Chapter 4 - The King's Captain Was the Son of the Man Who Stole Alice's Childhood
Victor's confession changed everything.
He was not Rafael's servant.
He was Rafael's son.
His mother was a royal assassin who had died before Victor learned the truth.
His father had raised him within the shadow court.
Then Victor discovered who Alice was.
He had been protecting her from a distance ever since.
“The men who punished you,” Victor said, “I gave them false orders whenever I could.”
Alice stared.
“The food?”
“I doubled your portions.”
“You never spoke to me.”
“Because Rafael watched me.”
Kalin looked furious.
“You should have told me.”
“I couldn't.”
“You could.”
Victor lowered his head.
“I was afraid.”
Alice understood that fear.
She hated that she understood.
Kalin ordered Victor imprisoned pending investigation.
Then he turned to Alice.
“I owe you an apology.”
“For what?”
“For putting people around you who I should have vetted.”
“You couldn't know.”
“I should have.”
Alice looked at him.
“You can't protect everyone.”
“I can try.”
She smiled faintly.
“You sound like someone who has never learned how impossible that is.”
“I've learned.”
“Have you?”
He looked at her.
“I watched my father die.”
Alice went quiet.
Kalin continued.
“I watched men betray him.”
“I watched him become cruel.”
“I became cruel too.”
Alice shook her head.
“Not with me.”
“Not yet.”
She touched his hand.
“You asked.”
“What?”
“Whether you could touch me.”
His eyes softened.
“Yes.”
“And that's why I'm still here.”
Kalin closed his fingers around hers.
The bond surged.
Warmth spread through Alice.
Not ownership.
Recognition.
A promise.
Then the palace bells sounded.
An attack.
They rushed to the eastern wing.
Assassins had entered.
Royal guards were fighting.
Alice heard someone shout:
“The Moonblood!”
They were hunting her.
Kalin shifted partially.
Fangs.
Black claws.
His wolf pushed close to the surface.
He fought like a storm.
Alice had never seen anything like it.
One attacker reached her.
Kalin crossed the room in seconds.
The assassin dropped.
“Touch her again,” he growled, “and I will tear your heart out.”
The surviving assassin laughed.
“You won't have the chance.”
He bit down.
Poison.
Dead before he hit the ground.
Kalin stared.
“Who sent them?”
No answer.
Then Alice saw the tattoo on the man's wrist.
A crescent crossed by three claw marks.
She remembered it.
From Gareth's house.
From one of the guards.
From a scarred servant who had disappeared years earlier.
“The Black Crescent.”
Kalin turned.
“What?”
“They were at Ironwood.”
He looked at her.
“Rafael's private soldiers.”
“We need to leave.”
“No.”
Alice frowned.
“Why?”
“Because if we run, he knows we've been frightened.”
“What if he wants us in the palace?”
“Then we'll make him regret inviting us.”
That night, the Moon Council declared an emergency.
All major Alphas were called.
They arrived furious.
Some wanted Alice hidden.
Some wanted her executed.
One demanded the throne be returned to the old royal line.
Kalin stood in front of them.
“She is my mate.”
The room erupted.
“That is irrelevant!”
“No.”
Kalin's voice cut through them.
“It is not.”
He looked at Alice.
“Because the law says a queen's mate stands beside her by choice.”
An elder spoke.
“She isn't queen yet.”
Alice's stomach tightened.
Kalin turned.
“That sounds like a problem.”
He took Alice's hand.
Then he knelt.
The council fell silent.
The Lycan King bowed his head before a former slave.
Alice stared.
“What are you doing?”
“Making my choice public.”
He looked up.
“You are my mate.”
He kissed her fingers.
“But you are not my property.”
Alice's eyes filled.
The council stared.
Kalin continued.
“And if you become queen, I will stand beside you.”
Not above her.
Beside her.
The hall became quiet.
Then the floor shook.
A roar came from outside.
Not wolf.
Something larger.
Ancient.
The council members turned pale.
The walls cracked.
A horn sounded in the distance.
Rafael's army had arrived.
Thousands of wolves surrounded the palace.
At their center stood a man with silver hair.
Alice knew him instantly.
Not from memory.
From instinct.
Her wolf whispered one word.
Blood.
Rafael looked at the palace.
Then at the window.
His eyes met Alice's.
He smiled.
May you like
And shouted:
“Come home, little queen.”
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