All Chapters of Crowned in Ash : The Alpha's Ultimate Regret: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The morning of the Northern Border Summit arrived with a bitter, freezing fog that hung low over the mountains. Inside the East Wing guest suite, the atmosphere was a mix of calculated precision and quiet anticipation. I stood in front of the full-length mirror, adjusting the high collar of my tailored royal tactical suit. It wasn't the ragged clothing of a rogue, nor was it the decorative silk gowns Jaxon used to force me into. It was dark, custom-fitted dwarven armor lined with black silk—sleek, silent, and entirely lethal. A hidden holster held my twin silver daggers at my ribs, while a micro-tablet containing the decrypted ledgers rested safely in my inner coat pocket. Leo walked up beside me, wearing a miniature formal suit that Thomas had arranged. He looked absurdly sharp, his tiny tie neatly knotted. "System check complete, Mama," Leo reported, holding up his wrist device. "The local frequency jammer is armed. Once His Majesty gives the signal at the summit podium, I can r

The sound of Alpha Jaxon hitting the marble floor echoed like a gunshot through the Grand Pavilion.Dust rained down from the ancient carved ceiling as Ethan stood over him, one massive, clawed hand pinned tightly around Jaxon’s throat. Jaxon gasped, his legs kicking against the stone floor as his blood-red wolf eyes panicked under the sheer, suffocating weight of the Lycan King’s aura."You lay a blade near my right hand again," Ethan growled, his voice dropping an octave into a guttural, terrifying rumble, "and I won't wait for a trial to strip your skin."The four seated Alphas remained frozen, their guards drawing weapons but hesitating to step onto the royal carpet."Your Majesty!" Beta Marcus yelled, falling to his knees beside the cracked floor. "Please! Alpha Jaxon was reacting out of emotional distress! The allegations made by this rogue—""I am not a rogue, Marcus," I interrupted, standing up from my seat at the head of the table. My voice carried across the silent, shocked

The aftermath of a palace coup is rarely clean.​By mid-afternoon, the heavy smoke had cleared from the Grand Pavilion, replaced by the crisp, freezing mountain air blowing through the temporarily boarded-up windows. Royal sweep teams in dark armor cleared the debris, while stone-masons worked tirelessly to repair the shattered marble floor.​In the high council chamber on the third floor of the Keep, the mood was far quieter, but infinitely more intense.​The four surviving Alphas of the Northern Territory sat in a semicircle around the polished mahogany table. Alpha Jaxon and Commander Vance were already locked away in the subterranean high-security vaults beneath the keep, bound in heavy, magic-suppressing silver chains, waiting for their formal trial before the Royal High Court.​I stood at the head of the room, standing beside a massive high-resolution digital display that projected the complete organizational structure of the Bloodwood Pack. Beside me, Ethan sat back in his tall

The morning after the ascension banquet brought a heavy, violet fog that rolled across the northern mountain peaks, cloaking the Keep in cold silence.While the lower halls were still being cleared of festive ribbons and empty wine casks, the atmosphere inside the subterranean war room was dead serious. The polished tactical table hummed softly, casting a low blue hue across the stone walls.I stood near the edge of the map, sipping a dark, bitter espresso while reviewing the automated intelligence logs Leo had compiled overnight. My formal gown had been replaced by my custom dark Warden armor, my twin blades resting comfortably at my waist.The heavy iron door creaked open, and Ethan walked in.He had shed his formal monarch coat, wearing a simple dark wool tunic with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He looked rested, but the sharp, analytical glint in his amber eyes told me his mind was already moving three steps ahead.He walked up behind me, wrapping his large arms around my w

The drop from the rooftop was pure, lethal precision.I hit the slick, scorched stone courtyard directly behind the two left-hand Null-Guards before the sound of my mark had even finished echoing through the mountain air.Before the heavy power-armored mercenaries could rotate their bulky torsos, I leaped, driving the heel of my left boot square into the back of the first guard’s knee joint—the single unarmored hydraulic hinge in southern void-gear. The joint buckled with a sharp, metallic pop.As he collapsed forward, I drew my right silver dagger and thrust it straight up into the exposed power seal beneath his neck collar.SPARK!Blue voltage exploded in brilliant bursts as his armor’s life-support circuit fried instantly, sending the giant tumbling heavily to the floor, motionless.To my right, Ethan was a whirlwind of absolute devastation.He didn't use stealth. He hit the center of the courtyard like a falling meteor, his raw, unyielding royal aura blasting outward in a kinetic