Chapter 15 The Game Behind A Throne
Enida didn't get up immediately.
She remained where she had fallen, one hand braced weakly against the floor, the other clutching at her chest as if something inside her had shifted out of place. Her eyes stayed wide, fixed somewhere beyond Skylar, unfocused and trembling in a way that did not match the quiet room around them.
“Oh my Goddess…”
The words slipped out under her breath, barely formed, as though she had not meant to say them aloud at all. Skylar stood frozen, her hand still half-raised, her pulse quickening with something colder than confusion.
It had only been a touch. Nothing more. Yet Enida looked as though she had stepped into something far worse than a simple mistake.
“What happened, Enida?” Skylar asked, her voice careful, uncertain.
Enida blinked rapidly, as if forcing herself back into the present. The tension in her face tightened, then shifted—smoothed over, pressed down until it became something manageable.
“Nothing,” she said too quickly, “nothing, sweetheart.”
She pushed herself up, brushing her palms against her dress as if the gesture alone could erase what had just happened.
“I was just—” She paused, searching for something that sounded ordinary enough. “The music. It startled me.”
Skylar’s brows drew together faintly.
The music from above barely reached this room. It filtered through layers of walls and distance, softened into a dull rhythm that was almost easy to ignore.
It wasn’t loud. Not enough to cause that kind of reaction. But Skylar opened her mouth, she hesitated and closed it again.
“Come,” she said, her tone returning to its earlier calm, though the tightness hadn’t completely left her eyes. “We shouldn’t keep her waiting.”
Skylar hesitated only a second before following. Whatever had just happened, Enida had already decided it wouldn’t be discussed.
Evening settled over Estines with a weight that didn't belong to the hour. Inside the palace, the air had grown restless over the past two days. Orders had been given, searches extended, territories checked and rechecked, yet the result remained the same.
Liam stood by the window of his chamber, the fading light stretching across the floor in long, dim lines. The city below continued its rhythm, unaware—or perhaps deliberately ignorant—of the tension tightening at the heart of its rule.
Six days. He had given commands that should have closed every possible exit. He had deployed forces that didn't fail, but still nothing from Skylar’s whereabouts.
The silence in the room didn't bring relief. It only made the noise in his head sharper, more intrusive. Voices overlapped in fragments—distant conversations, shifting movements, the constant, unrelenting awareness that never fully left him.
This ability, this so-called gift. A power that allowed him to read, to sense, to control. And yet, without her—it pressed too close. Liam exhaled slowly, his fingers curling slightly against the edge of the window frame as he forced the noise back.
If anyone saw him like this—if the council members, the alphas, the betas, the entire kingdom realized that their Enigma Alpha still struggled to keep his own mind steady— the trust they placed in him would fracture. And Liam didn't allow fractures.
Behind him, the knock came again, measured and ersistent. He didn’t need to turn to know who it was.
Benetta had come every five hours. Always the same pattern and aways the same patience.
“Come in.”
The word came out flat. The door opened quietly, and Benetta stepped inside as though she had never been denied before. Her posture remained as composed as ever, her presence filling the room without effort.
“My Alpha,” she greeted, inclining her head slightly. Liam kept his gaze fixed outside, the fading light reflecting faintly in his eyes.
“I assume this isn’t a courtesy visit,” he said.
Benetta allowed herself a small, measured smile. “You rarely allow those.” A short pause before she continued. “I came to apologize for overstepping my authority.”
Liam’s expression didn't change. The apology settled into the room without weight. Benetta stepped further in, her eyes studying him more closely now.
“And,” she added, “to discuss a matter that cannot be delayed any longer.” Liam finally turned. His gaze met hers, sharp and unreadable.
“The Luna,” he said.
“The council is waiting for your announcement,” she said. “The kingdom needs stability. A future.”
Liam’s lips pressed into a thin line. “I have no intention of making that decision under pressure.”
“You’ve already delayed it long enough,” Benetta replied, her tone still calm, though something firmer threaded beneath it. “A Luna is not a luxury, my Alpha. It’s a necessity.”
Silence stretched between them. Liam’s thoughts flickered, unbidden, to a different image. A different presence. He pushed it aside immediately.
“This is not your decision to make,” he said.
Benetta’s gaze held his.
“You’re right, that’s not my decision,” she agreed softly. “But that’s my responsibility to ensure you make the right one.” The words landed carefully.
Something in Liam’s expression shifted.
“Is that what this is?” he asked, his voice lowering. “Responsibility?”
Benetta didn’t answer right away. Instead, she stepped closer, stopping just short of his space.
“You’re not the only one carrying this kingdom,” she said. “And I will not allow it to weaken because of hesitation.”
“Hesitation?” Liam echoed, the word edged with something sharper now. The pressure in his head spiked. Voices layered over one another, the sound of her heartbeat threading too clearly through the noise, steady and controlled.
For a moment, the restraint he held slipped. His eyes darkened slightly, something deeper stirring beneath the surface. Benetta noticed.
“I can solve your current… distraction,” she said quietly.
The word hung there, and Liam stilled where he stood.
“What do you mean?” Benetta met his gaze directly as the question landed.
“I will bring the girl back.”
The room fell silent. For a fraction of a second, something unguarded flickered in Liam’s expression. Then it was gone.
“And in return?” he asked. Because there was always a condition. Benetta’s lips curved faintly.
“Your mating,” she said. “And your marriage … would be grandly held this week.”
The words settled heavily into the space between them.
Liam stared at her. For the first time, the truth stood clearly in front of him. What Benetta gave him wasn’t concern.
“You want her back,” she said softly. “I want the kingdom secured. So accept it, or not at all.”