CHAPTER FOUR

|| Klaus ||

🪷🪷🪷

I was losing my fucking mind, or at least I am dangerously close to that.

I’ve been pacing my chambers for the past hour, wearing a track in the expensive carpet my father had imported from the eastern territories. It’s been more than five hours, and I’ve tried countlessly to put my mind at ease, to stop the agitation crawling at my chest, but no matter how many times I tried, I just could not for the life of me stop my mind from drifting back to the woman sleeping somewhere in this palace who wanted nothing to do with me.

Margaux.

My Margaux.

The name repeated in my head like a prayer, like a curse, like the answer to a question I’d been asking for five years.

She was alive. She was here. She was fucking real.

The whiskey burned going down, but I poured another glass anyway. My third? Fourth? I’d lost count somewhere between replaying that kiss in the hallway and trying to make sense of the impossible fact that Margaux was alive.

I collapsed into the chair by the window, dropping my head into my hands. Nothing made sense. Why was she disguised as Princess Celeste? Why was she marrying my father? Was this some elaborate revenge scheme—her way of punishing me for what I did to her?

The thought made my chest tight.

Five years.

Five years I’d carried the weight of her death like stones in my chest.

Five years of missing her so terribly every single day and night.

I’d hunted down those rogues myself for what they did to her family. Tracked them for months across three territories until I found their camp. I had slaughtered them all, but it didn’t give me the peace I was looking for because killing them didn’t bring her back. Didn’t ease the guilt that maybe if I’d handled things differently, if I’d been stronger, braver, she might have survived.

Except she had survived.

And now she was here, disguised as someone else, about to marry my father.

I slammed the glass down hard enough that it cracked.

My mate.

The freaking love of my life, and she was about to marry my father, and also hated my guts.

A sharp knock interrupted my spiraling thoughts before the door swung open. Only one person in this palace had the audacity to enter my chambers unannounced.

“Are you crazy?” Sera demanded, marching towards me and I frowned.

“What happened?”

“What happened? How about you tell me what the hell that display with the princess was earlier? I just saw you through the security camera groping the queen-to-be… YOUR stepmother. Now permit me for being blunt but are you fucking trying to get yourself killed? What the hell are you doing or thinking?”

I froze… fuck, I had completely forgotten about the cameras in the palace. I have been so distracted by my own thoughts that I acted recklessly.

“Did anyone else see it?”

“Of course not. I took care of it.” She crossed her arms, glaring at me. “But you need to be more careful. Besides, what the hell were you doing anyways?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Complicated?” Her voice rose before she caught herself, glancing at the door. When she spoke again, it was barely above a whisper. “You’re playing with fire. Aldric doesn’t forgive this kind of disrespect, and you know it. If he’d seen what I saw—”

“He won’t.”

“You don’t know that!” She moved closer, her dark eyes searching mine. “I’ve known you for three years, and I’ve never seen you reckless like this. So either you’ve developed a death wish, or there’s something you’re not telling me.”

I debated how much to reveal. Sera was my second-in-command in the rebellion, the only person besides me who knew every detail of our network. I trusted her with my life, with the lives of hundreds of others.

But Margaux’s secret wasn’t mine to share.

She studied me for a moment, then shook her head when she realized that I wasn’t going to give her an answer. “Anyways… are you ready for the meeting tomorrow? The people will be waiting for you to address them.”

“Sure, I’m ready.”

Sera nodded and left, her footsteps fading down the corridor.

I returned to the window, staring out at the darkened palace grounds, and my mind instantly drifted back to Margaux.

The Moon Goddess had a twisted sense of humor, binding me to the one woman who had every reason to hate me.

But I didn’t believe in accidents or coincidences.

She was here for a reason. We’d been brought back together for a reason.

And I’d be damned if I wasted this second chance.

Whatever she was planning, whatever revenge she thought she needed—I’d find out. I’d make her understand that what happened between us wasn’t what she believed. That I’d spent five years grieving her, searching for her, becoming someone worthy of the girl I’d destroyed.

She’d forgive me eventually. She had to.

Because she was mine, mate bond or not. Mine to protect, mine to cherish, mine to—

“Klaus.”

I spun around to find my father standing in my doorway. How long had he been there?

“Hello, Father,” I bowed slightly. “What are you doing here at such hour?”

“I was looking for you.”

“Why would you go through so much trouble coming to me instead of asking guards to come fetch me?”

“This is quite a serious and urgent issue.” He stepped closer, his eyes hard and cold. “I’ve received news that the rebels are starting to camp right outside our borders. And their numbers are growing every day.”

My heart rate spiked, but I forced my expression into mild interest. “How many?”

“Enough to be problematic if we let them organize.” He sighed, his eyes never leaving mine. “They’re getting bolder. More coordinated. Someone with military training is leading them now.”

The irony would have been funny if the situation weren’t so dangerous.

“What’s your plan?” I asked.

“Patience.” A cold smile played at his lips. “Let them think they have the advantage. Let them commit to a position. Then we’ll crush them so thoroughly that no one will dare raise a banner against this throne for a generation.”

I nodded slowly, already calculating how to warn the northern cells to pull back before they walked into whatever trap my father was planning.

“In the meantime,” Aldric continued, “I want you taking extra precautions. More guards when you leave the palace. No unauthorized trips outside the walls. These rebels are desperate, and desperate men do foolish things like targeting royal family members.”

“I can handle myself.”

“I’m sure you can.” He set down his glass with deliberate precision. “But humor your old man. You’re my heir, Klaus. My legacy. I’d hate for some peasant with a grudge to cut that short before you’ve had a chance to learn how to rule properly.”

The words hung in the air, loaded with implications I couldn’t quite parse. Was that genuine paternal concern? Or a veiled threat?

With Aldric, it was always impossible to tell.

“Of course, Father. Thank you for your concern.”

He studied me for another moment, then nodded and headed for the door. “Get some rest. Tomorrow’s going to be a long day. Your new stepmother will need guidance adjusting to palace life, and I expect you to be… at your best behaviour.”

The door closed behind him with a soft click.

I stood frozen, my mind racing as I stared at his retreating back.

Crush them, my foot.

Soon, I swore. Soon he would pay for all his evil deeds to the people he was supposed to lead. Soon, the rebels would ruin him, and I would make sure of that.

Because my father had no idea that his own son… his legacy, was actually the rebels’ leader.