CHAPTER 428 - ROUT

CHAPTER 428 - ROUT
RAINA’S POV
“Urhhh! Shut up!” Jiya slid down against the wall to the floor, wailing and slapping her thighs. “I didn’t sleep with anyone. You’re all stupid if you let this come between me and Valen.”
Pulling my arms away from around my heavily breathing mate, I took the time to observe the Elders' disappointed faces. Their devastation was something that I would never forget. They knew, just as I did, that this was a plain blip into their plot. It was a humiliating rout to their queenship campaign.
“Some queen-in-demand you are.” Vaheed laughed coldly, raucous and heartless, getting his belly full as he eyed her condescendingly. “Didn't you understand that your so-called divinity belonged to the throne? To corrupt it is simply heinous.”
In this case, she practically dethroned herself, going from a golden spotlight to a morally gray shadow.
My eyes wandered to Tallulah. Devin was at her side, grinning with his eyes pinned to her phone screen.
“Nice going, Tallulah,” I said to draw her attention.
She looked up from her phone with a wide smile and gave me a thumbs up. I smiled back, bringing my fingers together to form a heart and place it on my chest. I mouthed an additional ‘thank you.’
Because of Tallulah, the realm had witnessed that Jiya had been claimed by another. Whether she was Snow or not, her reputation was now tarnished. The mob she previously complained about won’t be a problem anymore, now that they are about to turn their backs on her.
“Find the culprit responsible for touching Jiya,” Valen ordered, low and ominous.
I whipped my eyes at him to see the deadly gaze he hurled at the Alphas.
“Y-yes, Alpha,” Wentz answered promptly with a submissive bow of his black-haired head.
“We-we will, your highness,” Poel replied nervously, also bowing his Caesar-cut brown-haired head.
“Is that necessary?” I asked quietly, frowning as our eyes met. “Her mark is actually good for us. Don’t press it.”
He slammed his eyes shut, drew in a deep breath, and ran a hand through his long white hair. I could feel his anger and frustration through the bond.
“I have to know,” he replied coldly, flying his eyes open. “Do not interfere, Raina.”
For a moment, I was so startled that I barely registered his words. When they eventually sank in, I shrank back, as if I'd been struck.
There he went again, feeling too much for her. My heart sank into despair.
“Valen, please drop the manhunt.” I clung to his dark-green polo shirt sleeve, trying to persuade him. “She broke the most vital condition that removes her as a prospect. Believe me, that man is irrelevant. Give it a rest, okay?”
“No,” he shunned, making my heart clench.
“Why is that wolf important to find?” I asked, seeing his possessiveness for her dominating his thoughts. “The crucial thing to run with is that she forfeits the right to be your mate. Why can’t we leave it at that? Make that the story.”
“Because…” he thundered, but stopped himself for some reason. He stared at me for a long, tense moment. His steely eyes began to soften by the second, as though he caught himself slipping in time.
I knew what he was going to say…because she’s still his mate. It was what consistently burdened him, making the heaviness evident in his shoulders.
My eyes stung as a pain burned my chest. I swept my hair behind my ears, taking slow breaths to calm my emotions.
“That man made our lives easier. Forget him and give Jiya your judgment. Jail her,” I coaxed, feeling upset.
"Who guarded Jiya during her heat?" Valen turned away from me and addressed the Alphas with clenched fists. There was real, guttural rage behind every word.
My stomach hollowed out, and I sighed dejectedly.
My hand slipped from his shirt as my eyes swept across every one of them, and they shifted uncomfortably.
Aughi spoke uneasily. "During those days...only mated Alphas were assigned to guard her room."
"Then one of them had the opportunity," I concluded, still latching on to my mate. “She belongs to that person now.”
I had to let it sink in.
“Careless!” Valen bellowed, seething. “Give me names!”
He took a small threatening step, his veins bulging, nostrils flaring, and hands clenched, making all the others recoil.
I placed my hand on his bicep and caressed it to calm him down. I flinched, breath catching in my throat from feeling his quiet rage tingling at my fingertips.
My mind was not at ease. Not even remotely.
Every Alpha stiffened, afraid they might be slain and skimmed next.
The weight of Valen’s presence was still crushing, even to me as his ominous aura flogged the room. He growled so murderously it felt bone-crunching, even to me.
“Were all of you too busy watching me fuck my Luna that you forgot to ensure no one could get to Jiya?” Valen’s voice sliced through the room, low but thunderous.
Shame spilt across their faces. They shook their bowed heads rapidly, seemingly unable to form words under the pressure of their Alpha’s scourging aura.
“This is as far as you'll go. You are all stripped of your Alpha title,” Valen growled with formidable authority. “Get the hell out of my pack.”
All the blood drained from the Alphas’ faces. A ghostly fear settled over them, and they fell to their knees, begging and pleading in desperation, but Valen ignored them.
Vaheed’s wild laughter rang out from the cell, despite the foreboding atmosphere.
“Elders, if you ever mention another candidate to me, I will open the Maws of Hell beneath you,” Valen threatened coldly, holding up a blazing ball of fire in his left palm. “There will be no PAC or Order of the Moon Goddess’ Will…not when you've failed in your own roles to preserve it.”
For once, none of them opened their mouths. Even when Valen coiled his fingers into a tight fist to squash the flames in his palm, they didn’t dare utter an ‘um,’ nor a ‘er,’ or an 'eh.’
Checkmate, I hoped. I didn’t see how they could shirk out of this one. She was finished.
In a nutshell, Jiya's crime shattered the Elder’s credibility. It exposed their flawed judgment, which now undermined their authority. Hence, giving Valen both the leverage and the constitutional right to choose his own queen.
Hooray for us, but there was still that damn unbreakable bond. That thought filled me with an aching sort of dread.
“Since things have settled down, it’s about to get boring. I'm going to bounce. Catch you later,” Vaheed announced offhandedly.
I swirled around to look at him. He winked at me with a crooked grin tugging at his lips. I nodded, and he began whistling a merry tune before teleporting from the cell, leaving the chaos behind.
That left Jiya alone with Marlena, and she was absolutely hysterical. She shook her head violently. "No, I’m not marked." Her chest heaved, breathing ragged. "No...no, that's impossible." She clawed at her own neck. "I haven't done this. I swear!" Her voice rose into panic. "This is a setup!"
“It is what it is, Jiya,” I said sympathetically. I felt so sorry for her, but when you play stupid games, you get stupid prizes. “Your heat got the best of you.”
“I am Snow!” She screamed at the mirror in a tirade. “The bond does not consider this stupid mark. You’ll eventually leave that crash-test dummy for me, Valen. I cannot be defied! Do you want divine punishment? Elders, you swore you'd stand by me!”
Sadly, we all had to understand her plight. Heat could make a she-wolf lose herself and become desperate enough to accept and cling to any unmated man who would answer her body's call.
Perhaps I should offer her some compassion.
I released Valen’s arm and turned around to step towards the mirror. Surprisingly, his large arms circled me and pulled me back into his chest, snaking beneath my breasts. He sank his nose into the top of my head, breathing in large lumps of my scent.
“Elders, Jiya broke sacred rules under your watch and guidance. Since none of you are capable of keeping her in line, she will stay in this dungeon,” Valen snarled maliciously against my hair. “Before any of you decide to be a fool and be a part of her lies.”
“For-For how long will you keep her here?” Elder Sybil asked, timid and shaky.
“Eternity!” Valen growled venomously, lifting his head before dipping his nose against my neck. He brushed it over my mark first, greedily and obsessively inhaling my scent. And then I felt the wetness of his warm tongue licking the sensitive spot. The mark tingled and pulsed.
“Ngh.” I felt goosebumps all over me. Blushing, I bit my lip, looked down, and clenched myself.
Without warning, Valen threw me over his shoulder. “Devin, clear the dungeon.”
“Ack.” A faint sound of surprise slipped out of me as he teleported us home.
We arrived in our spacious living room, where he dumped me on the long couch. I bounced against the cushions as the hem of my rose-beige dress flared around my thighs, settling in soft waves.
My silky hair veiled my face while I sat upright. Before I could thread my fingers through the strands and slicked it back, he loomed over me, staring at me intently.
“You're going to sit your pretty ass right there," he said, planting one hand on the backrest above my head, boxing me in. His other hand slid beneath my chin, with his fingers firm against my jaw as he forced me to meet his gaze.
My throat dried.
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