REED FIANCE

Scarlett’s POV

“I’m Reed’s fiancée.”

Ione said it like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Like the word didn’t slice straight through the room.

My fingers tightened slowly around my wine glass.

Fiancée.

I turned to Reed.

“You’re engaged?”

My voice came out quieter than I expected.

Reed didn’t answer.

Across the table, Sayer leaned back in his chair, watching the whole thing unfold with obvious interest.

“Well,” he muttered, swirling the wine in his glass. “This should be fun.”

Cassian shot him a warning look.

“Sayer.”

But Sayer only smirked.

I kept my eyes on Reed.

“You didn’t think that was something you should tell me?”

His jaw flexed.

“It’s complicated.”

A short, humorless laugh escaped me.

“Complicated.”

“Technically,” Sayer cut in lazily, “it’s not that complicated.”

Queen Azura sighed softly.

“Sayer, do not—”

“Oh come on,” he said, waving a hand. “She deserves to know.”

His gaze flicked to me.

“You see, Scarlett, our dear brother here has been promised to Ione since they were kids. Political alliance. Old family friendship. The usual royal nonsense.”

Ezio Solace nodded slightly from further down the table, clearly pleased with the arrangement being mentioned.

Sayer continued.

“They were supposed to have their marking ceremony when they turned eighteen.”

My stomach twisted.

I glanced at Reed again.

He still hadn’t said anything.

Sayer leaned forward slightly, voice lowering just enough to sound conspiratorial.

“Except that didn’t happen.”

“Enough,” Ione snapped.

But Sayer ignored her.

“The night before the ceremony,” he said, lifting his brows, “our lovely future princess vanished.”

The table went very still.

Ione’s eyes turned sharp.

“Sayer.”

“What?” he said lightly. “It’s history.”

He turned back to me.

“She disappeared without a word.”

“For two whole years.”

My chest tightened.

“When she finally came back,” he continued casually, “the engagement was still standing. Our father insisted. A promise between the Donovan and Solace families isn’t something he breaks.”

King Alaric nodded once.

“That is correct.”

Sayer lifted his glass again.

“But Reed’s been delaying the wedding ever since.”

His smirk widened slightly.

“Strange behavior for someone supposedly in love, don’t you think?”

Ione’s chair scraped slightly against the floor.

“That’s enough.”

Her gaze slid to me then.

Cold.

Assessing.

“You seem surprised,” she said flatly.

“I am,” I replied.

She scoffed softly.

“Well you shouldn’t be.”

The words were sharp.

“This arrangement has existed long before you arrived.”

My pulse kicked harder.

I met her stare.

“Reed is my mate.

The bond pulsed between us the moment I said it.

A ripple went through the table.

Ione’s expression darkened.

Then she laughed.

Not kindly.

“Mate?” she repeated.

Her gaze slid slowly to Reed.

“Is that what you’re calling this now?”

Reed said nothing.

The silence stretched long enough to feel deliberate.

Ione let out a quiet, humorless laugh.

“Of course.”

Her attention shifted back to me, her eyes sharp and openly hostile now.

“You think that changes anything?”

I held her gaze. “Reed is my mate.”

The words settled over the table like a thrown gauntlet.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Then Ione tilted her head slightly, studying me the way someone might study a stain that refused to come out.

“A mate,” she repeated softly.

Her lips curved—but there was no warmth in it.

“How unfortunate.”

My spine stiffened.

She leaned back in her chair, folding her hands neatly on the table as if discussing something polite instead of tearing me apart.

“You do realize who you are, don’t you?”

The question was quiet.

Cutting.

Before I could answer, she continued.

“A convicted murderer.”

The word dropped into the room like a stone.

“An ex-prisoner who spent five years in another pack’s cells.”

Sayer went very still.

Cassian’s jaw tightened.

But Ione didn’t stop.

“And now you walk into the Lycan royal court,” she said coolly, “and announce yourself as the Crown Prince’s mate.”

Her gaze swept over me slowly.

“A scandal like that doesn’t disappear just because of a bond.”

My fingers curled under the table.

“You don’t know the truth of what happened,” I said quietly.

“Oh, I know enough,” she replied.

Her voice sharpened slightly.

“Your name is stained across half the territories.”

She gestured lightly toward Reed without looking at him.

“Do you really think someone with your reputation can marry into the royal family?”

The room felt suffocatingly quiet.

Then she delivered the final blow.

“A woman accused of murdering an Alpha’s daughter… standing beside the future Lycan King?”

Her smile was thin.

“That would be a disgrace to the throne.”

My heart pounded.

Slowly, I turned to Reed.

Waiting.

Hoping he would say something.

Anything.

But he didn’t.

Reed sat there in silence.

And somehow that silence hurt more than her words.

“You might be his mate,” she said coldly, “but I’m the woman he agreed to marry.”

Silence followed.

Heavy.

Uncomfortable.

Then Sayer muttered under his breath, amused,

“This dinner just became my favorite family event.”

Cassian elbowed him again.

Harder this time.

But my attention stayed on Reed.

Waiting.

Hoping.

For him to say something.

To deny it.

To choose.

Instead he only looked between us, tension tight in his shoulders.

And in that moment—

It felt like the bond between us had cracked.