Chapter 4 4

A King's Subtle Claim

The shock was a physical blow. My fingers went numb, and the heavy ceremonial banner I was holding slipped from my grasp. It started to fall, the silken fabric whispering against the stone floor in the cavernous silence of the hall.

A few heads turned in my direction, their expressions a mixture of annoyance and pity. My face burned with humiliation. I was making a scene. In front of him.

Before the banner could fully hit the ground, a blur of motion caught my eye. Alaric, the Alpha King, had paused his procession. He stepped down from the dais, his movements fluid and precise, and walked directly towards me. The crowd parted before him like the sea.

My heart stopped. He stopped directly in front of me, his shadow falling over me. He bent down, his powerful frame eclipsing my view of everything else, and caught the banner's wooden pole just inches from the floor. He effortlessly righted it, placing it back into my trembling hands. To the onlookers, it was an act of kingly condescension, a monarch noticing a clumsy servant.

But as his fingers brushed mine, a jolt of electricity shot up my arm. His ice-blue eyes met mine for a fraction of a second, and in their depths, I saw not a king, but the wolf who had claimed me.

Then his voice slid into my mind, a low, possessive rumble that was for me and me alone. *'Tonight. In our den. Wait for me.'*

It wasn't a request. It was an Alpha Command, softened by the intimacy of our bond. I could only nod, my throat too tight to form words.

He straightened up, his regal mask firmly back in place, and continued to the throne without a backward glance. But the damage was done. His brief, focused attention had been a spotlight.

From across the hall, I felt a sharp, hostile gaze. I looked up and met the eyes of Lea Mills, a high-born she-wolf known for her ambition and cruel tongue. Her narrow, calculating eyes were fixed on me, her perfectly painted lips curled into a sneer of pure venom. She had seen the exchange, and in her eyes, I saw not just annoyance, but a spark of jealous hatred. She had likely hoped to catch the new King's eye herself.

I clutched the banner, my knuckles white. Alaric had tried to be subtle, but for someone like Lea, any attention from the King was a declaration. The secret I had held for three days was already threatening to unravel. Lea Mills's stare felt like a cold, silver arrow aimed at my back. I knew, with a sinking certainty, that my life of invisibility was officially over.