The Broken Engagement

Ashton’s POV 

The Grand Hall was packed and noisy. Nobles filled every balcony, talking over each other. I stood at the very back, pressed against a cold stone pillar. My fingers hurt from holding a heavy silver tray of wine cups. I kept my head down. The thought of my El stayed in my head... what Corvan had done with her corpse.

“Move, servant,” another guard snapped as he passed. “Don’t drop anything.”

“Yes, sir,” I muttered.

Horns blasted. The sound cut through the noise. The whole hall went silent in one second. The big oak doors opened and Alpha Xander walked in.

“Make way for Alpha Xander!” a guard shouted. “Bow!”

Everyone dropped their heads. I did too, but I peeked.

He looked strong and cold. His black royal velvet coat perfectly fitted his sculpted body. His dark raven eyes looked straight ahead as he walked down the long red carpet.

Lady Brenda waited at the altar. White silk dress. Gold crown. She smiled big when she saw him.  

“Xander,” she said sweet and loud. “I’m ready.”

Xander walked up the stone steps. The High Priest raised his hands. “We begin the sacred bond,” the priest said. His voice echoed. “Let the vows be spoken.”

Brenda held out her wrist. Her skin looked pale and soft. “Do it,” she said. “Bond me.”

Xander leaned in. Everyone held their breath. This was the moment. Then he stopped. His chest moved fast. A low growl came from deep in his throat as he looked straight into her eyes. 

“No,” he said. Just one word was enough to cause a ripple in the crowd as everyone gasped in shock.

The priest blinked. “Your Majesty?”

Xander pulled back like her smell burned him. His lip curled. “It’s wrong,” he said flat. “This is wrong.”

Brenda’s smile dropped. Her face went pale. She took a step back.  “Xander? What are you doing?” she whispered. Her voice shook. “This is our ceremony. Our vows. Our future.”

Xander didn’t answer her. His head turned fast. His eyes scanned the whole hall, through the crowd. Through the noise and the confusion. Finally, Xander’s eyes locked dead on me.

A sharp shock ran through my body. My wolf inside shivered and woke up. Something pulled between us. I dropped my eyes to the floor. “No,” I whispered. “Not me.”

Xander stepped off the altar. “Move,” he said to the crowd.

“Your Majesty, stop!” the priest called. He sounded scared. “You cannot leave the bond unfinished!”

Xander ignored him. He walked down the center aisle. The crowd split open like water.

“What’s happening?” someone whispered.  

“Is he rejecting her?”  

“Has he lost his mind?” another said.

Brenda’s voice cracked. “Xander! Come back! You’re making a mistake!”

He didn’t look back. He kept walking straight toward the dark corner at the back of the hall. Toward the servants. Toward... me.

I couldn’t move because my knees went weak. The silver tray shook in my hands. He stopped right in front of me. His eyes pinned me down. Then, in front of the court, Alpha Xander dropped to one knee.

Gasps filled the hall. Someone dropped a cup, and it shattered loud.

He reached up. His big hand wrapped firm around the back of my neck. He tilted my head back a little. “Look at me,” he said low. "Only for me."

I shook my head. Tears burned my eyes. “Your Majesty, please,” I whispered. “I’m nobody. I’m just  a servant... pick someone else.”

His thumb gently brushed my jaw once.  “Be quiet,” he said. Then his voice got loud. Loud enough for the whole hall to hear. “He is mine,” he said. 

 “This is Ashton.”

The hall went dead silent. How did our moon alpha know my name? He shouldn't. I'd never been fifty feet of the throne.

Brenda screamed. “No! You can’t! You promised me! You promised my family!”

A noble shouted from the balcony. “A servant? Are you mad? He’s an omega runt! And most of all... he is a man!”

Another voice spat from a distance. “This is treason! This will destroy the pack.!”

The words hit me like stones. Defective. Runt. Tainted. The same words I heard every day.

I stood frozen, holding the tray. My arms shook.  

“Alpha Xander, I’m nobody,” I whispered again, so only he could hear. “Please don’t do this. They’ll kill me.”

He didn’t let go. His eyes stayed on mine. “You’re mine,” he said. “And I don’t care what they think.”

“Xander, listen to yourself!” Brenda ran down the steps. Her silk dress dragged on the floor. “He’s a servant! He’s low-born! He has no bloodline! He can’t give you heirs!”

Xander turned his head a little but didn’t look at her. “I don’t want heirs from bloodlines,” he said. “I want him.”

The crowd exploded. Shouts. Questions. Anger.  

“This is an insult to every noble family!”  

“The council will never allow it!”  

“Your father would be ashamed!”

The High Priest stepped forward, hands shaking. “Your Majesty, the law...”

“The law bends for the Alpha,” Xander cut him off. He stood up. But he kept his hand on my neck. “I am the Alpha. I choose my mate. End of discussion.”

“End of discussion?” Lord Merrick from the council pushed through the crowd. “You just threw away a century of alliances for a boy who scrubs floors?”

Xander’s eyes flashed. The temperature in the hall dropped.   “Watch your words,” he said low and dangerous. “About him.”

Lord Merrick took a step back.

Brenda grabbed Xander’s arm. Her nails dug in. “Look at me! I’ve trained my whole life for this! My mother trained me! We were promised!”

Xander finally looked at her. His face was cold. Empty.  “I never promised you,” he said. “My father did.... and my father is dead.”

Brenda’s face crumpled. Then her hand smacked his face hard, the sound echoed.

Nobody breathed.

Xander didn’t move. Didn’t flinch. He just looked at her., then he looked back at me. “Guards,” he said.

Two guards stepped forward fast. “Yes, Alpha?”

“Take Lady Brenda to her room,” Xander ordered. “She stays there until the council is handled.”

“You can’t lock me up!” Brenda struggled as the guards took her arms. “I’m the bride! I’m....”

“You’re not,” Xander cut her before she completed her sentence. 

That was all. The guards dragged her away. She kept screaming my name like it was a curse. “Ashton! This is your fault! You did this!”

I wanted to disappear into the stone floor.

Lord Merrick pointed at me. “And what about him? You think the pack will accept a servant on the throne? A... a man as your bride?  A lowlife omega?He’ll be torn apart!”

“Then let them try,” Xander said. He finally let go of my neck, but he took my hand instead. His fingers wrapped around my wrist. “Anyone who touches him answers to me.”

He turned and started walking, dragging me with him. He stopped and looked down at me. For a second his face softened. “I know you’re scared,” he said quiet. “I know this is too much. But my wolf chose you. I trust him, and you need to trust me.”

“I don’t even know you,” I said. Tears fell now. I couldn’t stop them. “You don’t know me either. You don’t know what I did. You don’t know....”

“Then tell me later,” he cut me off. “Right now we’re leaving. The council can scream all night. I’m done.”

He pulled me forward. I stumbled. The tray fell from my hands. Wine and cups crashed on the stone. Red liquid spread like blood.

Nobles gasped again. Some laughed. Most just stared.

We reached the big doors. Guards pulled them open. 

Before we stepped out, Xander paused. He looked back at the hall. “I made my choice,” he said to all of them. “Ashton is my mate. Anyone who has a problem with that can leave  now.”

And like that we stormed out, the large door slammed shut behind us.