Semua Bab The Alpha's Wife, The Lycan King's Obsession : Bab 81 - Bab 90

Three days after Nolan's visit, the whole of Highmoon knew a king had come to their gates and asked for their Alpha's daughter by name. Alexandra did not confirm or deny anything but the servants talked and the market moved information faster than any herald. Gianna heard it from the woman who tended the garden when she came out one morning to check on the plant she had transferred from Valemont. The woman was kneeling beside the flower beds when Gianna approached, and she looked up with a knowing smile. "Congratulations, miss," she said warmly. Gianna blinked. "For what?" "The King's visit, of course." The woman stood and brushed the dirt from her hands. "Everyone is talking about it. A king does not travel that far for nothing." She walked away before Gianna could respond. By midday there were quiet visitors at Alexandra's gate. Not pack members. Alphas from neighboring territories sending representatives with gifts and carefully worded letters of goodwill, the kind writt

Gianna went to the gate and stopped when she saw who was standing beside the carriage. It was not Nolan. It was Elmund, and beside him was a woman she had never seen before. The woman was older, with silver hair pulled back severely and the bearing of someone who had stood in important rooms her entire life. She wore formal council robes and her eyes moved over Gianna with the assessing sharpness of someone who made decisions that affected kingdoms. Elmund stepped forward. "Miss Gianna, may I present Councilwoman Thera, head of the royal council. She requested to come personally." Gianna inclined her head. "Councilwoman." Thera did not bow. "Miss Gianna. I appreciate you receiving me without notice." "Of course," Gianna said. "Though I admit I was not expecting you." "I am not here on the King's orders," Thera said plainly. "I came on my own because I wanted to see the woman the King sent a forty-year-old book to." Gianna felt Alexandra move up beside her. Thera's

The news from Valemont was about Cyrus. Elmund handed the report to Nolan and waited while he read it. Gianna watched Nolan's face but his expression did not change. When he finished, he handed the report to her without a word. She took it and read it carefully. Cyrus had called a formal pack meeting and in it he made a public statement that his former Luna left Valemont under the influence of outside interference and that the divorce was not conducted with his full consent. The statement was being circulated to neighboring packs and two council members had already received copies. Gianna read it twice, her jaw tightening with each line. Then she set it on the table between them. "He signed the document," she said. "I know," Nolan said. "He stood in the courtyard in front of witnesses and signed it without objection." "I know." Gianna looked at the report again. "What is he trying to accomplish with this?" "Control," Nolan said. "He cannot control you anymor

One of the council members stepped forward slightly. He was an older man with gray hair and a sharp expression. He looked at Nolan and then at Cyrus. "Is this true, Your Majesty?" the council member asked. Nolan still said nothing. His eyes were on Cyrus and his jaw was tight. Cyrus kept going. He was ranting now, the words spilling out faster and louder. "She pretended to lose her memory so she could leave me. She planned this from the beginning. She and the King. They worked together to destroy my marriage and my life. She is a liar and a whore and he is no better." Gianna stood near the door and watched. She could feel the anger radiating off Nolan even from where she was standing. His aura was filling the room and it was suffocating. The council members felt it too. They shifted uncomfortably and one of them took a step back. Cyrus did not seem to notice. He was still on his knees but he was leaning forward now, his hands flat on the floor. "You think you can do whatever yo

He took her arm gently and led her out of the hall. She followed without speaking. They walked through the corridors and up the stairs to his inner chambers. When they got inside he closed the door behind them and locked it. Gianna stood in the center of the room. She was trying to piece the memory back together but it kept slipping away from her. She could remember the slap. She could remember the floor. But everything else was blurred. Was that how terribly Cyrus had treated her back then? "Are you all right?" Nolan asked. Gianna looked up. He was watching her carefully. "Yes," she said. "I am fine." She was lying. She knew he could tell she was lying. But she said it anyway because she did not want him to think she was crazy or unstable. Nolan did not push. He just nodded and walked to the table where his half-eaten meal was still sitting. Gianna looked at the plate. The food was barely touched. Most of it was still there and it had gone cold. "You did not eat," she said.