Rejected by Three Alpha Princes, I Wed the Northern Alpha King

Chapter 4

The banquet had barely ended when I returned to my room.

I had just started getting ready for bed when the door was shoved open. Several guards stormed inside without explanation, seized me by the arms, and dragged me all the way to a side hall.

Aiden was standing at the front of the room. A healer waited behind him, holding a silver tray with a thin blade resting on top.

Aiden's gaze dropped to my wrist. "Seraphina was badly shaken tonight. Her bloodline is unstable. Give her some of your blood to help settle it."

My hand was still braced against the doorframe. For a second, I thought I had misheard him. Then my fingers slowly tightened.

Bryce placed a silver cup on the table, his tone cold and commanding.

"It's only a little blood, Layla. You owe her that much."

Cyril stood farther inside the room, frowning at me. His words were even harsher.

"Seraphina is the Daughter of the Moon Goddess. You're a useless wolf who can't even shift. You should consider it an honor to give her your blood."

I almost laughed. Every time Seraphina pretended to be weak, they came to take something from me to make her feel better.

This time, they wanted my blood again.

"No." I looked at the silver cup and spoke slowly, making sure they heard every word. "If you're so desperate to save her, cut your own wrists."

Aiden's voice dropped. "Seraphina's bloodline is in turmoil. She's about to become Luna, and the royal court cannot afford anything happening to her. Layla, give me your hand."

I stared at the silver blade, pressure building painfully in my chest.

Bryce stood beside the table and looked at me as though he were dealing with a difficult child.

"Your blood works on Seraphina. Stop fighting us and cooperate."

I backed away, staring at him in disbelief.

Cyril suddenly kicked aside the stool at his feet. Then he strode over and slapped me across the face.

"What else are you good for besides this blood? Do you really have to make everything so difficult?!"

My ears rang from the impact.

And for some reason, I suddenly remembered something from years ago.

I had once fallen unconscious with a dangerously high fever. Cyril had spent the entire night crouched beside my bed, his eyes red from fear.

He had sworn that if anyone ever laid a finger on me again, he would tear out their throat with his teeth.

Promises changed quickly, apparently.

I hid my hands behind my back. My voice came out hoarse. "I'm not giving her anything."

Aiden's expression darkened. "Hold her down."

The guards moved immediately. One grabbed my left shoulder, the other my right.

Rage exploded through me, and I fought with everything I had.

"Let go of me!"

Bryce caught my wrist and yanked my arm forward. "Stop struggling. It'll hurt less if you stay still."

I stared straight at him, shaking so badly that even my voice trembled. "Don't you dare."

Aiden lifted one hand, clearly done wasting words on me.

The next second, the silver blade pressed against the inside of my wrist. It sliced through my skin. Blood slid down my arm and dripped into the silver cup below.

One drop.

Then another.

I sucked in a sharp breath as pain shot through me. My entire body began to shake.

But the blade wasn't what hurt the most. It was the way they looked at me. Or rather, the way none of them looked at me at all.

Every one of them was watching the figure lying behind the privacy screen. Not one bothered to ask if I was in pain.

Then Seraphina's weak voice floated from behind the screen. "I heard the late Alpha King's Silver Moonstone necklace can ease pain. Layla, could you let me borrow it for a little while?"

She was reclining in their arms, her voice faint and pitiful. "I don't mean anything by it. My chest just hurts so much."

My hand flew to the moonstone hanging against my chest. I gripped it like the last thing in this world that still belonged to me. "No!"

Cyril grabbed me and hauled me upright. Before I could react, he ripped the necklace from around my neck.

The clasp snapped. For one horrible second, it felt as though he had torn apart every year of history between us along with it.

"Layla, Seraphina needs it more than you do." Cyril looked at me impatiently. "Besides, once one of us marries you, what could you possibly want that we couldn't give you?"

I wiped the tears from my face and looked at all three of them. "I am not marrying any of you."

For the first time that night, all three looked genuinely stunned.

Aiden even started to reach for me. Then Seraphina whimpered in pain again. Their attention shifted away from me instantly.

And just like that, I was forced to fill another cup with my blood.

Darkness slowly crept across the edges of my vision. All I could hear were their lowered voices around me.

"Calm down."

"Think about the royal court."

"Stop being difficult."

Every word made me sick.

When they finally left, Aiden paused at the door and looked back at me.

Something flickered briefly in his eyes. Whatever it was, it disappeared before I could make sense of it.

In the end, he only turned to the guards. "Keep watch over her."

The door closed. I gripped the edge of the table to keep myself standing.

Blood was still running from my wrist, sliding all the way down to my fingertips.

That was when I realized a heart did not die all at once. It happened slowly. Piece by piece.

You watched yourself become less and less human in the eyes of the people you once loved, until eventually, you were nothing more than something useful. And once you became a thing, even your pain stopped mattering.

It was deep into the night, and I still hadn't recovered, when the doors suddenly burst open again.

I looked up in confusion. For one foolish second, I thought the three princes had come back. Maybe they regretted what they'd done. Maybe they had come to apologize.

At the very least, I thought they might send me back to my own chambers.

Instead, a royal herald marched inside. He unfolded a decree and announced in a solemn voice,

"By royal order, Layla Vale is charged with harboring malicious resentment and disrupting the Royal Mating Banquet. Effective immediately, she is hereby expelled from Blood Moon City and exiled to the Frostmist Wasteland."

I stared at the royal seal stamped across the decree. My chest tightened painfully.

Before I could say anything, the guards surrounded me.

My wrist was still bleeding as they dragged me through the palace corridors and out toward the city gates.

The gates opened. Snow and wind slammed into my face. The freezing air cut straight through my clothes, leaving my legs weak beneath me.

In the distance, the palace towers were still brightly lit.

I lifted my head. Three familiar silhouettes stood behind one of the high windows.

Not one of them came outside.

The guards gave me a hard shove. I fell face first into the snow.

Behind me, the iron gates crashed shut. The sound echoed through the night, so loud that my fingertips went numb.

I tried to push myself up. But I couldn't do it.

The snow whipped against my face, its sting forcing my mind a little clearer.

The wind across the Frostmist Wasteland was brutal.

My moon crested cloak had already been taken from me. All I had left was a thin outer dress that did almost nothing against the cold.

"Layla."

I turned.

Seraphina stood several feet away in the snow. She was wearing my moon crested cloak. The sight of it around her shoulders made my stomach turn.

She walked closer, smug satisfaction written all over her face. Then she reached down, caught my chin between her fingers, and lowered her voice.

"Aiden said a useless wolf like you should be left out here to fend for yourself. Bryce agreed. Cyril was even more honest. He said as long as you're alive, you'll only keep getting in the way."

My vision darkened with rage. I raised my hand to slap her.

She caught my injured wrist and flung it aside. Her eyes sharpened, and her smile turned cold.

"The three princes are mine. Don't even think about taking one of them from me."

My whole body trembled. Blood dripped from my fingertips into the snow, staining the white beneath me a vivid red.

I gave her a cold laugh. "You're the only one stupid enough to treat trash like treasure."

Seraphina's face twisted. "Who do you think you are?! You're a useless wolf who can't even shift. What makes you think you deserve the love of three princes?"

She took a step back and looked down at me with disgust. "Do everyone a favor and die out here. At least then you won't dirty the roads back to the royal court."

I hated her so much that I wanted to throw myself at her and sink my teeth into her throat.

But I could barely stand. My legs gave out, and my knees slammed into the snow.

Then a howl sounded in the distance.

Another answered it.

Then another.

Each one was closer than the last.

Seraphina's expression changed immediately. The moment she heard the wolves, she turned and ran. Within seconds, she disappeared into the snowstorm.

The wind grew stronger. I tried to move, but I had nothing left.

My palms sank into the snow as I struggled to keep myself upright. My fingers were numb, and my breathing had become shallow and uneven.

Then several pairs of green eyes appeared through the swirling white. They moved slowly toward me.

The wolf at the front bared its teeth. Saliva dripped from its jaws onto the snow as it approached with terrifying patience.

They had smelled my blood.

Behind me lay the endless depths of the wasteland. In front of me was a hungry wolf pack.

There was nowhere to go.

This was it.

I closed my eyes in despair. Was I really going to die here? After everything I'd survived?

What a miserable way for it all to end.

Just as the wolves lowered themselves to attack, a black feathered arrow tore through the curtain of snow. It passed inches from the lead wolf's muzzle and buried itself deep in the frozen ground.

A second later, a tall figure emerged from the storm. A black cloak snapped violently in the wind behind him.

Before I could react, a strong hand reached down and pulled me out of the snow. I fell into a solid, unexpectedly warm chest.

Through my fading consciousness, I forced my eyes open. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't make out the man's face.