Chapter 107
With the help of her mate, Miranda finally summoned the courage to call a meeting with the pack's circle the next day. She invited the beta this time, as even amid the disagreement she had with him, she still felt the need for him to be present as he was to be involved in anything regarding the leadership affairs of the lotus.
"I want to thank you all for your support thus far in holding onto the reigns of the lotus during my inactivity. I apologize if I gave you a hard time in trying to reach me, I hope that you'll understand that I needed enough time for what happened."
One of the lotus circle elders, Kione, dismissed her apology, stating, "princess, we all understand perfectly, so please do not apologize to anyone, as we all wish we could have given you more time, but this could not be postponed any further."
Miranda looked around and saw the other members nodding in unison to what Kione said. Seeing that she had their full support, she continued.
"I am ready now to take up my inherited obligations, I am ready to be crowned as the lotus alpha."
"Absolutely not! I will not stand for this!"
Surprisingly, everyone turned in the direction of the voice that didn't hesitate to object to Miranda's decision so openly. Of course, it was none other than the only male wolf outside of the circle present in this meeting, Beta Valledor.
The leader of the Lotus circle, elder Rory took the cue to answer him then, "Beta Valledor, might we know why you suddenly oppose to this decision made by the princess?"
Valledor stood, with his chest high in the air, "she's not worthy of the alpha throne yet, Rory! She's young and incapable, she would never meet up to the standards of her father!"
Those words hurt Miranda so much, but she shrugged them off. The last thing she would do in this meeting was to show Valledor how much power his words contained. She wanted to speak, but elder Rory, who sat beside her, held her hand, giving sign to remain silent.
"It's ok, we've got this, princess," he whispered, and then she nodded for him to proceed.
"Beta Valledor, do not forget that alpha Luther was not even up to her age when he took over the crown. You forget that she is married to the strongest alpha in all twelve tribes, she's also saved this pack with her marriage to the silver alpha, and she's going to do so much more. Why do you have so much little faith in her?"
"She's nothing! And she'll only lead us to destruction if we let her take what she wants! Look at her... she has no idea what kind of powers she's about to..."
"That's enough, Beta Valledor! This meeting isn't supposed to take much time because we have to prepare for tomorrow. You might not have any faith in your queen, but all of us here do, and the fact that we outnumber you is enough reason for us to proceed. No matter what you do or say, we have already made our final decision. She will be crowned tomorrow. This meeting will now come to an end."
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The humiliation! Valledor couldn't stand it, it made him so choked in that room, he found it hard to stand up even after a while. The circle elders have never treated him like this before, and it's all because of that girl! That spoilt brat! Valledor didn't want to do this before, but he knows now that he has no choice. If Miranda inherits those powers tomorrow, he and Samara are going to need as much help as they can get.
"Luca!"
"Yes sire?" His guard came running.
"I'll be going to see alpha Jireh now, I might not be on time for tomorrow's coronation, make sure you cover for me."
Luca was puzzled. "Is anything wrong sire? I thought you'd said you weren't going there anymore."
"Stop asking stupid questions and do as I ask," he spat, now regretting why he didn't go for this sooner.
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Miranda walked into the coronation hall, where the lotus wolves of different calibers were gathered for the event. Her husband was there at the front too. He had an encouraging smile on his face, a sign of happiness for her, same with the other wolves present there. Then she spotted the mighty crown resting on its pillow. The crown of the lotus alpha, once she wears this crown, all her ancestor's powers would be instilled in her. Just a few seconds remained and she would be sitting on that throne.
She reached the stage where the lotus circle where gathered, one of them holding the crown. She took to her knees as the proceedings continued.
*We gather here today to greet our queen,
Crowned in line with the Lotus ancestry.
The air is filled with happiness as our people sing
Today brings a queen who will rule as the center of greater good.*
"Princess Miranda."
"Yes, elder Rory?"
"You will be bestowed your powers once you take this oath as this crown rests on your head. Are you willing to take the oath now?"
She bowed, "I am willing."
"Will you to your power cause law and justice in mercy to be executed in all your judgements?"
"I will."
"Will you to your power make decisions that will only favor the greater good of our people and community?"
"I will..."
After she'd taken the oath, elder Rory commanded her, "rise, alpha queen Miranda, and take your place on the lotus seat."
She got up then, and ambled towards the alpha seat where the circle elders gathered round. As she took her seat, elder Rory retrieved the crown from its holder, and placed it on Miranda's head. She suddenly felt a wave of energy envelop her body, the elders beamed, knowing what had happened, and then they turned to the audience to chant in happiness.
"Long live the alpha queen!"
"Long live the alpha queen!"