THE RISE OF THE WOLF KING

Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

A Seat at the Table

The first sound I heard that morning was Anna laughing through the wall.

I opened my eyes.

For several confused moments, I remained still beneath the blankets, listening to the low murmur of women’s voices from Maggie’s chambers. Anna laughed again, warm and unguarded, and the unfinished bond stirred inside my chest.

She was safe.

Close.

My wolf relaxed.

Then another voice joined hers.

A man’s voice.

I threw the blankets aside and crossed the room without stopping for a shirt. The corridor was empty, but the voices continued behind Maggie’s door.

I knocked once.

No one answered.

The man spoke again.

“Stand still, señorita. I cannot fasten it while you are moving.”

I opened the door.

Three people turned toward me.

Anna stood near the center of Maggie’s bedchamber wearing her brown servant’s dress. A tailor knelt at her feet with a measuring ribbon stretched along the hem. His elderly wife stood behind Anna, measuring the width of her shoulders.

Maggie lounged across her bed, eating grapes.

Everyone stared at my bare chest.

Anna’s gaze lowered before returning quickly to my face.

Warmth moved through the bond.

She liked what she saw.

My irritation disappeared.

The elderly tailor recovered first.

“Good morning, Alpha.”

“What are you doing?”

His hands trembled. “Measuring your mate.”

“I can see that.”

“Then why did you ask?” Maggie said.

I ignored her.

Anna folded her arms. “You knocked.”

“Yes.”

“You did not wait.”

“I heard a man’s voice.”

“The lock has not been installed yet.”

“That is why I came inside.”

“That is precisely why you were supposed to wait.”

The tailor looked between us.

His wife quietly stepped away from Anna.

Maggie threw another grape into her mouth. “This is better than breakfast.”

I exhaled and returned to the corridor.

Then I closed the door.

I knocked again.

Silence followed.

“Who is it?” Anna called.

“You know who it is.”

“I would still like you to identify yourself.”

“Enrique.”

“Enrique who?”

Maggie began laughing.

“Enrique Raúl Soto, Alpha of Dios del Sol.”

“And why are you here?”

“To make certain you are alive.”

“You can feel that I am alive.”

“To make certain you are safe.”

“I am standing with your sister, two tailors, and the female warriors you assigned to my door.”

I glanced toward the opposite wall.

Marisol and Elena stood several feet away wearing leather training clothes with swords at their hips. Both women stared directly ahead, pretending not to enjoy my humiliation.

“You could still be in danger.”

“From the measuring ribbon?”

“It could be used as a weapon.”

The tailor opened the door.

He held the ribbon out to me.

“Would you like to examine it, Alpha?”

I stared at him.

The door closed again.

Anna’s laughter followed.

I waited.

A full minute passed.

“May I enter now?” I asked.

“You may.”

When I opened the door again, Anna smiled at me.

“You waited.”

“I was forced to stand half-naked in my own corridor.”

“You could have put on a shirt.”

“I was concerned.”

“Of course.”

She turned so the tailor’s wife could measure her waist.

Bolts of fabric covered every available surface. Silk, cotton, velvet, lace, and embroidered cloth spilled across Maggie’s bed, chairs, and floor in every color imaginable.

Most of the brighter fabrics had been pushed aside.

Beside Anna rested a small collection of brown, cream, and gray cloth.

I frowned.

“You do not like the others?”

Anna looked down. “These are practical.”

“That was not my question.”

The tailor’s wife lifted a deep blue silk. “This would be extraordinary against her skin.”

“It is expensive,” Anna said.

“I did not ask the price.”

“You are not wearing it.”

“No, but I am paying for it.”

“I thought they were gifts from your mother.”

“Everything in this house is paid for by the Alpha.”

Maggie sat up. “That is not how gifts work.”

“It is how accounts work.”

Anna touched the blue silk.

Her fingers moved across it carefully.

“You like it,” I said.

“I did not say that.”

“You do not need to. I can feel it.”

She removed her hand. “Using the bond to win an argument is unfair.”

“I use every advantage available to me.”

“That is not something to be proud of.”

“I disagree.”

The tailor’s wife draped the blue silk across Anna’s shoulder.

The color transformed against her deep brown skin, becoming richer beneath the morning light.

For one moment, I saw more than the servant I had discovered at my coronation.

I saw Anna standing beside me before the throne of Dios del Sol, wearing the crown of its Luna while every wolf bowed at her feet.

The image pleased me.

Perhaps too much.

“That one,” I said.

Anna touched the fabric again. “Perhaps.”

“Definitely.”

“Perhaps.”

I smiled. “We are making progress.”

The door opened behind me.

My mother entered with Lucía and Brianna.

Brianna carried a wooden chest filled with bottles, combs, brushes, ribbons, and small ceramic jars. Lucía balanced a tray of fruit, bread, cheese, and tea.

Mother examined me.

“Why are you undressed in your sister’s bedchamber?”

“I heard a man.”

“The tailor?”

“I did not know who it was.”

Maggie selected another grape. “He believed Señor Ortega intended to murder Anna with a measuring ribbon.”

Mother looked at the elderly tailor.

“Did you?”

“Not this morning, Luna.”

Maggie laughed so hard she nearly fell from the bed.

I pointed at the tailor. “You are becoming too comfortable.”

“Forgive me, Alpha.”

The man bowed, but a smile remained beneath his mustache.

Anna noticed.

Her own smile widened.

I decided not to punish him.

That was my second compromise in less than a day.

I deserved recognition.

Mother moved through the fabrics, removing the plainest choices from Anna’s pile.

“You already own brown dresses.”

“They are useful.”

“You may order new work dresses,” Mother said. “But today, you are choosing things because they are beautiful.”

Anna glanced at Lucía and Maggie.

“What colors do you wear?” she asked them.

“Green,” Lucía answered.

“Anything that makes my mother complain,” Maggie said.

Mother lifted a bright orange fabric. “Then explain this.”

“I was experimenting.”

“You looked like a very angry sunset.”

“It frightened several council members.”

“That was the only benefit.”

Ian entered with a piece of bread already in his mouth.

“Did she choose purple?”

“No,” Maggie said.

“Not yet,” Anna corrected.

Ian moved toward a bolt of rich plum-colored velvet and lifted it with both hands.

“This.”

Anna studied it.

The color was dark and warm, with enough red beneath the purple to glow in the sunlight.

She touched it.

“I like that.”

Ian looked around proudly. “I chose her first color.”

“You chose one color,” Maggie said.

“The first.”

“The blue was first,” I reminded him.

“You chose that.”

“Exactly.”

Ian frowned. “Mine is better.”

Anna stepped between us before the argument could continue.

“I will choose both.”

“That is reasonable,” Lucía said.

“She learned it from me,” I replied.

Every woman in the room laughed.

I did not understand why.

Brianna placed her chest beside the window.

“Alpha, unless you plan to assist with bathing and hair, you should leave.”

My wolf liked the first possibility.

Anna felt it through the bond.

Her eyes widened.

“Out.”

“I said nothing.”

“You did not need to.”

Maggie pushed me toward the door.

“I am still the Alpha.”

“And you are still shirtless.”

“I live here.”

“Not in my room.”

I allowed myself to be forced into the corridor only because Anna was smiling.

Before the door closed, I looked at her.

“The blue.”

“I said perhaps.”

“You said you would choose both.”

“I can change my mind.”

“You enjoy tormenting me.”

“A little.”

The door shut.

Marisol and Elena remained outside.

“Do not allow anyone inside,” I ordered.

Marisol glanced at the closed door. “Including you?”

I narrowed my eyes.

“Especially you,” Anna called from inside.

Marisol attempted to hide her smile.

Elena did not attempt at all.

I returned to my chambers and dressed.

By the time I reached the Alpha wing again, the builders had already begun removing the interior walls.

Dust filled the corridor. Men carried timber, stone, and tools through doors that had remained closed for most of my childhood. One group marked the location of Anna’s window seat while another inspected the floor where I wanted the private kitchen installed.

The head builder met me at the entrance.

“Alpha, the eastern wall is load-bearing. If we remove all of it, we will need two support beams.”

“Then use two.”

“They will remain visible.”

“Cover them.”

“With what?”

I looked around. “Wood.”

“What kind?”

“The best kind.”

He stared at me.

“What?”

“There are several kinds of wood, Alpha.”

“Use the strongest.”

“That would be oak.”

“Then why did you ask?”

His mouth opened.

Carlos entered the corridor.

“Do not answer him,” he advised. “It only encourages more questions.”

He carried two pieces of parchment and wore the exhausted expression of a man who had spent the entire night questioning servants.

“What did you find?”

Carlos looked toward the builders.

“Somewhere private.”

I led him into my father’s former study.

He closed the door behind us.

“Seventy-three people entered the main kitchen yesterday,” he said.

“That many?”

“It was the day after the coronation. Servants were cleaning, returning dishes, preparing meals, and nursing headaches caused by stolen enchanted wine.”

“You stole it.”

“We stole it.”

“You carried it.”

“You drank most of it.”

“What did you find?”

Carlos handed me the first list.

“Six people entered both the kitchens and stables.”

I read the names.

Tomás was among them.

My gaze stopped.

Carlos sighed. “He works in the stables and eats in the kitchen.”

“He also had reason to hate me.”

“And none to harm Anna.”

“He loved her.”

“Then why would he place a threat inside your basket?”

“To frighten me away from her.”

Carlos stared at me.

“That is foolish.”

“Men in love are foolish.”

“You are proving that daily, but Tomás did not write the message.”

“How do you know?”

“Because he cannot write.”

I looked at him.

“Not even badly?”

“He can sign his name. Nothing more.”

“Perhaps someone wrote it for him.”

“Enrique.”

“Fine.”

I moved to the next name.

Sebastián Cruz.

I knew him only slightly. He was nineteen, the younger son of Councilman Arturo Cruz. Sebastián worked among the household clerks, carrying messages and recording supply counts until his father found him a more important position.

“He entered the stables?”

“Claims he went to inspect a horse his father intended to purchase.”

“And the kitchens?”

“He delivered wine orders bearing your father’s seal.”

My attention sharpened.

“Father issued no orders.”

“I know.”

Carlos placed a folded parchment on the desk.

The mark at the bottom belonged to Lorenzo Soto.

The handwriting did not.

“Where did Sebastián get the seal?”

“He claims the order was given to him already marked.”

“By whom?”

“He refuses to say.”

“Bring him to me.”

“I have not finished investigating.”

“He carried false orders into my kitchen on the same day someone placed a threat in my basket.”

“That makes him suspicious. It does not make him guilty.”

“It makes him useful.”

Carlos became still.

“For what?”

“Finding the person who gave him the order.”

“He may speak once we have more evidence.”

“He will speak now.”

“Your father said to investigate quietly.”

“My father is no longer Alpha.”

“No. But he understands this pack better than either of us.”

The words irritated me because they were true.

I walked toward the window.

Below us, Anna crossed the courtyard carrying a basket of folded linens. Marisol and Elena followed several steps behind her.

A third servant hurried to take the basket.

Anna refused.

Even from above, I saw the disagreement. The servant bowed repeatedly while Anna attempted to continue her work. Several other servants stopped to watch.

The title she had not accepted was already separating her from them.

The threat had done the rest.

“She does not know how much danger surrounds her,” I said.

“Neither do we.”

“That is the problem.”

Carlos joined me at the window.

“You cannot tear apart Dios del Sol every time you are afraid.”

“I am not afraid.”

“Yes, you are.”

I turned toward him.

Carlos held my gaze.

“You are terrified of losing her,” he said. “And because fear feels like weakness, you are turning it into anger.”

“I did not appoint you to study my emotions.”

“No. You appointed me to tell you when you are wrong.”

“I have not done anything yet.”

“Then listen before you do.”

I looked down at the parchment carrying my father’s stolen seal.

“Bring Sebastián to the lower council chamber.”

Carlos closed his eyes briefly.

“That was not listening.”

“I heard you.”

“That is not the same thing.”

“I know.”

He studied me for another moment before leaving.

I looked through the window again.

Anna had finally surrendered the basket to the servant.

Her hand rested lightly against the woman’s arm while she said something that made them both smile.

Anna believed goodness would eventually make Dios del Sol accept her.

I wanted to believe she was right.

But goodness had not stopped the mare.

It had not kept blood from our basket.

Kindness was a language understood only by those willing to hear it.

Fear required no translation.

Sebastián Cruz lasted less than ten minutes.

He knelt before me in the lower council chamber with Carlos standing behind him. His father had not been informed. Neither had mine.

Sebastián’s face was pale, but his voice remained steady.

“I delivered the parchment, Alpha. I did not create it.”

“Who gave it to you?”

“I found it among the household orders.”

“With a stolen seal?”

“I did not know it was stolen.”

A lie trembled through the pack bond.

I felt it immediately.

So did Carlos.

“Try again,” I said.

Sebastián swallowed. “I believed the former Alpha had issued it.”

“Another lie.”

“I swear—”

Power entered my voice.

“Tell me who gave you the order.”

Sebastián’s body jerked.

His hands struck the floor as the command forced itself through the bond. Sweat appeared along his forehead. His wolf fought beneath his skin, unable to disobey but desperate to protect whatever secret he carried.

Carlos stepped forward.

“Enrique.”

I increased the pressure.

Sebastián cried out.

“Who?”

“I cannot.”

“You can.”

“My father—”

The words tore from him.

I released the command.

Sebastián collapsed, breathing hard.

Silence filled the chamber.

Carlos looked at me.

I looked at the young wolf kneeling at my feet.

“Councilman Cruz gave you the order?”

Sebastián shook his head quickly. “No. He told me to obey if someone from the council approached me.”

“Who approached you?”

“I never saw his face.”

“Convenient.”

“He wore a hood. He said the order came from wolves who wanted to protect the bloodline.”

“What did the order contain?”

“A request for wine and additional baskets. I took them into the kitchen and left them near the eastern table.”

“Did you place the jasmine inside my basket?”

“No.”

The bond carried truth.

“Did you open the mare’s stall?”

“No.”

Truth again.

“Did you know Anna would be threatened?”

He hesitated.

Carlos’s expression hardened.

“What did they tell you?” he asked.

Sebastián looked toward the floor.

“That the servant needed to understand she would never be Luna.”

Rage became very quiet inside me.

“What did you think would happen?”

“Only a warning.”

“You assisted someone who threatened my mate.”

“I did not touch her.”

“You made it possible.”

“I am sorry.”

I rose from my chair.

Sebastián lowered himself until his forehead touched the floor.

“My Alpha, please.”

The position should have satisfied me.

It did not.

“Give me the name of every council member your father met with before the coronation.”

“I do not know.”

“Then you are useless.”

Carlos stepped into my path.

“He cooperated.”

“After I forced him.”

“He gave us Councilman Cruz.”

“His father may not be involved.”

“Then we investigate.”

Sebastián remained bowed at my feet.

I felt his terror through the bond. Sharp. Complete. Humiliating.

Beneath it lived obedience.

For the first time since the threat appeared, I felt in control.

The sensation was intoxicating.

“Remove him from the clerks,” I ordered.

Carlos’s jaw tightened. “Until the investigation is complete?”

“Permanently. Strip his household rank and send him to the southern border.”

Sebastián looked up.

“Alpha, please. My mother—”

“You should have considered her before helping someone threaten mine.”

“Anna is not yet—”

My hand closed around his throat.

I lifted him from the floor and slammed him against the stone column.

Carlos seized my arm.

“Enrique.”

Sebastián clawed at my wrist.

His face reddened as his breath disappeared.

“Say her name,” I told him.

He struggled.

I loosened my grip enough for him to speak.

“Anna.”

“Again.”

“Anna.”

“She is my mate. She will be your Luna if she chooses. You will never speak of her as a servant again.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

I released him.

He collapsed to his knees, coughing.

The scent of his fear filled the chamber.

My wolf settled.

Carlos looked at me as though he no longer recognized what stood beside him.

Perhaps he did recognize it.

Perhaps that was what frightened him.

“Take him away,” I said.

Two warriors entered and dragged Sebastián toward the doors.

“Alpha,” he pleaded. “Please.”

I did not answer.

The doors closed behind him.

Carlos and I stood alone.

“You enjoyed that,” he said.

“He betrayed us.”

“That was not what I said.”

“He gave someone access to Anna.”

“He is a foolish nineteen-year-old who obeyed his father.”

“I was eighteen yesterday, and everyone expected me to rule an entire pack.”

“That is different.”

“Because of my blood?”

“Because you were prepared.”

“So was he. His father taught him to value their name above his Alpha.”

Carlos’s voice lowered. “You used the bond to break his will.”

“I used my power to obtain the truth.”

“There is a reason your father never commanded confessions.”

“My father spent forty years allowing men like Arturo Cruz to believe they could challenge his family.”

“And you believe terror will make them loyal?”

“I do not care if they are loyal.”

The answer came too quickly.

Carlos stared at me.

I thought of my father’s lessons.

Of trust.

Of freedom.

Of every noble promise I had spoken while kneeling before the sacred stone.

“I care that they obey,” I finished.

Carlos’s expression became unreadable.

“One day,” he said, “you are going to give an order no one should obey.”

“Then you will challenge me.”

“What if you stop listening?”

“I listened today.”

“You heard me. That is not the same thing.”

He left me inside the council chamber.

For the first time in my life, I allowed him to walk away angry.

By evening, the house smelled of roasted meat, warm bread, flowers, and the cedar oil used to polish the family dining table.

I stood near the fireplace while my mother rearranged the place settings for the third time.

“Anna should sit beside me,” I said.

“She is sitting beside you.”

“You placed Maggie between us.”

Mother moved a cup. “That is Anna’s chair.”

“Then why is Maggie’s name written there?”

“Because Maggie changed the cards to irritate you.”

Across the room, my sister smiled.

“I have no idea what she means.”

I removed Maggie’s card and placed it near Ian.

He immediately moved it beside Carlos.

Carlos moved it back.

Maggie threatened both of them with a dinner knife.

Father sat at the head of the table, watching us destroy Mother’s seating arrangement.

“Perhaps we should eat without assigned places,” he suggested.

“No,” Mother said.

Everyone became quiet.

There were certain powers even an Alpha did not challenge.

The door opened.

Lucía entered first.

Brianna followed.

Then Anna stepped into the room.

Every thought left me.

She wore the deep blue.

The gown fit close through her waist before flowing around her feet. Fine gold thread decorated the neckline and sleeves in curling patterns that resembled jasmine vines. Her shoulders remained uncovered. A small gold pendant rested against her chest.

Brianna had styled Anna’s hair in a crown of thick curls gathered above her head, leaving several soft pieces around her face. Tiny gold beads caught the candlelight.

Her nails were deep purple.

Ian made a triumphant sound.

But it was her scent that reached me.

Brown sugar.

Warm vanilla.

Night-blooming jasmine.

The scent of the moment my entire life changed.

Anna looked at me.

Uncertainty moved through the bond.

“Is it too much?”

“No.”

“Then why are you staring?”

“I have forgotten how to speak.”

Carlos began laughing.

I did not care.

Anna’s nervousness melted into warmth.

I crossed the room and held out my hand.

She accepted it.

“You are beautiful.”

“Because of the dress?”

“You were beautiful while carrying dirty linens.”

“I made someone else carry them.”

“I saw.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Were you watching me?”

“Briefly.”

“From where?”

“A window.”

“That sounds like watching.”

“I was passing the window.”

“For how long?”

“The amount of time is unimportant.”

Anna shook her head, but she was smiling.

I guided her to the table.

A servant stepped forward to pull out her chair.

Anna reached for it first.

The servant stopped.

“I can do it,” Anna said.

“I know,” Mother replied gently. “Allow someone else to do it tonight.”

Anna looked uncomfortable.

The servant waited without touching the chair.

Finally, Anna nodded.

He pulled it out for her.

She sat beside me.

Not behind us.

Not near the kitchen doors.

At the table belonging to the ruling family of Dios del Sol.

Mother looked around at everyone.

“This is not a council meeting. There will be no discussion of investigations, threats, patrols, or pack disputes.”

Carlos and I exchanged a glance.

Mother pointed at both of us.

“None.”

“Yes, Mother.”

“Yes, Luna,” Carlos said.

Dinner began.

Platters of roasted venison, potatoes, peppers, fresh bread, vegetables, rice, and tamales passed around the table. Ian ate as though he had been denied food for months. Maggie stole from his plate whenever he looked away.

Anna accepted small portions of everything.

When a servant dropped a spoon, she instinctively rose.

I caught her hand.

She looked down at me.

“You are not working tonight.”

“It is only a spoon.”

“He can retrieve it.”

The servant did.

Anna sat slowly.

Father watched her from across the table.

“What do you want to learn first?” he asked.

She looked surprised. “Learn?”

“Enrique mentioned a tutor.”

“I would like to read without needing to sound out every difficult word.”

“And after that?”

“Household accounts. Food storage. Medicine, if Doña Isolde permits it.”

Doña Isolde had joined us at Mother’s request. She sat beside Father, turning a cup of tea between her weathered hands.

“Herbs do not care who your parents were,” she said. “They answer anyone patient enough to understand them.”

“Then will you teach me?”

“If the moon says you have time.”

Anna smiled uncertainly. “Does the moon often decide your schedule?”

“The moon decides more than schedules.”

Doña’s pale eyes moved toward me.

Then to Anna.

Her expression changed.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing meant for tonight.”

“I dislike riddles.”

“That is because you believe every answer belongs to you immediately.”

Maggie smiled. “I like her.”

“You are fortunate I have known you since birth,” I told Doña.

“You are fortunate I allowed you to survive it.”

Ian laughed into his cup.

Doña reached across the table and touched Anna’s wrist.

Her eyes became distant.

The candles flickered.

A strange pressure passed through the room—not Alpha power, but something older and colder.

Anna became still.

“Doña?” Mother asked.

The old woman blinked.

The pressure vanished.

“What did you see?” I demanded.

Doña continued holding Anna’s wrist.

“The sun has found the moon,” she murmured. “And from their joined blood will come a daughter carrying the strength of both.”

The room fell silent.

Anna’s heart stumbled through the bond.

“A daughter?” she whispered.

“Not today. Not tomorrow. But she waits beyond the years.”

Doña released her.

“What kind of strength?” Father asked.

“The kind that alters every world it enters.”

My wolf rose with pride.

A daughter.

An heir born from Anna and me.

Someone carrying the blood of Dios del Sol and whatever hidden strength the Goddess had placed inside my mate.

“Will she become Alpha?” I asked.

Doña looked at me for a long time.

“She will become whatever survives you.”

A chill moved through the room.

Anna’s hand found mine beneath the table.

Doña lifted her tea as though she had said nothing unusual.

Mother cleared her throat.

“You promised no pack matters.”

“I spoke of blood,” Doña replied.

“That is worse.”

Ian leaned toward Anna. “If you have a daughter, can we still paint her nails purple?”

Anna laughed.

The heaviness broke.

“Yes.”

“I will teach her to ride,” Maggie added.

“I will teach her to fight,” Carlos said.

Lucía touched his arm. “Perhaps allow the child to walk first.”

“She will be a Soto and a Rivera by bond. She will walk early.”

“She will not be a Rivera,” I said.

Carlos looked offended. “Spiritually.”

“No.”

“Then I will teach her in secret.”

Anna leaned closer to me.

“She does not even exist, and you are already arguing over her.”

“She exists somewhere,” I said. “Doña saw her.”

“Doña also said she would survive you.”

“That sounded unnecessarily threatening.”

“It sounded specific.”

I looked toward the old woman.