Chapter 11

Kaiden

Tonight's banquet was meant to celebrate our victory in war, a hard-fought triumph that secured the kingdom's power. The grand hall was filled with nobles, warriors, and Alphas and Lunas from across the realm. Goblets clinked, laughter echoed, and music played, yet I found myself only half-engaged.

My mind drifted elsewhere, specifically to a certain stubborn woman who was not in attendance and i havent been able to get out of my mind.

Princess Anya stood beside me, her arm looped through mine as she played the perfect hostess, but I knew her well enough to see through her act.

Her grip was just a bit too tight, and the way her lips curled into a forced smile was way too similar to her father’s angry grimance.

But i did not feel any need to console her. The last thing i wanted was for her to think i would take her ill treatment of my mate in dtride all because she was my neice.

“Uncle,” She called out sweetly, but i knew her enough to detect the venom in her words.

“Yes, Anya?”

She let out a deep sigh. “Yuu have been weird since you came back.”

I rose a brow. “How so?”

“Well, my Uncle Kaiden would never humiliate me because of a woman, talk less wolfless theif. And she almost destroyed the banquet with her revealing clothes. I took so long to plan this banquet for you and i was humiliated. Do you not care how I feel? She should be punished."

I exhaled sharply, removing my arm from hers. "Anya, I warned you. Do not act recklessly where Celine is concerned. You will not touch her again."

Her expression twisted into something ugly before she quickly masked it. "She is just a maid, Kaiden."

"She is under my protection. That is all you need to know."

Anya clenched her fists at my words, but she was careful not to let her fury show openly. I had always spoilt her, let her have her way in most matters.

But Celine was different. She had made mistakes, yes, but didn’t everyone deserve a chance? Besides, this wasn’t about Anya’s wounded pride, it was about control. I would not allow her to treat Celine as a plaything to torment at anytime she was bored and that was final.

I am the king before i am her uncle.

"Fine," Anya finally said, her lips barely moving. "I won’t touch her." But the gleam in her eyes told me that she had no intention of letting this go. I would have to keep a close eye on her then.

Let her try. She’d find out soon enough that I wasn’t bluffing.

Her eyes filled with mischief as the music dropped a bit lower for conversations, and she moved close for a whisper that was anything but. “I heard rumors, Kaiden. People say you’ve brought back a stunning beauty from your war. Everyone is wondering… who is your fiancée? Surely, she must be here tonight."

Her loud unconcealed attempt to put me on the spot worked as the Alphas seated near turned to us with curiousity swiming their eyes, eagerly awaiting a response from me.

I remained silent for a moment, studying Anya’s face. She was goading me, expecting that whoever I presented would not be Celine who hadn’t even been invited to the banquet. She wanted to remind me, and everyone else, that Celine was nothing.

I gave a small nod, “Very well. It is time for me to make due introductions.” i gestured to a guard who came closer. “Bring out Princess Lydia.”

He nodded, and shortly after, the doors to the hall opened, and murmurs, gasps and excited stares floated around the hall as Princess Lydia was led in.

Despite being cuffed and treated like an object instead of a princess like she was used to, Princess Lydia maintained her regality. Dressed in a luxurious but revealing dress, Lydia strolled in with an air of royalty, claiming the attention of all in the hall.

Her dark eyes shimmered with an unreadable expression as she was brought before me.

"This," I announced, my voice cold and unwavering, "is Princess Lydia. She is no fiancée… she is my spoil of war. A symbol of everything that was taken from us, and everything we gained back.”

More gasps. More whispers.

Anya’s head snapped towards me as her eyes widened in shock.. “Spoil? A princess reduced to nothing?”

“Silence, Anya.”

Lydia gazed at me with her dark eyes, her lips lifting into a smirk as she knelt before me and crawled closer in a seductive manner that had all the men in the hall enticed. “I could be more, your highness.”

Her delicate hands rested lightly on my knee. She tilted her head, her long dark hair cascading over one shoulder as she whispered, just loud enough for those closest to hear, “I could be so much more, Your Highness. Let me serve you in ways no other woman can.”

Her voice was like silk, smooth and calculated. She was dangerous, and she knew exactly how to wield her beauty as a weapon. But I wasn’t some weak-willed man who could be conquered by a pretty face. I had conquered her kingdom; she was mine, and she would do well to remember that.

The tension in the hall thickened as I studied her, allowing the silence to stretch. I could feel Anya’s eyes burning into me, waiting, hoping, for some reaction. The nobles, the warriors, even the servants dared not breathe too loudly, afraid to interrupt whatever was unfolding between Lydia and me.

Finally, I reached out, gripping Lydia’s chin between my fingers. Her smirk faltered for just a second as I leaned in, my voice a low growl. “You misunderstand, Princess,” I murmured, my lips just inches from hers. “You are not here to seduce me. You are here because you lost.”

She pulled back in shock, anger flashing through her eyes at my deviance. I was sure she wasn't expecting that.

But she recovered quickly, her lips curling back into a coy smile. “A loss can be turned into an opportunity, can it not?”

I released her, my expression unreadable. “We shall see.”

Anya, who had been silent up until now, scoffed. “So, that’s it? You flaunt a conquered princess before us like some trophy? And what of your true queen, Uncle?”

I turned to face her, my eyes cold. “Do not test me, Anya. You forget your place.”

Her jaw tightened, and for a moment, I thought she might push further. But she was smart enough to know when she had lost. Instead, she plastered on a sickly-sweet smile and bowed her head. “Of course, Your Majesty. I only wished to ensure your happiness.”

“Good, now take the newest slave of this palace away, and share more wine, so many people look sober from where I am seated.”

Laughter floated in the air at my words and the music continued, the tension melting away like it never happened.