Chapter 78 Kaela - Aleksandr’s POV
I was nearly at the exit, each step measured to contain the rage boiling beneath my skin, when the first screams erupted from the hallway. Guards shouted orders, their voices sharp with alarm. The crowd around me parted like water, aristocrats in their finery pressing against the walls as the massive ballroom doors shuddered. Skoll, who had been growling his rejection of every candidate all night, suddenly surged forward in our shared consciousness with such force that I nearly staggered.
'MATE!' he howled, joy and disbelief coloring his mental voice. 'KAELA! AMELIA! THEY CAME BACK FOR US!'
I froze, my heart suspended between beats as the ballroom doors crashed open. The music died, replaced by gasps of terror and awe as a massive black wolf prowled into the room. She was enormous, nearly as large as Skoll's form, her midnight fur gleaming under the crystal chandeliers. Her mismatched eyes—one blue, one green, both blazing with golden fire—scanned the crowd until they locked on mine across the sea of frozen faces.
Clutched in her powerful jaws was the limp form of Councillor Blackthorn, his immaculate tuxedo rumpled and torn, a trickle of blood staining his silver hair.
'Kaela,' I breathed, the name both question and recognition.
She dropped Blackthorn unceremoniously on the polished marble floor, where he landed with a dull thud that echoed through the silent ballroom. Then she moved toward me, her massive paws silent despite her size, her gaze never leaving mine. The crowd scattered before her, pressing themselves against walls to clear a path between us.
Skoll was practically vibrating with joy. 'Mate came back! Knew mate wouldn't leave! Kaela! Amelia! OURS!'
As she approached, I found myself moving forward to meet her, drawn by something beyond conscious thought. The ball, the curse, the plotting council members—all of it fell away, insignificant against the reality of her presence.
She stopped before me, her massive head level with my chest. Up close, I could see the intelligence in those remarkable eyes, the subtle differences from any wolf I'd seen before. This was no ordinary shifting—this was a first shift, powerful and perfect.
I raised my hand slowly, giving her time to retreat if she wished. She didn't. Instead, she pressed her muzzle into my palm, a soft whine escaping her throat. I ran my fingers through the thick fur of her head, marvelling at its softness, at the heat radiating from her massive form.
"Kaela," I said aloud this time, my voice rough with emotion. "You found a way back to us."
She closed her eyes briefly, leaning into my touch with obvious pleasure. Then, with startling suddenness, she stretched upward and ran her enormous tongue across my face in one quick, affectionate swipe.
Before I could react, light began to shimmer around her form—the telltale glow of a wolf shifting back to human. Her massive body folded in on itself, fur receding, limbs shortening and realigning. The transformation was fluid, beautiful in its efficiency, and then suddenly Amelia stood before me, naked and swaying slightly as she adjusted to her human form.
I caught her before she could fall, wrapping her in my arms as if she might disappear again. My jacket came off with one quick movement, and I draped it over her shoulders, covering her nakedness while pulling her tighter against me. My hand cradled the back of her head, fingers tangling in her dark hair as I breathed in her scent—lavender and vanilla mingled with something wilder now, something untamed.
'I'd never leave you, mate,' Kaela's voice brushed against Skoll's consciousness, their connection flowing through the bond between us like electricity.
"And I'd never leave you, mate," Amelia whispered against my chest, her voice low and certain despite her exhaustion.
I pressed my lips to her forehead, inhaling the scent of her skin as if it were the only air worth breathing. "My mate," I murmured against her skin. "My Queen."
She tilted her head back, looking up at me with those mismatched eyes that had haunted my dreams for five endless days. Despite everything—the kidnapping, the captivity she must have endured—she smiled, a small, fierce expression that spoke of triumph rather than trauma. I couldn't resist that smile. I lowered my mouth to hers, claiming her lips in a kiss that said everything words couldn't—relief, joy, possession, promise.
"What is the meaning of this?" Kane's voice cut through our moment, sharp with barely concealed panic.
I kept Amelia tight against me as we turned to face him. His usual composure had cracked, revealing the desperation beneath. Behind him, Blackstone backed away slowly, trying to disappear into the crowd of stunned onlookers.
Amelia's chin lifted, her eyes narrowing as she stared down the man who had orchestrated her kidnapping. "You know exactly what happened, Councillor Kane," she said, her voice carrying clearly through the silent ballroom. "Blackthorn wouldn't shut up about your little schemes."
Kane blanched, his gaze darting to the still-unconscious form of his fellow conspirator. "I don't know what lies he might have told you, but—"
"Enough." The single word, spoken softly, carried more weight than a shout. Nora materialised from the crowd, her ancient eyes blazing with cold fury. "Your treason is exposed, Councillor. Accept it with what dignity you have left."
I raised my voice, letting it ring with the authority of the Alpha King. "Guards! Detain Councillor Kane and Councillor Blackthorn on charges of high treason against the crown."
The royal guard moved immediately, surrounding Kane before he could retreat. Two more lifted Blackthorn's unconscious form from the floor. Kane's face contorted with rage and fear as the guards clasped silver restraints around his wrists.
"This is absurd!" he sputtered. "You have no proof—"
"We have a witness," I cut him off coldly. "We have Blackthorn. And I suspect we'll find much more once we search your properties. Take them away."
As the guards escorted Kane from the ballroom, Nora approached us, her weathered face softening as she looked at Amelia. Without warning, she pulled my mate into a tight embrace.
"You did it," she said, pressing a kiss to Amelia's forehead with maternal affection. "You shifted."
Amelia nodded against Nora's shoulder, still clutching my jacket around her body. "As soon as I accepted Aleksandr's my mate, it was like a barrier burned away. Everything just... clicked."
From the corner of my eye, I caught movement—Elena Blackwater stood frozen at the edge of the crowd, her face a mask of disbelief. The woman who had abused Amelia for years, who had called her wolfless and cursed, now stared at her former servant with the stunned expression of someone who had just seen their entire worldview shattered.
Satisfaction curled through me at her shock. Let her see what she had failed to recognise—the queen who had been right before her eyes.
I tightened my arm around Amelia's waist, drawing her back into my protective embrace as the whispers started to spread through the ballroom. The tale of the Wolfless Girl who had shifted into one of the largest wolves ever seen. The mate of the Alpha King. My Queen.
'Ours,' Skoll rumbled with profound satisfaction. 'Always ours.'
For the first time in weeks, the curse's grip on me had loosened, the rage and instability replaced by something stronger, more permanent. The bond that would save us both.