Chapter 32 Chapter 32

Chapter 32 Chapter 32
Lucien
I didn’t waste a second. The moment Abel’s voice hit my mind through the link, I was already moving. I walked straight to the perimeter, my boots hitting the ground hard enough to send dust up with each step. My wolf was pacing under my skin, furious, already scenting blood before I even got there.
I reached the spot and stopped cold. Three of my guards were lying on the ground, lifeless. Their bodies were burnt beyond recognition, flesh blackened, armor melted into them. The stench of charred meat and scorched leather filled my nose. My hands curled into fists so tight I felt my claws threaten to break skin.
I turned to Abel. He was standing a few feet away, his face carved from stone, but I could see the rage in the hard set of his jaw. “How did this happen?” I asked, my voice low.
Abel didn’t look away from the bodies. “Some of the guards came for patrol,” he said. “Found them like this, no witnesses, no sound. Just this.”
My jaw tightened until I thought my teeth would crack. Someone had the audacity to come onto my land, into my territory, and attack my people directly. Not rogues sneaking at borders, this was inside my perimeter. This was a message.
“Have them buried,” I told Abel, forcing the words out past the growl building in my throat. “I want the dead guards buried with honor before sundown.” I turned to the other guards. “I want every inch of the perimeter checked. I want traces, scents, footprints, blood, anything the enemy left behind. Now.”
He nodded once and turned, already barking orders to the warriors who’d gathered at a distance, too smart to get close to me when I was like this. I turned toward my office.
Inside my office, I couldn’t sit. I paced. Back and forth, back and forth, trying to burn off the fury before it made me reckless. Whoever did this wanted a reaction. They wanted me distracted, bleeding from a thousand cuts before the real war started.
The door opened and Abel walked in without knocking. He stood there, just inside the doorway, staring at me.
I snapped. “Say whatever you came in here to say or get out of my office and let me think,” I snarled, stopping my pace to face him. “I need a solution to this, not you standing there like a damn statue.”
Abel cleared his throat. His eyes didn’t drop. “With everything happening in the kingdom recently,” he said carefully, “don’t you think it’s a good idea to postpone the wedding?”
My eyes snapped to him. Abel didn’t back down. If anything, his stance became more rigid. “Ever since we announced the wedding, it’s been attack after attack,” he said, his voice steady even with my glare boring into him. “ Three of our own burned alive inside our perimeter.” He paused. “Instead of the elaborate ceremony you planned, it should have been just you, Ashley, and the priest. Quiet, no invitations or spectacle.”
I let out a harsh breath and took a step toward him. “You knew,” I said, my voice dropping into that dangerous quiet again. “You knew the second word got out that I was taking a chosen mate, enemies would start coming for us. Especially my brother.” I tilted my head, studying him. “So why are you acting surprised now, Abel? What part of this didn’t you see coming?”
His jaw worked for a second before he answered. “I knew there would be backlash,” he admitted. “I expected challenges. But I didn’t expect you to hold an elaborate wedding for a woman who’s pregnant with another man’s child.” He said it bluntly, no sugar coating it. “People will laugh when they find out, Your Majesty. Our allies, our enemies, they will call you crazy . They will say you are claiming another man’s pup and parading it like a victory.”
The room went silent except for the sound of my breathing.
I closed the distance between us in two strides until he could feel the heat coming off me. I gave him a look, the kind that made grown warriors flinch. “Let me ask you something, Abel,” I said, each word carved from ice. “Are you standing in my office right now concerned about the three men we are about to bury? About their families? About who burned them alive on my land?” I leaned in, my voice dropping lower. “Or are you more concerned about how people are going to feel about my marriage? About whether they will laugh at their king?”
Abel didn’t answer right away. He held my gaze, but I saw his throat move when he swallowed. The answer was already written all over his face, and we both knew it.
“Three of my men are dead,” I said, voice quiet. “Burned alive on my land. Their mates are going to get that news before sundown. Their pups will grow up without fathers. And you walk into my office to talk about optics? About whether people will laugh at me?”
Abel’s jaw flexed. “Alpha—”
“Keep quiet ,” I cut in, cold. He straightened, but I saw the flicker of shame before he locked it down. Good, he should be ashamed.
“Your job,” I said, each word deliberate, “is to find who did this. Your job is to make sure whoever walked onto my territory and torched my guards doesn’t get the chance to do it again. Your job is not to worry about my mating ceremony, my chosen mate, or what the bastards will whisper about me.”
I turned away from him before I did something I’d regret. My claws were out. I could feel them. I shoved my hands into my pockets to keep from grabbing him by the throat.
“Anyone who has a problem with it can say it to my face and I will rip their tongue out.” I looked back at him over my shoulder. “Is that clear, Beta?”
He dipped his head once. “Clear, Your Majesty.”
“Good.” I exhaled hard through my nose, trying to shove the rage down far enough to think. “Now get out. Find me a scent, find me ash, blood, a damn footprint. I want a name before their bodies are cold.”
Abel hesitated half a second, like he wanted to say more. Then he thought better of it. “Yes, Alpha.” He turned and was about leaving.
“Abel.” He’d barely reached the door when I called him back.
“Before you leave,” I said, keeping my voice even, “send invitations to the other Alphas I haven’t invited yet. And especially all council members.”
Abel turned, waiting. “But the council might not——“
“They might not come, I know.” I cut him off. “But the rumors will spread that the king has taken a new mate. I want Ryker to do his worst now.”