Chapter 30 Friendly Threat

Chapter 30 Friendly Threat
The movement toward the courtyard continues in heavy silence save for the sound of many footsteps, the earlier noise of the dining hall left behind like something that no longer belongs to them.
Amaris walks with the others, aware of the space that opens around her without anyone saying a word.
No shoulders brush hers now, no careless elbows bump her side.
The girls keep their distance instinctively, eyes sliding away when she looks their way, their conversations falling into whispers that's not too quiet for Amaris to catch.
She hears every sound, whisper and gossip around her and it takes quite a lot of self control to not go berserk on everyone of them.
Even Rhea does not look back at her this time.
The courtyard opens wide before them, stone pale beneath the bright morning sun, banners hanging still in the air.
Guards take their places with the same mechanical precision, forming an unspoken boundary around the gathering. Spears gleam in their hands while a few hold other weapons too odd to name. Everything about the space feels deliberate, controlled, and unforgiving.
Amaris finds her place where she is directed, standing among the remaining girls, her posture straight despite the lingering ache in her shoulder and the tension coiled tight beneath her skin.
Her wolf is not snarling now, thankfully but she stays very alert and watchful, pacing just beneath her ribs like a restrained wild animal that's watching for prey.
Amaris breathes slowly, anchoring herself to the moment, the second gathering in a single day. The gathering is starting to get repetitive but she has no choice and at least, she gets to see Hunter that mist that arrives with him, her own thing of joy lately...
But even with the morning's stern warning from him, maybe she should not even be here. Maybe being with Rosetta and Rhea in their moon forsaken house would be better than this torture of seeing and smelling what you can't have.
The palace doors open just as her thoughts start to wander astray.
Hunter steps out into the courtyard, and the reaction is immediate and collective as always. Even those who had forgotten themselves earlier bow now without hesitation.
Amaris follows suit, her movement smooth and practiced this time, though she feels his attention brush against her all the same, lingering in a way that makes her skin warm despite herself. She's on time and goes down and up with practiced ease unlike the first day.
He moves to the center with unhurried confidence, his presence settling over the space like a weight that demands obedience rather than asking for it.
When he speaks, his voice carries easily, calm and measured, but threaded with something that allows no argument. “You have all endured enough confusion for one morning,” he says. “The selection narrows more quickly than many of you anticipated, and that is intentional.”
A murmur ripples through the girls before dying under a single glance from him.
“The final evaluation of the final contestants will take place tomorrow morning,” Hunter continues. “Only those who remain after nightfall will participate.”
...Nightfall?
A sharp intake of breath moves through the group, some faces brighten with anticipation, others tighten with fear while some just look on without giving their expressions away.
He pauses, letting the weight of his words settle before continuing. “Until then, you will remain within the palace grounds and there will be no further trials today.”
Relief flickers briefly before he adds, “However, this evening, you will all attend a banquet.”
That draws more reaction than anything else he has said so far.
Surprise, excitement, calculation, all flashing across faces too quick to fully mask... Amaris can feel the moment that flutter of excitement went through the whole crew of girls.
“It will be held here in the courtyard,” he says. “Food, drink, and company will be provided. Consider it an opportunity to conduct yourselves as members of this court would expect.”
His gaze sweeps across them, cool and assessing. “Your behavior tonight will not be forgotten.”
The implication is clear.
Dinner is not a kindness and it is not another test but they should stay best behaved...
He gives a final nod to the guards, signaling the end of the announcement, and begins to turn away as though that is all.
Movement starts at the edges as girls shift and whisper, already thinking several steps ahead.
Then his voice cuts through again, stopping everyone in their tracks.
“Amaris Hanxton.”
The name lands like a stone dropped into still water.
Everything stops.
Amaris feels it before she processes it, the way attention snaps back toward her from every direction, sharp and invasive.
Her stomach tightens as she steps forward when motioned, her movements steady even as her pulse begins to race. She lowers her head as she stands at the foot of the raised makeshift podium.
Hunter faces her fully, the distance between them closing enough that she can see the faint tension in his jaw, the way his eyes darken as they settle on hers.
In the daylight, there is no hiding the effect he has on her, the way her wolf presses forward with quiet insistence, no longer screaming but no less certain.
Mate, it breathes, softer now, reverent... Painful even. Something in him shifts in response, subtle but unmistakable.
His shoulders stiffen, his gaze sharpening as though he feels the echo of that instinct brushing against him whether he wants it or not.
“You were nearly involved in another incident,” he says evenly.
Amaris swallows. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I am told you showed immense restraint.”
She hesitates as she almost chuckles ironically, then nods once. “I did.”
His eyes linger on her hands, as though imagining what might have happened if she had not. “Restraint is not weakness,” he says. “But neither is it strength.”
“I understand,” she replies quietly.
The silence between them stretches, thick with unspoken things. She is acutely aware of the guards lining the courtyard, of the way some of the girls are holding their breath, waiting for something to go wrong.
She won't put it past them to cheer if he has her thrown into the dungeons.
Hunter steps closer, just enough that his presence presses against her senses again, overwhelming and impossible to ignore.
His voice lowers, meant for her alone despite the crowd. “You draw attention without trying,” he says. “That makes you dangerous, both to yourself and to others.”
Amaris meets his gaze as she raises her head defiantly, refusing to look away even as her heart stumbles. “I am not trying to be.”
“I know, but that,” he replies, “is exactly the problem.”
For a fleeting moment, something like frustration flickers across his face before it is smothered beneath control. He straightens, reclaiming the distance between them as though he never closed it at all.
“You will attend the banquet tonight,” he says, his tone returning to formality. “You will behave as you did just now.”
She inclines her head. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
“And you will not provoke further attention,” he adds, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Yours or mine.”
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"If you do otherwise, I would have no choice but to have you duly punished."
Her breath catches at the implication, but she only nods again.
“Dismissed.”
She turns and walks back to her place among the others, feeling eyes follow her every step of the way. The space parts for her without hesitation this time, fear and curiosity tangling together in the air around her.
Behind her, Hunter watches until she back walks and eventually blends back into the crowd.
Her wolf growls softly within her. Amaris does not know whether that promise thrills her or terrifies her more.
But as the courtyard begins to stir and the reality of what will happen tonight sinks in, one thing becomes painfully clear.
Dinner will not be safe.
And neither will the morning that follows.
But first, what does she even want to wear to such an elaborate banquet?
"Screw everyone in the palace except Hunter!" Amaris mutters under her breath.