Alle Kapitel von The Alpha's Greatest Mistake : Kapitel 1 – Kapitel 8

The whispers started the moment Seraphina stepped into the banquet hall."Is that the Blackthorn Luna?""I heard he hasn't touched her in months.""Three years married and no heir. Poor thing."She heard every word. She kept walking across the marble floor, chin up, her silver gown catching the light from the chandeliers. Nobody would have guessed she'd been shaking in her bedroom an hour ago."One more comment from these people," Vivienne muttered beside her, "and I'll give them something real to talk about.""Behave.""You're asking the wrong woman."Seraphina almost smiled. The video was safe on Vivienne's phone, and they'd sent copies to two other places before leaving the room, just in case.She slipped behind a marble pillar for a moment and pressed her cold hands together. For three years she had walked into rooms like this one, hoping someone would finally see her. Tonight she was hoping for the opposite, just a few more minutes of being underestimated. If this went wrong, the

Seraphina got as far as the carriage before her hands started shaking.She tucked them into her skirt, which was pointless. Lucian sat right across from her, and Vivienne was wedged so close on the other side that Seraphina could feel her pulse through the sleeve. Nobody spoke for the first mile. The wheels rattled over the cobbles. Behind them the palace lights shrank to a smudge."Well," Vivienne said at last. "That went better than I thought it would."Seraphina made a noise that was half laugh, half hiccup. "I proposed to a man I'd spoken to for thirty seconds.""Forty," Lucian said. "I counted.""I kissed you.""You did. I've been trying to think of a proper response, and all I've got is thank you."Vivienne put her face in her hands. Her shoulders were shaking."For what it's worth," Lucian added, turning to the window, "my nephew has never looked that small in his whole life. I'd have paid money."That did it. She laughed properly, helplessly, until her eyes stung, and Vivienne

No matter what you’re told, don’t trust Lucian Blackthorn.Seraphina had read it four times on the ride home. She hadn’t returned the letter from her coat pocket. The coat had a strong cedar and wood smoke scent; it was Lucian’s.The ride had been quiet and chilly. It had been a silent journey back. She’d said nothing about the letter whilst in the carriage. The king had told her not to mention it. Corvin had gone ahead with two palace guards to ensure that the vial was safely stored. Vivienne had talked nonstop for a mile. She had obviously noticed something. Lucian hadn’t said a word. He had sat across from her, staring out of the window, his hands loosely resting on his knees. Whilst he hadn’t mentioned anything about the letter given to her by the king, it still didn’t make her feel any better.She kept thinking about how shaky the king’s hands had been and how he had told her he had never known what the final line meant. If the king didn’t understand what her mother meant then ma

Chancellor Aldric Voss served breakfast on gold plates and delivered his threats in a voice like warm honey.The Council hall stood on a hill above the capital, white stone and tall windows, nothing like the dungeon Seraphina had imagined all night. Sunlight poured across a long table laid with fruit, fresh bread and a silver pot of tea. She did not touch the tea. She did not touch the bread or the fruit either, or anything that had passed through a stranger's kitchen. Three years of Isolde's cups had taught her that much.Two rows of Hounds in grey lined the staircase, hands resting on their sword hilts, every one of them pretending not to stare. Seraphina counted twenty-three before she lost track. "If this is breakfast," Vivienne muttered, "I'd hate to see dinner."She had not come alone. Whatever the card said, Lucian walked half a step behind her, and Vivienne walked half a step behind him, glaring at every guard in grey. Voss only smiled when he saw them.