Page 122 of Chased By My Grumpy Alpha
Lies. All lies. The rage building in my chest is about to choke me.
“Furthermore,” Alpha Gareth continues, his voice growing stronger, more confident, “if Your Majesty were to question anyone in our pack, they would confirm what I’ve told you. Astra is our most powerful shifter. She always has been.”
I shouldn’t be surprised. My entire pack—every single person I’ve lived alongside my entire life—they’ve all conspired against me. They’ve all agreed to confirm this lie that will see me executed.
I stare at Gareth, at Harper, at the sea of faces in the throne room, and it becomes crystal clear that I never had a chance. This was planned. Orchestrated. They have all colluded to ensure that I die here today.
“You’re lying,” I say, my voice shaking with fury. “Your Majesty, you can check for yourself. They made me live in a tiny shack on the edge of pack territory. I’ve never had a wolf. I’ve never shifted. I collect herbs because that’s the only thing a latent shifter is good for.”
Gareth doesn’t even flinch. “She has been hiding her true nature for years. The evidence is overwhelming.”
“I know why you’re doing this,” I spit at him, my voice growing stronger as the truth burns through me. “You knew Harper was the strongest female, but you didn’t want your precious daughter to suffer at the hands of another pack. So, you decided to sacrifice me instead.”
“That’s enough,” the King snaps, but I’m not finished.
“Ask him,” I demand, pointing at Gareth. “Ask him why he really chose me. Ask him to explain how a latent shifter could possibly be more powerful than his daughter, who can shift and heal and fight.”
The King’s cold gaze shifts to Gareth. “Alpha Gareth, I ask you one final time. Are you telling me the absolute truth?”
Gareth’s jaw tightens, but his voice remains steady. “Yes, Your Majesty. Every word is true. This woman is our most powerful shifter, and she defied your order.”
My heart sinks as I watch King Alaric nod slowly. The lie is too perfect, too well-coordinated. No one is going to believe a desperate runaway over an alpha and his pack.
“Then, the matter is settled,” the King says, his voice resounding through the huge throne room. “Astra of the Silver Stone Pack, you have disobeyed a royal decree. The punishment for such defiance is death.”
The words ring in my ears, but before I can fully process them, a woman steps forward from among the nobles. She is breathtakingly beautiful in a delicate way—doe eyes, porcelain skin, and an ethereal fragility that makes her look like she might shatter at the slightest touch.
“Your Majesty,” she says, and my blood freezes.
That cloying tone—I recognize it at once. This is the voice that made my skin crawl in the darkness of my prison cell.
“If I may?” she asks the King, her voice carrying easily throughout the silent room.
“Lady Zari.”
The King nods, and she continues with that same false sweetness. “I was the one who found this woman and brought her before you. Not simply because you were looking for her, but because I have my own grievances against her.”
My blood freezes. What grievances could this woman possibly have against me? I’ve never seen her before in my life.
“You see,” Lady Zari continues, her voice gaining strength, “the reason your son, the Crown Prince, has not yet returned to the capital is because this woman used magic on him. She seduced him.”
Gasps echo from every corner. The King’s face goes completely white, then flushed with rage. Even Alpha Gareth looks shocked.
But none of them look as shocked as I feel.
“Wh–what?” I stammer, my voice barely audible through the nobles’ murmuring. “I don’t even know the Crown Prince. How could I possibly seduce him?”
Lady Zari’s smile is cold and triumphant. “Oh, but you do know him, don’t you? This scheming little shifter had high ambitions, Your Majesty. She tracked down the Crown Prince during his mission and gave him a deadly aphrodisiac. She has been holding him captive with her magic for weeks.”
“That’s not true!” I shout desperately. “I’ve never seen the Crown Prince before in my life! And I don’t know any magic beyond basic herb work!”
But the woman is already shaking her head, her expression perfectly crafted to show grief and righteous anger. “I have proof, Your Majesty. Witnesses. Evidence of her sorcery. Her own pack is aware of her intentions. I can even bring forward human witnesses.”
The King’s face is a mask of barely controlled fury. “You dared to lay your hands on my son?”
“I’ve never—”
“As the Crown Prince’s betrothed,” the woman interrupts me, her strident voice overcoming my breathless one, “and as the future crown princess of this kingdom, I would like to request permission to punish this woman myself. For attempting to destroy my engagement by using dark magic on the man I love.”
