six

Malakor's POV

The heavy oak doors of my private study closed, shutting out the quiet hum of the palace corridors.

I walked over to the stone hearth, unbuckling my broadsword and placing it on the rack beside the fire. The flames crackled, casting long, dancing shadows across the mahogany desk and the parchment maps spread across the table.

Footsteps echoed from the far corner of the room.

Kael, my right-hand man and chief commander, stepped out of the shadows. He bowed his head low, his dark leather armor worn from managing palace security while I was away inspecting the border posts.

"You returned late, Your Majesty," Kael said respectfully. He looked at me with sharp, inquisitive eyes. "And the guards say you did not return alone."

"I brought a guest," I replied, pouring two cups of warm spiced wine from the clay pitcher on my desk. I handed one to him. "She is staying in the grand suite."

Kael took the cup, his dark eyebrows pulling together in immediate confusion. "A guest, my Lord? From the border territories? The noble lords of the inner court have been bugging me for weeks about your mating options. They expect you to align with one of the high-ranking houses of Volca-Crest."

I let out a low, cold scoff, leaning my back against the edge of the heavy desk.

"The noble houses of Volca-Crest are full of snakes, Kael," I said flatly. "Every high-born lady in this court was raised by ambitious fathers who dream of controlling the throne. If I take a Luna from a high family, her father will use her title to demand military power, influence my decisions, and scheme against me from within my own walls."

Kael listened quietly, taking a small sip of his wine. "And this girl you brought tonight?"

"Her name is Vaelira," I said. Her fragile image flashed instantly in my mind—her thick frame wrapped in cheap wool, her hands trembling violently, her dark eyes filled with absolute terror. "She is a maid from a dirty border pack. She has no noble title. She has no money. Her own mother and sister treated her like garbage, and her Alpha publicly rejected her."

Kael stared at me, completely stunned. "You brought a discarded pack maid into the royal palace, Your Majesty? The court will see her as a massive weakness."

"They will see what I want them to see," I corrected him sharply, my voice dropping an octave.

I looked into the roaring fire, organizing my thoughts.

"Think about it," I continued smoothly. "A high-born lady owes her loyalty to her father and her house. She has a hundred reasons to spy on me, to manipulate me, or to betray me the moment a better political offer comes along. But Vaelira? She has no family backing her. She has no powerful house whispering in her ear. She has nothing and no one in this world."

Kael’s eyes narrowed as the strategic logic began to click in his mind. "She has no motivation to betray you."

"Precisely," I said, setting my wine cup down on the wooden desk. "By bringing her here, I gain a Luna who is completely disconnected from court politics. She owes nothing to the greedy lords who try to push me around. She has zero reason to sell my secrets, because if I fall, she falls. Her loyalty will belong entirely to me."

"It is a calculated risk, my Lord," Kael admitted, crossing his arms over his chest. "A blank slate with no political bloodline attached."

"It isn't just strategy, Kael," I added quietly, remembering the raw scene in the pack hall. "She is weak right now. She is terrified, broken, and beaten down by years of abuse. But when three hundred wolves laughed in her face tonight, she didn't collapse. She dug her nails into her palms until she bled, clamping her jaw shut to hold back her tears."

I paused, looking at Kael. "She has a spark of raw potential deep inside her. Right now, she is a fragile maid who knows nothing of our world. But if that spark is nurtured—if she is given safety and time—she can be forged into something truly resilient."

Kael let out a long breath, nodding slowly. "So you see something in her that no one else bothered to look for."

"Yes," I said firmly. "And that potential is why she will make a fine Queen."

I stepped away from the hearth and looked directly at my second-in-command.

"I want double the guards posted outside the grand suite tonight," I ordered, my voice turning hard as steel. "Inform Captain Robert that if a single person tries to harass her, disturb her sleep, or make her feel unwelcome, I will personally strip them of their rank."

"Consider it done, Your Majesty," Kael replied, bowing his head deeply. "And if the council questions your choice of Luna?"

"My choice of Luna is my business alone," I said, a cold edge entering my voice. "The court has no say in who sits beside me on the throne. They will not challenge me."

Kael bowed once more and stepped out of the study, leaving me alone with the quiet crackle of the fire.

I walked over to the arched window overlooking the palace grounds. The high tower of the grand suite stood illuminated against the dark night sky.

Vaelira was up there right now, terrified and confused, trembling in a room bigger than her old house. She thought I was just being merciful. She had no idea that beneath my protection lay a calculated plan—and a quiet, growing desire to watch her fragile spark turn into an unyielding flame.