The Prince's Mate

Chapter 34

It felt like the entire royal clan was in that room, well, the male portion anyway. There had to be at least two hundred people all sitting on one side of the massive room. They were all dressed sharply and in black which made me feel like a fool for wearing a floral skirt. I should've picked up on the colour scheme when Bennett only put on black and white today. I could see him looking at me disapprovingly from where he sat, on the opposite side of the room, all by himself.

And in the middle of the room was the queen. With handcuffs on her wrists and her head bowed low.

"Come here, Brooklyn." Bennett commanded, his voice ice cold.

"What is she doing here?" Someone whispered as I scurried over to Bennett's side.

"I don't know," someone else replied, "but this is no place for a woman to be, unless she's a criminal, of course."

"Enough!" Bennett shouted, making the whole room freeze at once. Hell, I even paused for a minute and I had slept with this man not more than a few hours ago. "Brooklyn is my mate, the future queen, she will be beside me to make decisions if I see fit."

The whole room fell into a still silence and I could almost feel the hatred rolling through the air. The king wasn't the only one who didn't like women, that much was clear. I started to wish that I hadn't come at all when my eyes moved back to the queen who looked sullen.

"What's going on?" I whispered.

"Alright everyone, we are going to have a quick break, ten minutes. No one is allowed to leave this building, guards are stationed outside, but feel free to get up and stretch your legs!" Bennett shouted, his voice booming through the space.

At his command everyone got up and stretched their muscles and Bennett turned to me.

"Your mom, why is she shackled up like that?" I asked, feeling panicked, "And where's your dad, shouldn't he be dealing with this?"

Bennett sighed and rubbed his face with his hand, looking spent and frustrated. I noticed the bags under his eyes now too, and I wondered if he had slept at all last night.

"My mother killed my father." Bennett said flatly.

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry Ben." I gasped, laying my hand on top of his.

"No, you really shouldn't be. It isn't a great loss to me, I didn't care much for him. I always loved my mother much more than him and I knew what he did to her, I just could never do anything about it. And when he put the collar on you the first time I was ready to kick him out of the royal pack. The second time he did it I was ready to kill him."

"But your mother, didn't she love him?"

Bennett laughed coldly, "You didn't love me and I wasn't near as bad as he was. He tried to make her submit to him, but he just ended up breaking her. The moon goddess sent him this wonderful mate so he would become more open-minded and that would transfer to all werewolves, but he ruined her. And he did it just because he was selfish, ignorant, and stubborn. He couldn't see past his own beliefs and when she didn't submit he pushed harder instead of giving up."

"So she killed him because she hated him?"

"Maybe, but I'm not entirely sure. She had several opportunities to kill him if she had wanted to, if she really was doing this for her own benefit. I think she was trying to save us."

"Save us?"

"Yes. She knew that you were stubborn. I think she saw a lot of herself in you if we are being frank and I think she knew there was a good chance you would die on the collar. I think she was also aware that I had started to develop significant feelings for you. Or maybe she didn't know. Regardless, she does know that I could not live without my mate and I would never become king without a mate so if you died no one would overthrow my father. And she loves me, well, as much as she can now. She wanted me to be happy and not get myself killed by freeing you."

"Do you really think your father would've killed you if you had let me off the collar?" I asked, doubtful.

"Absolutely. He wouldn't even have a hearing, he would just murder me when he laid eyes on me next."

"But he was your dad."

"Yes, and that woman right there was his mate. That didn't stop him from being terrible. He believed that the rules he implemented were perfect and needed to be followed. It wouldn't have mattered who broke those rules, they would all face their punishment." Bennett explained, still stone-faced and cold. "In fact, we are quite lucky he is dead because if he wasn't it would be us in shackles, not my mother."

"But many people don't know that I didn't submit to you. We can still say that we mated while I was collared." I whispered.

Bennett shook his head, "It doesn't matter. My father is dead and as far as my subjects are concerned, my mother is useless. I have taken up position of king, a formal service will be held in a couple days, but the power has already been passed on. I make the rules now, and you are my queen."

"When did the king die?"

"Some time yesterday. No one really knows what time exactly, when a guard went to check up on him he was already cold."

"So it was your mother screaming..."

"Yes, she screamed when the guards put her under arrest, but other than that she has been silent."

"Not even fighting for her right to live?"

"Her mate is dead, that weakens her wolf. And her son is grown, she has very little purpose now. Plus, she is a very strong woman. She knows she broke the law and she is willing to face the consequences."

"But you make the consequences now." I said, "You love her, just let her go."

"I won't be a very good king if I was that biased, now would I?" Bennett said, "So I'm holding a hearing."

"Against your own mother!" I snapped out.

"Yes, Brooklyn, I know who she is. But she still committed a crime, and a big one at that. She needs to be held accountable."

"She saved my life. Surely everyone understands that she saved the future queen's life." I argued.

Bennett laughed bitterly, "They don't. They think that if you can't roll over and be a good mate then you should've died out there in the cold." His eyes flicked around the room, watching as everyone returned from their break. "Now please, I know this is hard for you, but I knew you to either work with me or go home. I have to think about all my options carefully."

So I did what Bennett asked. I sat beside him quietly and held his hand underneath the table, letting him squeeze the anger out when someone called his mother a foul name. Her very defended her, though I could see he wanted to. He never lost his temper and yelled back at people. And I think he was genuinely listening to what people had to say, even if it was against his own mother. He truly did want to be a fair king.

I knew that if it had been my father things wouldn't have gone as smoothly. I was far more emotionally driven that Bennett. I would've screamed at the top of my lungs if anyone spoke out against my family. I would've lashed out and canceled the whole hearing, doing whatever I pleased without anyone's input.

After what felt like hours of listening to grown men insult their queen, Bennett stood up and everyone quieted down.

"Before you sits my mother, your former queen. The woman who killed my father to save the woman who is sitting beside me and will be sitting beside me for the rest of my life. I understand that she committed treason, but my father was also committing treason by nearly murdering my mate, the woman who was next in line. My mother is not dangerous, as you all know. But my father was. Which is why I have chosen to let my mother live the rest of her life as she pleases. I hope that you can all come to accept my decision with time. That is all. You are dismissed."

**Comment what you think the queen's punishment should've been.**