King Alaric’s P.O.V. That Cousin of mine is a smart young woman, she knew she had the right to speak and she is not afraid to stand up for what she believes is right. Kijani didn’t look surprised at her words, so I guess Armas explained that to him. I knew Armas lost his Daughter and that her Mate had enlisted in my Army, but I never knew the circumstances. If what Taliyah saw was as bad as she described then I am glad she stopped me from speaking. When she explains how she was able to see the image, I am stunned and I know that I am not the only one. “Your Majesty, when will you turn over the throne?” Vivyanna asks and I tell her what Taliyah and I agreed upon, she nods her head. The Council understands that Taliyah has a lot to learn and Armas tells her he will be dropping by the next day to start with her studies. “Thank you, Council-member Armas. I can’t wait to get started, even though I hope it will take me years to learn everything I need to know to take over. I like not having the responsibility right now, because at least now I can leave the boring stuff to that one.” She says as she points at me and she looks at me with a huge grin on her face. Vivyanna and Atlas ask for my attention and we walk over to some chairs near the door. Atlas asks me what I know about Ayden and his history, so I tell him everything I heard from Taliyah. They want to know if I think if there is a chance that he might change, but I can’t answer that question. I don’t know Ayden, so I am clueless as to what kind of a person he was or could be. “I don’t think Ayden can change.” I hear Xandros say behind me and Atlas gestures at him to sit down. Xandros’ P.O.V. I hear the question one of the Council-members asks Alaric and his response is the truth, Alaric wouldn’t know the answer to that question. So I answer instead and the Council-member points to a chair and I sit down. “My apologies for interrupting, but the King is correct when he says he wouldn’t know the answer. Ayden was always the favorite, after all he was to be the Alpha one day. Most people turned a blind eye to his flaws and mistakes and those that spoke up would never do it again after Talon was through with them. The older he got, the worse it became. He would blame others for things he did and no one dared to talk back. The only time he was a person I might have wanted to be friends with, is the time Taliyah told us about. He had found his fated Mate and everyone could tell that he was changing, until one day he became more brutal than ever before. And because of that I have to say that Ayden is a lost cause.” Once I am done speaking, I look at Alaric and I see surprise in his eyes. So I ask him what is going on. “Xandros, don’t refer to me as the King in private. I am your Cousin, only refer to my title when we are in public.” I chuckle and say “I will try to keep that in mind, as long as you keep in mind that I am new at this, Cousin.” He pats my back and tells me he will. We talk a little while longer with the Council-members and my eyes get drawn to Vivyanna every time. She is a Werewolf, just like me and something tells me she has been around for a long time. Unlike most women, Vivyanna doesn’t give me an uncomfortable feeling and I find it easy to talk to her. “Xandros, where will you be staying now that your Cousins have taken over the Pack?” She asks and I tell her that Barin and Aurora have opened up their home to me. “Well, then you will be in good hands. Barin can teach you everything you need to know about your roll within the Royal Family. But if you ever have any questions he can’t answer, than don’t hesitate to call me.” She says, I nod my head as I have to restrain my Wolf from pushing forward. Princess Maleah’s P.O.V.I watch both my Grandsons as they are talking to the Council-members and I see Xandros’ eyes drift towards Vivyanna constantly. “Remind me to invite Vivyanna to the next Full Moon party.” I say to Dante through our mind-link and the look he gives me tells me that he knows what is on my mind. I mind-link Aurora and Barin “Look at Xandros for a few moments and tell me what you see.” They are quiet for a while as they watch him, like I did. “I think there might be something. Can you guys help me out here? I think it is good for him to be around a woman who sees him for who he is.” Barin agrees with me and because he heard the last part of their conversation, he knows exactly how to proceed with this. Dante puts his hands around me from behind and nuzzles my neck, peppering my mark with little kisses. I push myself closer to his body and feel his cock pressing in my back. I move my backside over his groin and I hear him softly growl. “If we are all done here, I would like to go home. Not that I want to be in that deathtrap so soon again.” Taliyah says. “I just want to go home and forget about today for a while.” I walk over to her and remind her that she will have to ride up that deathtrap in a week and I hear her growl at my words. “Thanks for nothing, Grandmother.” And I hear Dante chuckle behind me. As we walk towards the elevators, Malachay lifts her up bridal-style and Ward opens the door to the stairwell. She tries to object, but her Mates are not listening and I know that Malachay will carry her down the stairs. “Fuck.” I hear Amand mutter, before he also heads in to the stairwell. Standing in the elevator, I explain to the Council-members that Taliyah hates riding the elevator and what happened last time. We all have a good laugh at Amand’s expense and Vivyanna asks Xandros how he feels about riding the elevator. “Truth be told, I’d rather listen to Ayden sing.” We all stare at him and he shrugs his shoulders as he says “He really sucks at it.” We all burst in to laughter at the horrified look on his face.