All Chapters of Once Betrayed; Now Wanted By The Lycan King: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Chapter 22Selene's POVThe Price of Betrayal"I... I can explain," Annabelle stammered, her voice trembling.She stood immediately and stepped back into the hallway, her hands clasped together, her body trembling.For one brief second, I wanted to believe her. She had been my first friend when I arrived at Stormborn, she had shown me around the palace, she had braided my hair, and she had even stayed awake with me after my nightmares.My brothers and I walked towards her into the hallway, disbelief etched on our faces.She couldn't… She wouldn't…Then she looked past us, at the hallway behind us. Looking for an escape.Something inside me broke."Annabelle..." I whispered.Her eyes met mine, and I saw fear. Not guilt or sadness, but raw fear.Then she ran."Stop her," Kieran shouted.Annabelle gathered her skirts and sprinted down the corridor with surprising speed."Annabelle!" I yelled.She didn't even look back.The doubts I had been desperately clinging to disappeared instantly.

Lucian's POVKieran's office suddenly felt so small.Kael kept crossing the room so many times that I stopped counting, as he would reach the window every few seconds and glare into the palace courtyard. Then he'll turn and pace back again.Kieran remained calmer, though only on the surface. His arms were folded tightly across his chest, his jaw locked.Neither of them had spoken for several minutes.Draven stood beside me, quietly reading through the reports recovered after Annabelle's death."No trace of communication," he muttered."They must have cleaned everything," Kieran answered.Kael scoffed. "They planned this well. I'll tear this kingdom apart before I let another rogue breathe." Everyone stilled, nobody moved or made a sound. My attention had suddenly begun to drift, and for some reason, something felt…wrong. A faint pulse brushed against my senses, the strange thread connecting Selene and me trembled. Weakly, ten weaker still.I straightened, and Draven noticed immediatel

Lucian's POVToo Many EyesBreakfast should have been peaceful.Instead, I found myself watching the Princess threaten me with a piece of bread.She stared at it for several long seconds, then she looked at me. "If Kael wasn't sitting here," She said, "that bread would already be flying toward your head."Kael looked at me and sighed."I just saved your life." "I noticed," I replied.Selene folded her arms. "Don't sound grateful.""I wasn't."She clicked her tongue. "There he goes again."Draven looked between us before leaning closer."My King," he said quietly, "you've been smiling too much.""I have not.""You have.""I disagree."Draven shook his head. "I should write today's date down."Kieran looked at him. "Why?""So I can remember the day our King discovered humor.""I've always had humor,” I argued."No," Draven replied. "You've always had sarcasm. They're different."Kael almost laughed before catching himself. Selene noticed. "You almost smiled.""I did not," Kael answered

Lucian's POVThe Watcher on the WallEveryone sat quietly around the table in the study. No one reached for the tea waiting on the table, no one spoke.Kael paced from one side of the room to the other with his arms folded tightly across his chest, Kieran leaned against the window, staring outside.Darius flipped through a notebook, though he hadn't turned a page in several minutes. Rowan stood beside the door, as silent as ever. I remained seated.Finally, Kael stopped pacing and looked directly at me. "You shouldn't have told Selene about the Meridian Pool."His voice was calm.That was surprising, because Kael was never a calm person, neither soes he speak calmly when angry.I met his gaze. "She deserved to know.""No," Kael replied. "She didn't."Kieran looked over his shoulder. "You should've spoken to us first.""And waste more time?" I asked.Kael's jaw tightened. "It wasn't your decision.""It became my decision the moment her life was put at risk."A heavy silence fell in the

Selene's POVEvery head turned toward me, but nobody answered. From their faces, it was obvious they weren't expecting me.I ignored their expressions, and looked at the table. There was a small pile of ash on it.My eyes widened. “What did you do?”Lucian looked at me. “The gecko was not normal.”“That doesn't answer my question.”“It died.”I stared at him. “You killed it?”“No,” he replied, almost immediately. Like a child who was avoiding being scolded.He opened his palm and showed me the remaining silver ash. “It turned into this.”I looked at Kael who looked just as serious.“What happened?” I asked again.Kieran pointed at the ash.“Lucian found a magical aura around it, he believes someone was using the creature to watch us.”I looked back at Lucian. “And you destroyed the evidence?”“I didn't destroy anything,” he defended calmly.“You could have waited.”Lucian raised a brow. “And allowed whoever was controlling it to keep listening?”I shook my head.“You don't understand,