Page 132 of Chased By My Grumpy Alpha
The confession hits the throne room like a sledgehammer. Gasps echo from every corner. Alpha Gareth’s face goes ashen.
“He’s lying!” Gareth shouts, but his voice cracks with desperation.
The witch shakes his head frantically. “Lady Zari paid me well for the information. She wanted to know if the girl posed any real threat to her position.”
My father’s voice booms from his throne. “GUARDS. Arrest Alpha Gareth and his daughter at once.”
“Your Majesty, please—” Gareth begins, but the royal guards are already moving. They seize both him and Harper, dragging them toward the doors despite their protests.
I turn to Seth. “Take these two women to the healers,” I tell him, indicating Astra’s friends. “They, too, are victims of Gareth’s plot.”
He nods and moves to escort the barely conscious women from the throne room. Through their pain and exhaustion, I catch glimpses of gratitude in their eyes.
My father’s cold gaze fixes on Lady Zari. “Did you know this girl was a latent shifter?”
Zari’s expression is a combination of fear and obstinance. “The witch is lying. He’ll say anything to save his own skin.”
Lord Vance steps forward, his face flushed with righteous indignation. “Your Majesty, this traitor cannot possibly be the Crown Prince’s fated mate. Your son is clearly confused, bewitched by whatever dark arts she possesses.”
A new voice cuts through the tension, that of Lord Aldric of the Umbra Council. “Even if the girl is indeed a latent shifter, she still defied the crown. Her actions cannot go unpunished.”
Murmurs of agreement ripple through the assembled nobles. I feel the political tide shifting, these vultures circling for advantage.
Aldric continues, his voice carrying the weight of authority. “Such defiance sets a dangerous precedent. If we allow one subject to ignore royal decrees without consequence, what message does that send to the rest of the kingdom?”
More nods. More whispered agreements. I watch Aldric’s eyes as they fix on Astra, and I see something in them that makes my blood run cold—a calculating gleam, like a predator sizing up prey.
“Perhaps,” Aldric suggests smoothly, “it would be best to hand the girl over to the Council for proper judgment. We can determine the appropriate punishment for her crimes.”
The suggestion sends ice through my veins. I’ve been watching Aldric throughout this entire proceeding because there is something in the way his eyes keep drifting to Astra—too much interest, too much focus. Whatever he wants with her, it has nothing to do with justice.
“Furthermore,” Aldric adds, his tone growing more confident, “even if this woman is the Prince’s fated mate, only one of them bears the mating mark. The bond is incomplete.” He turns to address the assembled nobles. “Even if fate has chosen her, the kingdom will not accept someone like her as crown princess. A traitor. A nobody from the outer territories.”
Lord Vance seizes the opening. “My daughter is far better suited for the role. She has breeding, class, political connections. If the Prince is determined to keep this woman,” Vance says disdainfully, gesturing toward Astra, “perhaps she could serve as a concubine. Someone he can...visit when the mood strikes him. My daughter would be understanding of such arrangements.”
Astra flinches beside me, and something inside me snaps. “A concubine?!”
The throne room falls silent at my tone.
“You want to know what this woman has accomplished?” I step forward, my voice echoing throughout the vast space. “Astra is a genius herbalist. She has developed a way to neutralize wolfsbane poisoning—something no healer in this kingdom has ever managed.”
Lord Vance scoffs. “The Prince is clearly—”
I cut him off sharply. “She saved my life. This woman healed me when I was dying. She has also discovered a cure for nightshade poisoning. Tell me, Lord Vance, what has your daughter accomplished besides sharing your bloodline?”
His face flushes red. “My daughter has breeding and class—”
“Your daughter,” I say coldly, “is not worthy of polishing my mate’s shoes.”
Vance’s eyes practically bulge out of their sockets. “The Prince is mistaken! Zari has everything needed to be a proper crown princess—”
I take another step forward, and my voice drops lower. “Let me make something very clear to everyone in this room,” I say, but I’m staring at Lord Vance. “If any family is foolish enough to put forward their daughter as a candidate for crown princess, I will personally return that daughter’s head to her family. And if that family dares to protest, I will wipe their entire bloodline from existence.”
The threat hangs in the air like smoke. Several nobles step away from Vance, as if they don’t want to get caught in any blowback from his actions.
My father sighs heavily from his throne. “Lord Vance, the engagement between Prince Lucian and your daughter is officially dissolved.”
“Your Majesty!” Vance and Zari cry out in unison.
