ATHENA OF THE NORTH
Athena's POV
I heard a loud bang on the door.
I woke up at once. I grabbed the dagger under my pillow as boots thundered into our bedchamber.
"On your feet, Luna."
Five of them, with silver chains dangling from gloved fists.
I didn't ask questions. I moved.
The first one went down with my knee in his throat. The second caught my elbow to the temple. The third got the dagger—not deep, just enough to make him drop. But the fourth was faster. The fifth was behind me.
The chain came around my neck.
The burn hit like I'd swallowed fire. I clawed at my throat. My wolf, Mia, slammed against my ribs, snarling.
Silver. They're using silver.
"Get it off me."
They didn't listen. They put another chain around my wrists. My skin burned.
"What is the meaning of this?" I twisted, trying to throw one off. "I am your Luna. Tell me what's going on."
Nobody answered.
I knew some of the guards by name. Brennan, near the left pillar, had danced at our wedding reception yesterday. Elijah, by the door, had wept when Torin pronounced me as his luna. These weren't strangers. I'd broken bread with them twelve hours ago.
"We have orders from the King," Elijah said.
The King. My mate.
Last night, his mouth was on my neck.
"You have no idea what you do to me," he'd murmured. "Sitting on that throne, watching you walk through the doors. I can smell your arousal from across the room."
I laughed. "That's embarrassing for you, my king."
"Embarrassing?" He pulled me closer. "I sat there for an hour, hard as rock, because your scent was driving me insane. Every time you shifted in your seat, I thought I'd lose my mind."
"Move."
The present snapped back. They dragged me out of my room and all the way to the courtyard.
What happened?
Mia pressed against my ribs, low and tense. What happened between last night and now?
I don't know, Mia.
She reached for the mate bond frantically. Like reaching for a light switch in a dark room, certain it would be there. It had always been there since I was eighteen.
Torin, she called.
He didn't answer.
I was half scared and half confused.
The doors to the throne hall opened.
Nobles. Elders. Pack leaders. They lined the walls like vultures. And at the center of the moon throne was Torin.
Dark hair. Jaw set. He was looking at the middle distance.
My husband. My mate. The man who'd held me three hours ago and whispered I love you against my hair while I drifted off.
He wasn't looking at me.
"Kneel."
They threw me to my knees. Chains clanged against marble. I refused to stay down. I pushed up and forced myself to stand despite the silver eating into my skin.
"Athena of the North."
Callis. The King's Beta. Late fifties. Known for his long beef with my father.
"You stand before this court accused of the highest crime against Alpha blood."
My brow pulled together.
"The poisoning," Callis said, "of Alpha Dean of the North."
I paused.
Then my mind caught up. Alpha Dean of the North. My father.
"My father?" I said. "You're saying my father—"
"Alpha Dean passed before dawn." Callis said. "The pack doctor confirmed nightbloom extract in his blood." A pause. "Administered yesterday."
The memory crashed in.
My father was smiling, as I handed him wine at our wedding.
"To my daughter," he said, raising the glass. "And the Lycan King. May their bond outlast the mountains."
Oh, god.
I looked up at Torin. He still stared at the middle distance somewhere above my head.
"Torin." My voice cracked. "Tell them. Tell them it's not true. Why would I kill my own father?"
He didn't move.
"The poison was in the wine you gave him." Callis continued. "Every cup was clean except his."
"That's impossible. Someone put it there. Someone else—"
"The evidence is clear."
"Then it's wrong!" I tried to move. The chains pulled me back. Mia thrashed inside me, clawing at the silver burn. "You can't do this. I demand a trial. I'm a princess of the North and your Luna. You will not—"
"Enough."
Torin's voice cut through everything.
"Athena." He said my name like a stranger would. "For the murder of your father, Alpha Dean, I sentence you to death by hanging at moonrise."
I was bewildered.
"A trial." I was begging. "Torin, please. Give me a trial. Let me prove—"
"Moonrise," he repeated. "The sentence is final."
"No." The word ripped out of me. "You can't. We're mates. You know me. You know I wouldn't kill my father."
For a second, something like pain flickered across his face.
Then he looked away.
Like I was nothing. Like the past six years meant nothing. Like last night was nothing.
"Torin," I said again, my voice breaking. "Please."
"Athena Dean." He finally looked at me.
I froze. There's only one reason he would use my full name, and I felt the pain coming.
Then he was quiet for a long moment. The court held its breath.
"Before you hang,” His voice was cold. "I, Torin Stewart, King of Lycans, reject you as my mate and Luna."
"No. Torin, no." Pain exploded through me.
I screamed as something inside my chest tore apart. Mia howled violently inside me, her grief crashing into mine.
Then, our bond snapped.
Tears burned my eyes. I looked at him desperately, waiting for him to take it back.
He didn't move. He didn't speak. He just stood there and watched as they dragged me away.
The crowd parted as they dragged me toward the doors.
“Torin,” I said again, my voice breaking. “Please.”
