Page 131 of Chased By My Grumpy Alpha
Lord Vance steps forward, his face flushed with fury. “Your Majesty, this cannot be allowed. My daughter was promised the position of crown princess. How can a traitor to the crown wear that title?”
My father raises his hand for silence. The throne room falls quiet except for the soft dripping of blood from my fingertips.
“The woman you call your mate,” he says to me slowly, “defied a royal decree. She is to be executed for treason.”
Through our bond, I feel Astra go tense beside me. Her fear spikes, but underneath it is something else. Trust. Despite everything—despite learning who I really am, despite the horror of this moment—she still trusts me to protect her.
“Father,” I say, my voice carrying clearly throughout the throne room. “If anyone in this room touches Astra again, they will discover firsthand why they call me the Mad Wolf on the battlefield.”
A hush falls across the entire room. Even the nobles’ whispers die away completely.
My father watches me closely. He knows exactly what that title means, what I’m capable of when pushed too far.
“You would threaten the crown?” he asks quietly.
“I would protect my mate,” I correct him. “From anyone. Including you.”
Silence stretches between us, heavy with the weight of challenge and consequence. I can feel every eye in the room on us, waiting to see who will break first.
Behind me, Zari lets out a choked sob. “She is destroying everything, Lucian. Our engagement, your honor, the alliance between our families—”
“The only thing being destroyed here,” I say without turning to look at her, “is your pathetic scheme.”
I take a step toward my father’s throne, my boots squelching in the blood pooled on the marble floor. Astra follows me, huddled by my side. “You want to know the truth? Astra’s wolf is latent. She can’t shift. Alpha Gareth chose her precisely because she was expendable, not because she was the strongest.” I look directly at Gareth, whose face has gone pale. “The most powerful female in his pack is Harper, his own daughter. But he couldn’t bear to sacrifice her, so he lied to the crown and tried to send Astra instead.”
“That’s not—” Alpha Gareth starts trying to deny his plan, but I cut him off.
“When I began my investigation, you sent warriors after Astra to find her and kill her. Those warriors had wolfsbane on their claws. Wolfsbane wouldn’t have affected Astra because her wolf is latent. It was meant for me. You tried to kill me with wolfsbane.” My voice grows softer now, and I look back at the King. “Astra saved my life.”
I watch as my father’s face transforms into something terrible to behold. Rage burns in his pale eyes like wildfire, and his knuckles go white where they grip the arms of his throne.
Gareth shakes his head frantically. “That’s not true, Your Majesty! The Prince is mistaken—”
“Are you calling me a liar?” The words tear from my throat, low and deadly. Every eye in the throne room fixes on the Alpha, waiting for his answer.
Gareth’s throat works frantically. “Your Highness, I—There must be some misunderstanding—”
“Answer the question.”
Sweat beads on his forehead. “I never sent anyone to harm you, Your Highness. If my warriors acted against you, they must have been operating on their own initiative. Rogue elements within my pack.”
I laugh, the sound sharp and bitter. “‘Rogue elements.’ How convenient.”
“The truth,” Alpha Gareth continues desperately, “is that this woman has bewitched you. She’s fooling you about her true nature. Astra is a powerful shifter—one of our strongest. The two women standing right there helped her escape from pack custody.”
Astra whispers to me pleadingly, “Lucian, please. Save my friends.”
I squeeze her hand, the contact grounding me. Then, I turn my attention to the cowering figure Seth dragged in here with us: the witch who has been hiding in the shadows of this conspiracy.
I leave Astra’s side to go grab him by the throat and bring him forward. His feet barely touch the marble as I haul him to the center of the throne room.
“Tell them,” I snarl. “Tell them the truth about what Lady Zari asked you to do.”
The witch’s eyes dart frantically between me and the nobles. His voice comes out as a croak. “Lady Zari—She told me to approach Alpha Gareth weeks ago. She wanted to know about the girl. About Astra.”
“And what did Gareth tell you?”
“That she has a latent wolf,” he says. “That she can’t shift. That she’s powerless.”
