[Elara's POV]
"Damn it all, why did we have to run into them here?" Liana muttered under her breath, her voice laced with venom.
I spared a single, detached glance at the two figures riding their Windrunners side-by-side in the distance before looking away. "Just ignore them. They're just part of the landscape."
But it was too late. They had already spotted us.
Kaelen spurred his mount, charging toward us. His beast's claws tore up the turf, spraying grass and dirt. He pulled up sharply before me, his handsome face a mask of displeasure.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded.
A cold, mirthless laugh rose in my throat. "And you? What are you doing here? So this is the 'urgent Pack meeting' you mind-linked me about?"
A flicker of guilt, sharp and undeniable, crossed Kaelen's face. His amber eyes darted away for a fraction of a second.
Liana didn't hold back. "So your 'urgent meetings' are held on the competition grounds of the Hunt Festival now? What's next, the bedroom?"
Kaelen's expression darkened instantly. A wave of pure Alpha dominance crashed down on Liana. "If you say one more word, I don't care if you're Elara's friend. I will make you regret it."
"Go ahead. I'd like to see you try!" Liana shot back, her chin held high in defiance.
Kaelen's face grew stormier. He looked ready to lash out.
I stepped between them. "Kaelen, if you so much as touch a hair on my friend's head, I will personally go before the Elder Council and expose every detail of your affair with Seraphina."
"You wouldn't dare!" he snarled, his voice a low threat.
"Watch me," I replied, my gaze as steady as stone.
I knew he was still scrambling to contain the damage from the gossip crystals. He had paid a fortune to bury those rumors, and the last thing he wanted was for them to resurface, louder and more damning than before.
Just then, Seraphina guided her Windrunner closer, looking down at me from her saddle with an air of pure contempt.
"Is this really all you have? Pathetic little schemes to cling to a male who doesn't want you? Do you honestly believe that will make Kaelen's heart return to you?"
Liana trembled with rage beside me. I placed a calming hand on her arm before turning to Seraphina.
"You're the one entangled with a mated Alpha, yet you have the audacity to call me pathetic? Isn't that ironic?"
"Matters of the heart are beyond right and wrong. In three years, you failed to win Kaelen's love. Have you ever considered it's because you're simply not good enough?" Seraphina's tone dripped with superiority. "But a woman like you would never understand that. An Alpha desires a strong, independent Luna—one who can master a beast on her own!"
With a sharp kick to her mount's flank, she shot away, carving a graceful arc across the field. A chorus of cheers and applause erupted from the surrounding nobles, their flattery as loud as it was shameless.
Kaelen's eyes followed her, his gaze fixated on her impressive figure. It was a long moment before he turned back to me.
"A woman like Seraphina doesn't care about your petty games, Elara. I suggest you stop being so small-minded. And don't you dare follow me here again."
He spurred his own mount, chasing after her.
I stood frozen, a bitter, absurd feeling washing over me. He actually thought I had come here to stalk him.
Liana's face was twisted in fury. "How can two people be so utterly shameless! Stalking him? He can go stalk a cliff for all I care!"
"It doesn't matter," I said, patting her shoulder. "Once the bond is officially severed, their lives will have nothing to do with mine."
"But I can't stand it!" Liana fumed. "And that Seraphina! What's so special about riding a Windrunner? Back in the Wolf Wisdom Trials, you mastered beasts a hundred times fiercer than that! Who the hell is she to preach to you?"
A flicker of nostalgia warmed my chest. I remembered the thrill of the trial grounds, pushing limits with my comrades. I remembered the feeling of a griffin's powerful wings carrying me through the open sky.
"Let's go. We have business to attend to," I reminded her, pulling her along.
"Right, right. We need to see the Lycan King," Liana snapped back to the present. If we missed this chance, the Goddess knew when we'd get another.
The festival grounds were vast. It took us nearly fifteen minutes to reach the main viewing platform, where we finally spotted Malachi in the VIP section.
He was surrounded by a crowd of sycophants, among them Seraphina's uncle, an elder from the Stormcliff Pack.
Just as we were about to approach, Kaelen strode up from the side, his hand clamping around my arm.
"Following me all the way here… what is it you want?"
I wrenched my arm from his grasp. "I'm not following you."
"You're standing right here! How is that not following me?" he growled, his patience gone. "I'm here on important business!"
He explained that Seraphina had heard a rumor that the Lycan King would be present today. Word was, Malachi was looking to invest in defense projects in the eastern forests. Kaelen's new Pack defense initiative desperately needed that kind of capital.
"I'm here on business, too," I retorted coldly.
"What business could you possibly have?" he scoffed, not believing a word.
Seraphina joined him then, looping her arm through his. "Kaelen, darling, let's not keep the King waiting."
"Alright," he agreed, then shot me a warning look. "Today is critical for me. Don't you dare cause any trouble."
As Seraphina passed me, her face was a mask of disdain. "A capable woman is an Alpha's greatest asset. A weak one just turns ugly with jealousy."
She turned her brilliant smile back to Kaelen. "Don't worry, Kaelen. I'll have my uncle introduce you to the King."
Like a proud peacock, she led him toward Malachi.
Her uncle was quick to make the introductions. "Your Majesty, this is my niece, Seraphina, the most renowned War Master in the southern mountains. And this is Alpha Kaelen of the Blackwood Pack."
"Your Majesty. We met at the restaurant," Seraphina said, attempting to sound familiar.
Malachi's deep violet eyes swept over her, completely devoid of recognition or interest.
"I don't remember."
Seraphina's smile froze on her face.
Kaelen quickly stepped in. "A king has many important matters to attend to. It's only natural. But Your Majesty, your composure in the face of that assassin… it left a deep impression on me."
He laid the flattery on thick, but Malachi seemed bored, offering only a curt, dismissive nod.
Liana and I approached. Seeing me follow him yet again, Kaelen's brow furrowed even deeper.
"Your Majesty, I am Liana of the Azure Fang Mercenary Company," Liana said, getting straight to the point. "Our company specializes in providing elite defense strategies for Packs across the continent. If you're interested, we would be honored to present our portfolio."
With a man like Malachi, directness was better than circling.
But his gaze drifted past her, landing squarely on me.
"Miss Elara. We meet again."
I forced a tight, thin smile. "So we do."
"And what brings you here today?" he asked, a flicker of genuine curiosity in his tone.
"I'm with the Azure Fang," I replied. "I'm here with my commander."
Liana's face lit up. She knew what those words meant. It was my official declaration.
"That's right," she added quickly. "Elara is our future Chief Strategist, the absolute cornerstone of our company!"
Kaelen's face tightened into a knot. "Elara, stop this nonsense. Do you have any idea where you are?"
He turned to Malachi, his voice dripping with contempt. "Your Majesty, I apologize. She was formerly with my Pack, but she resigned a few days ago. She's no strategist. In my Pack, she was little more than an assistant."