Chapter 699: She Will Honor His Name

Serena understood all of the arguments presented. Her eyes went to Beta Sharpe with everyone else’s, because his opinion would be the closest mirror to Finnick’s, and that was the compass she was going to follow.

The Beta seemed to be weighing all of the arguments equally.

"With respect to the elders, my stance is we send our Queen," he answered after a moment. "I understand that precedent is the Alpha King attends with his Beta, Gamma, Master Mage, a captain, and one elder. But the reasoning behind that precedent is that every pack sends their strongest minds and leaders. I am asking this council a direct question: why would we choose to deploy anything less than ours? Even if Alpha Shadowclaw were not incapacitated, I would want our Luna Queen to sit in on that council because of her mind. And if we don’t deploy her for this, we as leadership are communicating to the pack that we are not backing her and that couldn’t be the furthest thing from the truth."

He looked at the elders. Each one. The looking was respectful, unhurried, and carrying zero deference to the arguments that had preceded his.

"This woman called upon a dragon army in the middle of the night. She defended this kingdom with zero casualties. She commands the loyalty of every warrior on our walls. The Alphas at that council will survive seeing a Luna Queen in Shadowclaw’s seat. We would be foolish to send anyone else."

Elder Callum held Beta Sharpe’s gaze for a long moment. The moment was the moment of an elder whose caution was sound and whose caution had just been outranked by a Beta whose argument was sounder.

"The Beta, Gamma, Master Mage, and Captain Ravenhall will accompany her," Elder Callum agreed after a few seconds, the concession delivered with measured dignity, yielding ground to logic rather than pressure. "And one elder. If the Alpha’s condition is questioned, I want our Queen flanked by Shadowclaw’s full command structure. No gaps. No openings."

"It is done. The Luna Queen shall attend," Elder Voss said.

Elder Callum and Elder Williams gave a single nod.

Gamma Knox mirrored it. Aeron, from the wall, said nothing, which was his version of unanimous consent.

Shadowclaw had made its decision. The Luna Queen would attend.

Serena looked at the table. Every elder and officer had arrived at the same destination through different doors. The destination was her. The doors were caution and pragmatism and the grudging, hard-won acknowledgment that the woman in the chair had demonstrated that the chair was hers and the council’s job was to ensure she sat in it surrounded by enough authority to make the sitting unassailable.

"I want this council to know that I understand the weight of what you are giving me. Confidence is not a small thing. It is not freely given in this room, and it should not be. You have placed yours in me, and I will carry it with the seriousness it deserves. When Shadowclaw enters that council, we enter as one. They will not be speaking to me. They will be speaking to us. And we will answer accordingly."

"When is the council called for?" Aeron asked.

"Today. Before dusk. Stormveil Keep. Neutral ground. The main council chamber seats every Alpha delegation on the continent," Gamma Knox replied.

The name carried weight. Stormveil was the traditional venue for emergency continental summits, a fortress built on land claimed by no pack and maintained by all of them. Going to Stormveil meant this was beyond bilateral negotiation. Going to Stormveil meant the continent was operating at a threat level that required every seat filled and every voice heard.

There are three ways to handle an incapacitated king: lie about it, hide from it, or send his uncrowned queen into a room full of wolves and dare them to question it. Shadowclaw had just chosen door three.

???

SHADOWCLAW — ALPHA’S CHAMBERS

Serena stood in front of the mirror and did not recognize the woman looking back.

She rarely wore makeup. Right now, she had it on because of her busted lip and the bruise under her eye. The makeup did not help the lip. It did not completely cover the bruise either. But the look was oddly working for her in a fucked up way.

Crown on. The one from the vault that she had worn at the last war summit. The one Aeron had mentioned to her was worn by only a few queens. The one that presented itself to her.

The dress she wore was one Fin had given her the night he surprised her with a celebration announcing her future crowning as his Luna. She had been expecting dinner and drinks and instead found herself in a large ballroom with hundreds of people.

Back when he wanted her as his Luna. Past tense. The current status of that was a question mark.

She glanced at the bed, where he looked peaceful. Walked over to him and gave his hand a squeeze.

"Regardless of what happens with you and me, I want you to know that I will always protect Shadowclaw." Her voice cracked. "And I will honor your name."

She knew he couldn’t hear her. But she said it to him anyway. She was probably the only person talking to him because a coma was a coma but she would continue to do it.

She moved back to the dressing table.

Dangling gold earrings next. Another gift from Finnick Shadowclaw.

One more glance in the mirror and the woman staring back at her looked like a real queen.

Cloak on. It was formal Shadowclaw Luna Queen attire that Fin had commissioned for her coronation, even though he hadn’t set a date yet. She had found it concealed in their closet and knew what it was. He had probably been planning to surprise her with it.

Everything she was wearing was from a man who told her to get the fuck out. But she didn’t have a Shadowclaw cloak outside of this. Grief and guilt aside, she was going to execute the task to the best of her ability, even if that meant wearing gifts that made her sad. It wasn’t like she was planning on keeping any of it. In fact, she felt pretty crappy putting it on. But this wasn’t about her. She was representing Shadowclaw, and she wasn’t going to let her personal feelings interfere with that responsibility.