Chapter 17 The Invitation
Leon’s POV
Steam drifted around me as I stepped out of the bath, a towel hanging low around my waist. Water slid down my skin and hit the floor, the room quiet except for my own breathing. I ran my hand through my hair, pushing it back, then stopped in front of the mirror.
But I didn’t see my reflection first.
I saw her.
Isabella.
The way she had turned so fast on the training field. The way her hand snapped up and grabbed that arrow like it was nothing. Not even a drop of juice spilled from her tray. No fear. No shock. She just froze for a second, confused at herself, then lowered the arrow like it was an everyday thing.
My jaw clenched.
That girl…
Who was she?
She acted like a quiet worker.
She bowed.
She obeyed.
She kept her eyes down.
But every now and then… something sharp slipped out. Something that didn’t belong to a normal maid. Something hidden.
Something dangerous.
I grabbed a cloth and wiped my face, trying to shake the memory off, but it stuck. The way the princes looked at her after she caught that arrow… the way Damon narrowed his eyes, already suspicious.
That girl was going to cause trouble.
Or trouble was going to find her.
I dropped the towel and changed into my night clothes.
The palace was quieter now, most warriors already asleep in the barracks. Only a few guards stood outside, their boots echoing faintly in the hall.
I had just sat on the edge of my bed when a knock sounded on the door.
“Enter,” I said.
A guard stepped in, saluted, and handed me a sealed card.
“From Evergreen, Your Majesty. Delivered through our embassy there.”
Evergreen.
I hadn’t given any new orders there yet. My spies were already in place. Everything was slow, steady, just the way I wanted it.
I broke the seal.
A thick white card slid into my hand.
Gold letters stared back at me.
WEDDING INVITATION.
I raised a brow. A wedding?
From Evergreen?
Now?
I opened it.
My eyes paused on the names.
Alpha Edmund Hale
and
Clara Rowan
…Clara?
The same Clara who swore loyalty to me?
The same Clara who begged for a place in my new court when Evergreen fell?
The same Clara who unlocked Evergreen’s gates for my soldiers?
I read the names again, slower this time.
So… she was marrying the Alpha now?
She was going to become Luna?
A small, cold laugh slipped out of me.
Of course she was.
That girl moved like a snake.
She always did.
But this wasn’t part of the plan.
She wasn’t supposed to be settling down.
She was supposed to keep feeding me information.
Not planning a wedding.
I leaned back on the bed, turning the card in my hand.
Edmund had no idea he was marrying the reason his pack almost fell.
Clara…
Clever, poisonous Clara.
Well, she could go ahead and become Luna. All that mattered was that she was going to keep feeding me with all the info I wanted.
Every single detail about that pack... whenever I needed it.
And if she dared do otherwise, I was going to strike...
Clara knew better. She knew what I was capable of.
I looked toward the window. The moonlight washed over the room, cold and white.
Evergreen…
What exactly was going on there?
I folded the card and set it on the table beside me. The room grew heavier, my chest tight with the pressure of decisions waiting for me. But out of everything tonight, one image still burned behind my eyes.
Isabella.
Her calm face.
Her steady hand.
That arrow caught mid-air like it weighed nothing.
There was something off about that girl.
Something I needed to figure out before my brothers did.
I lay back on the bed and let out a slow breath.
꧁𓃙𓃠𓃥𓃚꧂
Kennedy’s POV
The council room was dim, lit only by a single lantern on the long table. Rogers paced like a caged bull while Damon sat with his boots on the table, sharpening a dagger that didn’t need sharpening.
I leaned back in my chair, hands folded, watching my brothers lose their minds over one simple girl.
A maid.
A quiet, clumsy, insignificant maid.
But after today?
Even I had to admit… she was not ordinary.
“She caught it,” Rogers growled, stopping mid-stride. “Right out of the air. An arrow, Ken. You saw it.”
I did.
And it hadn’t made sense.
“No flinch,” he continued angrily. “No scream. No dropping that tray. The juice didn’t even shake. Who the hell does that?”
“Someone hiding something,” Damon muttered without looking up. He dragged the blade across the sharpening stone with a slow, threatening scrape. “Someone trained.”
Rogers scoffed. “She’s too small to be trained.”
I lifted one brow. “Small does not mean harmless. Ask the assassins of the southern pack.”
That shut him up.
Damon leaned back. “I knew she was trouble the moment Leon pulled her out of the cells. He’s too soft with her. Too… interested.”
The dagger glinted under the lantern. Damon’s eyes glowed faintly, the way they always did when he sensed a threat—or a new toy to break.
“She could be a spy,” he said.
“For which pack?” I asked. “Ironvile? Greenforest? Maybe the Fallen Summits?” I shook my head. “None of them would dare place someone here. They all fear Leon too much.”
Rogers crossed his arms. “Then what is she?”
“Wrong place, wrong time,” Damon said with a cold smile. “And she’s about to learn what happens to girls who make us suspicious.”
I narrowed my eyes at him.
Damon always wanted a reason to hurt someone.
Especially someone Leon paid attention to.
“Try that,” I warned, “and Leon will rip your head off.”
Damon scoffed. “Leon is slipping. You saw how he looked at her. He’s distracted.”
“He’s thinking,” I said.
But even I didn’t fully believe that.
Leon had been… off.
Quiet. Watching that girl too closely. Asking too few questions. Letting too much slide.
The Lycan King never let anything slide.
Rogers muttered, “He didn’t even punish the warriors for the stray arrow. That’s not like him.”
Damon stood and tossed the dagger onto the table.
“Leon is hiding something. And that girl is part of it.”
I watched both of them, feeling something twist in my gut—not fear, but calculation.
Leon was the chosen King.
But we were not powerless.
We had influence, strength, rank, and the right blood.
If this strange maid became Leon’s weakness…
Then she was our opportunity.
Damon smirked. “Maybe we should test her. Push her a little. See what she’s made of.”
Rogers’ eyes lit with interest.
I exhaled slowly. “We test her quietly. No one touches her unless we all agree.”
Damon rolled his eyes but nodded.
Rogers cracked his knuckles.
“She won’t last a day,” he said.
I didn’t answer.
Because a part of me wasn’t so sure.
That maid…
That girl Leon called Isabella…
She had caught an arrow mid-air and looked confused about it.
Not scared.
Confused.
Like someone who had done it before.
Like someone who once lived a very different life.
I stood.
“Keep your eyes open,” I said. “Leon may not see the threat yet. But we will.”
Damon grinned like a wolf who just smelled blood.
“Oh, I’m already watching.”