Bound To The Ruthless Lycan

Chapter 6 : Attempted Murder

"Don't move," Damon whispered right next to my ear.

His large, muscular hands held my shoulders down against the bed, pinning me still as the bedroom door hinges creaked softly. From the darkness, a man crept inside with slow steps. He was dressed entirely in black, gripping a silver dagger that glinted in the moonlight streaming through the window.

"He's aiming for my neck," I whispered softly, holding my breath.

"He will never touch you," Damon replied coldly.

The man stepped closer to the side of our bed. As his hand rose, ready to plunge the dagger into the blankets, Damon lunged out from behind the shadow of the curtain. Damon's muscular arm immediately locked around the man's neck from behind with crushing force.

The man gagged loudly, thrashing and kicking against the floor. I leaped out from under the blankets, snatched the dagger from his weakening grip, and twisted his fingers back until bones snapped with a crunch.

I pressed the tip of the silver dagger right beneath the intruder's chin. "Speak. Who sent you into the Alpha's bedchamber?"

The man wheezed beneath Damon's tightening chokehold, his eyes wide with terror.

"L-Lady Cassandra," the man whimpered, his voice choked. "She paid me. She told me to make sure you didn't wake up this morning."

I looked up, meeting Damon's golden eyes in the dark. "That woman is truly desperate."

"Her family's position on the council is threatened," Damon said flatly.

Without a moment's hesitation, Damon snapped the man's neck with one swift motion. A loud crack echoed, and the man's body immediately went limp on the stone floor.

Damon walked toward the door, cracked it open, and summoned the two guards stationed in the hallway.

"Take this body," Damon ordered curtly. "Throw it into the ravine behind the fortress. Not a single word about tonight's incident. Let Cassandra believe her plan went off without a hitch."

"Right away, Alpha," the guards answered hastily as they dragged the lifeless body outside.

I clenched my fists, feeling my blood boil with rage. "She dared to send an assassin into your room, Damon. If I don't take action tomorrow morning, she will keep trying to kill me."

Damon looked straight at me. "Tomorrow morning is the tea etiquette exam with the noblewomen. Cassandra is hosting it. She's bound to set a trap there. Are you sure you can handle her?"

I straightened my back, staring at him unblinkingly. "I've survived three years among people who hated my family. Cassandra is the one who should be afraid of me."

The next morning, the warm steam and rich aroma of expensive tea filled the West Palace Tea Room. Three senior noblewomen sat around an intricately carved marble table.

Lady Cassandra stood near a silver teapot, wearing a light blue silk gown. She offered a sweet smile as I stepped into the room.

"Sit down, Seraphine," Cassandra said, her voice deliberately softened. "The council elders wish to see whether our future Luna possesses the proper etiquette to stand beside the King."

I pulled out a wooden chair and sat upright across from them. "Manners have never been measured by how adeptly one holds porcelain, Lady Cassandra."

Lady Bran, the eldest noblewoman, with rows of silver jewelry adorning her neck, set her teacup down onto the saucer.

"Yet a Luna must know how to conduct herself before other nobles without bringing shame upon this palace. You are merely a former kitchen servant who was abruptly elevated. We require certainty."

"I am in this room by order of Alpha Damon, not to seek your approval," I answered with absolute confidence, without a shred of hesitation.

Cassandra chuckled softly, as if my words were a joke. She lifted the silver teapot and poured the golden liquid into the porcelain cup before me.

"Drink up," Cassandra said pleasantly. "This is a custom tea blend from the Western Region. Quite rare, expensive, and highly valuable."

I took hold of the cup's porcelain handle. As soon as I brought it closer to my lips, a faint, sweet scent wafted through the aroma of tea leaves.

Moonflower extract.

A slow-acting neuroparalytic toxin. It doesn't alter the taste of the drink at all, but it will cause the lungs to fail within hours.

"Why are you hesitating?" Cassandra asked, her eyes narrowing. "Does this expensive tea feel foreign to the palate of a former servant like you?"

I set the cup back down on the marble table. The clinking of porcelain echoed loudly in the suddenly silent room.

"Etiquette is taught to mask lies, Lady Cassandra. In Silverwood, we learn to spot who intends to kill us before our tea goes cold."

The atmosphere in the room instantly froze. Lady Bran and the other two noblewomen exchanged shocked glances.

"What an insolent accusation!" Cassandra snapped, her face flushing with rage. "You dare accuse me of poisoning you in front of the palace elders?!"

"I am not accusing. I am stating a fact," I said coldly. I turned toward the servant standing in the corner. "Bring me a slice of lime. Now."

The servant hesitated for a moment, glancing at Cassandra, who stood frozen, before rushing to fetch a small bowl of lime slices.

"What are you trying to accomplish?" Cassandra sneered, attempting a laugh even as her breathing grew ragged. "You are merely making excuses because you don't understand noble tea etiquette!"

I didn't reply to her words. I picked up a lime slice and squeezed its juice directly into the teacup Cassandra had poured.

The first drop fell. The golden tea suddenly turned murky.

The second drop fell, and the liquid inside the porcelain cup abruptly turned pitch-black like ink.

Lady Bran gasped and surged to her feet, rattling her saucer loudly. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"Moonflower extract reacts immediately to citrus acid," I said, staring straight into Cassandra's eyes. "If I had drunk half of this cup, my lungs would have failed before noon. This medicinal knowledge is clearly documented in the Silverwood library."

Cassandra took a step back, her chest heaving rapidly. Her face was deathly pale. "This must be a setup! She's using poison magic to frame me!"

"You poured this tea yourself from your own pot from the very beginning, Cassandra," I cut in firmly, rising from my chair. "You intended to humiliate me before the nobility. But instead, you've proven to everyone here that you are a murderer and a coward."

Lady Bran glared at Cassandra with sheer disgust. "This behavior is disgraceful, Cassandra! Poisoning the prospective Luna before the council is an act of high treason!"

"I didn't poison her!" Cassandra shrieked hysterically.

Before the argument could go any further, the doors to the Tea Room burst open violently from the outside. A palace guard ran in, gasping for air. His face was pale and stricken with terror. He dropped to his knees right near the marble table.

"Speak! What is going on?!" Lady Bran snapped, startled by the guard's sudden entrance.

The guard darted an anxious glance at me before speaking up. "Grave news, My Lady! Someone has just spread a rumor throughout the city markets and outer settlements!"

I stepped closer to the guard. "What rumor?"

"They are saying that the new Luna standing beside Alpha Damon is nothing more than a filthy, mute former slave!" the guard cried in terror. "The townsfolk from the outer city are gathering at the main fortress gates! They're carrying torches and demanding an immediate explanation from the Alpha!"