The lycan king's Greatest Regret

Chapter 3 The King's Question

No one answered.

No one even breathed.

The Lycan King's question lingered in the Great Hall like a curse.

Who laid seals upon that girl's soul?

I frowned.

Seals?

What was he talking about?

My soul wasn't sealed.

Was it?

The two warriors holding me released my arms so quickly that they stumbled backward.

Neither of them dared remain between me and the Lycan King.

King Kael's golden eyes never left mine.

The intensity of his gaze made my skin prickle.

It felt as though he could see every secret I'd never known I carried.

The High Elder cleared his throat.

"Your Majesty..." His voice shook. "There must be some misunderstanding. The girl is merely a rejected she-wolf from Silver Hollow."

"Merely?"

Kael repeated the word without raising his voice.

Yet the temperature in the room seemed to drop.

"I have walked this earth longer than your bloodline has existed."

He took one slow step forward.

"I know exactly what I sensed."

The High Elder immediately lowered his head.

"My apologies, Your Majesty."

The King ignored him.

Instead, he stopped a few feet away from me.

For the first time since my rejection, someone looked at me as though I actually existed.

Not with pity.

Not with disgust.

With curiosity.

His gaze swept over the faded bruise on my wrist.

The tear stains on my face.

The torn sleeve of my dress where the warrior had grabbed me.

Something dangerous flickered in his eyes.

"Who touched her?"

The question was calm.

Almost gentle.

The warrior who had dragged me forward swallowed hard.

"I-I only followed Luna Mara's order, Your Majesty."

Kael didn't even look at him.

"Did I ask why?"

"N-No..."

"Then answer the question."

"...I did."

The King nodded once.

Before anyone understood what was happening—

Crack!

The warrior screamed.

His body flew across the Great Hall as though struck by an invisible force, crashing into a stone pillar with enough strength to leave cracks running through it.

The room erupted in terrified gasps.

The second warrior immediately dropped to his knees.

"I never touched her!"

Kael finally looked at him.

"You watched."

The man turned pale.

"You watched while a defenseless woman was dragged across the floor."

"I..."

"You did nothing."

The warrior lowered his head until it nearly touched the marble.

"I deserve punishment."

"You do."

Kael dismissed him with a wave of his hand.

"Leave before I change my mind."

The warrior scrambled to his feet and ran.

No one tried to stop him.

I stared at the King in disbelief.

No one had ever defended me before.

Not once.

Not even Ronan.

At the thought of him, my gaze drifted toward the Alpha.

He stood beside Iris, his jaw tight.

For the first time since rejecting me...

He looked uneasy.

Not guilty.

Annoyed.

As though the King's attention had ruined the perfect ceremony he'd planned.

King Kael finally turned to him.

"So."

His voice was deceptively calm.

"You are the Alpha who rejected her."

Ronan straightened.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Why?"

The question hung in the air.

Ronan answered without hesitation.

"The mate bond was no longer beneficial to my pack."

My heart clenched.

Beneficial?

Was that all I had ever been?

A political inconvenience?

"Iris is the stronger choice," Ronan continued confidently. "She comes from one of the oldest Alpha families. Our union will strengthen Silver Hollow."

Kael listened without interrupting.

Then he asked quietly,

"And the girl?"

Ronan didn't even glance at me.

"She has no title."

"No family."

"No influence."

"No wolf worth mentioning."

"I simply made the decision expected of an Alpha."

Every word cut deeper than the last.

The King's face remained unreadable.

But the pressure filling the room grew heavier.

I could barely breathe beneath it.

"So," Kael said slowly, "you measured her worth by her bloodline."

Ronan frowned.

"Your Majesty?"

"You looked at a woman's name."

He took another step.

"Her status."

"Her usefulness."

Another step.

"And never once asked what she truly was."

Ronan's confidence faltered.

"I don't understand."

"No."

A faint, humorless smile crossed the King's face.

"You don't."

His golden eyes returned to me.

I flinched under their intensity.

"What is your name?"

My throat felt dry.

"L-Lyra."

"Lyra..."

He spoke it as though testing the sound.

"How long have you been unable to hear your wolf?"

I blinked.

How did he—

"I..."

Tears welled in my eyes again.

"Since the rejection."

His expression hardened.

"I wasn't asking about today."

Confusion rippled through me.

"What?"

"Your wolf."

His voice softened.

"She has been fading for years, hasn't she?"

My breath caught.

No one knew that.

Not even Ronan.

Ever since I was fifteen, Nova's voice had grown weaker every year.

Some days I barely heard her at all.

The healers claimed I was simply an unusually weak she-wolf.

I had believed them.

"How..."

The King closed his eyes briefly.

When he opened them again, they burned like molten gold.

"They lied to you."

The words echoed through the Great Hall.

"They called you weak because it was easier than admitting the truth."

A strange breeze circled the chamber.

The candles flickered wildly.

"The power inside you..."

He looked directly into my eyes.

"...has been chained."

The ground beneath my feet trembled.

Before anyone could speak—

A sharp, burning pain exploded beneath my collarbone.

I cried out.

A silver symbol appeared against my skin, glowing through the fabric of my dress.

The entire hall gasped.

Elder Orion stumbled backward, horror written across his face.

"It..."

His voice cracked.

"It still exists."

Kael's eyes narrowed.

"So you recognize it."

The old Elder slowly sank to his knees.

"The mark..."

He whispered.

"The Guardian has returned."