Chapter 15 The Arrow That Shouldn’t Have Been Caught
Isabella’s POV
Morning came too fast.
My body felt like it had been stitched together with exhaustion, but I dragged myself out of bed anyway. Today was my first full day as Leon’s personal maid. No mistakes. No slip-ups. No letting my real self show.
I washed quickly, tied my hair up, put on the same simple dress the palace provided, and headed downstairs before the sun had fully risen.
The palace was already awake.
Warriors marched in tight formations across the training grounds. Steel clashed. Commands barked. Lycans shifted mid-strike, faster and sharper than any wolf had a right to be.
Today was going to be hell.
Perfect.
I collected the tray the kitchen maids prepared—four glasses of energizing juice the princes insisted on. A fifth one for the Lycan King. I balanced the tray on my arm and headed out.
I kept my head down as I crossed the palace yard. The warriors barely glanced my way, though some muttered as I passed. None kind. None meant to be.
I ignored them.
I had bigger things to worry about.
Leon was at the center of the training field, fighting three warriors at once. He moved like he didn’t feel the weight of his own body—fast, precise, deadly. His brothers stood at the edge of the grounds watching the drills.
Kennedy.
Rogers.
Damon.
I avoided Damon’s eyes immediately.
No. Not today.
I approached quietly, keeping the tray steady.
Rogers noticed me first. He smirked.
“Oh look. The King’s pet arrives.”
Damon scoffed. “I thought Leon said she wasn’t to be bothered.”
Kennedy stepped forward to grab his juice. “Doesn't stop him from watching her.”
Rogers elbowed Damon. “Careful. Leon might throw you off the mountain if you breathe wrong around her.”
Damon snorted. “Please. She’s just a maid.”
I stayed silent. I bowed my head slightly and offered the tray.
Rogers reached first, grabbing his glass. Kennedy followed with a satisfied hum. Damon hesitated—probably thinking of a way to ruin my morning—but finally grabbed his as well.
I took a breath and stepped forward toward Leon.
He was ending the spar. One last step, one last twist, and his opponent hit the ground with a grunt.
Leon didn’t look at me, but his voice reached me anyway.
“Wait.”
I stopped immediately.
He turned… just slightly, just enough that our eyes met. His stare was unreadable. As always.
“Bring it here.”
I walked toward him, tray steady, feet light.
That was when it happened.
A shout tore through the training grounds.
“WATCH OUT!”
I didn’t think.
I didn’t breathe.
Something whistled sharply through the air—fast, deadly, aimed directly for me. An arrow. Not misfired. Not stray. Not innocent.
It came straight toward my chest.
My wolf surged.
My arm moved before my mind did.
I dropped my weight into one foot, shifted my balance, twisted my wrist, and caught the arrow cleanly between my fingers—two inches before it could pierce my heart.
The tray didn’t tilt.
Not a single drop of juice spilled.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The entire training field froze.
Warriors stared.
The princes stared.
Leon… stared.
I held the arrow between my fingers, my chest rising and falling slowly, my pulse far too fast for someone who had just saved their own life.
“What… the hell…” Kennedy whispered.
Rogers’ jaw dropped. “She didn’t spill the juice.”
Damon’s eyes narrowed like he’d just seen a ghost.
Leon stepped toward me slowly, gaze locked on my hand.
“How,” he asked quietly, “did you do that?”
My throat tightened. I lowered my eyes.
“I… I don’t know. Reflex.”
“Reflex?” Damon barked. “Reflex? She caught a lycan-shot arrow midair while balancing a tray!”
I stayed silent.
Leon’s expression didn’t change… but his aura did.
It thickened. Darkened. Wrapped around the field like a storm.
“Who fired it?” he asked.
Every warrior stepped back as if the ground had turned to fire.
No one answered.
Leon’s voice hardened. “I said… who fired it.”
A young recruit stepped forward, shaking so hard his sword clattered on the ground.
“M-my King… I… I didn’t mean—”
“You aimed at her,” Damon said sharply.
“No—I—she stepped into the—”
Leon lifted one hand, silencing everyone.
“Apologize,” he ordered.
The boy fell to his knees immediately. “F-forgive me, my King! I didn’t see her—I swear—”
Leon’s eyes flicked toward me.
“Isabella.”
I swallowed.
“Yes, my King?”
“Do you believe him?”
The entire field went dead quiet.
Everyone waited for my words.
If I said yes—the boy lived.
If I said no—Leon would end him. Simple.
I breathed in slowly.
“He was careless,” I said. “But he wasn’t trying to kill me.”
The recruit sobbed in relief.
Leon’s gaze didn’t soften. Not even slightly.
“Then he will live,” he said.
The boy collapsed forward, shaking.
Leon stepped closer to me.
Too close.
His eyes dropped to the arrow still between my fingers. His voice came low.
“Your reflex is not normal, Isabella.”
My heart slammed painfully against my ribs.
“I was just… lucky.”
“No,” he said. “Luck doesn’t catch arrows.”
“Leon,” Damon said, stepping forward, “you saw it. She’s hiding something.”
Leon didn’t look at him.
He only stared at me.
“What are you,” he whispered.
My throat dried.
I forced my voice to stay steady. “A maid, my King.”
Something sharp flickered in his eyes. Anger? Curiosity? Or something worse—recognition.
Before he could say more, Rogers cut in.
“We all saw it. She moved like a trained warrior.”
Kennedy added, “Or a spy.”
Leon’s jaw clenched.
“That’s enough.”
“But—”
“I said enough,” Leon snapped.
The brothers fell silent instantly.
Leon took the arrow from my hand, fingers brushing mine. His touch sent a strange jolt up my arm, something I quickly shoved down.
He turned to his warriors.
“Training is over for today.”
“But my King—”
“OVER.”
Every warrior bowed their head and dispersed. The princes exchanged looks—confusion, suspicion, irritation—but none dared challenge him openly.
Leon stood still for a moment, staring at the arrow, then back at me.
His voice was quiet.
“Come with me.”
My pulse jumped. “My King?”
“Now.”
I followed him off the training field, keeping my steps controlled even though my nerves screamed.
Too fast.
Too precise.
Too real.
I should’ve faked it.
I should’ve stumbled.
I should’ve let the juice spill.
But my wolf reacted before I could lie.
Leon didn’t speak until we reached the hallway leading to his chambers. Then he stopped, turned to me, and said:
“You will explain that.”
“I… I don’t have an explanation.”
“You caught an arrow,” he said. “Humans can’t do that. Most wolves can’t do that.”
“I reacted,” I whispered. “Anyone would’ve.”
“No,” Leon said. “Only someone trained to survive.”
My heart pounded.
He stepped closer.
“Isabella,” he murmured, eyes darkening, “what exactly are you hiding from me?”
I held his gaze. Calm. Cold. Controlled.
“Nothing, my King.”
He didn’t believe me.
Not for a second.
But he didn’t push. Not today.
“Go,” he said finally. “Get back to your duties.”
I bowed.
“Yes, my King.”
I walked away before my legs betrayed me.
By nightfall, after serving dinner and avoiding Damon’s eyes and ignoring the whispers following me through the palace halls, I finally entered my tiny room.
I collapsed onto my bed, fully dressed, staring at the ceiling.
My wolf sighed in the back of my mind.
YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE CAUGHT IT.
“I know.”
BUT YOU DID.
“I know.”
And he saw you.
“I know.”
Silence.
Then my wolf whispered something worse.
HE'S GROWING SO FOND OF YOU, ISA.
I turned on my side, pulling the blanket over my head.
“I’m not here for that.”
BUT HE'S WATCHING.
“I don’t care.”
HE IS NOTICING YOU.
“I don’t want his attention.”
A pause.
YOUR PLAN DEPENDS ON HIDING WHO YOU ARE. BUT TODAY... YOU WEREN’T HIDING.
My chest tightened.
“I’ll do better.”
YOU WON'T GET MANY CHANCES LEFT.
I closed my eyes.
“I’m not falling for him,” I whispered.
Not the Lycan King.
Not the enemy.
Not the man who destroyed everything.
But my pulse still remembered the moment he touched my hand.
And that terrified me more than any arrow ever could.