CHAPTER 31: QUEEN WAR

CHAPTER 31: QUEEN WAR
Maya’s POV

“Selene?” Sebastian’s voice was barely a whisper, as if uttering a name he never thought he’d speak again.

The woman stepped forward, a vision of unnerving calm.

“Oh, Lycan King! Keeper of the Law and Guardian of the Innocent,” she called out, not a flicker of fear in her voice. No tremble. No hesitation. “You are breaking your promise… Sebastian Longstone,” she said, voice like rippling moonlight—beautiful, but cold. Her silver eyes, framed by dark lashes tipped in white, gleaming as if dipped in glittery snowflakes.

She stood like an omen—and looked like a goddess. Like her namesake. The Moon Goddess. Selene.

Selene wore white—simple in fabric, but the woman inside outshone every jewel on the cliffs. She looked anything but ordinary. Her skin glowed like it had been dipped in moonlight. Her eyes were silver, almond-shaped, and rimmed in soft kohl, making them seem even more haunting with lashes feathered long and tipped in silver. With skin like luminous pearl, lips tinged in innocent rose, and diamond-studded ears that sparkled like stars, she was named after the Moon Goddess—and appeared every bit the deity’s mirror.

Her lips were soft rose petals. Her hair fell in silver-streaked waves, catching the rising sun like a veil of starlight. She looked less like a wolf and more like the Moon had descended and wrapped itself in flesh. She surely did justice to her name.

Her jewellery screamed great ancestral lineage and posture exhibited high class draped in royalty – elegance in posture, grace in poise, and danger in every syllable.

Her voice rang with quiet power.

“I helped you when no one else did,” she said clearly. “I helped you against your fight with Theodore. You promised to free me from the monster’s hold.”

From the whispers behind me, I heard the murmurs start, chaos and confusion reigning supreme over Selene’s words.

“Helped? When did Princess Selene help King Sebastian? Didn’t she flee the first moment she got when her husband revolted against his parents and he was killed?” One of the elders scoffed, clearly disgusted.

“No, I heard that King Sebastian promised to free her after she aided him…”

“But wasn’t she the one who chose Prince Theodore over him years ago?”

“Yes! When both were heirs—she cut the young Prince Sebastian off when the throne tipped in Theodore’s favor…”

“That was because Prince Theodore was her actual mate. That is why she turned down Prince Sebastian’s proposal.”

“I remember. Poor man was devastated at that time. No mate. Only a rejected proposal to his name, that too from his brother’s mate.”

“Yes, she was quick to cut any ties with Prince Sebastian at that time. He was aghast when he had no mate and no one to claim him either.”

“He was certainly bewitched by her beauty.”

“Because she looks like the Moon herself landed on our planet.”

“That is not true. The Lycan King never did that. I would have known!” The Prime Minister exclaimed.

“Not everything that happens behind royal curtains is known to you.”

“You are saying that because Princess Selene is your sister’s daughter. Don’t tarnish King Sebastian’s reputation.”

“Yes, and we already have a chosen queen. Queen Maya.”  

“Yet, Princess Selene dares walk back in and claim rights.”

“Because she is right in doing so. She is a princess of the royal harem and the King should take responsibility of her. He was the one who proposed marriage to her in the first place and then turned her into a widow with false promises.”

Selene came out of the shadows, like a wounded fawn but with an arrogance of a lion.

“I came to claim what was promised,” she declared, her voice ringing clearly across the cliffs. “The Lycan King… and the future. Because—”
She paused for effect, her gaze cutting toward the gathering court. She placed a hand on her stomach, serene and composed.

“I am carrying his child. The royal heir. King Sebastian’s blood.”

The world tilted. A hush dropped like a sword.

Gasps. A ripple of chaos.

And me?

I stood still. Breath frozen. My eyes locked on her, then flicked—slowly—to Sebastian.

He didn’t flinch.

He didn’t speak.

He just stared at her, jaw tight, eyes burning with disbelief.

My heart beat rapidly and head spun. This felt like Leo and Quinn’s story again.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I braced myself for another rejection. I quietly took back my pups from the Lycan King and soothed the half-asleep pups to sleep over my shoulder.

However, that seemed to break the spell of the dazed king. He looked like I had stolen his birthright. He snagged back the cubs from me and cuddled them close to his chest. Their touch seemed to calm him down.

“I never—” he started, but Selene cut him off. Her eyes flicked to me, briefly, like one might glance at dust on gold.

“You don’t remember, do you?” Her tone softened. “It was during the war. You were wounded. Drugged with an aphrodisiac in the healer’s den. You didn’t know. But I was the one tending to you.” She placed a hand over her stomach. “And now, our child grows inside me.”

“I have never been with any woman. How dare you lie to the King?” Sebastian thundered.

“I was there in the healer’s den when you were wounded, drugged with an aphrodisiac during the war. I took care of you, Sebastian. I gave you comfort. And now…”

She placed a hand on her stomach, serene and composed.

“I carry your child.”

Another wave of murmurs and gasps rippled through the crowd.

Whispers spread like wildfire behind me.

My heart pounded.

Sebastian’s body stilled beside me. Not in disbelief—in rage held at the edge of control.

“I’ve only ever been with Maya,” he said firmly, his voice sharp and low. “No one else. Not during war. Not after. And not in any dream you conjure to justify your lies.”

Selene’s eyes flickered. “You don’t remember. But I was there. You were under the drug’s spell. You didn’t know what you were doing. But I did.”

My skin chilled.

Not at the words—but at how calmly she wielded them.

I stepped forward.

Selene’s gaze landed on me with distant amusement, like I was nothing more than a curious creature.

But I kept my eyes locked on her. Steady. Silent. Certain.

Then I reached out—and took her wrist.

Selene blinked, faltering just slightly. “What—?”

The entire court watched in eerie silence as I stopped in front of the Moon-faced woman and gently reached for her wrist.

My fingers pressed gently over her pulse point. One, two, three beats…
I waited. Then tilted my head.

Not to check her strength.

To check for life within.

No doubled rhythm.

No second heartbeat.

No flutter of life.

Only her own.

My final diagnosis was: No elevated pulse. No doubled rhythm. No second heartbeat. She was lying.

I stepped back. My gaze turned to Sebastian—meeting his. We didn’t need words. The connection through our mate bond was electric, immediate.

I shook my head.

‘Once. Clear. Final.’

He read me like the moon reads the tide.

‘She’s not pregnant.’

His chest rose with a sharp breath. Fury darkened his eyes, but he didn’t move. He didn’t lash out.

He just turned to face the kingdom.

“She’s lying,” he said, voice iron. “There is no child. And I have touched no woman but the one fated to me. The only one who ever saw me whole and still chose me. I touched no one else. Not in war. Not in peace. Not in pain. Not even once.”

Selene raised her chin. “You don’t remember. But I was there.”

“I would know,” he replied through gritted teeth. “Even drugged, my soul would know what touched it. And it was never you.”

My heart clenched at the raw restraint in his tone. He wanted to explode. To tear the lie down with the full wrath of a betrayed king—but he held it in.

He didn’t move toward her.

He didn’t strike her down.

Because Selene, despite her poison, was a widow of a former prince. Untouchable by law. Untouchable by royal politics.

But not by truth.

He turned from her slowly, only to step to me. With one hand, he gently touched the mark on my collarbone—the one that bound us as mates.

Then, he lifted our children once again, the white cubs wriggling in his arms, howling playfully into the air.

“These,” he said firmly, voice raised to the crowd, “are the only children I claim. They are the legacy I recognize. Born of love. Born of fate. Born of truth.”

The people watched, conflicted, many still stunned by Selene’s bold claim. But more watched me.

He took the triplets—our snow-white cubs—back into his arms.

“These,” he roared again, driving his point home to the ones who didn’t understand the first time, “are MY LEGACY. Born of royalty. Born of truth. Born of Queen Maya Thunderstorm—my mate, my equal, my heart!”

The people erupted in cheers, though the shadows behind their eyes held doubt and awe in equal measure.

Selene remained where she stood. A widow of a fallen prince. Beyond punishment—untouchable for now.

But not believed.

Not anymore.

Sebastian’s arms wrapped around our children. His gaze—bright, sharp, and crackling—met mine with pain and fury swirling inside.

Through the mate bond, his voice echoed softly in my mind.

“She’s lying. I swear on my soul, Maya.”

I nodded, brushing my fingers over my heart in reply. I already knew.

Then I turned to Selene. And for a moment, I didn’t feel mute.

Not inside.

Because I had something she never would.

Not the crown.

Not the king.

The truth.

And the kingdom had just seen it for themselves.

“Who is this mute?” Selene sneered, her voice laced with cruelty as her silvery eyes flicked to me again. “A doctor?”

The insult stung, but I didn’t flinch. I stood taller.

“She touched my wrist and passed judgment with no words—how quaint. Is this your new royal method of diagnosis, Your Majesty?” she mocked, eyes flicking to Sebastian. “Why not ask someone with credentials? Why not summon the head royal physician of the Golden Lycan Pack? Let science, not sentiment, speak for itself.”

Sebastian’s eyes narrowed to slits, golden irises burning like twin suns. “You dare mock my queen in front of my court?” he asked, voice low but lethal.

But Selene only smiled—sweet, cold, unshaken. “I dare ask for proof.”

A murmured agreement rippled among the court elders. The Prime Minister hesitated. The Beta looked between us. Doubt crept like mist.

Sebastian’s lips curled, but with a single raise of his hand, he summoned the physician.

A moment later, the royal physician stepped forward from the gathered crowd—cloaked in blue, scrolls tucked beneath his belt, and eyes darting warily between king and claim.

He bowed. “Your Majesty. You summoned me?”

Sebastian’s tone was curt. “Verify her claim.”

The physician stiffened. He turned to Selene, who extended her hand as if this were some gentle parlor game, not a moment that might split the kingdom apart.

He examined her. Pulse. Pupils. A silent hum of healing magic passed through his hands.

The court held its breath.

Finally, he straightened. His voice came out calm, too calm.

“She is indeed… pregnant, Your Majesty.”

Gasps burst from the crowd. My knees nearly gave way—but I stood rooted.

Selene’s smile bloomed, slow and poisonous.

But then—

The physician’s gaze flicked to me. Hesitated. Then back to the king.

“…However,” he added, voice tighter now, “the mute omeg—” He froze as Sebastian’s head snapped toward him, aura flaring in warning. The court tensed.

Correcting himself with a nervous swallow, he amended, “–Her Majesty, the Queen, seems to have assessed the matter… differently.”

A crackle of power stirred from Sebastian, dangerously quiet. “Are you saying she’s wrong?”

“No,” the physician said quickly. “Only that… the pregnancy is at a very early stage. So early, in fact, that no heartbeat would be felt. Not yet.”

His eyes flicked to Selene.

“And without magic-enhanced instruments, no confirmation would be possible by touch alone. I am not aware how gifted Maya – ahem – Her Majesty is, but she seems to have misdiagnosed the situation of Princess Selene.”

Mute omega, that’s what he wanted to say. Maya. But he wouldn’t speak my name. Not with Sebastian watching. Not when the court was split in half.

I stared at him.

Liar.

I had touched truth. Or the absence of it.

There had been nothing there.

Sebastian stepped forward slowly, cubs still clutched in one arm, the other hand twitching with fury.

“She claims I fathered a child while drugged in a war den,” he said, his voice ice. “And you defend her without question?”

“I defend only what the body reveals, Your Majesty,” the physician said quickly. “Nothing more.”

“And if she lied?” Sebastian asked, eyes burning.

“Then time will reveal it,” the physician replied, bowing deeply. “As it always does.”

There was silence.

But in that silence, I caught it—Selene’s heartbeat.

Not doubled.

Not echoing with new life.

Still one. Only one.

This wasn’t over.

But now, the court had been split.

Believers.

Skeptics.

And one cold goddess draped in white, smiling in the center of her chaos.

The court was dismissed, but not their doubts. I followed Sebastian silently as he carried our pups and fury alike. Behind us, Selene stood bathed in moonlight, her lies protected—for now—by protocol, power, and poisoned charm.

Selene didn’t walk away.

She stood still—untouched.

She had declared war on a throne ruled not just by power… but by bond.

And in that moment, we both knew:

This wasn’t over.

Not even close.

But even the moon has phases. And I was no longer just his mate.

I was his Queen. And I would bring the truth into the light.