Chapter 174 Chapter 174
Violet
While walking through the hallways, I asked about Cassie to the maids because a few were still giving me weird looks after Elijah's public kiss. So I wasn't sure they wouldn't roll their eyes if I asked about him directly.
However, most tried to run away or pretend to be busy with work when they saw me arrive.
The shift in their behavior was jarring. Just yesterday, they'd been polite, professional, some even friendly. Now they scattered like birds when I approached, finding urgent tasks that required their immediate attention in the opposite direction.
"Hello, have you seen Cassie?" I asked one of them who was mopping the floor near the east wing.
She only shook her head, not meeting my eyes, her hands gripping the mop handle so tightly her knuckles went white.
Usually, I would be met with polite smiles and some would even greet me as I passed by, asking if I needed anything or commenting on the weather. But today everybody made a point not to look at me. They kept their gazes down, their movements hurried, like I carried some contagion they didn't want to catch.
I wanted to talk to them, clear their confusion maybe, explain that the kiss wasn't what they thought, that it was complicated and messy and I didn't fully understand it myself.
But then what was I supposed to say?
That I was sorry their alpha's son kissed me? That I was sorry I kissed him back? That I was sorry for existing in a space where I clearly didn't belong?
I was a guest here anyway, so I decided not to fret about it and just kept walking towards Alpha Alaric's office. Their opinions didn't matter. What mattered was finding Elijah, making sure he was okay.
The hallway leading to Alpha Alaric's office was awfully quiet.
The silence was wrong, oppressive, like the calm before a storm. I had expected to hear voices at least—the low rumble of conversation, maybe the sharp crack of Alaric's voice raised in anger. But I couldn't hear a thing.
Just my own footsteps on the marble floor, too loud in the empty corridor. Just my own breathing, shallow and quick with growing anxiety. Just the thundering of my heart as dread coiled tighter and tighter in my chest.
The office door came into view, and I noticed it was half open. It was not wide enough to see inside clearly, but enough that I could make out movement, shadows, and the flicker of firelight dancing against the walls.
I slowed my steps, instinct telling me to be cautious, to assess before barging in. The thick Persian rug that ran down the center of the hallway muffled my footsteps as I drew closer.
That's when I saw him.
Alpha Alaric stood behind his massive desk, leaning forward with both hands braced on the dark wood surface. His expression was grim, jaw clenched, eyes fixed on something in front of him with cold fury. The fireplace to his left was burning, flames crackling and popping, making him look even more angry and fearsome.
Kelly, his assistant, stood beside the desk, trembling with fear. She kept pushing up her nose with trembling fingers. Her face was pale, almost gray, and she looked like she might slump down on the floor at any moment.
But it was what I saw on the floor that made my blood turn to ice.
Elijah was kneeling on the hard marble floor with his head bowed.
His shoulders were slumped forward and his dark hair fell forward, hiding his face. His hands rested on his thighs with fingers splayed, like he was bracing himself.
Alpha Alaric rolled up his sleeves and I could see a thin layer of sweat glistening on his forehead.
The white fabric bunched at his elbows, exposing forearms corded with muscle. When he spoke, his voice was low and controlled, which somehow made it more terrifying than if he'd been shouting.
The firelight caught on something dark on the floor beside Elijah. Small droplets that looked black in the dim light but when I looked closer, they appeared a dark red.
Blood.
My hand flew to my mouth, stifling the gasp that wanted to escape.
Was alpha Alaric hitting Elijah?
I wondered how long he had been hitting Elijah.
"You defied me," Alaric said in that same cold and measured tone. "Again. How many times, Elijah? How many times have I told you that your personal feelings, your adolescent infatuations, your pathetic needs do not supersede pack law? That nothing supersedes my authority?"
Elijah didn't respond nor did he lift his head. He simply remained in that kneeling position, absolutely still.
"I asked you a question!" Alaric's voice rose slightly, a crack of anger breaking through the control.
"Many times," Elijah answered, his voice rough but steady. "You've told me many times."
"And yet here we are. Again. With you publicly humiliating this family by kissing that girl in front of guests, in front of pack members, in front of the fucking maids. Making a spectacle of yourself. Making us all look weak."
"I was correcting a false narrative…"
"You were defying my direct order to not give a shit about her!" Alaric roared, slamming his hand down on the desk hard enough to make Kelly jump. "I dont care if you kiss her or use her as a breeder. You want to put your pups in her belly? Go ahead. Nobody is stopping you. You can find fifty more like her for all I care. Create your own harem. But you keep putting her before the family, and above my orders. And I will not tolerate that.”
Alpha Alaric took a deep breath before continuing.
“I told you to let this wedding proceed without incident. I told you to think with your head instead of what's between your legs. And what did you do? You kissed her in front of everyone like a lovesick fool."
My throat tightened. He'd defied his father’s order to protect me, to save me from Nicole's humiliation.
And now he was paying the price.