Chapter 25 - Privilege and Pressure

As Kai arrived at the palace the palace guards saluted his arrival. He had arrived later than he had planned and the council meeting was already underway with his father in attendance. As he walked through the palace doors, one of the young soldiers raced up to greet him.

"Hey Kai!" the young solider walked in step with Kai's fast past.

"Hey Nate, what are you doing here?" Kai queried. Kai peered back briefly to acknowledge his presence but continued walking quickly.

"Arrow mentioned that he wouldn't be able to attend your meeting with you today so I asked if I could attend in his place. I hope you don't mind?" he asked eagerly.

Nate was Arrow's younger brother. At 19 years old he had newly joined the royal guard as part of the Blue Moon Pack. Whilst he was still a bit wet behind the ears when it came to actual battle experience, he was keen to prove himself and looked up to both his brother and Kai when it came to fighting. His ash brown hair was shaved close on the sides but he kept it long on the top in small braids. Unlike his brother he was pretty short for a male shifter at 5'10 and was leaner than most too, but he had shown his worth in training.

"Sure, why not." Kai responded indifferently.

When they made it to the King's council room Kai pushed open the heavy wooden doors and entered. The oval room was adorned with the Blue Moon pack's colours, then had emblems on the wall to represent the eight pack houses that formed Galas. All of the key decisions for the whole of Galas were made in this room. At the far side of the room Kai's father sat in a large opulent wooden chair, whilst his council men and other subjects sat around the table or in the viewing gallery.

Two of the council men were already in heated discussion going through the key agenda items for the day. Kai noted Melody and Elias were already in attendance, both in their formal attire. Matias sat directly next to their father. Nate moved to the side in the viewing gallery and sat alongside the other royal guards whilst Kai proceeded to walk round the large table to where his father sat on the far side. As he walked round, a few of the council men nodded in his direction. Once he reached his father Kai knelt down and kissed the ring on his father's hand.

"Apologies for my late attendance father." Kai spoke with his eyes to the ground in submission of his King.

The two council men that had been talking heatedly stopped their discussion hearing his arrival.

"Glad you could find the time in your busy schedule to join us little brother." Matias spoke up. Matias was sat in the chair directly to the right of his father with his arms crossed. Kai ignored Matias' little quip and looked up to his father for instruction.

Maddox and Kai were the spitting image of each other. Both Kai and Matias had inherited their arctic blue eyes from him but Kai's blue black hair was a trait of his mother. Since the passing of his mother Kaia, Maddox's fated mate, his health had declined. Matias had started to take more of their father's duties, and he would often excuse himself early from particular functions.
His jet black hair and coarse beard had started to turn grey at the roots. Even though he was no longer in the prime of his life he still had a very commanding presence and could silence a room with the smallest of gestures. Everyone respected him thoroughly and he had helped Galas to become the prosperous place it was today through his many notable achievements over the years.

Maddox silently nodded and gestured for Kai to take a seat alongside his other siblings. His step mother Ophelia, who was sitting dutifully next to Maddox on his left, gave Kai a warm smile and squeezed his shoulder softly before he stood up to take his seat next to Melody.

"Please continue." Maddox nodded to one of the council men.

"Certainly, your majesty" he continued. "As I was saying, this is the fourth time that rogues from Sirran have crossed the Southern territory border in to Eclipse Fang pack lands and attacked the shifters living there. Five shifters were killed in their most recent attack, and we believe several of the rogues have now settled in the north of Eclipse Fang claiming it as their own. Council man Grayson, the alpha of Eclipse Fang pack is now missing, presumed dead and as each day passes the Sirran army grow bolder. Therefore, your grace, it is imperative that we act both fast and swiftly to rectify this situation now before they attempt to move further inland."

The announcement of Grayson being missing was new news to Kai. Grayson was one of the few good ones on the council. His absence would definitely be felt if he were indeed dead.

"Understood Lucas," Maddox responded. Lucas was the Alpha of the Storm Forrest pack in the south of Galas. He was also the father of Matias' new mate and wife Elora. Since their union Lucas was becoming bolder in directing discussions in the King's council and often acted as Maddox's chief adviser when it came to important decision making.

"And what would be your proposal to deal with the situation?" Maddox prompted.

"We send a number of skilled shifters in to dispatch these foreign invaders as quickly and swiftly as possible. They're estimated to be no more than 10. My recommendation would be to send His Royal Highness Kaiden and his royal guards who are the most experienced at stealth missions, proceeded by a secondary scout group further west of the border to look at how they gained entry." Lucas locked eyes with Kai in acknowledgment of his recommendation.

Indeed, Kai and his small army of shifters were commonly used for covert operations, so it made sense, but he had noticed that his name was being dropped more and more often when it came to recommendations to fight on the front lines. He was sure it wasn't a coincidence but if they thought he was going to fall to a couple of rogues any time soon they'd be sorely mistaken.

Maddox looked over his shoulder without making eye contact with Kai. "What say you son?"

Kai nodded in his King's direction. "It would be my honour to fight for you as always father."

Maddox looked back to Lucas, "Fine, I'll go along with your recommendation Lucas. Kaiden make preparations and depart as soon possible."

"Yes, your majesty." Kai nodded in recognition of his father's request.

"Father" Melody piped up "I would also be honoured to lead the scout party on the west side of Eclipse Fang." Melody was one of only a very few female battle leaders. She was a talented fighter but often had to fight to be accepted and acknowledged as such by her peers in such a male dominated society. She had proven herself on numerous occasions but often had to put herself forward to get the opportunities to do so.

Maddox smiled secretly in her direction. Her father had admired her for her efforts in trying to evoke change. "Agreed."

Melody nodded in her father's direction. "Thank you, your majesty."

Maddox coughed discreetly in to his closed fist. "If that's all left on the agenda, lets conclude for today. You're all excused."

Everyone saluted him before they started making their way towards the exit of the oval room.

As Maddox stood he motioned to Kai. "Kaiden, stay behind a moment. Your mother and I wish to speak with you." As the room emptied, Matias looked back suspiciously before closing the heavy wood door.

Kai knelt in front of his father. "Yes father?"

"Stand, we're alone now. You know there's no need for formalities in private."

Kai stood and looked at both his mother and father who both had warm smiles for him.

"Melody told me you were staying in our summer home in Valley Banes the past few days." Maddox continued. Kai clenched his teeth feeling slightly anxious about where this conversation was going. Melody had promised him that she wasn't going to tell their father about Adalyn or the threats made against him. He could only hope that she had kept her word.

"You know, in your position it's important that you don't suddenly just take off unannounced. Your absence just gives the council more reason to discredit you. Whilst Matias is taking on a more active role in supporting me, I want to highlight that your role in the palace is just as important. I need you to understand that and encourage you to continue to conduct yourself appropriately."

Discredit me? Kai thought. If only that's all they were trying to do.

"My apologies father, I'll be sure to be more considerate of my my actions in the future." Kai apologized. He was hoping that he wouldn't ask much more about his recent absence.

"Speaking of future." Ophelia interrupted. "I'm conscious that you're nearing the age where you should take a mate soon and it might be worth us starting to look at possible matches for you. Matias took so long to decide on one. It can't hurt to start looking at options."

Kai paled at the thought. His mother was obsessed with match-making and it was something he had been avoiding for months by deliberately missing the balls and social gatherings that she used to throw.

"Mother, I really don't think now is the time, besides shouldn't you be focusing on arranging a mate for Elias."

Ophelia's whole body slumped. "That child is a nightmare. Unfortunately, his reputation precedes him both in and outside the palace walls. He makes more enemies than friends with his promiscuous ways. Let just say there aren't too many fathers willing to put forward their daughters as possible matches for him." She looked up at Maddox for support. "I really wish you'd talk to him Maddox."

Maddox rolled his eyes and gave Kai a short smile. This was quite clearly not the first time that she had confided in Maddox about this.

"Anyway…" Ophelia continued "I intend to throw a ball to celebrate your inevitable victory upon your return. Would be a good opportunity to test the pool of possible candidates, so to speak." She gave Kai a quick wink. His step-mother was very cunning. If she intended to throw this party to celebrate his victory, he'd be guest of honour which would make it next to impossible for him to avoid it. Kai looked to his dad for support. In this situation, he was the only one who could shut this down.

"Humor your mother for me or I won't hear the end of it. Attending social functions is also good for your position."

*'Traitor!'* Kai thought to himself. "Fine. I'll attend." Kai resigned. He hated royal social functions and definitely had no intentions of finding anyone, but if he showed his face that would hopefully satisfy her and reduce the likelihood of further attempts to meddle in his personal life for a while.

"Fabulous!" Ophelia clapped her hands together and began to float out of the room feeling content. Seeing how happy she was Kai was already regretting his decision. She was going to go overboard. She always went overboard.

Maddox patted Kai on the back after seeing the dejected look on his face. "Once you're back there are few more things that I want to discuss with you, but for now, continue to make me proud son."