Xo Novel
Chapter 261
Chapter 261
Aspen was beyond excited to have Janet as his nanny.
He liked hanging out with Daran. But he also missed his mom very much.
If he could have Janet and Datan by his side at the same time, there was nothing else that he wanted on this planet.
“Great!” Aspen stared at Daran with eagerness gleaming in his big eyes. “When are you going to interview her? Like now? Shall we go find her right away?”
Daran couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle, “You really like Lady Kurt, don’t you? But I can’t give her that interview right away. I have meetings to attend to.”
“When can I come to your meetings?” asked the boy excitedly.
Now it was Daran’s turn to be surprised, “You want to come? It is just going to be a bunch of adults talking for several hours. It might be tiresome.”
“No. I don’t find meetings tiresome. Actually, my dad let me sit in on his meetings all the time. I like seeing him scold other people when they did something wrong.”
It was true.
Westin often included Aspen in his meetings. The boy grew up by the meeting table in the council chamber, listening to the king and the elders discussing how to manage the kingdom.
Daran was once again amused by the boy’s honest answer, “Your father scolded people a lot, huh? Is he like a boss or a CEO?”
Aspen shook his head with a very serious look on his face, “No. I told you. He is a king.”
Yet Daran didn’t know that the boy was telling the truth.
He still believed that this was just a little boy’s fantasy.
“Of course, he is,” Daran said in an offhand kind of tone and rubbed the boy’s head. “Well, if you’d rather come with me than play hide–and–seek with your friends, you are more than welcome.”
Aspen let out a cry of joy and ran off to Jasmine, telling her that he would be going with Daran to the meetings.
Jasmine and the other girls found that very hard to believe.
“Are you crazy? Volunteering to be in a room full of adults and listening to their yammers…that is like suicide!” Jasmine cried.
Another girl echoed with her, “Indeed. Play with us in the garden. It is so beautiful out here. Why waste your time indoors?”
Yet Aspen shook his head firmly, “No thank you. I have had enough fun for one day already. Now it is time for me to learn. I will hang out with you another day perhaps.”
He bowed to the girls like a little gentleman and hastily ran back to Daran.
“Let us go,” said the boy as he offered his little hand to Daran.
Daran held his hand and double–checked with him again, “Are you sure that you want to be there? You can barely reach the meeting table.”
“I can sit on your lap, or a stool by your side. Now enough talking. Let’s go ruling,” said the boy seriously.
Daran burst out laughing, “Well, as you wish, my little prince.”
He picked up the boy hoiding the boy in his arms and headed over to the meeting
room.
The meeting room was packed with people, alphas from all over the world, and elders in Riverside Packs.
Everyone stood up to greet the King when he stepped into the room.
And naturally, they noticed the little boy in the King’s arms.
Aspen handled those gazes with a calm demeanor beyond his years. He had been to tons of big occasions. A crowd like this would not interrogate him.
So he returned those gazes, puffed out his little chest, and held a confident smile on his face.
Daran walked to the end of the table and took his seat.
He did not ask the servants to bring an extra stool for the boy but instead kept the boy on his lap.
“Sit,” he said to the room in a deep and majestic voice.
Everyone sat down. Their eyes were still on the boy.
“My King, may I ask whom this is?” asked an elder sitting at the table.
“My child,” Daran answered briefly.
A round of astonished gasps could be heard in the room.
One of the Alphas cried, “Your child? But forgive me, my king, how come none of us knew about this before…”
Daran gave him a freezing look, “Are you saying that I need to keep you updated with every detail of my personal life?” © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.
The Alpha shivered in fear, “No…of course not…‘
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“Then let’s get back to the real business,” said Daran icily. “What is on the top of today’s agenda?”
After a short silence, everyone swallowed down their questions and looked back to their notebooks and files.
They were still curious about the boy. But none had the gut to poke the bear. Sitting on Daran’s lap, the boy lifted the corner of his mouth into a small smirk. …His fake daddy was even more intimidating than his real father.
It was so fun to see him scold other people.
The meeting lasted for more than 2 hours.
Daran worked with the Alphas and elders and cleared items on the agenda.
Daran thought the boy would fall asleep out of boredom. Yet to his surprise, Aspen sat through the whole meeting without showing any signs of annoyance.
in on bic bands looking interested in any
He listened attentively, resting his little chin on his hands, looking interested in any subjects that they talked about.
…Maybe the boy was a natural ruler.
That thought flickered across Daran’s mind.
After they were done discussing the last unresolved matter, Daran closed the file and
looked around the room:
“Are we done for today?”
The Alphas and elders shared a reluctant look as though there was something on their minds still.
Daran noticed their hesitation, “What is it? Is there something that we didn’t get to?”
“The thing is…”
An elder from Riverside Pack cleared his throat.
“There is indeed something that we would like to discuss with you, my king.”
Daran frowned and tapped his finger on the table impatiently, “Then hurry and say it.”
He wanted to wrap up this meeting soon and got back to interview Aspen’s nanny.
That woman named Lady Kurt.
For some weird and unknown reason, he was eager to meet with her again.
“We would like you to choose a Luna, my King,” the elder said.
There was a moment of deathly silence.
Daran narrowed his eyes, in which there was a terrible storm building.
“…What?” he gritted.
Some people shifted in their seats uneasily.
They had all sensed the king’s rage.
Yet since the topic was out there already, they had no choice but to carry it through.
“You need a Luna. The werewolf kingdom needs an heir. This isn’t the first time that we have brought up this to you…”
“Then you should have known my stand on this. Crystal clear!” Daran snapped. Everyone looked intimidated.
Yet one Alpha gathered up the courage and said:
“But forgive me, my king, this matter is getting more urgent than ever. You are now at the prime of your year indeed. But what if–God forbids–something tragic and unexpected happens to you? Who will come out and rule this large kingdom?”
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“That is right. And it takes years to groom an heir,” said another elder. “It will really put the people’s mind at ease if you get married now and give birth to an heir soon.. That way you will have plenty of time to impart your wisdom to our future king.‘
Daran sat in his chair, motionlessly.
Daran sat in his chair, motionlessly.
There was a terrible expression on his face. None of the people dared to make eye contact with him.
After a long pause, he let out an icy chuckle, “So you have all come aboard before this meeting…to strongarm me today.”
The room answered him with an awkward silence.
Then one of the elders said carefully, “You can have any woman that you like, my king. And of course, if you like to marry the birth mother of this child, that is also a way to go…
‘Daran frowned in frustration, “No. That is not an option.”
For a quick second, he regretted that Aspen was not his real child.
Because that way, all problems would be solved.
“Well…in that case…”
The elder took out a piece of paper and slid it across the table to Daran. “Here is a list of all the qualified ladies in this kingdom. We have narrowed them down to the best 10. And they have all come to their fathers to the annual alpha’s meeting, ready to meet with you. We hope you can pick out a Luna before this year meeting ends.”