Masuk"Enjoy the peaceful dinner while it lasts, Commandress," Angelika smiled a fake, elegant smile across the table.Bettoni met her gaze. "Peace is subjective, Angelika. I find the quiet moments before a storm soothing."Varel stepped past Angelika’s chair, ignoring her furious green eyes, and walked toward Sela standing near the wine pitchers."Allow me to carry that heavy pitcher, Sela," Varel offered softly, reaching for the handle.Sela blushed and looked around nervously. "You're the Deputy Commander, Varel. The royal court is staring right at us. You shouldn't be pouring drinks for a lowly maid.""Let them stare at us," Varel rumbled deeply, his rough fingers brushing warmly against hers. "I'd rather pour sweet wine for you than listen to these highborn women screech all night."Sela smiled shyly. "You're going to ruin your spotless military reputation, Deputy.""My reputation means nothing if I can't stand next to the only pure heart in this room," Varel replied honestly.
Bettoni sliced her roasted meat with precision, her gaze fixed on the man across from her. "You look exhausted, Ardon," she commented.The Alpha heir jumped in his chair, dropping his silver fork onto his golden plate, and a thick bead of cold sweat rolled slowly down his pale temple. Ardon looked miserable sitting across the grand dining table."I’m fine, Bettoni," Ardon stammered weakly, avoiding her sharp brown eyes.Frostina slammed her crystal goblet down, glaring at Bettoni angrily."My prince is simply overwhelmed by his royal duties," Frostina answered fiercely on behalf of her fiancé. "He is preparing to become the king and raise my purebred baby. You should keep your dirty Gamma eyes off him."Bettoni chewed a small piece of roasted duck elegantly. She swallowed and gave the brat a teethy smile."Royal duties?" Bettoni challenged softly. "Or is it just the terrifying burden of actually trying to perform like a real dominant Alpha? He looks like a terrified little boy,
"We gather tonight to celebrate the immense future of our pure bloodline," Jaceon toasted, raising his golden goblet.The Alpha stood proudly at the head of the expansive mahogany table. The grand dining hall was packed with hundreds of wealthy nobles. Crystal chandeliers sparkled brightly above their heads but the air felt hard to breathe in. Everyone in the room knew the royal court was a ticking political bomb, and the loud, cheerful applause from the lords sounded fake and obviously nervous.Bettoni sat proudly next to Zachery wearing a stunning dark red silk gown. She kept her posture perfectly straight. Zachery was obsessively showering her with loud physical attention; he kissed her bare shoulder and rested his hand firmly on her flat stomach for the court to see, making sure every nobleman knew who she belonged to."You look edible tonight, Commandress," Zachery declared loudly, pouring her a cup of sweet, clean water. "I can't wait to strip that red silk off later and taste
"I can't keep pretending anymore, Bimby," Ardon breathed heavily, backing the tutor against the stone wall.Ardon spent the evening staring blankly at the roaring fireplace in his royal chambers. His mind was tortured. He was officially engaged to a pregnant woman he loathed, his father Alpha Jaceon paraded him around the golden throne room earlier that morning like a shiny, successful breeding stallion, and the royal pack praised his masculine Alpha dominance.But Ardon knew the truth. He was a big fraud.His body felt dead whenever a beautiful highborn woman touched him. He spent his teenage life forcing himself to stare at gorgeous noble ladies, wondering why he felt so unfeeling. He honestly believed he was broken. He thought the Alpha bloodline cursed him with a cold, dead heart. When Frostina rubbed her naked body against his chest he felt nothing but freezing sickness.But right now his royal blood burned like a raging forest fire.He caught Bimby walking alone through the dark
"I said I want the wooden bird carved out of pure gold!" Frostina screamed, stomping her expensive shoe.She stood in the center of her luxurious private sitting room, losing her mind. The demand was senseless. It was a wooden carpentry project. You could not carve pure gold with a simple iron wood chisel. But Frostina did not actually care about the stupid birthday ornament anymore. She just wanted to push the silent workman to his breaking point.She wanted him to react to her."Your common tools are useless," Frostina insulted, pacing around his oak table whilst glaring at his dirty boots. "Your linen clothes smell like cheap animal sweat. You're moving incredibly slow. You're just a filthy peasant servant dragging dirty sawdust onto my rugs. Do you even know how to do your pathetic job?"Her young maid cowered in the far dark corner, terrified by the loud, screeching tantrum.Frostina expected the quiet carpenter to just nod silently like he always did, to absorb her insults and f
"Watch your mouth when you speak to Lady Angelika," Bryant snapped aggressively, pushing the drunken noble backward.The loud thud of Lord Harron hitting the floor stopped the busy afternoon tea party, and the beautiful, sunny garden pavilion fell silent.Angelika originally attended the crowded royal tea party hoping to secure her brand new, untouchable status. She walked into the bright pavilion with Bryant standing faithfully right by her side, but the wealthy nobles immediately started their jealous whispers. They knew Bryant was an infamous merchant boy who charmed dozens of wealthy ladies out of their gold. The lords whispered terribly about his dark reputation with women, but significantly worse, they whispered about Angelika; they still doubted her pregnancy announcement.Lord Harron drank too much sweet wine and stumbled into her path, blocking her way to the chairs."The Alpha is mourning his sick Luna right now," Lord Harron sneered loudly, for the pavilion to hear. His bre







