Chapter 27 Aftermath
~Sage~
The guards walked me back to my room without saying a word. They kept their faces blank, but I could tell they were dying to look at me, to figure out what just happened. My ceremonial dress, with its ridiculous cutouts and thin material, felt even more revealing now. Every step made me feel more exposed and vulnerable.
Mummurs followed us down as we passed. Servants scrambled out of our way, resting against the walls while their eyes ate up every detail.
The impossible had just happened. Alpha King Damon, the guy who'd conquered kingdoms and crushed rebellions, had collapsed at his own mating ceremony. I could practically hear the gossip spreading through the pack like wildfire.
The guards left me at my door and took their positions outside. I'd barely shut the door when Natalie barged in without knocking, like always.
"Oh my God!" She pressed her hand to her chest, her green eyes huge with shock and barely hidden excitement. "Three hours I spent on your hair. Three! My fingers are still cramping from threading those stupid little pearls, and for what? Nobody's gonna remember the gorgeous bride or the dress that cost more than most people make in a year. They're gonna remember our mighty Alpha puking all over the sacred altar."
I watched her pace around my room, practically vibrating with excitement. Natalie always got like this during drama especially when it wasn't about her.
"The look on Beta James's face," she went on, not waiting for me to say anything. "Like someone had slapped him with a wet fish. And Elder Marcus; you should've seen him jump back when the King started heaving. His ceremonial robes got completely destroyed."
"Natalie, please—" I tried, but she was already behind me, her fingers working on the dress's laces like she'd done it a million times.
"I'm just saying, watching the scariest Alpha in seven kingdoms turn green and drop like a rock? Priceless. Though I am seriously mourning my hairstyle masterpiece. Such a waste."
Her words were joking around, but I noticed how her fingers stayed professional..Natalie had been assigned as my personal attendant, but we'd never gotten close. How could we when I caught her staring at Keith at every pack event? When her eyes followed him with the kind of want I had to hide? She was beautiful, talented, everything a prince should want. Everything I wasn't supposed to be.
As she fought with a stubborn knot, I felt something weird along my neck. Where Damon's teeth had scraped my skin,not breaking it but coming damn close, this hot tingling spread like fire under my skin. It wasn't exactly pain, more like something inside me was burning its way out.
"This dress is literally a crime," Natalie muttered, still wrestling with the laces. "Whoever designed it clearly wanted to make sure you'd need a whole team just to pee."
The tingling got stronger, spreading from my neck down into my chest. I reached up to touch it, and the heat pulsed harder, almost like a second heartbeat under my fingers.
"Don't touch it," Natalie gently pushed my hand away. "You'll make the marks worse. Though they're barely there. The King didn't get far enough to actually break skin."
A sharp knock cut us off. Natalie turned, her hands still on my half-unlaced dress.
"Luna Sage." Beta James's voice came through the door, formal and cold. "Open up. Pack council's orders."
Natalie's eyes met mine in the mirror. For once, she didn't look competitive or jealous. She actually looked worried. She grabbed a robe from my closet and helped me throw it over the partially removed dress.
I opened the door to find Beta James with two warriors, all of them looking stern and suspicious. James had always been Damon's guy, following his Alpha without question. His gray eyes looked me up and down like I was a problem he needed to solve.
"Luna Sage," he said, walking into my room without asking. The warriors followed, making my big room feel suddenly tiny. "We need to talk about what happened during the ceremony."
"Is the Alpha King okay?" I asked, keeping my voice steady even though that weird burning feeling was getting stronger with these dominant wolves around.
"The doctors are with him," James said. "Which is why I'm here. The Alpha King has never been weak. Never been sick. Not once in forty-three years. But within seconds of trying to mark you, he collapses."
The accusation was obvious. One of the warriors shifted slightly, his hand moving closer to his knife.
"You can't seriously be suggesting—" Natalie started, but James shut her up with a look.
"I'm not suggesting anything," he said smoothly. "I'm investigating. Luna Sage, did you eat or drink anything today besides what the palace gave you?"
"No," I said honestly. "Just the ceremonial wine and the meals they brought."
"Did anyone give you anything? Herbs? Potions? Even something that seemed harmless?"
"No, nothing."
James stepped closer, and that burning under my skin flared hotter. Something deep inside me moved, like something sleeping was starting to wake up. I'd never felt anything like this. Me, the girl with no wolf, the one who'd been labeled defective since I couldn't shift at sixteen.
"You drank the bonding elixir," James continued, his eyes narrowing. "In front of everyone."
"She did," Natalie jumped in, subtly moving between James and me. "And she was totally fine. That elixir would've killed her if she'd been cheating or planning something bad against the Alpha. You know that, Beta James."
"I know what the elixir is supposed to do," James replied. "I also know our Alpha King is currently burning up with fever and rambling about burning and wrong scents. So I'll ask again. Did you feel anything weird during the ceremony?"
At the word 'weird,' the burning sensation spiked so hard I had to grab the vanity to stay upright. For just a second, I could've sworn I heard something. Not exactly a growl, but this vibration that seemed to echo inside my own head.
"Luna Sage?" James pressed on, noticing my reaction.
"I... I was nervous," I managed, straightening up. "It was overwhelming. The ceremony, the crowd, everything happened really fast."
James stared at me for a long moment, and I forced myself to look right back at him. Inside, that strange stirring feeling got stronger, like something pacing under my skin, pissed off by him being so close.
"Beta James," a familiar voice called from the doorway. "I hope you're not harassing my father's Luna without a good reason?"