I CLAIMED THE DISCARDED LUNA

Chapter 10: The Sovereign’s Counter Strike

The quiet of the chamber stretched long and heavy after Vane’s admission. The old soldier remained on his knee, his head bowed, waiting for the blade or the order of execution.

Kaelen didn't draw his sword.

He stood above his former commander, looking down at the scarred man who had carried him off the blood of Red Ridge ten years ago. His crimson eyes held no rage only the cold, unyielding weight of a King who had finally taken full possession of his throne.

"Get up, Vane," Kaelen commanded, his deep voice cutting through the silence.

Vane blinked, slowly raising his head. "Sire?"

"You failed me the moment you decided to protect the boy instead of trusting the King," Kaelen said, his tone razor-sharp. "You fought a shadow war alone, and in doing so, you almost handed my continent to traitors."

"I am ready to accept whatever punishment"

"Your punishment," Kaelen interrupted smoothly, "is that you will stand at my right hand tomorrow morning and help us burn this conspiracy to the ground."

Seraphina stepped forward, a calculating glint in her violet eyes as she looked between Kaelen and the stunned former General. "Vane’s arrest was the spark the High Council needed to act. Right now, Lord Regent Varick and the central dukes believe you’re stranded in the Whispering Pass, Vane is powerless under house arrest, and the Royal Crown Guard holds the citadel."

"Which means they are preparing to declare an emergency regency at dawn," Kaelen realized, a dark, lethal smile touching his lips. "Varick will claim the northern border is leaderless and nominate himself to oversee the crown reserves."

"And if they attempt a regency," Seraphina continued, her fingers tracing the perimeter of the desk map, "they will bring the alchemy ledgers to the High Hall to legalize the takeover. They have to prove to the lesser lords that the northern treasury is bankrupt."

Kaelen turned to Vane. "How many men inside the local garrison still answer to your personal signal, General?"

Vane stood up slowly, wiping a hand across his weathered face as a spark of his old, lethal fire returned to his amber eyes. "The 4th Iron Infantry stationed at the lower wall. Three hundred veteran wolves who served under your father. They answer to me... and they answer to you, Sire."

"Good," Kaelen said. "Have your sub-commanders quietly disarm the Crown Guard posts at the lower wall by three in the morning. No noise, no blood unless necessary. Contain them inside the barracks."

"And the High Council?" Vane asked.

Kaelen looked over at Seraphina. She met his gaze, her posture straight, her chin lifted high with that quiet, terrifying intellect that had made him claim her from Silvermoon.

"The High Council expects a broken King and a stateless advisor," Seraphina said softly. "Tomorrow, at the emergency regency assembly... we give them the Sovereign."

The first rays of dawn broke over the high stained-glass windows of the Sovereign Hall.

Lord Regent Varick stood atop the central dais, flanked by twelve high dukes in velvet robes. Below them, dozens of regional lords murmured in hushed, nervous tones. The seats reserved for the King and his Chief Advisor sat empty.

"My lords!" Varick’s booming voice echoed through the arched chamber, amplified by hall magic. "It is with a heavy heart that I announce a tragic turn in our northern defense. Alpha King Kaelen has been delayed in the Whispering Pass by severe mountain storms. Meanwhile, the northern treasury sits in complete disarray following the arrest of General Vane."

Varick raised a heavy parchment decree stamped with the central High Council seal.

"Under Article 9 of the Coalition Charter, the High Council hereby moves to assume temporary financial and military regency over the Frostfang Realm until the King’s return!"

A few southern dukes cheered, while northern lords shifted uncomfortably, looking for an exit.

Before the council clerk could strike the ceremonial gavel to ratify the decree, the massive iron doors at the rear of the hall slammed open with a deafening THUD.

"Article 9 requires the absolute absence of the Sovereign, Lord Regent," a resonant, lethal voice boomed down the central aisle.

The entire hall fell dead silent.

Alpha King Kaelen strode into the sunlight, clad in heavy black dragon scale armor, his dark fur cloak sweeping behind him. His crimson eyes flared with crushing, unadulterated Alpha pressure that rattled the high stained-glass windows.

Walking shoulder-to-shoulder at his right side was Seraphina, dressed in royal Frostfang red, holding a thick, iron-bound ledger in her hands.

And marching two steps behind them, flanked by fifty iron-clad veteran wolves of the 4th Infantry, was General Vane his golden commander's clasp restored to his chest.

Varick’s face drained of all color, his hand shaking so violently the regency decree slipped from his fingers and fluttered to the floor. "K-Kaelen?! You... the pass..."

"Did you think a dozen Crown Guard mercenaries in the Whispering Pass could stop your King, Varick?" Kaelen purred, his voice carrying to every corner of the room as he reached the foot of the dais.

The high dukes scrambled backward, terrified wolves dropping to their knees under the suffocating weight of Kaelen's aura.

Seraphina stepped forward, opening the iron-bound ledger with a sharp, decisive snap.

"Lord Regent Varick," Seraphina announced, her voice level and clear as crystal. "You are charged with high treason, the illegal manufacture of refined wolfsbane, and the unauthorized deployment of the Royal Crown Guard against the Sovereign."

Varick stammered, looking frantically around the hall for his guards, only to see Vane’s 4th Infantry surrounding every exit. "Falsified claims! She is a Silvermoon outcast! You have no proof!"

"We have the seized wolfsbane crates from High Ridge," Kaelen growled, drawing his broadsword and resting its tip against the stone floor. "We have the alchemy purchase ledgers stamped with your personal seal. And most importantly, Varick..."

Kaelen leaned forward, his eyes locking onto the trembling Regent with utter contempt.

"...you forgot that my Chief Strategic Advisor reads your ledgers better than you do."

Kaelen raised his hand, gesturing to Vane. "Seize the High Council. The audit is complete."