It's Too Late

Chapter 49

~Kana~

I woke up and my head hurts. I try recalling what I did last night to have recieved this pain, but nothing springs to mind.
"Highness, the King requesting your formal presence at the throne room, asking that you please make haste."
A guard from the door says and she frowns, but then smiled.
He's never asked her presence before, he must finally be comming around. Seeing her as his equal.

~Arion~

I pull on the cape, father requested a formal audience, meaning I have to wear my formal outfit.

I wonder why father did this so suddenly, but he is king so who are we to question him today.

I walk to the throne room to see that it was beautifully decorated. Big Sis and the Vampire King was at the front also dressed in formal attire with my father on the throne. Beside Big Sis sat someone that was covered in a cloak, but I could see it was a woman.  Father's finger keeps tapping on the rest of the throne, he's impatient. Wonder why?
Does it have to do with the woman in the cape?
I join him on his left side.
"What is the meaning of this Father?" He smiled and for the first time, my father really smiled. Not the smile he gave me, or Big Sis. No. This was a different smile. A smile I had never seen on father, I aslo noticed that my father somehow looked older.
"Everything is perfectly fine, it has never been better, don't worry."

Mother joined soon after, also dressed in her formal clothes. All the aristocracy are here and the counsel as well. Just what was going on?
Mother takes her seat, she is also looked uniforme, but Father just ignored her.
Father stood up and the room became quiet.
"My fellow people, I apologize for calling everyone on such short notice, but it was a matter that could not wait any longer." he begins.
"Today, I am stepping down as King and announce that Arion will take my place."
The whole room gasped and I stood up in shock.
"Father...."
"Erick what is the meaning of this?!" Mother yelled and father's face grows cold and dark when he looks at her.
"Just as I say Kana." He says and looks back at the people.
"Further more, I'd like inform everyone, that the queen and I are not married by legal bounds." Another round of gasped echoes through the room.
"Erick what..."
"The Marriage Contract that was signed, stated that should she and I produce and heir, the queen will no longer be wedded to king, but will remain ruling until the king dies or step down."
Mother's face was growing red from anger.
"How could you!?"
And then he slapped her and the room quieted down in shock. Father was never one for violence.
"How. Could you." The wrath of my father pulsed through the room. His eyes blazing fire.
"You were behind the killing of my mate and my daughter with my mother! You tortured her under my own roof! You made it possible to weaken her to the state of death where I would feel it, believing she was dead! YOU!"
She paled as my father reveals my mother's crimes, basically confessing.
How could my mother do such a cruel thing?
"You never once looked my way because of her! I was the one groomed to marry you, but all your eyes saw was Julianna!"
"She is my mate Kana, I would never love someone else but her and her alone, not matter what." My father looked to the direction of Big Sis and held out his hand. The woman stood up and removed her cloak.
Mother gasped.
"H...how?"
He would be an idiot if he did not know who she was. There is a painting of her in his father's private study, and an exact copy of Big Sis.
"YOU!" Mother screamed and rushed to Juianna but I quickly ceased my mother.
"I should have killed you long ago, you and your bastard!"
"That's enough mother!" I say as she struggles in my hold.
"Kana." Julianna walks up to his mother.
"I do not wish to see you suffer on this one sided obsession you belive to be love. Give up on Erick, he's not yours. He will always belong to me." She smiled, she seemed so kind to his mother, despite the fact that she was tortured by her.
My mother begins to scream and claw her way out of my arms to get to Julianna so I hand her to the guards who dragged her away.
"If it wasn't for your god forsaken daughter you'd be there forever!" She screamed. Leaving the room in silence.
I am ashamed to have a mother like her. She never even showed me love or support.
Julianna joined my father's side as she hugs him, my guess was to calm him down.
He smiled down at her and faced the people.
"This is my true love, my mate, mother to my daughter, Princess Julianna of the Werewolf Kingdom."
Gasps came from the people once again. Just how many surprises did my father have.
"I am now free to be with her, I'll gladly give my duties to the capable hands of your Prince."
"Father you can still be king with Julianna." I tries to reason with him. I'm not ready to be king!
Father placed his hands on my shoulders.
"Son, there is no greater time than the present. I know you are ready for this. Besides, I've lived long enough without Jules. I don't want to spend the rest ruling beside her. The only reason I did become king was to find her and now I have her. I won't waste any more time."
I knew then that I couldn't change my father's mind anymore.
I could see the love my father has for Julianna after all these years, it was admirable.
"Son, I'm proud of you and I know you can do this so there is one last thing I can do for you as your father and king." Confused what my father meant I backed away as he got out a scroll.
"As of today, a new law is set, approved by the counsel. This will be my last act as king."
People waited as my father revealed the scroll for the counselor to read.
"A member of the royal family is free to marry their mate should it be from another specie. They will not be married to another of their own social status."
I fell back on my chair, my heart was racing and one person comes to mind.
This means...
"You knew?" His father grinned, "You're my son, how could I not."