Chapter Five: The King's Face

Lyra

The morning light cut through the heavy velvet curtains, shattering the reckless haze of the night before.

I bolted upright, my heart hammering against my ribs.

The bed was cold and the stranger was gone.

Before I could even process the empty room, a violent, agonizing shockwave exploded inside my skull. My vision blurred, and I fell back against the pillows, clutching my head as a voice tore through the deep, dusty corners of my mind.

It was a voice I hadn't heard in three agonizing years.

‘Mate!’ Nyx roared. Her voice wasn't a fragile sound anymore. It was a fierce, desperate howl that vibrated through every single cell of my body. ‘He is our mate! Lyra, wake up! Mate!’

Panic, hot and sharp, flooded my chest. "Nyx?" I gasped out loud, my hands trembling. "No, no. That’s impossible. Kade rejected us. The bond was broken."

‘Not him!’ Nyx screamed, clawing at the magical cage inside my mind, suddenly filled with a terrifying, wild energy. ‘The man from last night! He is ours!’

My breath hitched. The stranger? The silver-gray-eyed man? So the explosive chemistry that had made my blood boil wasn't just a product of the alcohol. It was a mating bond.

A second chance bond?

"Damn it," I cursed, forcing myself to snap out of the shock. I didn't have time to unravel a cosmic joke.

The alcohol was gone, replaced by the cold reality of my mission. If someone caught me in this private room without my disguise, the Black lineage would truly die today.

I scrambled out of the bed, my muscles aching from the wild intensity of the night. I rushed to the mirror. My midnight-black hair and silver eyes stared back at me.

Grabbing the protective amulet from the nightstand, I shoved it back beneath my collar and the magic sparked instantly. I watched in the mirror as my dark hair brightened back into molten gold and my eyes shifted to a vibrant emerald green.

Catherine the Viper was back.

Leaving the room, I navigated the quiet, maze-like corridors of the Palace. I didn't care about the mating bond right now. I cared about information and vengeance.

Using Beta Darius’s stolen security badge, I slipped past two lower-level checkpoints, my heart pounding as the master keycard clicked open a heavy oak door leading to the hidden gallery above the High Council Chamber.

I slipped into the shadows of the balcony, pressing my back against the cold stone, looking down through the iron railing.

The chamber below was magnificent, suffocating, and filled with tension. The high-ranking Alphas of Silvermist were already seated around a massive, circular stone table.

And right there, sitting on the left side, was Alpha Kade Ashford. He looked smug, leaning back in his chair while Beta Darius whispered something into his ear. Seeing them so close made the scar on my ribs burn beneath my gown.

I gripped my hidden silver daggers, forcing my breathing to slow down.

‘Watch them,’ I reminded myself. ‘Find their weaknesses.’

Suddenly, the heavy iron doors at the base of the chamber slammed open with a sound like thunder.

The entire room went completely silent.

Every single Alpha stood up instantly, their heads bowing in absolute submission. The sheer, suffocating pressure of a dominant aura flooded the room, making it hard to breathe even from the balcony.

"He has arrived," Kade whispered below, his voice tight, laced with a rare, genuine fear.

A towering figure stepped through the doorway, flanked by four elite royal guards. He wore a dark, tailored military coat with gold trim, but he didn't need a uniform to command respect. He radiated absolute, ancient power. He was the most ruthless ruler of the North.

The Alpha King.

He marched to the head of the table, his steps heavy. When he reached his seat, he paused, turning his face toward the light of the high windows.

My breath was completely trapped in my throat. My hands went numb, slipping off the iron railing.

Those sharp cheekbones, a heavy jawline covered in dark stubble. A faint, silver battle scar cutting across his collarbone, visible just above his collar.

And as he scanned the room, his striking, piercing silver-gray eyes flashed with a cold, deadly authority.

It was him.

The man who had held me against his chest and kissed me with a bruising, desperate hunger. The man my wolf was currently screaming for.

My one-night stand wasn't a minor pack diplomat or a visiting lord.

He was Riven Vale, the Alpha King. The only man Kade feared was my mate.

The wolf all sat down and then his voice boomed throughout the hall.

“I want to introduce my Luna in Waiting and Future Queen of Silvermist, Princess Selene Ravaneshade from the Jaguar Pack.”

My blood ran cold. My mate is getting married.