I'm Your Brother's Wife Dear Ace

Chapter 10

Ace

After Alpha Kael excused Lyra, I let out a low sigh. I couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something was deeply wrong. The mate bond wasn't overwhelmingly strong yet, but it certainly wasn't weak, either. It was a strange and it felt as though I could catch fleeting whispers of the emotions she felt, but the exact depth of her pain remained entirely locked away from me.

With no other choice, I turned back toward the ceremony. It was a celebration thrown for my return, after all, and I needed to play my part.

“Ace! Come drink with us!” Draven called out from across the floor.

I masked my disdain and walked over to his table, sliding into an empty seat.

“So, Ace, tell us about your time in exile,” one of the pack elders sneered, swirling the liquor in his cup. “Was it interesting out there in the wastes?”

The surrounding wolves laughed, mocking my banishment. I let a slow, dark smile spread across my face.

“Yes, why not?” I murmured, my voice dropping into a dangerous, lethal whisper that carried an unmistakable threat. “I even learned a lot out there. Like how to efficiently kill and destroy anyone who dares to cross my path.”

The laughter died instantly, a suffocating silence dropped over the table as the elders stiffened in pure fear, their eyes darting nervously away from mine. I let out a sudden, booming laugh to break the tension.

“Haha, I'm just joking. Exile was just incredibly cold,” I smiled.

The wolves let out a collective, awkward laugh, trying to ease their racing hearts. As they continued their mindless chatter, I completely tuned them out, my eyes restlessly scanning the crowded room for my mate.

Where the hell is she? I thought.

Before I could find her, Alpha Kael walked toward our table, a boisterous laugh escaping him as he arrived. “Ace, I have heard a great deal about you,” he said, pulling up a chair.

“Oh, really?” I asked, raising a single eyebrow in challenge.

He nodded, but my attention was instantly pulled away as Lyra stepped back into the ballroom. My eyes lit up at the sight of her celestial form, but the reaction was immediately cut short by a dark wave of suspicion. Something was entirely off, Her soft gray blue eyes looked slightly glassy, carrying the distinct look of someone who had just been weeping.

Wow, my mate is truly amazing, I thought, a twisted sense of admiration blooming in my chest. How can she manage to smile so beautifully when she has just been shedding tears? I guessed the heavens really had made a perfect choice by making her mine; her resilience was unmatched.

I watched intently as she walked up to Selena and a small circle of her high-status friends. The noblewomen laughed snobbishly while my mate kept her bright mask perfectly in place.

Ever since I had arrived, she always wore a smile. The only time her beautiful face was completely bare of that exhausting grin was when she thought she was entirely alone.

I was still observing her movements when a sudden, violent jolt of adrenaline shot through me. My instincts sensed immediate danger. I scanned the immediate perimeter and found the source: a maid was locked in an intense, silent interaction with Selena. The maid looked deathly pale, her hands trembling with a mixture of terror and resolve as she picked up a large, jagged piece of broken glass from a nearby table.

Then, the maid’s eyes locked entirely onto Lyra.

Shit.

I bolted from my seat, but the distance was too great. Before I could cross the crowded floor to reach her, the maid would get there first.

“Lyra!” I shouted at the top of my lungs, desperate to make her move, to make her escape the impending strike.

But as she snapped her head around and faced the maid charging directly at her, she completely froze. She didn't run, and she didn't duck. She just stood there, entirely still, as if she were submissively waiting for the maid to slice her flesh open with the glass.

Her face, my wolf roared fiercely within my mind, baring his fangs. Her face is the target.

But just as the maid lunged forward, preparing to plunge the shattered glass into Lyra’s skin, an invisible, devastating force suddenly erupted through the air.

The impact slammed the maid backward with sickening speed, throwing her violently against the stone wall. Her bones snapped against the impact, and she slumped to the ground, dying instantly.

“Are you alright, Lyra?”

I watched as Alpha Kael rushed forward, his face a mask of deep worry as he checked his daughter over. My eyes, however, remained glued to my mate who looked shocked and completely confused.

How had she done that? Or was I truly the only one in this entire room who had noticed the bizarre nature of that blast?

“Who was that maid?” Alpha Kael roared angrily, his voice echoing off the high ceilings as the ballroom fell into a terrified silence. He turned a furious gaze toward the crowd. “If I hadn't stepped in and saved my daughter in time, what would have happened to her face?”

He claimed the power was his, but Lyra seemed to be in absolute shock as well.

She stared at the dead body, looking utterly bewildered, as if she didn't comprehend what had just happened.

A wolfless princess who is completely mute... is she truly as defenseless as they say? I wondered, a dark curiosity sparking in my chest.

“Oh, my Lady Lyra! It is all my fault. I never should have called you over to join our circle,” Selena cried out, instantly squeezing out fake tears as she rushed to Lyra’s side.

“It is fine, as long as she wasn't harmed,” Draven commanded, stepping forward to take control of the situation. He gently guided Lyra to a nearby velvet seat.

“Come here, Adein. Find out exactly who that maid was working for, and execute every single member of her family.”

Adein bowed quickly and went to work.

“Elin!” Selena called out, snapping her fingers as a petite maid ran forward trembling. “Please, take Lady Lyra back to her chambers immediately. The poor girl almost got severely hurt.”

Selena played the part of the doting, concerned sister-in-law flawlessly, and a cold, dangerous smile touched my lips.

I knew the truth, she had just tried to orchestrate an attack on my mate for the second time today. I would have to teach her a lesson she would never forget.

Nobody hurts what belongs to me.

I watched silently as the maid guided my trembling mate out of the chaotic ballroom. Slipping away from the crowd unnoticed, I followed them quietly from a safe distance.

“My Lady, are you alright? Oh, heavens, you are shaking so violently,” the maid whispered, her voice laced with genuine worry as she supported Lyra's weight.

I trailed behind them as we passed through the grand corridors. We bypassed the primary wing, moved past the secondary hall, and entered a third, entirely vacant hallway and they approached a hidden well decorated door at the end of the hall .

I watched from the shadows as the maid unlocked the door and guided Lyra inside.

On my way back to the grand hall, my eyes locked onto Selena, who was slipping out a side exit. I lunged forward, grabbing her firmly by the wrist, and dragged her out into the secluded courtyard for a private talk.

“You did it,” I stated flatly, pinning her against the stone wall.

She looked around frantically, deliberately avoiding my piercing gaze. “Did what?” she denied, her voice pitching high.

“I saw your little interaction with that maid right before she rushed toward Lyra,” I growled, tightening my iron grip around her wrists until the bones creaked.

“Ow! Ace, stop, you are hurting me!” she cried out, her composure cracking.

I released her with a harsh shove.

“What is wrong with you? Why the hell do you even care about her?” Selena spat, rubbing her bruised wrists as her malice spilled out. “She isn't yours! She's married to Draven!”

Then, sensing my dark aura, her demeanor shifted completely. She stepped closer to me, a sly, seductive smile replacing her anger. “But you know... your sister-in-law has always favored you among all the brothers, Ace. You are so incredibly strong, so powerful. You are a real alpha... so much better than Draven,” she purred, trailing her manicured hands slowly up the fabric of my black coat.

As her fingers reached the edge of my sash, dangerously close to my pants, I clamped my hand over her wrist, stopping her dead.

Selena. I knew exactly what kind of wretched witch and vixen she was. She can do anything for power.

“I would highly advise you to keep your filthy hands to yourself, Selena,” I whispered, my voice sounding like grinding stones. “And I will personally ensure that you suffer ten times over for what you did to Lyra today.”

Before she could even register the threat, I drew a concealed silver blade from my sleeve and sliced it quickly across her cheek.

“Ahhhhh!” she screamed in agonizing pain, clenching her hands over her face as dark blood began to seep through her fingers.

“That is nothing,” I warned coldly, looking down at her as she crumpled to the stone floor in pain. “The more you attempt to hurt her, the greater the agony you will receive from my hands. Consider this your only warning.”

Turning my back on her pathetic whines, I walked away into the night. The cut wasn't even that large. I let out a low sigh, adjusting my cuffs.