Chapter 18: The King’s Gambit

The banquet hall was humming—a low, predatory frequency that set my teeth on edge. Kaelen was sitting at the head of the table like he was made of ice, while the remaining pack leaders were twitching, their pheromones a chaotic mess of fear and desperate greed. I was back in my seat, but I wasn't just sitting there. I was watching. The "security" guards flanking the room? Their hands were drifting a little too close to their holsters. The Alphas at the table weren't drinking; they were eyeing the exits. *Alessia wasn't kidding,* I thought, my fingers ghosting over the silent vibration of my burner phone in my pocket. *It’s not just a dinner, it’s a setup.* Kaelen caught my eye and raised an eyebrow. He looked bored. God, how did he do that? He was literally being targeted for assassination in less than ten minutes, and he was acting like he was watching a rerun of some trashy reality show. "Elian," Kaelen’s voice cut through the muffled chatter of the room. He didn't look at me, but his voice was loud enough for every wolf in the room to hear. "I find myself bored with the current line of conversation. Why don't you tell our guests what else you found on that drive? I'm sure Alpha Liam would be *thrilled* to hear the rest of your report." The room dropped into absolute zero. Alpha Liam, the guy who had been trying to hide his shaking hands for the last hour, suddenly looked like he wanted to jump out of his own skin. "Your Majesty, surely there's no need—" Liam started, but his voice cracked. "No, please," I said, standing up and leaning over the table, giving Liam my most saccharine, 'I-am-about-to-ruin-your-life' smile. "I'd love to share. See, it wasn't just the arms trade. I also found the communication logs between the Crescent Moon Pack and the Royal Guard’s Chief of Security." I didn't wait for a reaction. I projected the files directly onto the massive wall screen. The hall erupted. It wasn't just a betrayal; it was an open declaration of treason. The names, the times, the locations—it was all there, laid out in cold, hard, unhackable code. "You rat!" Liam shrieked, finally snapping. He didn't even try to reach for a weapon; he just launched himself over the table, his eyes turning solid black as his wolf tried to break through. *Bad move, buddy.* Before he could even get halfway across the mahogany table, Kaelen moved. He didn't stand up; he just lashed out with his hand. A shockwave of pure, unfiltered Alpha pressure slammed into Liam, pinning him to the floor like he’d been hit by a freight train. "You were saying?" Kaelen whispered, his voice dangerously smooth. He stood up, towering over the groveling Alpha. "You thought you could buy my guard? You thought you could make me a figurehead in my own house?" Kaelen looked at me. There was a weird, intense glint in his eyes—not just the hunger of a predator, but something that looked uncomfortably like… admiration. "The banquet is over," Kaelen announced, his voice echoing off the vaulted ceilings. "Guards, escort our 'guests' to the dungeons. And Elian?" I gulped. "Yeah?" "Stay," he said. "We have a kingdom to redecorate." As the guards swarmed in to haul Liam away, I looked down at my plate. The food was cold, the room was a mess, and I was pretty sure I had just made myself the most hated—and most protected—person in the entire world. *Well,* I thought, leaning back and trying not to look like a total wreck, *at least the view from the throne isn't half bad.*