Page 68 of Rejected By the Shifter King

Epilogue

EXCITED MURMURS ROSEin the air as the ornately carved twenty-foot-tall doors of the red-and-gold Cathedral were finally thrown open. In moments, the entire place was filled to the topmost rows of the gallery, so much so that the avian preters had shifted into their other form in order to perch themselves on window ledges and the bronze arms that curved from the hundreds of chandeliers hanging suspended from the domed ceiling.

It was rare for all 308 ruling seats to be filled, and even rarer for all ten members of the Blood Oval to be in attendance.It only showed just how much tonight's Assembly mattered, Estrella thought uneasily,not only to her and the Faes but to every member of L'Alliance.

A female Invisa soon stepped up to the dais, and a hushed silence swept over the crowd. Invisas were Caro females who dedicated their lives to work anonymously for the Brethren, which was the governing body of their race.

The Invisa called for Lysander to step forward, and Estrella's heart literally ached. People would probably say she was being biased, but she didn't really think so. She was absolutely certain he became more ethereally beautiful each day, with the way his ebony hair turned into the most mesmerizing shade of violet under the moonlight and the way his eyes gleamed—-

I can hear you all the way from here, my Star.He saw Estrella turn pink and had to lower his gaze to hide his smile.

"On the matter of the membership of Prince Lysander's," the Invisa was saying, "it has been decided that the Blood Oval shall have the final say—-"

Gasps broke out all over the cathedral, and Estrella fought to keep her expression blank even as she struggled with her own incredulity. Her worried gaze flew to Lysander's direction, and her gaze immediately collided with her husband's. It was as if he had already been expecting her to worry, and his smile curved ever so slightly just as his gruffly soothing voice purred into his mind.

Be at ease, my wife.The words had its intended effect, and his amusement deepened when the color of her cheeks deepened even as she gave him a resolute nod.

Oui, mon mari.

He nearly smirked.

Three...two...one...

She started gnawing on her lip, which he knew was one of her ploys to keep herself from squealing out loud. His beautiful Star was really like no other. She knew calling him 'husband' would have her feeling giddy and embarrassed. It was always like that, and yet she kept doing it anyway, and it had him starting to wonder if she had a masochistic streak hidden inside of her.

"To announce the decision on the membership of Lysander Allard, we invite the heir to the Moretti pack, Domenico Moretti."

Estrella's brows shot up. What?Her head turned sharply to where the rest of the Moretti pack was seated, and the expressions on her family's faces told her they were just as stunned as she was.

Television cameras immediately zoomed in as the Lyccan prince stepped up the dais.

"On the matter of Lysander Allard joining L'Alliance, we, the members of the Blood Oval, unanimously vote—-"

Estrella held her breath.

"Nay."

Pandemonium threatened to break out, but the noise just as abruptly died the moment Domenico's steely gaze swept over the crowd.

"The rules of L'Alliance were not designed with the likes of Lysander Allard in mind, whose soul has been fused with that of an ancient beast. Moreover, verified historical accounts present concrete and consistent evidence of the very simple rules that Ammon lives by. The beast is devoted to its mate, and for as long as Princess Estrella, ruler of the Faes, remain a member of L'Alliance, then Ammon remains on our side as well."

Estrella was beginning to recover from her shock, and as her brain started working again, she also started seeing why the Blood Oval, no doubt at Domenico's urging, had to deny membership to L'Alliance.

Since the public emergence of their kind, many preters had come asking Domenico for help, sharing numerous stories about how humans had come to take advantage of the lax policies of L'Alliance. And in all those instances, Domenico had only a single reply.It isn't yet time to make a move.