CHAPTER SIX: THE QUEEN'S CHAMBER

The maid led Aria through the palace corridors until they reached the Queen's courtyard. Then she left, and Aria was alone.

Her legs gave way beneath her. She fell to the ground, her wet clothes dripping rainwater onto the marble floor. Her hair clung to her face. Her hands trembled.

She stared at the floor.

She did not know what to feel. Anger. Grief. Guilt. They swirled inside her, tangling together until she could not tell them apart.

If I had not gone out that day, they would still be here.

The thought repeated itself like a wound that would not close.

She remembered begging her parents never to abandon her. She remembered their arms around her. She remembered their promises to always be together.

Now she was alone.

The tears came before she could stop them. They poured down her cheeks, hot against her cold skin. She wiped them away with shaking hands, but they kept coming.

"Young girl. What is your name?"

The voice pulled her back to reality.

Aria recognised it instantly.

Queen Seraphina.

Her blood turned to ice. This was the woman who had ordered her parents' deaths. This was the woman who had watched them die without a flicker of remorse. This was the woman who had smiled as the rain washed their blood away.

Aria pinched herself hard. This is not a nightmare. This is real.

"Are you deaf?"

The Queen's voice was sharp now. Harsh.

"Aria," she answered. She did not look up.

The Queen circled her slowly, footsteps clicking against the marble. Her wolf stirred, restless and uneasy. There was something strange about this girl. Something in her scent. Something her wolf could not place.

"Is your wolf awakened?" the Queen asked.

"I don't know."

Aria's voice was barely a whisper. She was weak. She was broken. She had nothing left to give.

The Queen's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, you don't know?"

The Queen stared at her. A girl of fifteen who had never felt her wolf? Impossible. Every wolf awakened by thirteen. Every wolf shifted by fifteen. This girl was either lying—or something was very wrong.

The air around her shifted. Her eyes flashed gold. Her canines lengthened. Her wolf surged to the surface, clawing at her control, demanding blood.

The Queen's fingers twisted into Aria's hair, yanking her head back. Aria's swollen, tear-streaked face was forced upward.

"If you do not want to be executed like those traitors," the Queen said, "you had better start talking."

Something inside Aria snapped.

Traitors.

The word echoed in her mind. The insult was worse than the slap than the execution. Her parents were not traitors. They were kind. They were loving. They were everything the Queen would never be.

Aria's eyes met the Queen's. For the first time, she did not look away.

"They are not traitors," she said, her voice low but steady. "They are my parents."

She reached up and pulled the Queen's hand from her hair.

The Queen froze. Her eyes widened. No one had ever dared to touch her. No one had ever dared to speak to her like that.

But Aria was not finished.

"Go ahead," she said, her voice cracking. "I am looking for a way to join my parents. So I would be glad if you executed me too."

The slap came fast and hard.

Aria fell to the ground. Her cheek burned. Her head rang. But she did not cry. She bit down on her lip, fighting the tears, refusing to give the Queen the satisfaction. Her fingers scratched against the marble floor as she tried to push herself up.

I will not appear weak in front of her.

"It seems you do not know your place," the Queen said. "How dare you talk back to me—the Luna of this kingdom."

She stepped forward and grabbed Aria's hand. Her sharp wolf nails pressed into Aria's palm.

Aria screamed.

"I will ask you one last time. Is your wolf awakened?"

"I said I don't know!" Aria cried. "I don't know anything about wolves. Let me go, please!"

The Queen pressed harder. Blood welled up from Aria's palm, dripping onto the marble.

"I thought you said you were ready to die," the Queen said softly. "So why are you pleading? Do you not know how to endure pain?"

Aria could not answer. The pain was blinding. She could barely breathe.

The Queen watched her, expression unreadable. There was something in her eyes—not satisfaction, but curiosity. A strange, cold curiosity. She wanted to see how much this girl could take. She wanted to see if she would break.

Aria did not break.

"Your Highness."

The voice came from the doorway.

"The Alpha is here to see you."

The Queen released Aria's hand instantly. She stepped back and smoothed her expression into something serene.

"Let him in."

King Aldric entered.

The Queen crossed the room and kissed his cheek. "What brings you to my chamber, your majesty?"

The King's eyes landed on Aria. Her hand was bleeding. She was slumped on the floor, soaked and trembling.

"Why is she here?" he asked.

The Queen turned to look at Aria, her expression smooth as silk.

"She was outside in the rain. I told the servant to bring her in. I found she had already hurt herself. I have called the royal physician so he can attend to her. I am sure he is on his way."

Aria said nothing.

She could not say anything. The King of Valeria—the most powerful Alpha in the kingdom—stood there, and he did not see. He did not see the lie in his wife's eyes. He did not see anything. He had not seen anything for twenty years.

He is just a puppet, Aria thought. They are all the same.

"Maiden Lucy," the Queen called.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Maiden Lucy stepped forward. She was a woman in her forties with grey-streaked hair and sharp eyes. She had served the Queen for twenty-five years. She knew every secret, every scheme, every dark corner of her mistress's mind. She carried out orders without question. She never failed.

"Has the royal physician arrived?" the Queen asked.

"I will check again, Your Highness."

The order was clear. Go and bring him. Now.

"Take her with you," the King said. "Let the royal physician treat her and show her where she will stay."

"Yes, your majesty."

Maiden Lucy crossed the room and helped Aria to her feet. Aria's legs barely held her. Blood dripped from her palm. Rainwater dripped from her clothes. She looked like a drowned animal.

Maiden Lucy led her out of the chamber.

The door closed behind them.

---

King Aldric turned to the Queen.

"You should not have done that."

"What are you saying, your majesty?"

The Queen's voice was calm. Measured. She had spent years learning how to handle him. She knew every button to press, every word to say, every silence to weaponise.

She continued. "Did you want the people to take you for granted? I would not allow that. You have always had a weak heart. Like Queen Elara. That is why people never obey you."

The King said nothing.

He remembered.

Twenty years ago, he had been a different man. A man who trusted too easily. A man whose first wife, Elara, had been kind and beloved by the people—and weak, in his eyes. She had never been able to command respect. She had never been able to enforce the law. So he had taken a second wife. A woman who could.

Seraphina.

"I am sorry," he said finally. "I just thought it was not a good decision. The child has no one left."

"It was the best decision," the Queen said sharply. "If I had not done that, the villagers would keep breaking the rules. They would keep saying, At least banishment is the only punishment. " Now no one will dare to mess with the kingdom's policy."

"Alright, my queen. Let us forget it. I know you did it for the kingdom." He paused. "But the only thing I want to ask is that you be kind to her. She has already lost her family."

"And the people serving in the palace? Did they not lose anything? When did you start being so biased in your judgement?"

The King said nothing.

"As long as she does not give me a problem," the Queen said, "I have no business with her."

"I am sure she will not give you a problem."

The King left.

The door closed behind him.

---

That night, the Queen sat alone in her chamber.

The candles burned low. The fire crackled. Maiden Lucy had been dismissed hours ago. The palace was silent.

But the Queen could not sleep.

Something was bothering her.

She kept thinking about the girl. The strange girl with the strange eyes. The girl who had dared to talk back to her. The girl whose scent was wrong.

Her scent is different from her adopted parents.

The thought had been nagging at her all day. Thomas and Mira had smelled like commoners. Like forest folk. Like nothing. But the girl—the girl smelled like something else. Something the Queen could not name.

What kind of wolf is she? Where did she come from?

She stared into the fire. The flames danced in her eyes.

She clenched her jaw.

I must find out. As the Luna of this kingdom, it is my right.

The door burst open.

The Queen looked up, irritated.

"Your Highness—"

Maiden Lucy rushed inside. Her face was pale. Her hands were shaking. Her eyes were wide with terror, as though she had just seen a corpse rise from the dead. Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out.

"What is it, Lucy?"

The Queen's voice was sharp. She had no patience for dramatics.

Maiden Lucy crossed the room and leaned close. Her breath was warm against the Queen's ear.

She whispered.

The Queen's expression did not change at first. Then her fingers curled into fists. Her eyes darkened. Her breathing quickened. The air around her shifted. Her eyes flashed gold. Her canines lengthened. Her wolf surged to the surface, clawing at her control, demanding blood.

She rose from her chair.

"Leave the way."

Her voice was low. Dangerous.

She stormed out of the room.