Chapter 83 Control - Aleksandr’s POV
I watched them drag Kane and Blackthorn into the chamber, their usually impeccable appearances now disheveled from a night in the cells. My face remained impassive, a mask I'd perfected over decades of rule, but inside, Skoll prowled restlessly, rage simmering just beneath the surface of my control. These men had taken my mate, drugged her, imprisoned her. They had plotted my downfall, planned my execution like I was nothing more than a rabid animal needing to be put down. Silver restraints bound their wrists, the metal designed to weaken even an alpha werewolf's strength. Not that they would attempt escape, both were politicians to their core, already calculating angles, weighing options even as guards forced them to their knees in the centre of the chamber.
"Councillor Kane, Councillor Blackthorn," I greeted them, my voice dangerously soft. "I trust your accommodations have been adequate."
Blackthorn's usually composed face twitched with poorly concealed loathing. A purple bruise bloomed across his left temple, Amelia's parting gift from their last encounter. Kane maintained his dignified bearing despite the circumstances, his eyes cold and assessing as they moved from me to Amelia and back again.
"Before we begin formal questioning," I continued, "my mate would like to give her account of the events surrounding her abduction. The council will hear her testimony in full, without interruption."
I turned to Amelia, giving her an encouraging nod. She sat straighter in her chair, her slender fingers gripping the armrests as she prepared to speak. Despite the night's rest, exhaustion still shadowed her eyes, a reminder of the ordeal she'd endured. Yet there was a new strength in her posture, a confidence that hadn't been there before her shift.
"Six days ago," she began, her voice steady despite the weight of what she was about to describe, "I was walking to Alpha King Aleksandr's office. I had discovered evidence that someone was attempting to manipulate me into leaving the castle, threatening notes left in my room, photographs of Marcus Blackwater's punishment staged to frighten me, and finally, a check for five million dollars the first time and one for ten million the second."
Pride swelled in my chest at her composure. This wasn't just about her kidnapping, she was revealing the full extent of their machinations, piecing together what even I hadn't fully understood.
"I never reached the Alpha King's office," she continued. "In the east corridor, someone attacked me from behind. They covered my face with a chemical-soaked cloth, chloroform, I believe, and rendered me unconscious. When I woke, I was in a cell beneath what I later learned was an abandoned warehouse in the industrial district. Councillor Blackthorn was there."
Her gaze shifted to Blackthorn, unwavering despite the memories she was reliving. "He explained their plan quite openly. They needed me gone so Aleksandr would deteriorate faster. The curse would progress, he would lose control, and they would have justification to... put him down." Her voice caught slightly on those final words, the only crack in her composure.
"For five days, they kept me drugged with wolfsbane administered through an IV. Councillor Blackthorn visited regularly to check on me and inform me of their progress in destroying the Alpha King." She paused, allowing the full weight of these accusations to settle over the room. "They created an elaborate deception to make it appear I had left voluntarily, knowing the Alpha King would not pursue me if he believed I had chosen to leave."
"These are serious accusations from an unreliable source," Kane interjected, unable to remain silent any longer. "A servant girl with delusions of grandeur, suddenly claiming to be a…"
"Silence!" My voice cracked like thunder through the chamber, bringing instant quiet. "You will speak when questioned, Councillor, and not before."
'Want to rip his throat out,' Skoll growled, pushing against my control. 'Hurt mate. Tried to kill us.'
'Patience,' I soothed my wolf. 'Justice first. Violence only if necessary.'
I nodded to Dominic, who had been brought in specifically to lead the questioning. As Beta to one of my most trusted pack allies, he had no ties to castle politics, making him an ideal neutral interrogator.
"Councillor Blackthorn," Dominic began, his voice clinical, detached, "did you abduct Amelia Lovelace from the royal castle six days ago?"
Blackthorn's eyes darted around the room, seeking allies or escape routes and finding neither. "It was a matter of kingdom security," he said finally, the admission surprising even Kane, whose head snapped toward his co-conspirator. "The girl was accelerating the curse's progression. Her presence was destabilising the Alpha King."
"So you admit to the kidnapping?" Dominic pressed.
"I admit to taking necessary action to protect this kingdom from a curse-maddened king," Blackthorn replied, a hint of his old arrogance returning. "I did what was required, what the council has always done when an Alpha King fails to find his true queen."
"And the wolfsbane?" Dominic continued. "You admit to drugging the Alpha Queen with a substance that could have killed her?"
"She wasn't queen then," Kane cut in sharply. "She was nothing. A wolfless nobody from a backwater pack, with no bloodline, no political value, no connections. The idea that she could be this kingdom's queen is absurd."
I felt my control slipping, claws pushing against the tips of my fingers as rage built within me. How dare he speak of my mate that way? The curse—which had indeed been strengthened by Amelia's absence—surged forward, feeding on my anger. My vision began to narrow, the edges taking on a reddish tinge that signalled the beginning of an unwanted shift.
Then, unexpectedly, a wave of calm washed through me, not from Skoll, but from Kaela. Her presence brushed against our bond, gentle yet firm, a steadying influence that pushed back against the curse's grip.
'Not worth it,' came her thought, clearly directed at both me and Skoll. 'They want you to lose control. Prove them right.'
Amelia's hand found mine beneath the table, her fingers interlacing with my own. That simple touch anchored me, drawing me back from the edge of rage into the present moment. I took a deep breath, feeling my claws retract, my vision clearing.
"Your opinions on my mate's suitability are noted, Councillor Kane," I said, my voice deadly calm now. "And irrelevant. The Luna Kingdom recognises mates by bond, not by your arbitrary standards of bloodline or political expedience."
"We were trying to save the kingdom," Kane insisted, desperation creeping into his tone as he realised the gravity of his situation. "The curse has destroyed every Alpha King who failed to find his true queen. We were preventing a catastrophe."
"By creating one," I countered. "Treason. Kidnapping. Attempted regicide. Tell me, who else was involved in your little conspiracy? Whose interests were you really serving?"
Kane's jaw clenched stubbornly. "No one. We acted alone, for the good of the kingdom."
"Lies," Blackthorn muttered, earning a venomous glare from his co-conspirator. "But it doesn't matter. What's done is done."
I studied them both, these men who had served the crown for decades, who had attended my coronation, who had sworn oaths of loyalty. Their betrayal should have surprised me more than it did. Power always attracted those willing to do anything to possess it.
"Guards," I said, rising to my feet, "return the prisoners to their cells. They will stand formal trial before the kingdom in one week's time, where all evidence will be presented publicly. This conspiracy will be exposed in its entirety, regardless of their cooperation."
The guards hauled Kane and Blackthorn to their feet, leading them toward the chamber doors. Kane went quietly, his face a mask of cold dignity. Blackthorn cast one last venomous glance over his shoulder, not at me, but at Amelia. The hatred in that look would have withered a weaker person, but my mate merely stared back, unflinching.
When the doors closed behind them, I turned to the remaining council members. "This session is concluded. We will reconvene tomorrow to address the vacuum left in our governance structure."
I held out my hand to Amelia, who rose gracefully from her chair to stand beside me. The gesture was deliberate, unmistakable, we stood as equals, Alpha King and Queen. Without another word, we left the chamber together, the heavy doors swinging shut behind us with a finality that marked the end of one chapter and the beginning of another.
In the quiet corridor beyond, I finally allowed myself to pull her close, breathing in her scent as if to reassure myself that she was truly here, truly safe.
"You did well in there," I murmured against her hair.
"So did you," she replied, her arms tightening around my waist. "I felt you almost lose control."
"Kaela helped," I admitted. "She reached out to Skoll, calmed us both."
Amelia smiled up at me, those mismatched eyes bright with something that looked suspiciously like mischief. "She's quite smug about that, by the way. Says she's the sensible one in this relationship.”
For the first time that day, I laughed, a genuine sound that echoed off the stone walls around us. Whatever challenges lay ahead, whatever conspiracies remained to be uncovered, we would face them together. Alpha King and Queen. Aleksandr and Amelia. Skoll and Kaela.
Together, we were unbreakable.