Chapter 15

Alpha Ellison.

The steak in front of me was cooked to perfection—medium-rare, just the way I liked it. The scent of rosemary and garlic wafted from the plate, mixing with the faint aroma of aged wine I hadn’t even sipped yet. This place was my favorite restaurant, tucked discreetly in a quiet corner of the capital and it was one of the few I considered neutral ground. No politics, no council pressure. Just quiet, just meat, just... peace. It was were my mother would always bring me when she was alive.

I was halfway through slicing into the meat when my phone vibrated. Once. Then twice. Then it didn’t stop. The thing buzzed against the polished wood of the table like it was possessed.

With a sigh, I set down my fork and reached for it. Dozens of notifications.

Tagged photos. Mentions. Alerts. Headlines.

My heart kicked against my ribs, a silent warning.

I opened the first image.

And froze.

No. No, this wasn’t—

The photo was unmistakable.

Lucy.

Wearing barely anything—soaked, startled, vulnerable. Her red underwear was torn at the waistband, her skin damp, her arms crossed in a desperate attempt to cover herself. And then another photo—this time, she was in the spring, water clinging to her body, her expression twisted in what looked like pain and humiliation.

The caption?

“Royal breeder or Royal Disgrace? Alpha Ellison’s consort caught flaunting herself behind palace walls.”

I stared.

Motionless.

The voices in the restaurant faded to a distant hum. The clatter of silverware, the hushed gossip—it all became irrelevant. All I could see were those pictures. The thousands of comments piling up under them. The mockery. The filth.

My wolf stirred inside me—confused, growling, furious.

Lucy… why?

Why the hell would she do this? She had to know the consequences. The scrutiny. The judgment. She knew what the court was like. How could she be this careless? This reckless?

My jaw clenched so tight I could hear my own teeth grinding.

I stood so quickly that my chair screeched against the tile. Everyone looked up, startled. I didn’t care.

I walked out without a word. My steak untouched. My wine still full.

By the time I was back in the armored vehicle, I was already dialing the palace.

“Have Lucy brought to my quarters immediately,” I barked to my steward. “And tell her she better have a damn good explanation.”

“Yes, Alpha,” came the crisp reply.

I hung up and tossed the phone aside, trying to breathe. But the images were branded into my skull. 

She was mine. The entire kingdom knew it. And this? This made me look like a fool.

No, she wasn’t going to get away with it.

When I stepped through the gates of the palace, the Beta was already waiting for me in the courtyard with a stack of folders.

“Alpha,” he greeted me, unaware of the fury simmering behind my eyes. “There’s a proposal from the Alpha of the West Pack. They’re offering—”

“Not now,” I growled, brushing past him.

“But it’s urgent—”

“I said not now!”

His mouth snapped shut. Good.

I was halfway up the marble steps when the mindlink hit me—fast, panicked, and immediate.

"Alpha! It was the warrior captain at the gate. She’s gone. Lucy. She packed her bags and left."

I stopped mid-step. “What?”

"She left the palace an hour ago. The guards assumed she had clearance… we didn’t think—"

I didn’t wait for him to finish.

I spun on my heel and stormed through the halls toward her wing. I shoved past maids and guards, each one bowing, terrified, confused. When I got to her quarters, I flung the door open—

Empty.

Drawers ransacked. Closet half-open. Blankets kicked aside. The scent of her still lingered, sweet and faint, but the girl herself?

Gone.

I stood in the silence, letting it settle in my bones.

She really left me.

After everything.

I stormed back into the hallway and summoned every damn guard within shouting distance.

“Gather in the throne hall. Now.”

Ten minutes later, they were lined up like children caught stealing. My Beta joined them, now holding the folders tightly to his chest as if shielding himself from my wrath.

I stood at the center, my voice sharp as broken glass.

“How in the hell does an Omega walk out of the palace without a single one of you stopping her?”

The guards exchanged looks but no one spoke.

“I don’t pay you to blink and nod like idiots,” I snapped. “I pay you to watch. To protect. This is the royal palace—not some back alley in the slums!”

Still no answers. Only silence and fear.

I turned to my Beta. “I want to know who leaked those photos. Now.”

He nodded quickly and handed me a tablet. “We traced the original post. It came from an internal network—unsecured. We narrowed it down to two devices.”

I didn’t need to see more. My gut already knew.

“Say it,” I demanded.

He hesitated. “Aurora. It was posted from her room.”

Something in me snapped.

I didn’t speak.

I moved.

Aurora’s quarters were just down the hall, lavish and gilded, dripping with the same self-importance she carried around like perfume. I didn’t knock. I kicked the door open.

She was seated at her vanity, brushing her hair and humming. She barely flinched.

“Ellison,” she said sweetly. “Back so soon?”

I crossed the room in two strides and grabbed her by the collar of her silk robe. She gasped as I yanked her to her feet.

“What was that nonsense you did today?” I snarled.

Her smile faltered. “What are you talking about—?”

I shoved the tablet into her face. “These.”

She paled.

“You didn't have any right to do this” I said. “You exposed a private moment and made it public. You’ve brought scandal to the palace—to me.”

She opened her mouth. “It was just a joke—”

“I’m not laughing.”

I let go of her, and she stumbled back.

“I should exile you,” I growled. “But that would be too kind.”

I turned to the guards in the doorway. “Take her to the dungeons. She doesn’t leave until I say so. No visitors. No leniency.”

Aurora screamed. “You can’t do this to me because of a nobody! And besides I'm royalty!”

“You can shoved the royalty down your throat when you get to the dungeon.”

They dragged her out, kicking and crying. I didn’t watch.

I just stood there, fury and confusion boiling inside me.

Lucy was gone.

Aurora was in the dungeon.

The palace was in chaos.

And I had no idea what the hell I was supposed to do next.