Claiming An Alpha

SCARLET'S POVThe scent of burning incest mixed with sandalwood wafted through the air of the dimly lit chamber. I sat on the edge of the bed, watching Kaiden honker over his reading desk. I couldn't help but admire him from afar. The warm glow of the candle light kissed his already bronze skin, his jaws clenched as he ran his fingers on the maps sprawled over the table and when he bit his bottom lip, I did the same.A little chuckle escaped his lips. “If you want to check me out, you should come closer.” Heat flooded my cheeks and I turned away, embarrassed. “I wasn't checking you out.” “Really?” There was a mischievous lilt in his voice as he spoke. Oh no. He was coming my way.I tried to pull my feet into the mattress but he was quick to stop me. I didn't know when he crossed the room to hover over my face.“Where do you think you're going?” he leaned down till we were nose to nose.“Kaiden.” It came as a whisper.“Shh,” he put his finger to my lips. “Let me make you feel good

SCARLET’S POVTHREE DAYS LATER,I paced the plush confines of our chambers with my hands to my hips. Today was the day Kaiden would return from the war and as usual he had emerged the victor in the just-concluded war. When the news of his return home reached my ears, I wasn't excited instead I was anxious. Afraid of him hearing about what happened in his absence – the rumor, and the council's unannounced meeting with me. But most importantly I was afraid of him getting word of the petition. The Pack's Council are a formidable foe but I was better than them. All I had to do was make sure I was by Kaiden's side at all times and they would avoid him. That might work.A gentle tap on the door snapped me out of my thoughts and I went to answer it. My heart beat faster than it normally did as I clutched the doorknob and gave it a twist. Layla’s face appeared instead of Kaiden's.“Oh. It's you.” I said in a dry tone, stepping back for her to enter.Layla entered the room and crossed her

SCARLET'S POV A few days after the incident in my chambers, the royal physicians decided to perform an autopsy on Kaiden to find the cause of his death.We all waited with bated breath - Alan, Eric, Isabella, Jasper and I as the physician walked into the living room with a long look on his face. I rose to my feet along with the rest of the room. “Your Highness… lady and gentlemen. The results are out.” The physician, a lean man dressed in green scrubs announced as he entered the room. “So… what is it? What killed my husband?” I asked.“Alpha Kaiden's autopsy results are in. He was poisoned.” The physician read out the report from the clipboard and awe all froze in shock.“P - poison? How?” Isabella panicked as she quizzed.Jasper leapt to his feet, his eyes widened in shock. “What?”I shook my head in disbelief. “There's no way.”“I'm afraid so, Your Highness,” The physician turned to me. “We found traces of poisons in his bloodstream as though they had already been there. Somebod