Chapter Five

THE KING’S WARNING

MILA

I stood outside the council room for a moment, with my heart beating faster than normal. My legs still tingled from where they had brushed against the prince’s leg. I did not understand why it had felt so warm. So, I pushed the thought away and held my breath before stepping inside.

The room was large and cold. A long table stood in the middle, and at the end of it sat the Alpha of Nightveil. His hard eyes lifted the moment I entered. He looked tired. He looked angry and he also looked nothing like a father who had a son wounded in a trap.

“Come forward,” he said.

His voice was heavy. I walked closer and stopped a few steps before the table. My hands were behind my back to hide the way they shook.

“What is your name, boy?” he asked.

“Erwin,” I answered. My voice was steady even though I felt small under his stare.

“Where are you from?”

“Silverclaw,” I said. I used the lie I always used. “My pack was attacked. I escaped and I came here because I needed safety and work.”

The Alpha watched me long enough that I felt sweat gather under my shirt. His eyes narrowed a little.

“And how long have you been in Nightveil?”

“Almost a month, Sir.”

His jaw tightened. “And how exactly did you end up near my son when he was injured?”

I blinked at that. I did not expect anger. I expected something close to thanks. “I was cutting wood, Sir. I heard someone in pain. When I found him, he was stuck. I… I only helped because anyone would have done the same.”

“No,” he said. “Not anyone.”

I stared at him, confused. “Sir?”

He leaned forward. “I know what happened. You freed him. You wrapped his wound and you carried him until help came. You put yourself at risk.”

I waited for the rest. For a word like well done or thank you.

Instead, his face twisted with something I could not name.

“I am disappointed,” he said.

I went still. “Sir?”

He shook his head. “You should not have helped him.”

My mouth parted. “I… I don’t understand.”

The Alpha’s voice dropped lower. “He should learn to stand on his own. That is the only way he will ever be useful. The boy has been a burden since his childhood. Helping him only makes him weaker.”

My mind spun. I stared at the man who was supposed to care for his own child. My heart dropped in a way I did not expect. The prince had been nothing but quiet and gentle when I met him. I felt something warm move under my skin when we touched. Hearing this made my stomach twist.

“Sir… but he was hurt,” I said quietly.

The Alpha snorted. “He has been hurt for years. It has not changed anything.” He leaned back in his chair. “I did not call you here to praise you. I called you here to warn you.”

My pulse spiked. “Warn me?”

“Yes,” he said. His eyes were cold. “I cannot throw him out. If I do that, the council will turn against me. They will say I abandoned my own blood. So I must carry him like a stone tied to my chest.”

I swallowed. I did not know what to say. I knew pain and I knew I hated it. But I had never seen a father speak like this about his child.

He kept going.

“Tell me,” he said, “where do you stay? Who do you share a room with?”

“Servant quarters, Sir,” I answered. “I stay in the hall behind the kitchen.”

He nodded once. “That will change. I will not have my son getting attached to the wrong people. Stay out of his path. Do you hear me?”

The words hit me like a cold bucket of water.

Stay out of his path.

“Yes, Sir,” I said, even though the memory of the warm feeling in my chest still bothered me.

He waved his hand. “You may go.”

I bowed and turned around. My feet felt heavy as I walked out of the council room. The door closed behind me, but my thoughts spun fast.

Why did he talk about Lucien like that? Why call his own son a burden? Why hate him so much? What had Lucien done? From what I saw, he was quiet. He was in pain and he did not even shout when I freed him.

I reached the hallway and let out a slow breath. My chest hurt in a strange way. I did not understand it. And I did not understand why a part of me felt angry for him. I pushed the thought away and kept walking.

My steps stopped when someone stepped out from a side corridor.

It was a tall man with dark hair, silver eyes and a cold smile.

He looked me over like I was dirt on his boot.

“You,” he said.

I straightened. “My Lord?”

His smile grew sharper. “So you are the little servant boy everyone is whispering about.”

I didn’t answer.

He stepped closer. “The one who saved my crippled brother.”

My eyes widened. Brother.

Everything clicked fast.

The eyes.

The hair.

The smirk.

This was Darius. The prince’s brother.

He tilted his head. “Thank you,” he said. But the way he said it made heat rise up my neck. “Now he can roll around my halls a little longer.”

My jaw tightened, but I kept quiet. I had survived far worse than his words.

Darius stepped even closer, his voice dropping. “A small warning, boy. Stay in your place. Do not think saving him gives you value. You are nothing here.”

I held his gaze. “Yes, My Lord.”

He smiled again. It was not a friendly smile. “Good. At least you are smart.”

Then he brushed past me, with his shoulder hitting mine hard enough to push me a step sideways. I did not look back as he left. My breath was tight in my chest.

So that was Lucien’s brother.

And that was how little he cared about him.

I stood still in the empty hallway, my thoughts loud.

Why did they all hate him?

Why did the Alpha speak like that?

Why did Darius mock him like he was not worth anything?

I remembered the moment in the tunnel. The warmth. The spark that had rushed through my body when our legs touched. It made no sense, but I felt it again now, deep in my chest.

I took a slow breath, trying to calm the strange pounding in my heart.

I came here to hide.

I came here to survive.

I did not plan to feel anything.

I did not plan to care about a prince whose own family treated him like trash.

But as I walked away, the same question sat heavy in my mind. Why do they hate him that much?

And why did that make my chest feel tight in a way I could not understand?