Alpha's STOLEN Mate Chapter 158

Elowen

Kaius waved his hand dismissively. "Just a routine council meeting. Very important, yes, but nothing you need to stress about! Several Alphas will be attending—standard territorial discussions."

His casual tone made my hackles rise. "Wait—'nothing to stress about' implies there's something I should be worried about. What aren't you telling me?"

Kaius's expression flickered—that telltale look of someone who'd said too much.

"Who else is attending?" I pressed. "And what exactly is on the agenda?"

He opened his mouth to answer, then suddenly snapped his fingers like he'd just remembered something urgent. "Oh! Right! I completely forgot—Frost and I have critical business to discuss before the meeting. I really need to—" He was already moving toward the door. "Don't worry! I'll have someone escort you to the council chamber this afternoon!"

And then he was gone.

I stood there, staring at the door he'd just escaped through. "That coward."

A terrible sense of foreboding settled in my stomach.

My instincts proved correct the moment I entered the council chamber that afternoon.

Sera. Kaius's mother. Sitting at the far end of the table with that damned veil obscuring most of her face, though I could see the slight curve of a smile beneath it.

Aldric, Kaius's father, sat as far from her as the seating arrangement allowed—deliberately maintaining distance, as if proximity might contaminate him.

I took my seat beside Kaius, who suddenly seemed very interested in the papers in front of him, refusing to meet my eyes.

Fucking coward indeed.

The meeting itself had nothing to do with Sera—at least not initially. The Alphas discussed territorial disputes, debated resource allocation for newly cleared wilderness lands, argued about trade routes and border patrols. Standard pack politics that should have been straightforward.

I sat beside Kaius and listened, my mind tracking every argument, every weak point in their reasoning, formulating responses and counterpoints. I wanted to speak up—several times, Alphas made suggestions that I fundamentally disagreed with. One proposed a resource distribution that would leave the smaller packs struggling. Another suggested border changes that would disadvantage packs without strong military presence.

Old me would have jumped in immediately. Would have argued, debated, forced them to see reason.

But I remained silent, my hands folded in my lap, playing the role of supportive queen.

This was my first council meeting as Queen, not as an Alpha in my own right. Somehow, without consciously deciding to, I'd shifted my entire identity. Stopped thinking of myself as the leader of my pack and started thinking of myself as... what? Kaius's accessory? His political partner? A pretty crown-bearer with no real voice?

The realization made me deeply uncomfortable. When had that transformation happened? When had I stopped trusting my own judgment, my own authority? Was this what becoming Queen meant—slowly erasing who I'd been before?

Throughout the meeting, I felt Sera's gaze on me like a physical weight. Every time I glanced in her direction, she was watching, nodding with clear approval, that obscured smile widening with satisfaction.

She was pleased that I was keeping quiet. Pleased that I was playing the submissive, decorative queen she'd probably always been.

Fuck. I'm becoming exactly what she wants me to be.

The thought made my blood boil, but I forced myself to remain calm. To observe. To wait and see where this was leading.

Finally, as the meeting drew to a close and Alphas began gathering their papers and making polite farewells, Sera rose gracefully to her feet.

Every cell in my body went on high alert. My wolf stirred uneasily. Here it comes.

"Since our official business has concluded," Sera's voice carried that deceptively gentle quality I'd come to loathe—sugar coating poison, "I hope you'll indulge me for just a few moments. As the former Queen, I have some concerns I'd like to address. Matters of tradition and precedent that I feel we cannot ignore."

Aldric's expression shifted to obvious discomfort, his eyes darting between his mate and his son. Kaius's face went carefully blank, but I saw his jaw tighten, saw the way his hands curled into fists beneath the table.

When both of the men closest to me showed that kind of reaction, I knew with absolute certainty where this was heading.

This is about me. Of course it's about me. Everything always comes back to this.

Sera clasped her hands together in front of her, the picture of concerned motherly wisdom. "We all know that our legendary Queen is the White Wolf—powerful beyond measure, responsible beyond question, capable beyond doubt. She served as Alpha for her pack for four long years, protecting them through circumstances that would have broken most leaders. She's accomplished more than most Alphas achieve in several lifetimes."

She paused strategically, letting the praise settle and soften the room before delivering the blade hidden beneath the compliments.

"However." That single word cut through the warm atmosphere like a knife through silk. "Now that Elowen has become our Queen, now that her pack has merged completely with Kaius's, now that her people are finally safe under the full protection of the kingdom..." Another calculated pause. "I believe—and I think many of you will agree—that she no longer needs to maintain her Alpha status. Don't you think it's time to let that burden go?"