CHAPTER 34: HEART WINNER

CHAPTER 34: HEART WINNER
Maya’s POV

The world seemed to slow as Sebastian’s body turned into my shield. His golden gaze locked onto mine, unwavering, as the silver blade twisted into his back. The sound of metal against flesh made my stomach churn, my throat tighten until I could hardly breathe. Horror gripped me, but not once did he falter.

Not a growl, not even a hiss of pain escaped his lips. He held me as though I were weightless, as though I mattered more than his own survival, his chest rising and falling steadily while the venom of silver spread like wildfire through his veins. His arms tightened protectively, as if he could shield me from the truth of what was happening, but I felt every tremor that rippled through his body, every drop of agony he refused to admit.

Selene’s hands shook violently, her lips parted as if her breath had abandoned her. “No,” she whispered hoarsely, her words cracking into the silence of the square. Then louder, shrill, desperate, “No, my King, it was not meant for you. I swear it was not—” Her voice trembled, her eyes darting frantically to the crowd, who had once adored her. But now their murmurs rose, thick with suspicion and contempt, their admiration crumbling into disgust.

Sebastian did not spare her a glance. His lips lowered close to my ear, his voice rough but tender, a command disguised as a plea. “Maya, don’t look at her. Look at me.”

But I could feel it. The searing burn of silver, the way it gnawed and corrupted his blood. My wolf surged within me, clawing, straining, desperate to be unleashed. My hands trembled as I pressed them to his back, my eyes shutting tight. I let go of the fear. I let her rise. It was not magic. It was not duty. It was bond, it was love. She opened herself, and the silver came rushing, biting, searing, until it felt as if molten fire poured into my veins. My body shook violently, sweat dripping down my temple as my wolf drew it all into herself, consuming, devouring, cleansing him while tainting me.

Gasps filled the square. I heard them but could not answer. All I knew was his body against mine, his warmth, his heartbeat beneath my palms. And then the faint glow began at his wound, the black edges shrinking, closing, the poison vanishing as if swallowed by a void. The dagger clattered from his body to the ground, a sound sharp and final, like chains breaking.

Sebastian’s breath hitched. His grip on my waist tightened until it nearly hurt, and his golden eyes widened, disbelief shimmering in their depths. “You… you took it into yourself?” His voice cracked, raw, reverent.

I tried to nod, but the world tilted sharply. The burn of silver still coursed in me, and my strength waned. My knees buckled, and I went limp in his arms. I was still conscious, dimly aware of the gasps of the crowd, the cries of awe, but I could not move. My head fell against his chest, and his scent wrapped around me as my wolf purred faintly, proud even in exhaustion.

“She healed him!” someone shouted, voice breaking with awe.
“The Queen saved our King!” another cried, and the square erupted into chaos.

Sebastian lifted me higher against him, one hand steadying the back of my head, his expression torn between fury and fierce devotion. His body trembled, not from weakness, but from the force of emotion boiling in him. His voice, however, cut through the uproar with lethal calm. “Silence.”

The square obeyed instantly. The weight of his authority was a force all its own.

Selene’s face had gone pale, drained of every trace of her carefully cultivated grace. She shook her head frantically. “This—this is deception! You don’t understand! She bewitched him, that is all—”

The imperial physician, frantic to salvage what little control he still had, pushed forward, robes billowing, his voice dripping with false confidence. “Yes, yes, trickery! No woman could draw silver out of a Lycan’s blood. She must have used forbidden charms. She has deceived you all!”

I stirred weakly in Sebastian’s arms, my limbs heavy, but my hand found the chalkboard Valerie thrust toward me. My fingers trembled, but I wrote, slow and deliberate, and lifted it high. “If this is trickery, then explain why you poisoned the Minister of Trade. Explain why you rob the people with false cures, why your medicines cost their lives while you grow fat on their misery.”

The silence that followed was suffocating. Every gaze turned, not toward me, but to the physician.

Sebastian’s voice was a blade unsheathed, deep and commanding. “Answer her.”

The physician’s jaw worked, but no words came. His lips trembled, and the sweat on his brow glistened under the torches. “I—I did no such thing—”

A voice rang out, young but steady. The Minister’s son pushed his way through the crowd, his eyes blazing with fury. “Lies! I saw you give my father that vial in your free medical camp. You told us it would cure him. He collapsed after taking your vial and when I begged you for help, you turned your back until I could pay your outrageous price. Instead of helping my father, you tried to prevent Her Majesty from treating him. Queen Maya saved him when you left him to die!”

Gasps and shouts tore through the crowd. The wall of silence broke, and others surged forward. One by one, voices rose, filled with fury long buried.

“They demanded gold for herbs that grow wild in the forest!”

“They turned my mother away because she was an omega!”

“They raised prices until only nobles could buy his medicines!”

“He and Princess Selene threatened us if we did not empty our shops for her!”

“They threatened us if we sold our shops to Queen Maya.”

The tide had turned. And then came the final blow. The Minister’s son lifted his trembling hand and pointed directly at Selene. His voice rang clear across the square. “She ordered me to empty this shop. She wanted it for herself. When my father refused, she cursed us. She tried to force her way into our town. But we will never bow to her.”

The roar that followed was deafening. Selene’s face crumpled, her eyes wild as she shrieked, “Lies! All of you, liars! You will pay for this!” But her voice was drowned in the flood of fury, chants rising like thunder.

“Selene is no Queen!”

“Long live Queen Maya, our true healer!”

The local authorities, their spines straightened by the voice of the people, stepped forward. Their decree rang loud and clear. “Princess Selene’s privileges are suspended. Her guards are stripped of their arms. She is to be held under watch until full inquiry. The royal infirmary is under the direct watch of the Ministry of Justice. Until further orders, no one is allowed to go there until the investigation is complete. All royal physicians and practicing doctors will turn in their licenses before the sun sets.”

Selene’s screams pierced the air, shrill and broken, as her guards were dragged away, her face twisted with humiliation. For the first time, her throne of deceit cracked, and she stood bare before the people.

Amid the chaos, Sebastian’s hand closed over mine, steady and warm, grounding me even as my strength ebbed. His thumb brushed my knuckles, a rare tenderness in his storm. His voice was low, intimate, meant for me alone. “Why do you want this shop, Maya? Tell me.”

My hand shook faintly as I wrote on the board, my heart pounding. “To treat the poor. To heal the people. The royal doctors are corrupt. Selene controls the medicine. This shop will belong to no one but the sick.”

His eyes softened, molten gold searing into me as though he carved the truth of me into his soul. He leaned closer, his lips brushing my hair. “And that is why you are mine. Because you see what others cannot. Because you fight where others bow.”

The Minister stirred faintly in the background, groaning as he began to wake, but it was his son who fell to his knees at Sebastian’s feet. “My King, my father always said this shop brings fortune to healers. It rejected Selene because she was unworthy. But it will embrace your Queen. Let it belong to her.”

Sebastian’s grip tightened around my hand, and his voice rose, powerful and resolute. “Then let it be so. This place is hers. And from this day forward, corruption will not stand in my kingdom.”

The crowd erupted, my name shouted from every direction, not just as Queen, not just as mate, but as healer. The sound was overwhelming, fierce, and beautiful.

That night, the palace glowed with torchlight, shadows dancing on the walls as if the kingdom itself celebrated. Sebastian summoned Zane and the ministers, scrolls and testimonies laid across the table. Records of extortion, forged prescriptions, outrageous prices that had bled the people dry. Each parchment was heavier than the last, the weight of betrayal pressing on every heart.

Zane slammed the final scroll onto the table. “It is worse than we imagined. The entire medical order is tainted. And Selene sits at its rotten core.”

Sebastian’s jaw tightened, his hands clenched at his sides, but when his gaze turned to me, the steel in his eyes melted into something far more dangerous: pride. “Maya saw it before us all. She fought alone, and she was right.”

The door opened quietly. I stepped in, carrying a tray of food I had cooked myself. Simple stew, warm bread, roasted vegetables. The scents filled the chamber, humble but comforting. Sebastian’s eyes found me instantly, and something shifted in the air. His golden gaze softened, then deepened, his breath catching as though the sight of me unraveled him completely.

Zane reached eagerly for the tray, but Sebastian snatched the bowl first, his voice sharp. “Out.”

Zane froze. “Out? But I—”

“Out. Babysit my sons.”

Zane groaned, muttering curses under his breath, but he obeyed, dragging his feet toward the door. His complaints about “monsters in small bodies” were cut off as the door shut firmly behind him. Silence wrapped around us, thick and heavy.

Sebastian placed the food aside untouched, his attention fixed solely on me. His hand reached, slow and reverent, brushing the side of my face, tracing my jaw as though I were a rare and fragile treasure. His voice was rough, almost unsteady. “You cooked for me. You healed me. You saved my kingdom’s soul. And all I can think about is how beautiful you are right now, how brilliant, how much I want to worship you.”

My breath hitched, heat rushing through me at the intensity of his words. His golden eyes darkened, a molten fire flickering within them as his Lycan stirred beneath his skin. The air between us thickened, charged, every breath heavy with unspoken desire.

He stepped closer, until his chest brushed mine, the rhythm of his breathing ragged against my lips. “Do you know what you do to me, Maya? Every time you defy them, every time you fight for what is right, I fall deeper. You are storm and solace, fire and sanctuary. And I cannot hold back anymore.”

His lips crashed onto mine, a searing claim that stole the air from my lungs. A broken gasp escaped me as his hands roamed, strong and possessive, pulling me tighter, closer, until there was no space left. My fingers trailed over his chest, the hard ripple of muscle shifting beneath my touch, his body trembling with restrained growls.

Heat consumed me. His Lycan growled low, a sound raw and primal, vibrating through me until my knees weakened. He lifted me effortlessly, setting me on the table, his lips trailing fire across my jaw, down my throat, his breath ragged as he whispered between kisses. “Mine. My Queen. My healer. My everything.”

My pulse thundered so loud I could hear nothing else. My chest heaved against his, our breaths colliding, mingling in frantic rhythm. His hands tangled in my hair, tugging me closer, while his body shuddered as if holding back was its own torment. I whispered his name, my fingers tracing the carved lines of his shoulders, and he gulped sharply, the sound thick and desperate as his restraint crumbled.

His Lycan surged to the surface, barely in control, in passion, a force of raw devotion that shook every touch. He kissed me harder, deeper, until the world dissolved into heat, into the pounding rhythm of our hearts, into the love that belonged only to us.

When he finally pulled back, his forehead pressed to mine, both of us gasping for breath, his voice broke low, hoarse and trembling with truth. “You are the only crown I will ever bow to. The only soul I will ever love. You saved me, Maya. And I swear I will spend the rest of my life saving you too.”

His lips claimed mine again, sealing the vow not with words, but with a fiery bloody promise that burned hotter than any blade, fiercer than any war, eternal as the bond that tied us.