Claimed by the Ruthless Alpha Prince

Chapter20

Kael’s POV

I look down at her hands on my sleeve with the same expression I might use for something unpleasant I’ve stepped in.

“The idea of mating with you appeals to me about as much as bedding a particularly unimpressive piece of driftwood. At least the driftwood would have the courtesy to remain silent.”

Harper recoils as if I’ve struck her, tears of rage and humiliation streaming down her face. Her hands clench into fists at her sides, and I can see the fury blazing in her eyes even through her tears.

“This isn’t fair!” she snarls, her voice cracking with emotion. “I’ve done everything right! I’m the most eligible female here! I’m the strongest healer of this pack! You can’t find a better mate than me! I’m perfect for you! Papa, tell him!”

The watching pack members shift uncomfortably, looking shocked by both my bluntness and her outburst. I catch sight of Daciana again; she’s staring at Harper with unconcealed disgust and anger.

“Your Highness, please,” Alpha Blackwood begs, apparently forgetting about his audience entirely. “Harper is my only daughter, my heir. She’s meant for better things than—”

“Expect contact within the week.” I step away from the table, letting the lie hang in the air. My father would never agree to sending Harper instead of retrieving Elara, but they don’t need to know that.

I stride out of the hall, leaving behind Harper’s angry sobs and the stunned silence of a pack that has just watched their carefully laid plans crumble.

The evening air carries the scent of smoke and roasted meat from the feast as I head toward the Wyvern Woods. The scent trail from the masking potion is two days old, but my enhanced senses can still detect the faint chemical signature where it was used. I’m examining the disturbed earth at the forest’s edge when I catch motion in my peripheral vision.

It’s Daciana, her warrior’s posture rigid with barely controlled fury. She’s watching me with an intensity that suggests she has something to say but can’t decide whether to approach.

I made the decision for her.

“You have something to tell me,” I say, walking directly toward the woman.

She startles slightly but doesn’t retreat. Up close, I can see the anger blazing in her dark eyes—an emotion that goes far beyond mere displeasure with the evening’s events.

“Your Highness, I…”

“Speak.”

The command cuts through whatever hesitation she had.

“Elara wasn’t a nobody,” she says, the words bursting from her as if she has been holding them back all evening. “She was the previous alpha’s granddaughter.”

This revelation surprises me. I vaguely remember that the previous alpha of this pack was killed during a succession fight, but there was never any mention of a surviving family. Why would those records not exist? Family lineages are meticulously documented, especially for pack leadership succession. The absence of such information raises immediate questions about what else might have been deliberately omitted or destroyed.

“Is that why she was living in such shabby conditions?” I ask.

Daciana’s expression grows darker, and I can see she wants to elaborate, but she glances nervously toward the settlement.

“Blackwood made sure she had nothing, was treated like nothing.”

It’s obvious that there’s more she wants to say, something crucial hovering on the edge of her words, but before she can continue, fear suddenly crosses her face. She’s looking behind me, and I hear footsteps approaching.

“I have to go,” she says in a low, hurried voice. “But I’ll say this: Elara is the kindest person I’ve ever met. This pack never deserved her.”

“Your Highness.”

The deep voice cuts through the night air. Beta Leroy approaches us; his expression is carefully neutral, but I can smell the tension radiating from him.

“Beta,” I acknowledge, turning to face him.

“I was looking for my niece.” His eyes move between Daciana and me with palpable suspicion. “What were you two discussing?”

Daciana goes completely still, her earlier fire extinguished under her uncle’s stare.

“Nothing,” she says quietly, avoiding both our gazes.

“Nothing?” Leroy’s attitude suggests he doesn’t believe her for a second.

The threat in his voice is subtle but unmistakable. Daciana’s face goes pale, and I see her hands tremble slightly before she clasps them behind her back.

“Are you now going to question me on what I discuss with my subjects?” I ask him icily, and he quickly changes his tone.

“Of course not, Your Highness. Daciana is just a foolish girl. I didn’t want her giving you any misinformation.”

“Misinformation about what?” I pin him with a steely gaze, and his jaw tightens as he forces his eyes away.

“Nothing. My niece has a tendency to babble, that’s all. I meant no disrespect, Your Highness. Come along, Daciana. We have early patrol duties tomorrow.”

She nods without meeting my eyes again and leaves with her uncle. The moment he thinks they are out of earshot, I hear his voice rise in sharp, angry whispers.

I stand alone in the darkness, my curiosity about the situation growing exponentially. The previous alpha’s granddaughter, living in exile within her own pack. Missing records that should exist but don’t. A beta who clearly doesn’t want his niece talking to me about any of it, which means she knows what happened.

Whatever occurred here goes much deeper than a simple runaway bride.

I turn back toward the Wyvern Woods, my enhanced senses picking up the faint trail of the masking potion again. Two days old, but still detectable. The scent leads deeper into the forest than most pack members would dare venture.

I’m not a man who likes mysteries. I’ll get to the bottom of this. And if I find that this pack tried to evade the crown’s decree, I’ll skin that alpha and his daughter.

Happily.

It takes me the rest of the night to catch up to Elara, following the trail she unknowingly left behind.

The masking potion has a distinct chemical signature that most trackers wouldn’t recognize, but I’m not most trackers. I can smell exactly where she used it at the forest edge—a calculated move to make it appear she’d entered the Wyvern Woods. Clever, but not clever enough.