Chapter Two: The King She Once Loved
1187 Words
The palace was already drowning in celebration.
Servants rushed through endless marble corridors carrying silver trays, flower arrangements, ceremonial fabrics, and bottles of royal wine imported from southern territories. Musicians tuned their instruments in the grand halls while noble families filled the castle with laughter loud enough to shake the walls.
Everyone celebrated the royal wedding.
No one realized they were celebrating the beginning of a tragedy.
Selene walked through the corridors in silence.
Her silver gown flowed behind her like moonlight over snow, delicate jewels glittering beneath golden chandeliers. To everyone around her, she looked breathtaking—the perfect future queen of the Alpha Kingdom.
But beneath the beauty was something cold.
Something dead.
Mira stayed close behind her, nervously watching the strange calmness surrounding her mistress. Usually, Selene smiled at servants. She greeted knights kindly. She laughed softly whenever palace maids complimented her dress.
Today she did none of those things.
She simply walked.
Watching.
Remembering.
Every corridor carried ghosts.
There.
The eastern staircase where Lord Hadrian once tried to corner her after Lucien left for war.
The moon garden where Evelyne poisoned Orion’s medicine beneath the cover of night.
The royal court chamber where nobles demanded Selene’s execution while pretending sorrow.
Her fingers tightened slowly at her sides.
She remembered all of it.
And this time, she would make sure they paid.
The giant doors leading toward the throne wing suddenly opened.
Royal guards immediately bowed their heads.
“Lady Selene.”
The title sounded strange now.
Soon she would become queen.
Again.
The thought disgusted her.
Selene stepped into the grand hallway beyond the doors, and the atmosphere instantly changed.
This part of the palace belonged to the king.
Cold silver pillars lined the corridor like silent soldiers. Massive wolf statues towered overhead beneath stained-glass windows depicting ancient battles and Alpha bloodlines.
At the far end stood Lucien Valeblood.
The sight nearly stopped her heart.
For one terrible second, the memory of his face during her execution flashed through her mind so vividly that she almost couldn’t breathe.
He looked exactly the same.
Tall.
Powerful.
Untouchable.
Black formal clothing clung sharply against his broad frame while silver embroidery marked the royal insignia across his chest. His dark hair fell carelessly over cold silver eyes capable of terrifying entire kingdoms.
The man she once loved more than her own life.
The man she now hated enough to destroy.
Lucien turned as she approached.
And froze.
Something flickered across his expression.
Confusion.
Selene immediately realized why.
In her previous life, she had looked at Lucien with warmth. Admiration. Love so obvious even strangers noticed it.
Now?
Now her eyes held nothing.
Lucien studied her silently.
“You’re late.”
His voice remained deep and calm as always.
Once, that voice alone could make her heart race.
Now it only reminded her of funerals.
Selene stopped several feet away from him.
“I wasn’t aware the king had begun counting my movements already.”
A faint crease appeared between Lucien’s brows.
The sharpness in her tone surprised him.
Good.
Let him be confused.
Lucien dismissed the nearby guards with a glance. The soldiers bowed and disappeared immediately, leaving the hallway empty except for the two of them.
Silence settled heavily between them.
Selene watched him carefully.
In this timeline, Lucien knew nothing yet.
He had not betrayed her.
He had not watched her execution.
He had not failed their son.
Technically…this version of him was innocent.
But the hatred inside her did not care.
Because she remembered.
Every cold silence.
Every moment he chose duty over her.
Every time she begged him to listen while he walked away.
Love had already turned into poison inside her chest.
Lucien stepped closer slowly.
“You seem different today.”
Selene nearly laughed.
Different?
She had died.
“What an observant king you are.”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
There it was again.
That sharpness.
Lucien had spent years mastering battlefields and politics. He noticed changes quickly, especially in people close to him.
And right now, the woman standing before him felt unfamiliar.
Dangerously unfamiliar.
“You haven’t smiled once since entering the hall,” he observed.
Selene met his gaze calmly.
“Should I?”
For some reason, that answer unsettled him.
Lucien stared at her longer than necessary.
She looked beautiful.
More beautiful than he remembered.
But there was something else now hidden beneath her elegance. Something colder resting quietly beneath her silver eyes.
Like a wolf waiting beneath ice.
“You’re nervous about the wedding,” he said finally.
Selene almost pitied him.
How easy life must be when you still believed ignorance could explain everything.
“Yes,” she replied softly.
Lucien relaxed slightly.
Then she continued.
“I suppose marrying the man who eventually destroys me would make anyone nervous.”
Silence.
The air itself seemed to freeze.
Lucien’s expression darkened instantly. “What?”
Selene smiled faintly.
“Nothing, Your Majesty.”
His gaze sharpened dangerously.
For one brief moment, instinct warned him something was wrong.
Very wrong.
But before he could question her further, footsteps echoed rapidly through the corridor.
A woman appeared from the opposite hall wearing soft gold silk.
Lady Evelyne Seraphine.
Selene’s stomach turned cold instantly.
There she was.
The snake.
Evelyne moved gracefully toward them with practiced elegance, her golden hair glowing beneath chandelier light. Beautiful. Delicate. Innocent.
A perfect lie wrapped in silk.
“My king,” Evelyne greeted sweetly before curtsying.
Then she turned toward Selene with a gentle smile.
“My lady. You look radiant today.”
Selene stared at her silently.
This woman murdered Orion.
The memory arrived so violently Selene nearly lost control of herself.
She remembered the tiny bottle of poison hidden inside Evelyne’s chambers.
She remembered discovering the truth too late.
She remembered Lucien refusing to believe her accusations without proof.
Rage clawed up her throat.
Evelyne blinked uncertainly beneath Selene’s stare.
Something about the future queen’s expression terrified her unexpectedly.
Like prey standing before a predator.
“Lady Selene?” Evelyne asked softly.
Selene smiled.
It was beautiful enough to send chills down Evelyne’s spine.
“Thank you,” Selene said gently. “You should enjoy the palace while you can.”
Lucien frowned slightly.
Evelyne forced a laugh. “I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
“You will.”
The calm certainty in Selene’s voice unsettled both of them.
Before either could respond, a servant rushed into the hall nervously.
“Your Majesty, the council members have arrived for the pre-wedding assembly.”
Lucien’s attention shifted briefly.
When he looked back toward Selene, she was already walking away.
Silver fabric flowed behind her as she disappeared down the corridor without another word.
Lucien watched her leave in silence.
Something inside his chest felt strangely tight.
Wrong.
Meanwhile, Evelyne stared after Selene with growing unease.
The future queen’s eyes haunted her.
Because for one brief second—
It felt as though Selene already knew every secret she carried.
Far beyond the palace walls, storm clouds gathered over the mountains.
And beneath the earth itself, ancient power slowly began to awaken.
- Writer
