically,” he answers honestly. “You will become a Princess through marriage, you could say. Once we take over the pack, we won't only have an Alpha and Luna ceremony but also an inauguration ceremony. It’s a symbolic ceremony. There is no real crown, but there is a blood oath, and members of the Council will be present. We will pledge loyalty to our pack and the Council as descendants of the Royal Lycans. For you, it means that the Council will bless you with a few powers that normally only Lycans possess. You will be graced with a longer life, like Lycans. And you will become a Princess of the Council.”

I thought my only problem would be becoming Luna, which is already a crazy thought for me, but… a Princess of the Council? “Do you think I can do this?” I whisper.

“Absolutely,” he kisses the palm of my hand. “I do not doubt it. Besides, Annalise, for now, the ceremony will only be symbolic. We are not working for the Council, not yet. First, my father needs to take the crown, and then we might climb up a few ranks. For now, we will only be Alpha and Luna of our pack. You have a lot of time to prepare for this.”

That does make me feel a bit better. After he has finished his explanation, I can only stare at him wide-eyed. I already knew some of these things beforehand, but I never really put much thought into it because it didn’t involve me. I swallow. “Okay,” I say.

He stares at me. “Did you really just agree?”

“I will need some time to wrap my head around this,” I admit quietly, reaching out my arms to pull him into a hug. “But…you are my mate, and there is no way I will chicken out of this.”

He sighs out his relief.

I allow us a moment of relaxing silence before I gather all my courage and look at him. “I want to meet him.” I know he won’t like it, but since we are laying it all in the open now, we need to get this over with too. And I personally think this here… might even be more important than meeting the parents.

“Who?”

“Fenris. I want to meet your wolf.”

I will hurt you.

Even if it’s unintentional, I can’t take the risk of hurting you.

It’s too dangerous.

There are too many risks.

You aren’t prepared.

All the reasons keep raining down on me. Liam repeats them over and over again. Despite having warmed up towards me and having his guard down when he is with me, he suddenly has all the blinds up again.

It hurts a bit. But I can understand it as well.

“Liam,” I look him directly in the eye. I’m not scared of him, but the way he looks at me now makes my knees weak, and it’s not necessarily the good kind of weak. I can’t allow myself to falter now, though. I know I’m challenging him, but I have to. “I trust you,” I emphasize while I step closer to him. I bare my neck to him so he understands that I’m willing to submit. “I trust you,” I repeat, feeling his arm around my waist. He basically smashes me against his body. “I trust you,” I repeat.

“Annalise,” he mutters.

I take a deep breath, hating how my voice shakes slightly. “Do you trust me too?”