CROWN OF CLAWS

Chapter Eight:A KING'S DECREE

Amara's POV

The hall remained silent.

No one dared speak.

No one dared breathe.

The Lycan King stood before me, his silver eyes unwavering.

"I won't leave you here."

Those words echoed in my mind.

I had already refused him.

He had heard my reason.

Yet...

He still insisted.

Alpha Cedric cleared his throat before stepping forward.

"My King..."

Kael finally turned his attention toward him.

"I must object."

A murmur rippled through the hall.

Cedric bowed respectfully, but I noticed the stiffness in his shoulders.

"The girl belongs to the Blue Moon Pack."

I frowned.

Belongs?

"I cannot simply hand over one of my slaves."

Kael's expression didn't change.

"Slave?"

His voice was calm.

"I was under the impression I was speaking to an Alpha."

Cedric swallowed.

"You are, Your Majesty."

"Then act like one."

The temperature in the hall seemed to drop.

"A true Alpha protects those under his rule."

His gaze shifted toward me.

"You starved her."

I unconsciously looked down at my hands.

"You overworked her."

His silver eyes lingered on the faint scars around my wrists.

"You allowed her to be treated as less than human."

No one said a word.

"Yet you stand before me and call her property."

Cedric forced a smile.

"My King, every pack has its own customs."

Kael's eyes hardened.

"And slavery has no place among civilized rulers."

His voice echoed through the hall.

"I abolished slavery the day I ascended the Lycan throne."

Every servant stared at him.

Some looked hopeful.

Others looked completely stunned.

Cedric tried again.

"Even so... she is part of my pack."

"No."

Kael corrected.

"She belongs to no one."

The words struck something deep inside me.

For two years...

Everyone had called me a slave.

Property.

Worthless.

Disposable.

No one...

Not once...

Had ever said I belonged to no one.

Cedric's smile disappeared.

"My King..."

"I ask that you reconsider."

"I won't."

The answer came immediately.

"My decision is final."

The room fell silent once again.

Cedric's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.

I had lived in this pack for two years.

I had learned to recognize the smallest changes in people's expressions.

He wasn't angry.

He was...

Panicking.

Why?

He had never cared whether I lived or died.

So why was he so desperate to keep me here?

The thought barely crossed my mind before Kael spoke again.

"Beta Tristan."

A tall man with ash-brown hair stepped forward.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Prepare the carriage."

"It has already been prepared."

"Good."

Kael looked at me.

"We're leaving."

I instinctively took a step back.

"My King..."

"I told you already."

"My answer hasn't changed."

"I know."

His expression remained calm.

"But mine hasn't either."

I stared at him.

This man...

Did he always get his way?

"I can't leave."

"You can."

"I have things I need to do."

"And you'll do them."

"I don't think you understand—"

"I understand more than you realize."

His voice softened slightly.

"You've suffered."

"You've lost people."

"You want justice."

My chest tightened.

"But you won't find it by remaining in chains."

I bit my lip.

He made it sound so simple.

It wasn't.

How could I explain that every day I stayed alive had been for revenge?

That every insult...

Every beating...

Every sleepless night...

Had one purpose?

I couldn't.

Not here.

Not in front of everyone.

Mama Maria slowly walked toward me.

Tears shimmered in her tired eyes.

"My child..."

She gently cupped my face.

"You should go."

I shook my head.

"I can't leave you."

She smiled sadly.

"I've lived my life."

"You still have yours ahead of you."

Fresh tears rolled down my cheeks.

She pulled me into a warm embrace.

"I'm proud of you."

"You survived."

I buried my face against her shoulder.

"I'll miss you."

"I know."

She kissed my forehead.

"And one day..."

She whispered softly.

"...come back as the woman you were always meant to be."

I closed my eyes.

"I promise."

When we finally pulled apart, she wiped away my tears herself.

"No more crying."

"You've cried enough for one lifetime."

I nodded.

Turning away from her was the hardest thing I'd ever done.

As I walked toward the carriage, I glanced back one last time.

Emily stood with her arms folded, clearly unhappy.

Collin looked just as bitter.

Alpha Cedric...

Was watching me.

Not with relief.

Not with satisfaction.

But with an uneasiness I had never seen before.

Our eyes met for only a second.

He looked away first.

Something wasn't right.

I didn't know what it was.

But for the first time...

I had the strange feeling that leaving this pack wasn't ruining someone else's plans.

It was exposing them.

I climbed into the royal carriage without another word.

Outside, the Lycan guards mounted their horses.

Tristan raised his sword.

"Escort formation!"

The soldiers moved into position with flawless discipline.

Kael mounted his black stallion and rode to the front of the procession.

The massive gates of the Blue Moon Pack slowly creaked open.

As the convoy rolled forward, I watched the place that had been my prison disappear behind me.

I didn't know whether I was leaving my past behind...

Or riding straight toward the future that had been waiting for me all along.

Behind us, unseen by everyone else, Alpha Cedric's expression darkened.

He turned to one of his most trusted guards and spoke in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Send word to Alpha Darius."

The guard frowned.

"What message, Alpha?"

Cedric's eyes followed the departing royal procession until it vanished beyond the gates.

"Tell him..."

His face hardened.

"...the girl is with the Lycan King."