[Elara's POV]
Kaelen's words were a blade of ice, plunging straight into my heart.
The reason for his cruelty was brutally clear. He needed to sever any connection to me in Malachi's eyes. After I'd held a knife to the King's throat, Kaelen clearly saw me as a liability. And with the Azure Fang now his direct competitor for the King's investment, he needed to discredit us.
Three years of marriage. Three years I had poured my blood and soul into his Pack, only to be dismissed as "little more than an assistant."
"Is that so?" Malachi murmured, his inhumanly beautiful face betraying no emotion.
Seraphina seized the opportunity, her voice dripping with mockery.
"Commander Liana, I know you and Elara are friends. It's noble of you to try and build her up in front of the King. But there's no need to make up a title for her, is there?"
"Who's making anything up?" Liana's face flushed with anger. "Elara was studying defense strategy when you were still playing in the mud!"
"So, does she have any victories to her name? Any renowned fortifications she designed herself?" Seraphina pressed, her questions sharp and pointed.
Liana opened her mouth, but no words came out.
She couldn't answer.
Every project I had ever completed for the Blackwood Pack was bound by a strict non-disclosure agreement. Until my mate bond with Kaelen was officially dissolved, I was forbidden from revealing any details.
"So, that's a no?" Seraphina arched a triumphant brow. "One should choose one's stage more carefully before putting on a performance."
The Stormcliff wolves behind her chuckled in agreement.
Liana was trembling with rage.
I simply looked at them, my voice calm. "Whether I am a fraud or not, time will tell."
"Empty words won't save you from humiliation," Seraphina scoffed.
Just then, several Stormcliff warriors led a beast forward. It was a Shadowfang Wolf, its body pure, sleek darkness, save for four snow-white paws. Its form was a sculpture of coiled muscle, and its eyes burned with a wild, untamable fire.
"Your Majesty," Seraphina's uncle simpered. "This is a gift from our Stormcliff Pack. He has a fiery spirit, but he has been tamed by our finest beastmasters. Perhaps you would honor us by taking him for a ride?"
Malachi merely glanced at the wolf, showing no intention of accepting.
The air grew thick with awkward silence.
"Then allow me to ride him for you, Your Majesty," Seraphina volunteered, eager to showcase her skills.
If I had caught Malachi's attention in the restaurant with a knife, she would catch it here with her prowess.
Her uncle immediately chimed in. "An excellent idea! Let Seraphina ride a few laps. Her equestrian skills are second to none! She won the championship at the Hundred-Clan Airshow!"
Seeing no objection from Malachi, Seraphina shot a triumphant smile, vaulting onto the wolf's back with a single, fluid motion. She kicked its flanks, and they shot off like a black arrow.
A wave of gasps and praise followed her.
"Lady Seraphina truly is a War Master! Not only a brilliant commander but a master rider as well!"
"With skills like that, she could represent the entire eastern forests in the continental games!"
Liana muttered in my ear, "Warrior queen my ass. She's a show-off."
I knew Liana had seen what true power looked like on the back of a beast.
Kaelen must have overheard. He stepped closer to me, his tone condescending. "Seraphina is a truly free-spirited and independent woman. She doesn't waste her energy trying to tear others down. Elara, instead of letting your friend spew jealous venom, perhaps you should focus on improving yourself."
"The only thing I know," I shot back, "is that a truly independent woman would never involve herself with a mated Alpha."
Kaelen's face went crimson. He wanted to erupt, but the setting forced him to swallow his fury.
Out on the field, Seraphina, having had her fill of the spotlight, began to guide the wolf back toward the crowd. As she neared, she pulled on the reins, intending a slow, graceful stop.
But the Shadowfang Wolf beneath her ignored the command. Instead of slowing, it accelerated.
Panic flared in Seraphina's eyes as the crowd loomed closer. She yanked on the reins with all her might, shouting commands, but the beast was deaf to them, its speed only increasing.
In her frantic struggle, one of her feet slipped from the stirrup. She lurched sideways, clinging to the wolf's back, her earlier grace replaced by clumsy desperation.
"Aahh!" A terrified scream tore from her throat. She had completely lost control.
The nobles who had just been praising her scattered like frightened birds as the black beast charged toward them. I grabbed Liana, pulling her out of the way.
In that instant, my eyes caught a flash of movement—or rather, a lack of it. Malachi was still standing there, unmoving, directly in the path of the stampeding wolf.
He was going to be hit. A direct hit at that speed would cripple any wolf—even a Lycan King.
My body moved before my mind could think. It was pure instinct.
I launched myself toward Malachi, covering the distance with impossible speed. I grabbed his arm, tackling him to the ground as we rolled away from the path of destruction. Amid a chorus of screams, we narrowly dodged the wolf's claws, sharp enough to rend steel.
Seraphina's uncle let out a shaky breath. If Malachi had been injured here, the entire Stormcliff Pack would have paid the price.
I lay on the grass, panting, the heavy weight on top of me a stark reminder of what had just happened.
"Malachi, are you alright? Are you hurt?" I asked.
The man pinning me to the ground didn't answer. Had he been kicked during the fall? I tried to sit up to check on him.
Suddenly, a firm pressure on my shoulder held me down.
Malachi's cool, low voice sounded by my ear. "Why did you save me?"
"No reason. It was instinct," I said flatly.
"Instinct?" He slowly pushed himself up, his body still hovering over mine. His body was a heavy weight, pinning me to the earth. For the first time, I saw a flicker of something in those dead-sea eyes—a ripple of genuine surprise. His pupils, like bottomless oceans, reflected my face, smudged with grass and dirt.
"Yes. I would have done the same for anyone," I said without hesitation.
Malachi seemed to freeze for a moment.
"If you're not hurt, then get off me," I said, my patience wearing thin.
A flicker of something—amusement?—crossed his features. It was clear no one ever spoke to him with such impatience. When he still didn't move, I shoved him off me and scrambled to my feet.
Nearby, the Shadowfang Wolf was still rampaging, Seraphina shrieking on its back. "Help… ahhh! Somebody… help me! Stop this beast!"
But no one dared to approach the frenzied animal.
Seraphina couldn't hold on for much longer. The reins slipped from her grasp. With another violent buck, she was thrown from the saddle, landing in a heap on the soft turf with a pained cry. Even so, she lay there, moaning in agony.
Kaelen rushed to her side, helping her up. "Hold on, I've sent a servant for the Shaman!"
Suddenly, Liana's voice shouted, "Elara, look out!"
Kaelen's head snapped up. The Shadowfang Wolf had changed direction. It was now charging straight for me. He instinctively started to rise, to run toward me.
But Seraphina clutched his hand. "Kaelen, it hurts!"
Her cry froze him in place.
And in that single, stolen moment, the wolf was upon me.
A flash of vicious satisfaction crossed Seraphina's face. If she had to be humiliated, then so would I. She wanted to see me trampled.
The crowd screamed, convinced I was frozen in fear, a helpless target. They thought I was done for.
But just as the beast was about to crush me, I moved. My hand shot out, snagging the flailing reins. Then, with a single, explosive leap, I vaulted onto the back of the rampaging Shadowfang Wolf.