HER STOLEN CROWN

CHAPTER 5 Asher's POV

The moment Corrin pulled the necklace from her pocket, something inside me shifted.

I had been watching her the whole ceremony, though I wasn't supposed to because she was just a maid. She was just moving quietly along the edges of the hall, offering drinks, keeping her head down like she didn't want to be seen at all. But my eyes kept finding her anyway, again and again, no matter how hard I tried to focus on my father's words, on the crown waiting for me, on everything I was supposed to care about that day.

Now I understood why.

The pull hit me the second Corrin dragged her forward.

She was my mate.

I stared at her, my heart pounding, my mind scrambling to catch up with what my body already knew. Her. This girl standing frozen in front of the entire hall, gold clutched in the guard's fist as proof of a crime against my own family.

A thief. My mate was a thief.

"I didn't take it," she said again, her voice breaking, panic clear in every word. "I swear, I didn't touch it. Someone put it there. I was framed, please, you have to believe me."

I wanted to believe her. Some instinct buried deep in my chest screamed at me to believe her, to step down from the platform and pull her away from Corrin's grip myself. But I was standing in front of every council member, every allied pack representative, every set of eyes in Silverfang territory, on the day I was meant to prove I was ready to lead.

"She was caught red-handed," Corrin said, loud enough for the whole hall to hear. "The heirloom was found in her pocket. There's no framing that, my lord."

My father stepped forward, his face hard, unreadable. "Take her to the cells. She'll be dealt with according to pack law."

"No." The word left me before I could think better of it.

The hall went quiet. My father turned to look at me, surprise flickering across his face before it disappeared.

"Asher," he said, low enough that only those closest could hear. "This is not the moment."

"She hasn't had a proper trial," I said, trying to keep my voice steady, trying not to let the pull inside my chest show on my face. "Shouldn't there at least be an investigation?"

One of the elders, a stern old wolf named Halric, stepped up beside my father, his expression sour. "My lord Asher, with respect, the necklace was found on her. What further investigation is needed?"

"Someone could have planted it," I said.

"A convenient excuse every thief uses," Halric said dismissively. "You are new to leadership. Do not let a pretty face cloud your judgment on your very first day as Alpha."

I felt anger mixed with shame building up in my chest.

I wasn't ready to reveal in front of the entire hall, that the moon goddess herself had chosen this girl for me, thief or not.

"He's right," another elder murmured. "You cannot start your rule by appearing weak, questioning guards over the word of a servant."

I looked back at her. She had gone very still, her wide eyes darting between the elders, between my father, between me, like she was searching for even one person in that hall who might step forward for her. But as we all know no one did.

"Take her to the cells," my father said again, more firmly this time. "She'll be executed this evening, as pack law demands for theft of this magnitude."

"Executed?" The word tore out of me sharper than I meant it to.

"It is the heirloom of our bloodline, Asher," my father said quietly, though his eyes carried a warning. "The punishment has always been death. You know this."

I did know it. I had grown up knowing the laws of my own pack, laws I would soon be responsible for upholding myself.

The guards pulled her away, her protests growing quieter as they dragged her out of the hall, until the heavy doors shut behind her and the sound of her voice disappeared completely. I wanted to run after her and save her but I couldn't do that without looking crazy.

The ceremony resumed after a while, my father speaking again, the crowd settling back into their seats, but I heard none of it. My mind was somewhere else entirely.

I also noticed she was wolfless, I got the scent from across the room.

It didn't make any sense.

Why would the moon goddess give a wolfless mate and one that was an alleged thief

By the time the ceremony ended and the guests began filtering out toward the evening feast, I made my decision. I would go to my father privately, explain what I could without revealing everything, and demand more time to investigate before anything irreversible happened.

If she dies what will happen to the bond?

I thought.

Well I never got the chance.

Evening fell faster than I expected. I arrived just as the crowd was gathering, drawn by the announcement that had already spread through the pack like wildfire. A thief caught on coronation day. An execution of a worthless wolf to end the celebration.

I pushed through the crowd, my heart hammering, searching for my father, for anyone who might listen to my reasons. I spotted Corrin instead, standing near the block with his arms crossed, watching as the guards brought her forward.

She looked so small surrounded by armed wolves twice her size, her wrists bound, her face pale. The pull in my chest twisted painfully at the sight of her.

The executioner stepped forward, a broad shouldered man I recognized from the training grounds, his blade already drawn, catching the last light of the setting sun. She was forced to her knees, her head guided down toward the block, and the crowd around me fell into a suffocating silence.

I opened my mouth, my feet already moving forward, my mind screaming at me to do something, anything, before it was too late.

The blade rose into the air.

"Stoooppp!”