All Chapters of The Alpha King's Hidden Luna: Chapter 51 - Chapter 57

Ruth's POVMara Winters walked into the Council chamber in chains.The irons around her wrists were ceremonial—thin enough to break if she truly wanted, heavy enough to remind everyone watching that she was a prisoner speaking at the mercy of greater powers. Her hair had been combed and her clothes cleaned, but nothing could disguise the hollowness in her cheeks or the shadows beneath her eyes.She looked like someone who had already died and was simply waiting for her body to realize it.The gallery was packed.Word had spread through the Council seat like wildfire: the woman who had conspired with the Order of the Eclipse would testify today. Alphas who had been focused on the claiming season abandoned their preparations to secure seats. Council members who rarely attended public sessions suddenly found their schedules clear. Even the servants moved more slowly through the halls, lingering near doorways to catch fragments of what was coming.I sat in the regent's position, Luna slee

Ruth's POVMy father was awake.The news reached me in the middle of a formal luncheon with three claiming season candidates—men whose names I had already forgotten, whose faces blurred together in an endless parade of ambition and entitlement. I excused myself before the dessert course, ignoring their protests, and ran through the corridors like a child.I had not run in months.The sickroom was transformed when I arrived. Healers moved with purpose instead of resignation. Langmore stood in the corner, his face pale, his eyes fixed on something I couldn't see. And my father—my father sat propped against pillows, his face gray but his eyes sharp.Those eyes found me immediately."Ruth." His voice was rough. Weaker than I remembered. But unmistakably his."Father."We stared at each other across the room.Nine days ago, I had learned he knew where I was during my three missing years. Nine days ago, I had stopped speaking to him. Nine days ago, everything I believed about our relationsh

Ruth's POVI did not expose him.The instinct screamed at me through the long hours after the feast—find him, drag him before the candidates, demand to know which of them had brought an Order agent into my home. Make an example. Send a message.But instinct had failed me before.I waited until the manor was quiet. Until the candidates were asleep in their quarters and the servants had finished clearing the great hall. Then I sent for the only two people I could trust with this knowledge.Langmore arrived first.He came from the nursery, still wearing the simple clothes he had chosen for his self-imposed exile from the feast. His face was guarded, careful—the expression of a man who had learned not to hope for anything."You sent for me.""I need your eyes." I closed the door behind him. "And your silence."Idris arrived five minutes later.He had been reinstated three days ago, publicly, with the whole guard watching. I had made a point of it—welcoming him back into service, acknowled

Ruth's POVVerrick stood in my great hall like he owned it.He was surrounded by the witnesses I had demanded—Elder Roan, Marcus, three household guards, a scribe to record every word. But none of them seemed to matter. He moved through the space with the easy confidence of a man who had already won, pausing to admire a tapestry here, a portrait there, as if he were touring a property he intended to purchase."Regent Ashford." He turned as I entered, his face arranging itself into an expression of warm concern. "Thank you for receiving me so promptly. I know how demanding the claiming season must be.""High Councilor." I didn't smile. "You traveled through the night. That suggests urgency.""It suggests care." He clasped his hands before him. "What happened yesterday was... extraordinary. I felt it my duty to ensure you understood the implications.""I saved a child's life.""You did." His voice softened with sympathy. "And the Council is deeply grateful. The child's family has alread