Mated To Rival Kings

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Darian's POV

My throat was parched. Between the stuffy air of the hall and the endless, circular conversations with my Alphas, I felt like I’d been swallowed by a desert. My men had come to me with the same concerns the advisors had voiced earlier, concerns I had already addressed in my letters, but they were insistent. They wanted reassurances I wasn't willing to waste more time on.

My cousin had at least provided some relief. He’d briefed me on the state of the Southern borders, proving once again how capable he was. Storm wasn't his real name, of course. My mother had let that secret slip once, though she was usually too busy fawning over him to be useful. His family was shrouded in secrecy and strange traditions, but as long as the South remained stable under his watch, I didn't care to pry into his mysteries.

I moved toward the drinks table, my eyes settling on a row of glasses filled with a deep, crimson wine. I chose the one closest to the edge. It was cool to the touch, the condensation dampening my palm. Just as I brought the rim to my lips, a hand clamped around my wrist with the force of a vice.

"What the f**k do you think you’re doing, Valen?" I snapped.

Valen didn't answer immediately. He didn't even look at me. He simply used his grip to steer the glass toward his own face, wrinkling his nose in immediate disgust.

I pulled my arm back, bringing the glass closer to inspect it myself. Now that I was actually paying attention, I noticed it. There was a faint, metallic tang underneath the fruity aroma of the wine.

Valen smirked, his dark eyes dancing with a familiar, annoying light. "I just need one thing from you before I tell you what you want to know."

I lowered the glass, my grip tightening on the stem. "What?"

"Say it," he said, his smirk widening. "Say that I have a better sense of smell than you."

I stared at him, incredulous. "In your dreams, Valen."

"As you wish, then," he shrugged, beginning to turn away. "It’s a plus for me if you’re out of the picture, anyway."

Out of the picture? The sheer pettiness of the man was astounding. He was actually willing to let me drink something unpleasant just for a blow to my ego.

"Alright," I sighed, the words tasting like ash. "You have a better nose than I do. Can you talk now?"

Valen looked like he’d just won a war. He smiled contentedly, his chest puffing out slightly. "That glass is poisoned."

I dropped the glass back onto the table instantly. It hit the wood hard, nearly tipping over. I had been thinking the wine might have just gone off or spoiled, but poisoned?

"Are you sure?" I asked, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.

"Why would I lie?" Valen countered.

"To cause trouble? To have fun?"

Valen’s eyes hardened, the playfulness vanishing in an instant. He gestured to the glass. "Drink up then, if you think I'm playing games."

We entered a glaring match, the air between us thick with silent accusations. I could see several Alphas nearby pausing their conversations, their ears perking up as they noticed the confrontation. Finally, I looked at the glass and back at his serious expression. I gave in.

"Thank you for saving my life," I said, my face a mask of stone.

Valen blinked repeatedly. He clearly hadn't expected a genuine thank you. A slow flush of red crept up his neck. "Well... I didn't do it for you," he muttered, looking away. "Raven would be devastated if anything happened to her Southern King."

The mention of her name acted like a bucket of ice water. We both stiffened. Our eyes narrowed simultaneously as the same thought struck us.

Raven.

We immediately scanned the room. My heart began to pound against my ribs as I spotted her. She was seated at a small table near the far wall, listening intently to an older Alpha woman and smiling at something she was saying.

To my absolute horror, there was a glass sitting in front of her. It was nearly empty.

I tried to take a deep breath, to maintain the composure that defined my reign, but it was hopeless. The panic was a physical weight in my chest. I lost my hold on my aura, and it whipped out from me like a shockwave. Every wolf in the room, from the Alphas to the helpers, instinctively bowed their heads under the crushing pressure of my dominance.

I didn't care. I raced across the hall, the crowd parting like a sea of shadows. I reached her table and grabbed her arm, perhaps a bit too roughly.

"What did you drink? How do you feel?" I demanded, my voice frantic. "Is there any numbness in your tongue? Any dizziness?"

Raven stared at me, her brown eyes wide and confused. She seemed to be the only person in the room other than Valen that is unaffected by my aura. "No... Darian, what is happening?"

I gripped her shoulders, my wolf growling at the surface. "Answer me, Raven. Did you drink from that glass?"

"Ow," she winced, shifting in her seat. "Your grip is too tight, Darian."

I let go at once, cursing my lack of control. I leaned into her personal space, sniffing her breath, her skin, her hair. I searched for even a trace of that toxic scent I’d picked up from the wine. There was nothing, only the sweet, floral scent of her soap and the faint smell of the desserts she’d been eating.

She looked around the room, blushing as she realized every eye was on us.

Then, Valen’s voice boomed through the hall, loud and amused. "I sniffed the fucker out!"

I looked toward the center of the room. Valen was standing there, his face contorted in a look of fury. He was holding a stubby, balding man by the hair, jerking him upward with cruel force. Valen looked almost excited, the look of a predator who had finally found something to kill.

I sighed, knowing the man’s life was effectively over. I pulled Raven to her feet, and we walked over together. The Elders seemed to materialize out of the shadows, their faces grim. Elder Fabian stepped forward, his mouth opening to speak, but Valen put a hand out, wagging his finger dismissively.

"No, no," Valen snapped. "Don't say a word, old man. I will handle this as I see fit."

"But King Darian was the one targeted, was he not?" Elder Fabian argued, his brow furrowed.

Valen scowled, giving the man’s hair another rough jerk. "What does it matter? I don't like Darian, but we are in a bond together. Nobody touches what is mine."

I felt a sharp pinch in my side. I looked down to see Raven grinning at me conspiratorially, her fingers still digging into my ribs.

"Knock it off," I whispered, though the tension in my chest eased slightly at her playfulness. She didn't stop grinning.

The man in Valen’s grip shouted in pain as Valen crouched down to look him in the eye. Valen’s expression was crazed, his pupils blown wide. "Oh, this is nothing compared to what you’re about to suffer," he hissed. "Just pick now. Spill everything, and I might give you a quick death. We don't need to waste time with the torture, right?"

Elder Fabian made a quick gesture to the room, and the Alphas began to file out of the hall. The party was over.

"I don't know anything!" the man shrieked.

"Oh, really?" Valen leaned in closer. "Underneath all the perfume, you don't smell like you belong to a pack, and you also reek of fear. Talk."

The man looked like he was about to faint. "I don't know! Someone just told me to spike the drink! They said to place it on the table on the Southern King’s side!"

"Good," Valen purred. "We’re getting somewhere. Where did you meet this 'someone'?"

"In the Northern lands," the man gasped. "In the woods closest to the human settlements."

Valen went white. He literally blanched, his grip on the man’s hair slackening for a fraction of a second. "The Hollow Woods?" he muttered, his voice shaking.

"Yes! Yes, that one!" the man cried, eager to save himself.

Valen dropped the man’s hair as if it had turned into fire. He stood up, his eyes glazed and distant. "Maddox!"

He looked around, seemingly disoriented for a moment before he roared the name again. "MADDOX!"

The ginger Alpha came running in from the hallway. Valen simply pointed to the man kneeling on the floor. No words were exchanged, and none were needed. Maddox walked over, grabbed the man’s head, and with a sickening crack, snapped his neck.

The man crumpled into a heap. Raven gasped beside me, burying her face in my arm. I wasn't shocked. I knew Valen’s brand of justice. He would never let a threat like that walk away. Even the Elders simply looked away as Maddox began dragging the body toward the exit.

"Do you know what that rogue was talking about, King Valen?" Elder Fabian asked.

Valen looked dizzy. He didn't answer. He just held a hand out to steady himself, stumbling away toward the balcony doors. Raven immediately broke away from me to follow him.

I decided to stay back. Someone had to handle the fallout with the Elders.

"The Alphas have finished their meetings," I told Elder Fabian, my voice regaining its formal clip. "They can return to their territories at daybreak. We are finished here for tonight."

Elder Fabian nodded slowly, stroking his long beard. He watched me for a long moment before asking a question that caught me entirely off guard. "Do you feel a mate bond with King Valen, Darian?"

I stared at him. The question was so ridiculous I almost laughed. "No," I said firmly. "I most certainly do not."

The Elder nodded again, his expression unreadable, before sweeping out of the hall with the two women following behind him.

I stood in the center of the empty, decorated room, the scent of spilled wine and death hanging in the air. I didn't feel a bond with Valen. We were rivals. We were opposites.

Right?