My Hockey Alpha novel Chapter 520

“I know so.” Enzo grinned, pulling me into a quick embrace. “That’s my queen.”

I melted into his arms for a moment before the clearing of a throat made us pull apart. We both looked over to see Ezra standing there, watching us with hard eyes.

“A word, your majesty?” His tone was clipped, borderline disrespectful. He had been mostly quiet throughout the meeting, observing, never removing his eyes from me.

I tensed up ever so slightly at his tone of voice, but gave a short nod. “Of course.”

Ezra waited until the room had fully cleared before speaking again. “I meant no disrespect by not bowing earlier. I have the utmost respect for your father’s legacy, as well as for Enzo’s father, Richard.” His gaze flickered to Enzo briefly. “But you must understand my hesitation to so easily pledge fealty to an untested ruler, true heir or not.” The words hung heavy in the air between us. I opened my mouth, then closed it again, unsure how to respond. Part of me wanted to recoil, to snap back defensively. But the larger part knew he spoke at least partial truth.

I may have been the true heir, but I knew nothing about the mantle I was taking on here. Hell, I had only just learned that the werewolf realm existed less than a year before now.

Perhaps Ezra was right. Perhaps I shouldn’t expect immediate loyalty. And in fact…

“Thank you,” I breathed, rising from my chair.

Ezra blinked, clearly not expecting those words to escape my lips. Before he could say anything else, though, I continued.

“Thank you for being honest. And for not blindly pledging loyalty to a young ruler who is perhaps too green to take on a role such as this one. It speaks volumes of your intelligence and devotion to the realm. But…”

I swallowed, licking my lips before continuing. “I do ask that you give me a chance, Alpha Ezra-a chance to prove myself as a valuable leader. Even if I can never fill my father’s shoes, that’s all I can ask of you.”

I shook my head, tears already pricking at the backs of my eyes. Ezra nodded and continued.

“Very well. Yes, perhaps we can chat sometime. That would be… nice.”

With that, he turned on his heel and strode from the chamber, leaving Enzo and I alone in stunned silence. After a few moments, I turned to him with raised eyebrows.

“Well… I suppose that went better than expected, didn’t it?”