The Princess They Turned On

Chapter 3 The Fake Victim and the Alpha's "Lesson"

I left Dante in the rain and ran. Mud pulled at my boots. The warrior had said Moonstone, my mother's legacy.

I burst into the great hall.

Pack members stood in a circle around Sera. She lay near the grand stone hearth, one arm tucked under her, her shoulders shaking. Her eyes were dry until she saw me.

The Moonstone lay beside her on the flagstones. Pale light moved beneath its carved surface. My mother had called it a piece of her soul, and pack law reserved it for the true Luna.

Sera gasped and cradled her wrist.

"Aria, please," she said loudly enough for the circle to hear. "Don't be angry. I was only looking. It was so beautiful."

She tried to rise, winced, and dropped back to the floor. "It slipped. I'm sorry."

She never said I had pushed her. She only watched the others reach that conclusion.

Before I could utter a single word, the main doors crashed open.

Caleb strode in with Zane and Dante. All three went straight to the Omega on the floor.

No one checked the Moonstone.

No one asked me what had happened.

"What happened?" Caleb crossed the hall in three strides and knelt beside Sera, blocking her from me.

Tears spilled down Sera's cheeks as she grabbed his arm. "It was my fault. I shouldn't have touched it. I made the Princess angry."

Caleb looked up at me. "Aria."

My name sounded final in his mouth.

He rose. Zane and Dante took their places behind him, shoulder to shoulder. Their disappointment was already fixed on their faces before either of them heard my side.

"Is this what you've become?" Caleb asked. "You attacked a guest for admiring a stone?"

"I didn't touch her. She's lying."

Caleb gave a hard laugh. "Lying? Look at her, Aria. She's terrified. She has nothing, and you were raised with everything."

He gestured toward Sera. "You could have shown her some grace. Instead, you attacked her. I'm disappointed in you."

Zane lowered his eyes. Dante's hand stayed near his sword. Caleb waited for me to accept their version of the room.

He took a step closer. And then it came.

His Alpha power slammed into my shoulders. The air thickened until I could barely draw breath, and every instinct the mate bond had trained into me demanded that I satisfy him.

My knees shook, and my wolf scratched at the inside of my skull, begging me to bow so the pressure would stop.

"Kneel," Caleb ordered.

Sera peered around Caleb's leg. Her tears were still wet, but she was smiling.

The pressure increased. "You will kneel, and you will apologize to Sera for your disgusting behavior."

I locked my knees. Sweat ran into my eyes, and my teeth ground hard enough to hurt.

I would stay on my feet.

I lifted my chin, met his furious gaze, and held it.

Pain drove down my spine. Caleb growled when I kept looking at him.