Chapter 98 Hundred and one
"Do you want to know the truth?" Renna’s voice sliced through the courtyard like a blade, sharp enough to draw blood from the air itself.
Her words snapped the murmuring crowd silent. Hundreds of wolves and humans alike turned toward her, their breaths hitching as her pale gold gown shimmered beneath the rising moon. Renna stood on the platform built for announcements and judgments, her posture stiff, regal, and unnervingly calm. Her beauty struck like winter frost, perfect and cold, her dark hair swept high so that her sharp cheekbones caught the torchlight.
Sienna felt her stomach twist as she stepped forward from the side corridor. She wasn’t ready for this. She wasn’t ready for Renna’s lies. Not tonight, not while Ryder’s curse pulsed faintly at the back of her skull like a warning heartbeat.
But Renna was already raising her voice again.
"You have all been blind," she declared, her tone bright with performance. "Blind to what the Alpha King has become. Blind to the danger he poses."
Gasps rippled through the sea of faces. Warriors leaned forward. Mothers drew their children closer. Even guards tightened their grips on their spears as though expecting an attack.
Renna lifted a stack of papers and waved them high above her head, letting them flutter in the wind like wounded birds.
"This," she said, her voice trembling with a softness she did not feel, "is proof."
Sienna exhaled sharply. She knew what was coming. And she hated every breath that followed.
A man stepped forward from the shadows behind Renna. Elder Theron. One of the oldest council members, tall and lean with a face like carved stone and eyes that had never once looked at Sienna with anything but judgment. Tonight, he looked at Renna with approval.
"Tell them," Theron said loudly, raising his chin. "They deserve to hear."
Renna pressed a dramatic hand to her heart and began reading.
"He attacked the Queen."
Sienna’s body locked.
"He lost control. He lunged for her. He was not himself. He is cursed beyond saving."
As Renna read, her voice quavered as though she were describing a tragedy she had witnessed personally, though she had never been near Ryder the night his curse erupted. She had never seen him falling apart. She only saw what she needed to twist, reshape, and sharpen.
"I watched him from afar," Renna continued. "I saw the change. I saw the monster beneath his skin."
The murmurs grew louder, restless, dangerous.
A guard whispered, "She saw him transform."
Another muttered, "I heard he tried to take her neck."
Someone from the back yelled, "Is the Queen safe?"
The word Queen made Sienna’s breath catch. They were speaking of her safety as though she were a fragile jewel, an ornament to protect. Not a Queen who stood with blood on her hands, who fought beside her people, who had seen visions of her own death in Ryder’s arms. They had no idea how far the truth stretched.
Renna lifted the last page with a slow, calculated pause.
"And finally," she said, lowering her voice until the entire courtyard had to lean in, "his curse has worsened. He is losing control of himself. Of his wolf. Of everything."
Sienna swallowed hard. Her pulse pounded against her ribs.
Renna turned to face the crowd fully, her posture tall and viciously poised.
"If he is allowed to roam freely, he will destroy us. He will destroy her. He will destroy the realm."
Every eye shifted to Sienna, watching her as if waiting for her to shatter.
Sienna stepped forward, hands trembling but spine straight. Her long hair brushed down her back, a waterfall of dark curls that caught the lantern glow. Her gown, deep silver and embroidered with moonlit threads, clung to her shape with quiet authority. She held no weapons, yet her presence commanded the space.
"Renna," she said, her voice steady, "you’re lying."
Renna turned slowly, her lips curling into a mockingly soft smile.
"Am I? Then explain the blood he shed. Explain the bodies. Explain the visions your guards witnessed. Explain why he refuses to come before the Council."
Sienna clenched her hands at her sides. She could feel eyes devouring every move she made. Wolves had always been creatures of instinct, and their instincts leaned toward fear when the unknown loomed.
"You forged that evidence," Sienna said. "You created this."
"Oh, darling," Renna cooed, stepping closer. "I did not need to create anything. He created the curse himself. I am merely showing the people what they deserve to see."
Sienna’s voice dropped lower. "You don’t care about the people. You care about power. And you want him gone because he threatens the throne you dream of."
Renna laughed softly, a delicate sound that belied her venom.
"I don’t dream of the throne," she said, leaning close enough for only Sienna to hear. "I dream of the day you fall."
Sienna stared straight into her eyes, refusing to let the shaking in her chest show. The air between them crackled, sharp and thick, their shared history a fault line ready to split the grounds beneath them.
Renna stepped back and raised her hands toward the crowd, voice rising again.
"Look upon your Queen!" she cried. "Look upon her and ask yourself if you trust her judgment. She keeps him hidden. She protects him. She refuses to acknowledge the danger he poses. Ask yourself, who is she truly loyal to? The realm… or the monster?"
Gasps erupted again. Wolves argued among themselves. Some shook their heads, uncertain. Others looked betrayed. And a terrifying number appeared convinced.
Sienna felt her heart press against her ribs like it wanted to flee the moment.
Renna wasn’t finished.
"Your beloved Alpha King," she said, holding up a final piece of forged parchment, "is planning to overthrow her."
The crowd burst into chaos.
That lie hit like a storm.
"Ryder? Overthrow the Queen?"
"He would never, "
"He is cursed, "
"He is dangerous, "
"He used to be our protector, "
"He attacked the council, "
"He is no longer fit, "
"He must be removed, "
Sienna felt her throat lock.
Renna had done it. She had planted fear so deeply that it sprouted instantly.
Elder Theron stepped forward, raising his hands for quiet.
"You have heard what must be spoken aloud," he declared. "Now it is your Queen’s responsibility to choose. The realm cannot survive with divided loyalty. She must rule or fall. And if she chooses to protect a cursed threat, then she forfeits her right to lead."
Sienna lifted her chin. "This is madness. You’re pushing the realm toward a fight it does not need."
"And you," Renna shot back, "are pushing us toward a man who may kill you."
Sienna felt the wind shift behind her. Felt the faint tug of the bond, the curse, the presence she could never fully escape.
Ryder was here.
Watching.
Hurting.
And Renna knew it.
So did Theron.
Both turned slowly toward the far edge of the courtyard.
And Sienna’s breath caught in her lungs as she followed their gaze.
A figure stood beneath the shadow of the tallest stone pillar. Broad shoulders. Dark hair. A power that hummed like a storm wrapped in skin.
Ryder.
His eyes locked on Sienna’s.
Pain flickered through him like fire beneath glass.
Renna smiled.
"Look closely," she whispered loud enough for the crowd to hear. "Your Queen cannot control her own monster."
The entire courtyard inhaled as if the world itself waited for Sienna’s next breath.
But Sienna barely heard them.
All she saw was Ryder.
Not the cursed king.
Not the threat.
Just the man she loved.
The man she knew she would lose tonight.
The man Renna had just placed a target upon.
The torches flickered violently. The air tightened. The crowd surged closer.
And Renna stepped behind Sienna and whispered, her breath ice cold against her ear,
"Choose, Queen. Before he destroys you."
The ground trembled beneath the weight of the moment, and Sienna felt her world narrowing to a single heartbeat.
Because Ryder took one step forward.
And everything exploded into panic.