Cassia's POV
I should have been relieved.
After the attack in the garden, I had spent the last two days locked in my chambers, waiting for Darius to summon me. I wanted to go closer to him and check if I would feel the same way I felt with the alpha prince when I'm with him.
Of course I would, right? I was getting married to him but he never did.
No one spoke of the men he had slaughtered. No one told me who had sent them.
The only thing I heard was a single piece of news that sent a cold chill through my spine.
The Alpha Prince had returned for good.
Apparently he didn't let anyone know he was around except that woman probably.
"My lady, are you going to keep sitting here?" Sarah, My maid asked.
"Going out for a bit would be good for you." She muttered. She just wanted to go out and hear gossip but she was right.
I stood up and smiled at her as I made my way out of my room.
The halls of the palace were alive with whispers. I thought humans were the epitome of gossip but seeing the werewolves I decided to give them the crown for gossip.
Servants scurried past me, heads bowed, voices hushed. The noblewomen, who had spent the last week sneering at my presence, were suddenly wide-eyed.
"He's back," I overheard one of them say, barely able to contain her excitement.
"Did you see him yet?"
"Not yet, but they say he returned late last night. Apparently, the Supreme Alpha summoned him immediately."
"Sarah, what is the Alpha's Prince's name?" She hesitated for a while.
"Kael Valerian." She said above a whisper.
I swallowed hard, pretending I didn't care.
I had enough problems already, a betrothed who barely spoke to me, a court that wants me humiliated, and a wedding I never wanted.
But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't ignore the way the air in the palace had changed.
As if everyone was holding their breath.
The grand hall was filled with nobles, warriors, and court officials when the doors swung open. A heavy silence followed, as if the very air was stilled, and then he stepped inside.
I felt it before I saw him, a presence that made my breath catch, that made the fine hairs on my arms rise.
The room, which had been warm just moments ago, felt colder.
Kael Valerian.
The Alpha Prince.
His golden eyes burned like molten fire, framed by dark lashes. His hair was black as the midnight sky and was slightly tousled, as if he had only just returned from battle. He was dressed simply, but there was nothing simple about him.
Such a liar if I had seen him I'd believe that he was just returning from the war.
He was powerful, and the entire court bowed their heads in respect.
Everyone except me. I was too busy staring. This was the man everyone feared. The man who was spoken of in whispers, but what I did not understand was why he was staring right at me when I was trying my best to avoid his gaze.
"So, you're the little human my brother is meant to marry."
His voice was deeper than the previous time, probably rough.
I lifted my chin, hating the way my stomach twisted at the way he looked at me.
"And you must be the Alpha Prince," I replied coolly. "The one no one dares to speak of."
A flicker of amusement crossed his face, but it was gone in an instant.
"They don't speak of me because they know better," he said simply, taking another step forward. "But you? You don't seem to know anything at all."
"Excuse me? My lord?" I stiffened.
"You don't belong here." His golden eyes dragged over me. "A human among wolves. A weak, breakable thing in a world of monsters. I don't know whether to be impressed or embarrassed for you."
Heat flared in my chest with anger.
"I am not weak."
"No?" Kael smirked.
I expected him to walk away. To dismiss me as nothing.
Instead, he moved closer.
"Yet I saved you?" He smirked but I wasn't worried that he was too close to let me think.
His scent wrapped around me again, and I hated how my body reacted. In our first meeting he was rude and our second meeting he was almost like a lover from the fairytales but now? He was behaving worse than Darius.
"Tell me, Princess," he murmured, voice like a dark promise. "Do you truly believe my brother will ever choose you?"
"He already has." I forced my voice to remain steady. "The wedding is set." Deep down I wished I was getting married to him instead but the gods be cursed.
Kael laughed. An actual laugh.
"Oh, little human." His gaze at me. "You think a marriage makes you his choice?"
"What are you saying?" I whispered.
"I'm saying that Darius never wanted you, Princess. And he never will." Lord Kael leaned in slightly, his breath warm against my ear.
A sharp, stinging pain shot through my chest, but before I could react, Kael had already turned away.
He walked past me without another word, leaving me standing there.
I hated him.
I wanted to hate him but for some reason I couldn't breathe.
What was happening?