Chapter 6 - The Blood Oath
The heavy oak door of the king’s study creaked open.
Aiden looked up from his maps, his eyes instantly locking onto Hiana. The exhaustion etched into his rugged features melted away, replaced by a flash of fierce, protective warmth. He stood up immediately, crossing the room in two long strides.
"Hiana? Why are you out of bed? Are you hurt?" he asked, his hands gently framing her face, his thumbs brushing over her cheeks.
"I couldn't sleep," Hiana whispered, holding up the silver teacup with both hands. "And I found something you need to see. Or rather, smell."
Aiden’s gaze dropped to the cup. A muscle ticked sharply along his jawline. As an Alpha King with heightened senses, it took him less than a second to catch the faint, bitter almond scent of refined nightshade mixed with silver-root.
His eyes darkened into bottomless pools of obsidian fury. The air in the room suddenly grew so heavy and oppressive that the flames in the fireplace flickered and nearly died.
"Lord Vane," Aiden’s voice was a low, lethal growl that vibrated in the stone walls. "The coward thought he could poison my cup while hiding behind court politics."
"He gave it to a kitchen boy to deliver," Hiana said steadily, looking straight into Aiden’s terrifying eyes. "They think you're vulnerable because of tonight. They think taking a scarred omega as your mate makes you weak."
Aiden stared at her, a profound look of awe and fierce admiration flashing through his gaze. He took the cup from her hands, setting it down heavily on the oak desk, before pulling her directly against his solid, armored chest.
"They think wrong," Aiden murmured, burying his face in her ash-blonde hair, inhaling her scent like a lifeline. "They have no idea what kind of monster they are poking. For five years, Hiana... five long years, I hunted for the survivors of Lord Arthur’s estate. I tore apart the northern renegades who attacked your home, but the traitors inside this castle—the high lords who paid those renegades to eliminate your father because he discovered their embezzlement—slipped through my fingers."
Hiana gasped, pulling back slightly to look up at him. "My father... his death wasn't just a random raid?"
"No," Aiden’s jaw tightened painfully. "Your father found ledgers detailing how Lord Vane and his faction were embezzling royal treasury funds to finance private militias. They hired those renegades to burn the estate and silence your family. I swore an oath on my wolf’s soul that I would find the remaining survivors, and that I would skin the traitors alive."
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He reached down, taking her right hand and pressing it flat against his chest, right over his powerful, hammering heart.
"My soul has recognized yours since the moment I saw you standing in the snow outside my father’s gates years ago, Hiana. Tonight, in front of the entire court, I didn't claim you on a whim. I claimed my destiny. And now..." Aiden’s lips curled into a dangerous, predatory smile. "...we are going to hunt them down together."
