The Alpha King's Rejected Queen

Chapter four

"This is all your fault."

The whispers followed me like ghosts as I stood frozen in the middle of the ballroom.

Everyone was staring. Some looked shocked. Others looked satisfied, like they'd been waiting for this moment.

I felt like I was drowning.

"That's illegal." A voice cut through the noise.

Everyone turned. The man from the balcony...the one with silver eyes...stepped forward. He moved through the crowd with the kind of confidence that made people part for him automatically.

"Excuse me?" Declan's voice had an edge of irritation.

"Deposing a Luna requires evidence of serious infractions to be presented to the Werewolf Council," the man said calmly. "You cannot just remove her because you feel like it."

"Who are you to question me?"

The man smiled. It was not a friendly smile.

"I am someone who knows the law. Do you have evidence, Alpha Shaw?"

Declan's face reddened. "This is pack business..."

"Not anymore. The moment you made this announcement at a Summit Ball, you made it everyone's business." The man looked around the room. "I am sure the Council representatives here would agree."

Several people in the crowd nodded. Declan looked furious.

"I am acting in the best interest of my pack," he said through gritted teeth.

"Then present your evidence. Show us what crimes the Luna committed that warrant immediate removal."

Silence.

Declan had no evidence. Because I hadn't done anything wrong.

Isabel stepped forward, her sweet mask firmly in place. "Perhaps we should discuss this privately..."

"No," the man interrupted. "Public accusation, public defense. That's the law."

"And who are you to enforce the law?" Isabel's voice had an edge now.

A man in formal attire approached

from the side of the room. He looked pale.

"Your Majesty, perhaps..." The room exploded with gasps.

Your Majesty?

The man with silver eyes was...

"You're the Alpha King," I whispered.

He turned to look at me. "Caden Frost.

Though we've already met, haven't we, Luna?"

I couldn't speak. I had been talking to the Alpha King. The most powerful wolf in all territories. The one everyone feared and respected.

And I had told him I was running away.

Declan looked like he might be sick. He immediately bowed. "Your Majesty, I had no idea...I apologize for my tone..."

"Save it," Caden said coldly. "I asked you a question. Where is your evidence?"

"I...there was an incident this morning. The Luna attacked her sister..."

"I did not!" The words burst out of me. Everyone looked at me again, but I did not care anymore. "Isabel attacked me. She cut her own arm to make it look like I hurt her. She's been lying about everything."

"That's not true!" Isabel's voice rose. "She's been unstable for months. Jealous. Violent. She..."

"Enough." Caden's voice was not loud, but it silenced everyone instantly. "I'll be staying at Ironpeak for two weeks to investigate this matter personally."

"Two weeks?" Declan looked panicked.

"Is that a problem, Alpha Shaw?"

"No, of course not. We're honored to host you."

Caden's eyes swept the room, then landed on me. "I had like to speak with the former Luna. Privately. Now."

"But the ball..." my mother started.

"Can wait." Caden's tone left no room for argument.

He gestured toward a side door. I walked toward it on shaking legs. As I passed Declan and Isabel, I heard her hiss, "This isn't over.”

I followed Caden into a small meeting room. He closed the door behind us, and suddenly the noise of the ball was muffled.

Distant.

"Sit," he said, pointing to a chair.

I sat. My whole body was trembling.

Caden leaned against the desk, arms crossed, studying me. "Tell me what really happened."

"Why do you care?" The question came out before I could stop it. "You do not know me. This isn't your problem." "I am making it my problem. Now talk."

So I did. I told him everything. The arranged marriage. The three years of neglect. Isabel's manipulation. The affair.

The attack this morning. My parents' favoritism. The constant feeling of being second choice.

By the time I finished, I was crying. Again. I was so sick of crying.

"I am sorry," I said, wiping my eyes. "This is pathetic."

"No. It's not." Caden pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to me.

"What's pathetic is your pack's treatment of you."

"They do not see it that way."

"Because they're blind." He moved closer. Either way, you deserve better." "You do not even know me."

"I know enough." His silver eyes held mine. "I know you've been surviving in an impossible situation. I know you're stronger than they give you credit for. And I know you asked for a divorce, not the other way around."

I nodded.

"Then Declan has no grounds to depose you. You're within your rights to leave."

"He will not let me."

"He doesn't have a choice. The law is clear."

Hope flickered in my chest. "So I can go?"

"Where will you go?"

The hope died. "I... I do not know."

"Do you have money? Resources? A safe place to stay?"

I shook my head.

Caden was quiet for a moment, thinking. Then he said, "Come to Frostholm." "What?"

"My territory. Come work for me."

"Work for you? Doing what?"

"The Lunar Council summit is in six weeks. I need someone to help organize it. You have experience as a Luna. You know protocol. You'd be perfect."

"I... you're offering me a job?"

"Yes. It pays well. Includes housing. And most importantly, it gets you away from here."

It sounded too good to be true. "Why would you help me?"

Caden's expression softened slightly.

"Because I've been where you are. Trapped in a situation with no way out.

Someone helped me once. Now I am helping you."

"I do not know what to say."

"Say yes."

I looked at him. Really looked at him. He was intimidating, yes. Powerful and dangerous. But there was something else in his eyes. Kindness. Understanding.

"Yes," I whispered. "Thank you."

He nodded. "Good. We'll move your things tonight."

"Tonight?"

"The sooner you're out of that house, the better. Trust me."

A knock on the door interrupted us. Owen...Caden's Beta...poked his head in.

"Your Majesty, Alpha Shaw is asking when you'll return to the ball."

"Tell him I'll return when I am ready," Caden said. "And arrange for Luna Rhea 's belongings to be packed and transported to Frostholm. Tonight."

Owen's eyes widened, but he nodded.

"Yes, sir."

After he left, I said, "Declan is going to be furious."

"Let him be. He has no authority over you anymore."

"My parents..."

"Also have no authority. You're an adult. You can make your own choices."

It was strange hearing someone say that. I had spent so long being told what to do, where to go, how to act. The idea of making my own choices felt foreign.

Terrifying.

Exhilarating.

"Thank you," I said again.

"Stop thanking me. You're doing me a favor. I really do need help with the summit." He smiled slightly. "Besides, something tells me you're going to surprise everyone."

"Surprise them how?"

"By showing them what you're really capable of when you're not being held back."

His words wrapped around me like a warm blanket. For the first time in years, someone saw potential in me.

Not disappointment. Not weakness.

Potential.

"We should go back," Caden said. "Let them see you standing tall. Let them know you're not broken." "I do not know if I can face them."

"Yes, you can. Because you're not alone anymore." He offered his arm. After a moment's hesitation, I took it.

We walked back into the ballroom together.

The conversation died the instant we appeared. Every eye turned to us.

Caden led me to the center of the room. Declan and Isabel stood nearby, both looking furious and confused.

"I have an announcement," Caden said, his voice carrying easily across the silent hall. "Luna Rhea has accepted a position in my territory. She'll be leaving Ironpeak tonight."

More gasps.

"Your Majesty," Declan stepped forward. "Surely there's been a misunderstanding..."

"There's no misunderstanding. The Luna asked for a divorce. You granted it publicly when you deposed her.

She's free to leave."

"But the alliance between our packs..."

"Was based on political marriage, which is now dissolved. The alliance stands on its own merit. Or it doesn't.

That's for you to prove."

Declan looked like he'd been slapped.

My mother pushed through the crowd. "Rhea , you cannot just leave with a stranger..."

"He's not a stranger," I said, finding my voice. "He's the Alpha King. And he's offering me an opportunity you never did.

A chance to be valued."

"How dare you..."

"No." I stepped forward. "How dare YOU. You've spent my entire life making me feel worthless. Comparing me to Isabel. Telling me I am not good enough. Well, I am done listening." My father appeared beside my mother. "You're making a scene."

"Good. Let them see. Let them all see that I am done being silent."

"You're being childish," Isabel said.

"Running away will not solve anything."

I turned to her. "I am not running away. I'm running toward something better. There's a difference."

"You'll come crawling back," Isabel said confidently. "You always do."

"No. I will not." I looked at all of them...Declan, Isabel, my parents, the pack members who'd watched me struggle for years without helping. "I am done. With all of you."

Silence.

Then Caden's voice, calm and certain: "Luna Rhea , are you ready to go?"

I looked at him. At this powerful, mysterious man who'd appeared at exactly the right moment. Who'd seen something in me worth saving.

"Yes," I said. "I am ready."

We walked toward the exit together. No one tried to stop us.

As we reached the door, I heard Declan call out: "You'll regret this, Rhea !"

I stopped. Turned.

"The only thing I regret," I said clearly, "is not leaving sooner."

Then I walked out.

Away from the pack that never wanted me.

Away from the family that never loved me.