All Chapters of THE ALPHA'S ASSASSIN MATE: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Lyra’s POVThe kitchen smells like burnt garlic and fearI stay half-hidden behind the stacked crates near the pantry doorClose enough to hear everythingFar enough to pretend I’m not there if someone asksAziel walks in without warningNo crown no armor no patienceThe cook—old Mirra, all nerves and flour—almost drops her ladle when she sees him“My lord,” she stammers, wiping her hands on her apron “If you’re here about the stew—”“The stew didn’t kill anyone,” he says flatly “But the wine did”Mirra blinks like he’s slapped her “You think I—”“I think,” Aziel cuts in “that someone in this kitchen knows more than they’re saying”He doesn’t shoutHe doesn’t need toThe air bends around his voiceMirra’s lips tremble “My lord I swear on the goddess’s breath I’ve done nothing wrong. The wine was sealed when it arrived”“From which supplier?”She hesitates “The same as always—the one from the eastern border—”“The one I banned last season”Her face drains “I—I didn’t know—”Aziel sighs

Aziel’s POVThe hall smells of wine and burnt wax again The nobles linger like flies over something dying and I can’t tell if it’s the feast or my patienceLyra moves through them all calm too calm She walks like someone who doesn’t know fear or pretends not to The servants bow as she passes and she doesn’t look at any of themMy steward Maren murmurs at my side “The new girl carries herself like a lady”“She carries herself like someone who wants to be invisible” I answer “Which usually means the opposite”He tilts his head “Should I ask her name again?”“You’ve already asked twice,” I say “She’s Lyra, kitchen hand, no family, no history, no reason to exist”Maren hums “That sounds familiar”“Watch your tone”“Always,” he says with a faint smile “You wanted me honest, I’m being honest. She looks—composed”“I noticed”He glances over my shoulder “She’s not afraid of you”“She should be”Lyra crosses the room with a tray Her hands don’t shake not even when one of the lords jostles her

Lyra’s POVThe note arrived quietly slipped under my door while I was finishing the last of the kitchen scrubbing and folding and wiping and my hands were sore and my shoulders were tight and I thought maybe that would dull the rest of me but it didn’tIt said simply “Report to the Alpha’s chambers” no flourish no explanation nothing else and the paper felt heavier than it should and my stomach turned like a storm in a teacupI froze and looked around the servant wing the other girls whispering somewhere else clinking dishes and muttering but none of them noticed me and that was probably betterAnd I thought maybe I could ignore it maybe hide under the blankets and pretend I hadn’t seen it but my fingers itched and the paper burned in my palm and I knew I couldn’tSo I got up and I went and the hall stretched long and silent except for the echo of my boots and my heart in my ears and every shadow felt like it could moveAnd the closer I got the more I imagined every punishment I’d eve

Lyra’s POVI stayed just outside his chambers long enough to convince myself that he hadn’t noticed me lingering. The hallway smelled faintly of cedar and candle smoke and… him, though he wasn’t here, not yet, and still my pulse caught anywayHe emerged from the shadows just then, dark shirt rolled to the elbows, sleeves folded neat, eyes like winter glass sliding over me as if measuring my truth, my lies, my pulse, my soul“You’re early,” he said, voice low but carrying the weight of command and something else, something that made my wolf coil inside me like it wanted to leap“Yes, Alpha,” I answered, careful, keeping my head bowed, hands folded before me, pretending the sudden tremor wasn’t thereHe tilted his head and I could feel that quiet scrutiny pressing like stone against my ribs. “Tell me, Lyra, is everything you said yesterday… accurate?”I swallowed, careful to keep my answer smooth, even, neutral, the way Spark had drilled into me. “Yes, Alpha,” I said, words even but my

Lyra's pov “You shouldn’t be here,” a voice hissed as I pressed myself against the shadow of the wall and tried to make my presence smaller because I wasn’t ready to be seen yet and the corridor was quieter than usual and I knew that meant someone was nearby“And why not,” another voice replied low and sharp, “because you might hear what isn’t meant for your ears or because you’re too small to understand the webs we weave around the Alpha”“I understand enough,” the first voice said, “and I know enough to keep quiet until the time is right but don’t think I trust anyone here not even the ones who bow their heads”“Trust,” the second voice spat, “trust is the weapon we hide in plain sight and if the Alpha knew half of what’s happening you think he would care about loyalty”“Of course he would care,” the first voice whispered back, “he cares too much and that’s why we have the chance to move because he doesn’t see the cracks that form under the walls he built and we have to act before