Lilienne
With Kaelen's return to the palace, my days have become quite lazy. I've been working tirelessly in order to make sure that my husband comes back to as few unresolved matters as possible, and now, I am kind of regretting it.
Because if I don't see him during his leisure hours, it means that that woman sees him instead.
This morning, I have decided that I would try my luck one last time and request to see Kaelen again––it has been five days since his return, yet I still don't know who that female rogue in my palace is.
Both my advisers and the Council are keeping quiet about this matter, so it leads me to believe that Kaelen has yet to inform them about her arrival, too. After all, if she is really his fated mate, the Council will have to intervene.
As I walk through the empty hallway of the second floor of the castle, I can practically hear my beta's inner thoughts. She is still enraged by this whole situation, and honestly, I cannot blame her.
If I still had my wolf, I would have shifted the moment I saw that blonde lock of hair and fought my husband until he was nothing but shreds of bloodied fur.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty," I am jolted out of my musings by the harsh voice of one of the gamma guards standing at the entrance to the king's quarters. "His Majesty Alpha Kaelen is not here right now."
"So?" I frown, getting surprisingly irritated. "I will wait for him in his study."
With that, I take another step forward, but the man blocks my way, his expression dark and stoic.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Melanie snaps, taking a large step forward as well, her aura oozing like invisible smoke. "She is your queen––let her through!"
"Mel, stop." I urge her, but before she can respond, we both turn around at the sound of light, hurried footsteps.
"Goddess!" The sonorous female voice cuts through the tension, and the moment I see who the owner of that voice is, something inside me dies a little, forcing my barely beating heart all the way down to my feet.
It's her, it has to be.
Long, straight, blonde hair, now clean and flowing smoothly down to her lower back. She is a beauty, I'll give her that.
Young and bright, her skin is like alabaster, her deep green eyes are so big, that she looks like a cartoon character. Pouty, rosy lips, sharp features, fresh colors of youth––she can't be more than twenty, and that alone stings me like a needle soaked in acid and jammed right through my soul.
"Luna, it's you!" The young woman exclaims again, once again forcing me out of my trance. I blink several times as if my brain still cannot process all that is happening right now, and before I know it, the girl is standing right before me, her skinny, pale hands clutching the sleeve of my loose silk dress.
"What the fuck?!" Melanie yells out, leaping between us. Her big, strong hand grabs the blonde by the wrist, pulling her away from me. "How dare you touch the Royal Luna?"
"Aw!" The other woman whines and nearly faints into the arms of the gamma guard, her face distorted with the obviously fake expression of pain and embarrassment.
"Your Majesty, you shouldn't have––"
The gamma tries to say something, but the blonde shakes her head at him as if she holds any power over his actions. Surprisingly, it appears that she actually does because the man bites his tongue and helps her straighten up.
"I'm sorry, Luna," the young woman pouts and shifts her guilty gaze between Melanie and me. "I didn't mean to startle you, I promise! I simply wanted to say hello and introduce myself, since we are going to see each other often from now on."
What? My blood runs cold as my heart drops to my feet one more time. Why is she saying that? Has Kaelen already decided what to do with her? It can't be right. No, she is spouting nonsense.
"I see the filthy rogues have zero manners," Melanie chimes in again, smirking with a hint of disgust in her tone. "You are not allowed to address Her Majesty like that, you fucking mutt."
"Beta Dawn!" The guard scowls, but my friend only bares her fangs back at him, challenging him to shut up.
"Oh, but I am not a rogue!" The blonde's voice sends my eyebrows up in confusion. "So what should I call you then, Luna? My name is Serina, I don't mind anyone using only my first name."
"Goddess..." Melanie grits her teeth, barely containing her wolf.
Somehow, I want to laugh, but at the same time, I feel humiliated. No matter how divided the people in this palace are, I have never been disrespected like this before. And by whom? Her? I bet she doesn't even have a last name.
"As your queen," my voice finally escapes my lips. "You have to call me "Your Majesty". The title "Luna" can only be used by the higher wolves."
"Oh..." Serina's eyes droop, and her lips turn pouty again. If this overwhelming innocence is genuine, then I can see how any male could fall for her. "But as Kaelen's women, we shouldn't be so formal, right?"
"What?!" Melanie's wolf steps forward again, ready to pounce. "Are you out of your fucking mind?!"
"Enough!"
The air in the hallway instantly turns cold, the cool morning breeze seeping through the open window carries the subtle, yet potent scent of woody notes.
Hi steps are heavy and resounding, his feet are marching as if he's on the battlefield.
Kaelen.