Chapter 85
Chapter 85
Daman
I hated these events.
But tonight, I was expected to play the gracious host. So, I nodded. Smiled. Let my eyes move from one noble to the next.
I greeted alpha pairs from the east and dignitaries from the coastal Pack lands, spoke in tones that made them feel important while Zane snarled quietly under my skin.
The entire time, my eyes wandered, looking for
mate. And landed on Elena, the real one.
She hovered near the edge of the hall, a tray balanced in similar to Lila but the two were night and day.
My breath slowed. My spine locked, Not because I
her
hands and her hair tucked tight beneath a servant’s wrap. A poor disguise, she looked so
I she was here–but because I wasn’t.
- on. Quiet surveillance. No action unless she overstepped. And she just had.
My gaze slid past her as she turned, revealing her
eyes fixed
not
on
Buests–but on Lila.
Her expression wasn’t curious, it was hungry. Jealousy poured off her like rot beneath the cloying perfume.
I watched her eyes track Lila across the room; watched her follow the she was. And in that gaze, I saw the kind of resentment that led
grace in my mate’s movements, the poise of someone who was finally owning who sabotage.
Elena wasn’t here to observe, she was here to break something. Someone.
Zane stirred sharply. She’s a threat.
Not yet. But she’s too close.
I scanned the room again and found Lila near the terrace doors, arranging a display of ceremony tokens for one of the coastal emissaries. Her voice was low, polite. Her smile subdued. But something in her shoulders was too tight. Her left hand curled and uncurled at her side.
She felt it. Even if she didn’t know what–or who–it was, she felt the weight of being watched.
I started forward. One step. Then another.
I didn’t make it five before someone stepped into my path with a forced smile and a question about trade tariffs. I answered smoothly, without thought. The entire conversation registered as background noise behind the sharp, rising awareness in my gut.
Across the room, Elena began moving. She wasn’t serving drinks. She was weaving through the crowd with a purpose.
And she was headed straight towards Lila.
I clenched my jaw. I didn’t need to wait for Ronan’s signal. I didn’t need to call for guards. I would handle this myself.
But not here. Not yet.
As I excused myself from the conversation and angled back toward the eastern corridor, I caught Lila’s gaze across the ballroom. Just a flicker of her eyes
meeting mine. Searching and uncertain.
I didn’t smile, but I didn’t look away. Whatever came next, I’d make sure she knew–I saw her. I chose her.
And I would not let anyone–least of all Eléna–change that.
1/3
Chapter 35
I waited in the corilder just beyond the grand hall, where the candles burned lower and the music bled through the Tren. The 13 was cooler here, quieter Less perfumed.
Elena arrived precisely as I knew she would.
She hesitated at the archway, glancing behind her as if to make sure no one followed. Her tray was gone now. She’d abandoned the pretense. shoulders rolled back, and her chin lifted in that way all noble women had that I knew too well–a practiced elegance that was meant to charm.
deceive.
She thought she had something to offer. Or to threaten. So I let her come to me.
“Your Majesty,” she said, with a smile far too sweet for someone in a stolen servant’s uniform. “I was hoping to speak with you privately
I didn’t respond. Just stared at her. Let the silos
do the work of making her question and doubt.
She faltered, just for a heartbeat, then pressed forw
“I only want to protect the Crown,” she said, “There are
someone who understands the stakes.”
Still, I said nothing.
rumors. Whispers. About one of your remaining candidates. I thought you should hear it or
She stepped closer, voice lowering. “It’s about Elena Ashford.
rather… the one claiming to be Elena.”
At that, I finally tilted my head. A small movement. Deliberate. “Go on.” I laced an extra chill to my words…
“She’s not who she claims to be,” Elena whispered. “She’s a fraud. A bastard daughter with no real lineage. Her wolf is weak–half–dormant. She’s lied to everyone here. To you. She doesn’t deserve to stand beside you, much less be your mate.”
I waited a beat. Let the words hang in the air between us. Then I said, evenly, “You’re mistaken.”
Elena blinked. “What?”
“I know exactly who she is.”
Her mouth parted, stunned. “You–what?”
“I know her heart. What do you think you will gain from spreading rumor? Who are you to decide what and who is best for your King?”
Her face flushed, color blooming sharp across her cheeks.
“Her identity isn’t your concern,” I said. “And neither is her worth.”
“You’re making a mistake,” she snapped, dropping the sugary tone. “She’s not even a real Ashford. She’s a stand–in. A lie.”
“Then perhaps it takes one to recognize one.” I growled back, beginning to lose my patience.
That hit her. Her posture stiffened, her hands curling into fists at her sides.
“You’re letting your… feelings blind you,” she hissed.
“I’m letting my instincts guide me,” I corrected, stepping closer. “And they tell me that the only mistake here is you.”
“You don’t know what she’s capable of.”
“I know exactly what she’s capable of,” I said, low and quiet. “She survived your father’s cruelty. Your betrayal. And still, she walks through this palace with more dignity than you’ve ever managed to summon.”
Elena’s jaw clenched. “You’re going to regret this.”
14:30
Chapter 85
วงนก
“No,” I said, voice flat. “You are.”
I leaned in just enough that she had to till her head to keep eye contact.
“You will leave this palace tonight. You will take your father with you. And if either of you return without my express permission, you won’t find any diplomacy here.”
She opened her mouth, but I cut her off. “And one more thing,” I added, softer. “If you so much as remind you and your Pack–what it means to disrespect a mate bond.”
look at her again with that poison in your eyes, I will
For the first time, Elena’s expression broke. The smugness cracked. What stared back at me wasn’t a rival. It was a jealous child who’d finally been told
- no.
I turned away before she could speak again. Her presence already forgotten before I forget about diplomacy altogether.”
The hall narrowed as I stepped back into the ballroom, the music swelling as if it had waited for my return.
I found Lila near the hydrangea arch. Her hair shimmered in the low lamplight, her gown soft and tempting against her skin. She was laughing–ligy carefully–with a dignitary I didn’t recognize. But even through the mask, I could feel the tension humming in her.
She felt me before she saw me. Her spine stiffened, her gaze flicking toward mine.
I didn’t speak. I just walked to her and offered her my hand. No speeches or declarations. Just a calm, confident presence.
Her fingers slid into mine, cool and careful. And I held them like a promise.
