Alle Kapitel von Claimed and Sold at the Lycan King's Ball: Kapitel 11 – Kapitel 20

CHAPTER 12AVA’S POVMy muscles were stiff and my throat was dry as I stirred awake. The sun wasn't even fully up yet. The morning light reflected through the heavy curtains, doing nothing to warm the cold air of the royal suite. After discovering that note on my pillow last night, sleep had been impossible.When I finally pulled open the heavy oak door to check the hallway, I froze. The usual pair of guards had been replaced by four huge warriors wearing heavy armor. Down the corridor, a couple of young servants carrying water buckets kept their heads down facing the floor, whispering only when they thought no one was looking.Draken had taken the threat seriously. There was no denying that. But as I closed the door and leaned my back against the wood, a suffocating feeling pressed into my chest. It was infuriating. I was being protected, yet it felt like a prison. The side door opened. The sound pulled me out of my thoughts, and Maya entered, her arms loaded with heavy fabrics, form

CHAPTER 14 AVA’S POV Draken crumpled the parchment paper in his large fist. The sudden warmth that had lingered between us just seconds ago. the electric spark of his fingers adjusting my collar, had vanished. The King had returned. His golden eyes narrowed as he read and reread the faded ink on the duplicate dispatch. My breath caught as I shifted back to give him space. “The seal is authentic,” Draken rumbled, “It bears the sigil of the Northern Vanguard. It never reached my desk.” “So somebody inside the palace wanted him dead before he ever reached you,” I said, the realization made my stomach twist. I looked down the dark corridor, suddenly feeling like every shadow had eyes. “Everyone in that courtroom acts like I brought a curse to your gates, but the rot was already here before I ever stepped foot across your borders.” “Someone inside this palace fears what he knew,” Draken growled. I watched him carefully, tracing the hard line of his jaw. I saw a man who expected

CHAPTER 16AVA’S POV*Wolfsbane ash.* The very words felt like a death sentence, vibrating through the mate bond until my own chest ached with the force of Draken's suppressed anger. The sudden realization that someone had stood over my unconscious or resting form, pouring poison onto the linen bandages meant to heal me, made my stomach turn. “Draken,” I whispered, the pressure of his aura forcing me back against the chair. “The matrons... the lower servants... anyone could have walked into the royal wing while I was in the lower vaults.” I had been with Maya ever since the training began. She wouldn't do such thing even though I knew better not to trust anyone. “No,” he growled, He stood up his huge body casting a shadow across the rug. “The royal suite is guarded by the Elite Vanguard. No low-ranking servant crosses that corridor without a thorough check. Whoever did this didn't sneak past the guards, Ava. They walked past them because they had the authority to do so.”“Then you c

CHAPTER 18 DRAKEN’S POVMy private war chamber smelled of iron and blood. Maps lay scattered across the table, their edges pinned down by iron daggers I’d used in battles long forgotten. I stood at the center, fingers braced against the stone, while Thorne delivered the latest poison in careful sentences.“Silas has spent the afternoon whispering in the ears of the lesser Alphas,” Thorne said. “Rumors about the bond have spread like wildfire. some claim the girl weakened you. Others whisper she’s the reason the North grows bold.”I didn’t answer immediately. Kings don’t need to. But inside my head, Fenris slammed against the cage of my ribs, his claws scraping the bones in my chest. MINE. PROTECT.The wolf was a storm triggered by the mere mention of her name.Quiet, I commanded him, forcing the beast back into the cage i'd chained him.The dead Northern Alpha’s final warning still echoed: a traitor walked into these halls. The royal suite had been breached twice in one moon. And now

CHAPTER 20AVA'S POV“Your wolf is restless tonight, Luna,” Maya murmured, her hands trembling as she gathered the discarded royal garments. She looked at me, her eyes wide with fear she was trying to hide. “Don’t ignore it. The Southern pack... we don't handle the stone walls well. Especially not after... after what happened at the tables. Let me stay with you.”“I’m fine, Maya,” I snapped, my voice sharper than I intended. “I just need the room to be quiet. Tell the guards outside to stay away from the inner doors. I want to sleep alone.”“But the King's orders—”“I don't care about his orders,” I whispered, turning away so she wouldn't see the trembling of my fingers. “Please.”When she finally left, the silence of the room became a predator of its own. I crawled into the bed, but the silk sheets felt rough against my skin. Every shadow on the wall looked like the black, spiderweb veins of the dying servant boy. The sea wind from the balcony smelled of burning smoke. They had tried