Chapter 4 - The Poisoned Cup
The silence that followed was absolute, terrifying, and profound.
You could have heard a single pin drop onto the stone floor from fifty yards away. Lords, ladies, commanders, and guards stared in sheer, unadulterated shock.
Mate?
The Alpha King—the sovereign ruler of the realm, the most powerful wolf alive—had just declared a scarred, outcast kitchen omega to be his chosen queen.
Lady Bird Lancaster staggered backward, her face draining of all color until she looked like a corpse herself. "No... No, Your Majesty, you jest!" Birdie shrieked, forgetting all courtly decorum in her blind panic. "She is nothing! She is a cursed peasant! A broken, scarred rat whose family were traitors! You cannot—the Moon Goddess would never bind an Alpha King to such filth!"
Aiden’s head snapped toward her.
The look in his eyes was so violently lethal that Birdie clamped her mouth shut, stumbling back into the arms of a terrified lord who quickly shoved her away to distance himself from her radioactive foolishness.
"Guards," Aiden’s voice cracked like a whip across the silent hall.
Four heavily armored royal guards instantly stepped forward, their halberds clattering against the stone.
"Strip Lady Bird Lancaster of her title, lock her in the northern dungeon, and let her reflect on what happens to those who raise a hand against my queen within these walls," Aiden ordered coldly, his arm remaining firmly, possessively wrapped around Hiana’s trembling waist.
"Your Majesty! You cannot do this! My father will—" Birdie’s screams were cut short as heavy gauntlets clamped over her arms, dragging her kicking and thrashing across the wine-stained floor toward the iron-studded doors.
Hiana stared up at the man holding her, her chest heaving as a whirlwind of emotions tore through her soul. Fear, disbelief, a dangerous, fragile spark of hope she hadn't felt in five long years.
"You don't have to hide anymore," Aiden whispered softly, his thumb gently wiping away a lingering tear from her unblemished right cheek. "I have searched for you every single day since the night the northern renegades burned your father's estate, Hiana."
Hiana’s breath hitched. He knew who she was. He hadn't just stumbled upon her by chance.
Before she could process the weight of his words, Aiden turned her toward the assembly, lifting her chin so the entire court was forced to look upon the very face they had mocked moments ago.
"Listen to me, all of you!" Aiden’s voice echoed with terrifying authority. "Hiana Brown is not the kingdom's disgrace. She is my chosen mate, the true heart of this pack, and your future queen. Anyone who disrespects her by so much as a whisper will answer directly to my fangs."
A unified, trembling wave of bows rippled through the grand hall as nobles dropped hastily to one knee, terrified of the Alpha’s wrath.
That night, Hiana was moved from the freezing, mold-infested scullery to the royal chambers—a sprawling room of heavy velvet drapes, blazing fireplaces, and a bed softer than any she had ever dreamed of. Servants who had spat on her hours before now bowed their heads to the floor, rushing to draw a hot bath scented with rose petals and lavender.
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Yet, as Hiana sat by the fire wrapped in a silken robe, staring into the flickering flames, a cold knot twisted in her stomach.
She was safe tonight. But Edhard Castle was a nest of vipers. And the powerful lords who had stolen her family's lands five years ago would never allow a scarred omega to sit upon the throne.
