[Malachi's POV]
Kaelen's heart clenched with a sharp, inexplicable pain.
"What is it?" Seraphina asked, feeling the change in him as he held her.
"It's… nothing," Kaelen stammered, his lips suddenly dry. He must have misread her lips. Elara couldn't possibly mean that.
The whistle of flying blades ceased as quickly as it had begun. My Lycan guards stormed the dining hall, surrounding a middle-aged Rogue wolf who clutched a silver dagger, his eyes wild with hatred.
The blade was pointed at me.
A standoff.
"Malachi… my brother lost everything when your Lycan clan expanded its territory! His pack was destroyed, his family ruined! I'm here to make you pay for his life!" the man shrieked.
"Is that so?" I murmured. Even with a blade aimed at my heart, my expression remained utterly placid. I took a slow, deliberate step toward him.
"Many wolves have wanted my life. What makes you think you can take it?"
The man hadn't expected me to advance. He panicked, lunging forward with his dagger.
But before he could take two steps, one of my guards tackled him from behind, slamming him face-first onto the stone floor.
The dagger clattered away.
My demeanor didn't shift. It was of no consequence to me whether the blade had found its mark or not.
"Let me go!" the man screamed, struggling uselessly.
A guard retrieved the dagger and presented it to me respectfully. "Your Majesty."
I took the weapon, turning it over in my fingers, before pressing the tip against the man's temple.
"W-what are you doing?" he stammered, his bravado gone.
"Did you truly believe there would be no consequences for attempting to assassinate me?" I asked, my voice devoid of emotion. My long, elegant fingers slowly applied pressure.
The tip broke the skin. A bead of blood welled up.
Gasps echoed through the room.
The man's eyes widened in terror. "You… you wouldn't dare! This is murder in public! The Elder Council will punish you!"
"Let's find out, shall we?" I replied, my voice a soft whisper. "A pity you won't be around to see the verdict." This creature was nothing more than an ant to be crushed.
Just as I was about to press harder, a hand shot out and clamped around my wrist, halting the dagger's descent.
The movement was so swift, so silent, that no one—not even my elite guards—saw it coming.
Kaelen and his friends froze, gawking.
A flicker of disdain crossed Seraphina's face. Elara was even more foolish than she'd thought. Did she really think this grand gesture would impress anyone? All she would accomplish was angering me and earning Kaelen's further disgust.
"And what is this?" I asked, my voice still calm, though a faint ripple disturbed the dead sea of my violet eyes.
It was her.
The woman named Elara.
Her grip was firm, her hand wrapped around mine. "You can't kill him."
"Is this man an acquaintance of yours?" I asked coldly.
"No."
"Then why do you intervene?"
"He committed a crime, and he will be judged by the laws of the Elder Council. You are safe now. He no longer has the power to harm you. Therefore, his life is not yours to take," she stated, her voice steady.
I studied her for a long moment. "You have courage, Miss Elara. Unfortunately, I despise meddlers."
As the words left my lips, I twisted my wrist, breaking her hold with contemptuous ease. In the same fluid motion, I reversed the dagger, its point now aimed directly between her eyes.
But in the next heartbeat, the cold edge of a silver butter knife was at my throat.
It was chillingly precise, resting directly over my carotid artery.
The air in the room solidified.
Suddenly, a squad of Pack enforcers burst in, weapons drawn.
"Nobody move!" the captain yelled.
My hand paused. Elara released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
"What happened here? Who sent the alarm?" an enforcer demanded.
"I did," Elara answered, retracting the butter knife and standing up.
I watched her, rising to my feet as well.
The captain approached, recognizing me instantly. "Your Majesty, are you unharmed?"
"For now. This man tried to kill me. This was his weapon," I said, handing the assassin's dagger to him.
The captain took it, then looked at Elara and the butter knife still in her hand. "And this…?"
"Restaurant cutlery. I grabbed it for self-defense during the attack. Is there a problem?" she asked, offering the knife to him.
As the captain examined it, a slow, cold smile touched my lips. "Miss Elara, you are far more interesting than I imagined. I hope we meet again."
Her jaw tightened. She was wary, her instincts screaming at her to keep her distance from me.
Because of the incident, Elara and the others were taken to the Pack's enforcement station to give statements.
When she emerged from the interrogation room, she found Kaelen, Seraphina, and his sycophants waiting in the main hall.
The moment he saw her, Kaelen stormed over. "What were you thinking? Holding a knife to King Malachi's throat? Have you forgotten we are mates? When you insult him, you insult my Pack!"
"Mates?" Elara laughed, a sharp, bitter sound. "If you truly considered me your mate, you wouldn't have thrown me aside to protect Seraphina when the blades started flying."
Kaelen froze, his face flushing with embarrassment.
Lucian stepped in, sneering at Elara. "Seraphina is delicate! Of course she needed protection! Were we supposed to protect you? Look at yourself!"
"You're always boasting about how Seraphina is a mighty War Master, as fierce as any male. But suddenly, when it's convenient, she's a delicate flower who needs saving?" Elara shot back.
Lucian was speechless, his face turning beet red.
Seraphina's eyes glinted. "Elara, Kaelen was merely being a gentleman. You're being incredibly petty. This is why people say females are too emotional."
"Petty my ass!" Liana had just finished her statement and heard the last comment. She marched over, spoiling for a fight. "Her own Alpha shoves her aside to save a homewrecker like you, and you have the audacity to call her petty? Seraphina, you've got to be the most shameless mistress I've ever seen!"
Liana had seen the whole thing in the restaurant, and she was still boiling.
Her voice was loud, and the many others in the station who were there because of the incident all turned to stare.
Kaelen's face became a thundercloud.
Seraphina was furious. "Don't you dare label me a homewrecker!"
"Then what are you?" Liana fired off the questions like bullets. "Kaelen is Elara's Alpha! When danger struck, he threw his mate aside to protect you! Why? Is he just that noble? Or do you have some incredible hold over him? Did you save his entire family from a burning building?"
The crowd was now openly staring at Seraphina, their gazes a mixture of curiosity and judgment.
"I saved his life!" Seraphina blurted out, her voice cracking with rage and desperation.