Shadows Behind the Crown
The Great Hall bled into silence after Selene's bow. The sound was alive but brittle wolves shifting, whispers curdling in corners, the scrape of boots against stone as Alphas adjusted their cloaks. But it was all swallowed, crushed into stillness, the moment Ciaran's gaze swept across the chamber.
That single look was enough. His command was law, older and stronger than any voice raised in protest. No Alpha dared test him.
The hall bent, unwilling but obedient.
And I thought it was over.
That maybe for tonight I would be spared. That I could breathe again.
I was wrong.
By the time he led me from the hall, the torches had burned lower. Their light wavered, gold and hungry, casting shadows that clung to the fortress walls. Each corridor felt longer than the last, carved from stone that hummed with age, with power, with memory of battles fought before my bloodline even existed.
Ciaran's grip was firm, not cruel. As though he knew I was seconds away from bolting, from tearing free and running blind into the night. His hand was a tether. A chain disguised as safety.
We passed soldiers standing sentinel, armor gleaming faintly in the flicker of fire. Servants darted out of sight, bowing their heads as the King strode by. Even wolves hardened by centuries lowered their gazes, unwilling to meet those silver eyes.
And then a voice curled through the corridor.
"Brother."
Not for him. For me.
The word froze me where I stood.
Selene leaned against the stone archway ahead, moonlight pouring through a slit window to paint her in silver glow. Her violet gown shimmered like spilled ink, clinging to her body in liquid shadows. Every detail about her was deliberate, from the braid woven with silver threads to the curve of her painted lips.
Her smile was sugar. Her gaze, daggers.
Ciaran stopped, but his hand did not release me. His body went still, his power humming faintly under his skin, dangerous and controlled. "Not here."
Her smile deepened. "Then perhaps… here." She pushed from the wall with feline grace, drifting closer. Lilac perfume curled thick in the air, sweet enough to choke. "The King's mate deserves a welcome, does she not?"
The word mate hissed across my skin like hot metal pressed against flesh.
Ciaran's gaze flicked to mine, unreadable, then back to her. The silence stretched, taut as wire. Finally, he spoke, his voice low steel. "Five minutes. No more."
Then, with deliberate slowness, he released my wrist.
The weight of his hand gone left me colder than I expected.
He walked only a few paces away, turning his back, though not his attention. He stood close enough to strike if she overstepped, far enough to give the illusion of space.
It was exactly what she wanted.
The instant his eyes shifted, Selene's mask slipped. The sweetness melted. Her gaze sharpened, cruel and cutting, as if her true face had always lurked just beneath the silk.
She stepped into the shadows with me, her voice a whisper edged in venom.
"You think wearing his claim makes you untouchable?" Her eyes flicked to the faint mark at my throat, to the invisible chain she thought bound me. "You're still the half-blood mistake I left in the ashes of Ashwood."
The words dug deep, sharp as claws.
My nails bit into my palms until I felt the sting. "You don't scare me anymore."
Her laugh was soft, musical, cruel. She circled me like a predator savoring the scent of prey. "Oh, sweet sister. You've always mistaken cruelty for fear. I don't need to scare you. I only need to remind him" she tipped her head toward Ciaran's silhouette, broad and unmoving "what you are. Fragile. Mortal. Replaceable."
Heat coiled in my chest, rage tangled with shame, but I refused to flinch. "And you'll be the one to remind him? With what? Your lies?"
Selene's lips curved, perfect and poisonous. "With truth. With power. With every Alpha in that hall tonight who saw me shining while you trembled. They'll rally to me, Elara. They always do."
Her words dragged me backward in memory the bonfire, herbs tossed into flame, laughter spilling like wine. Gabriel's smirk, her hand on his arm, the way the whole pack leaned toward her while I stood invisible.
My throat tightened, but I forced the words past the burn. "You haven't changed. Still desperate to stand on my bones to make yourself taller."
Her smile sharpened, merciless. "And you still don't understand. This bond doesn't save you it damns you. The higher he lifts you, the farther you'll fall. And when you break, I'll be waiting."
The torchlight licked across her eyes, catching a wicked gleam that made my blood run colder than the stone beneath my feet.
Then his voice cut through the air.
"Time's up."
Ciaran hadn't moved, but his power filled the corridor. His words were iron, final.
Selene smoothed her face in an instant, her venom vanishing behind polished grace. She turned to him with a bow so flawless it belonged to a queen. "Of course, my King."
But as she swept past me, she leaned close, her perfume dizzying. Her breath warmed the shell of my ear.
"You really think you're Ashwood's mistake?" she whispered, soft enough that only I could hear. "You don't even know whose blood stains your veins, do you?"
Every muscle in my body seized.
Her smile curved, slow and merciless. "Ask him, little sister. Ask your mighty King why your birth was hidden in shadows."
And then she was gone, her lilac trail clinging to the air long after her footsteps faded.
I stood rigid in the dark, my pulse racing, Selene's words burning through me like fire poured into veins. A truth I hadn't even known I was missing now roared in my blood.
For the first ti
me, I wasn't sure what terrified me more Selene's venom, or the secrets of my own blood.