The Alpha King's Nemesis-Chapter 245: Seven Person Council ()

~A Week Later

Lord Kodin strode into the room just as Zariah took her place, accompanied by the seven other people that made up the vetting council.

The six other members of the council were already present, as always, Zariah had been the last to arrive and no one could fault her. How could it be easy taking part in assigning the throne of her own mate to another random Alpha who had no knowledge of the struggles and sacrifices Askel had made for the Ethereal Domain?

The six member council consisted of a few handpicked personalities, chosen by Lord Kodin with approval from Zariah.

Lucas as the second in command of the Ethereal Domain was expected to play a role in the designation of a new Ethereal King as he knew the affairs and needs of the Royal Lycan Pack best.

The council representative of the werewolves whom Zariah was not so familiar with was also a part of this decisive council, he would be working directly with whoever was titled the Alpha King for all supernatural affairs and so his input was of great significance.

And then there was Zariah and Allen, the Crimson Alpha and Crimson Beta whose duties assured them a place on this decisive council, or any decisive council that had to do with the power dynamics of the supernatural realm.

Elder Jared of the Royal Lycan Pack was the fifth member of the council, representing the opinion of the elders of the royal pack.

And finally, a middle aged Ethereal Alpha, Alpha Leonard had been invited, he was the oldest Ethereal Alpha in current reign and was well respected amongst the Ethereal Alphas, his presence ensured there would be no room for the Ethereal Alphas to question the integrity of the council.

These six persons had gathered for just one reason...to reassign the title and crown of the Ethereal Alpha King, a topic that had never been discussed in the history of the Ethereal Domain.

"Once again, you must bear in mind the most significant criteria as you vet the interest letters and assign challenge passes." Lord Kodin began to address the group.

Zariah absentmindedly took note of Lord Kodin’s regular address, her expression blank and distant.

If her eyes looked anything as heavy as they felt, Zariah was certain she looked like a complete mess, though she had done her best to ensure her misery was not so visible in her appearance.

Askel had told her, that she was not to let them see her weak. Zariah still had to somehow hold everything together and it was something she could not afford to fail at.

"This is a critical time for the Ethereal Domain and it will take only the most worthy to put the domain back in order. To ensure that only the finest of Alphas stand a chance to compete for the throne, we must each take extra caution to do our due diligence."

"Hundreds of Alphas and warrior wolves come forth each day, from even beyond the domain, your duty is to vet critically and as harshly as you see the need until seven final challengers are left to compete for the crown." Lord Kodin reminded.

"This means, each one of you is tasked to put forth one prospective Alpha King by your own judgement who will then compete against the other six."

"Now, I understand deciding on just one out of the hundreds of applications on each of your desks is daunting but we must remember that a challenge for the Ethereal throne is a battle...to the death." Lord Kodin said meaningfully, glancing from one person to the next.

His gaze lingered on Zariah for a moment and Zariah diverted her gaze, uninterested in another sympathetic glance.

Lord Kodin sighed audibly but carried on with his address.

"We are not here to send wolves out to die, hence you must each decide on one Alpha or wolf shifter you believe stands the greatest chance of trumping the rest and emerging victorious in the challenge... and then, the ultimate decision is left to fate." Lord Kodin said.

It had already been a week since the official declaration was made to the entire supernatural realm... that the Ethereal throne was vacant and now up to be claimed by challenge.

It had not even taken a few hours for applications to begin pouring in, in their hundreds. It was already seven days and they were yet to be halfway through the applications, dozens of Ethereal Alphas who had only recently sworn loyalty to Askel as Alpha King now sought a chance at his throne.

It was nothing short of distasteful and disheartening to Zariah, and the more the applications poured in, the more despaired Zariah felt.

How could the entire supernatural realm leap at the singular opportunity when Askel was down, so eager to snatch away all that was rightfully his? What exactly was loyalty to the Ethereal Alphas?

Zariah understood her thoughts were biased due to her feelings for Askel. Ultimately, leaving the Ethereal throne vacant for too long was the greater risk.

And it was already clear Askel could never return to his place, even so, the finality of reassigning the throne to another was more than Zariah could bear.

"I will leave you to begin." Lord Kodin said.

No one moved amongst the five council members, it was an occurrence that had become usual, everyone would let Zariah begin first for fear of coming off as too eager to reassign the throne.

Zariah did not see the need for such consideration, it did nothing to change the reality.

"You may begin." Zariah permitted in a low, but firm tone.

Every moment sat in this decisive council, Zariah gritted her teeth and constantly reminded herself of her duty to the entire realm.

It was with sheer force of will alone that she reached for the files and continued sorting through application after application.

It was to be another long day... for Zariah, it seemed the days would never get easier... never again.