Framed: The Alpha's Broken Vow

​POV: Vaelith Nyxmoor

​The grand ballroom of the Vaelor Palace was filled with hundreds of wolves, all laughing and drinking under the massive crystal chandeliers, but I barely noticed the noise because I was completely focused on the silver bracelet tucked safely inside my velvet pouch. It was our third wedding anniversary, and for the past three weeks, I had carried the secret of my pregnancy alone, waiting for the perfect moment to tell Caedric that he was going to be a father.

​"You look beautiful tonight, Vaelith," a soft voice said, and I turned to see Nora, one of the few palace maids who didn't look at me like I was a piece of trash scraped off the pack borders.

​"Thank you, Nora, but I'm just waiting for Caedric to get back from the front terrace," I replied, smoothing down the front of my silk gown while my eyes scanned the crowd for his familiar tall frame and golden hair.

​"The Alpha King and Queen are watching you," Nora whispered, leaning in slightly as she pretended to wipe down the small drink table next to us. "Queen Evelyne has been glaring at your dress for the last ten minutes."

​I glanced toward the royal dais where Caedric’s parents sat, and sure enough, Queen Evelyne was staring straight at me with total disgust, her fingers gripping her wine glass so tightly her knuckles were white. Ever since Caedric chose to marry me, a low-ranking wolf from the Ashmoor pack, instead of the high-born noblewoman his mother had picked out, the entire royal council had treated me like an infectious disease. But I forced a polite smile anyway, adjusting the small silver pins in my hair because I knew that as long as Caedric loved me, their hatred couldn't touch me.

​"Let her glare," I murmured to Nora, my hand drifting down to press against my stomach where our baby was growing. "Caedric promised he would dance with me before the Moon Ascension toast, and nothing his mother says can ruin tonight."

​Just as I spoke, the heavy oak doors at the back of the hall creaked open, and Caedric walked in, surrounded by three members of the Royal Guard who looked incredibly tense. He caught my eye immediately, throwing me a quick, reassuring smile that made my heart race, but before he could even take two steps toward me, his father, King Alistair, stood up from the dais and motioned for him to come over.

​"Vaelith, I am so sorry," Caedric said a minute later, hurrying over to where I stood and grabbing my hands in his warm palms, though his golden eyes were flashing with stress. "The borders are having some kind of security breach, and the council is demanding an emergency meeting in the west wing right now."

​"Right now? But Caedric, it’s almost midnight," I said, my chest tightening with disappointment because I had been counting down the minutes until we could slip away to our private quarters. "Can't the Beta handle the initial report until the ball finishes?"

​"My mother is making a scene about it, and if I don't go, she’ll use it as an excuse to question my leadership in front of the elders again," he sighed, leaning down to press a quick, apologetic kiss against my forehead while his thumbs rubbed the back of my knuckles. "I promise I will be back in less than twenty minutes, so please wait for me by our favorite balcony, okay?"

​"Okay," I whispered, forcing myself to smile so he wouldn't see how anxious I suddenly felt. "Don't be long."

​"Never," he said, turning on his heel and walking quickly toward the exit with his guard close behind him.

​Thirty minutes passed, then forty, and the ballroom started to clear out as guests moved toward the gardens for the main ceremony. My legs were aching from standing in my heels, and the excitement about the baby was turning into a heavy lump of worry in my throat, so I decided to walk toward the west wing to find him myself.

​The corridors grew quieter the further I walked from the ballroom, until the sound of music faded completely and was replaced by the echo of my own footsteps against the stone floor. I turned the corner into the private royal gallery, expecting to see guards posted outside the council room, but the hallway was completely empty and the large wooden doors were shut tight.

​"Caedric?" I called out softly, walking past the rows of old portraits until I heard a faint murmur of voices coming from the small library at the very end of the hall.

​The door was slightly cracked open, letting a sliver of warm light spill out onto the carpet, and as I stepped closer, I recognized the smooth, melodic voice of Isolde Ravenmere.

​"You don't have to carry the weight of the entire kingdom by yourself, Caedric," Isolde was saying, her voice thick with an affection that made my stomach twist into knots. "Your mother is right, you deserve someone who actually understands the pressure of the throne."

​"Isolde, stop, we've talked about this before," Caedric’s voice sounded muffled, as if he was exhausted, but before I could push the door open to step inside, I looked through the gap and froze entirely.

​Isolde was standing right in front of him, her long white fingers wrapped tightly around his jacket, and before he could pull back or push her away, she tilted her head up and pressed her lips firmly against his. My heart stopped beating, and the small velvet pouch slipped right through my numb fingers, hitting the floor with a soft thud as the silver bracelet spilled out across the polished wood.

​I didn't wait to see if he pushed her off, and I didn't stay to hear whatever excuse he was going to make, because the sight of the woman his parents always wanted for him, wrapped around my husband on our anniversary, completely shattered me. I turned around and ran down the dark corridor as fast as my legs could carry me, tears blurring my vision while I gripped my stomach, thinking only about getting out of the palace before anyone saw me crying.

​I pushed through the heavy side doors of the castle, running out into the freezing night air toward the forest path, completely unaware of the tall figure stepping out from the shadow of the stone pillars behind me.

​The hidden figure watched my retreating form disappear into the dark trees, pulling out a small black communication device and speaking into it with a cold, satisfied chuckle. "Perfect, the girl is running right toward the trap, she is exactly where we need her to be."