Chapter 34 The King’s In-laws
Adrian’s POV
A slow, vicious smile spread across my lips as I looked from the army spilling into my throne room to King Ariston standing like the warlord he wished he was…fully clad in battle armor polished to a gleam, fur cloak snapping behind him as though he’d been waiting for this exact day his entire life.
Striding in beside him, one obedient step behind, was his Queen.
She looked every inch the typical northern Queen I’ve heard stories about…eyes down, shoulders curved inward, hands clasped so tightly her knuckles went white.
I could smell the restraint rolling off her in waves…years of swallowed words, bitten tongues, practiced silence.
The poor woman was a heartbeat away from snapping, and when she did…gods help the North. Ariston would finally meet a queen’s fury, and it would not be pretty.
Flanking them were their three sons…tall, broad, identical scowls carved into faces that screamed privilege and entitlement.
I didn’t bother learning their names. They were carbon copies of their father…same arrogant tilt of the chin, same hunger in their eyes. Whatever scheme had dragged them here two days early, they were all in on it.
The heavy doors boomed shut behind the last guard. Twenty-five wolves in full armor. In my palace.
The queen of Ravaryn stepped forward first, gloved hand trembling as she reached for mine. She bowed low, reverent, voice soft as falling snow.
“Your Majesty.” Her fingers brushed mine, cool and desperate. “Please…where is my daughter? Where is Arabella?”
Before I could answer, Ariston’s voice cracked like a whip. “Selene. Position.”
She froze mid-bow.
“How dare you move when I have not given the word,” he snarled, low and venomous. “Know your place, woman.”
The queen flinched, a full-body shudder, but she straightened and stepped back behind him without another sound. The princes didn’t even blink.
He dared to raise his voice at her in my presence?
I snarled, fangs flashing long and deadly. The sound rolled through the hall like a landslide. Ariston’s gaze dropped instantly.
I took the queen’s hand anyway…gentle, deliberate…and patted it once before letting it fall.
“Ariston,” I said, voice deceptively calm, “you were supposed to arrive tomorrow. The North to the Central Palace is two full days’ ride, even at breakneck speed. That means you left before you ever sent that polite little message. Care to explain why?”
I stepped closer, slowly, eating the distance between us until I towered over him. He had to crane his neck to meet my eyes.
He opened his mouth. A stutter slipped out…pathetic…then he cleared his throat, squared his shoulders, and tried again.
“When…when we noticed our daughter’s Vyris had withered, we left immediately. I was—” His voice cracked again. He hated that I heard it. “I was anxious that the truth about her whereabouts might be hidden from me. I wanted to pay the Central Palace a surprise visit and—”
I raised one hand. He shut up like I’d sewn his lips together.
“Is that why you brought an army to my home?” My voice dropped to a growl that rattled the stained-glass windows. “Do you have plans to rebel against me, dear father-in-law?”
His eyes darted everywhere…ceiling, floor, his own boots…anywhere but me.
One of his guards shifted into a battle stance, hand on his sword.
Wrong move.
I lunged. One heartbeat he was breathing, the next his still-beating heart was in my fist, blood pouring between my fingers like warm wine. I let the body drop. Let the heart fall with a wet slap right onto Ariston’s polished boots.
Silence. Absolute. You could have heard a snowflake land.
I lifted my blood-slick hand, crooked a finger at the nearest northern soldier. He ran to me like his legs weren’t his own.
I wiped my palm across his pristine silver attire, slow, deliberate…cleaning every drop, every smear, even the stubborn bits under my nails. The man stood rigid, trembling, eyes forward, terrified to even breathe too loud.
Only when my hand was spotless did I turn back, lazy, almost bored.
“Whoof. Been a minute since I did that in my own throne room.” I smiled wide enough to show fang.
“Forgive me, my beloved in-laws. My wolf gets… rattled when surrounded by supposed traitors. I’m sure that’s no news. You northerners still tell the bedtime stories about me to your pups, don’t you? How beastly the Draven king can be?”
A ripple of fear rolled through their midst, and I exhaled in the sheer pleasure of it.
In the space of a single breath, my own warriors came rolling in through the door…black-clad elites ringing the hall, claws drawn, eyes glowing gold.
Omegas in gray darted forward with buckets and rags, silently scrubbing the blood from the marble like it had never been there.
I spread my arms dramatically. “Listen, Ariston. You wound me. Here I was, preparing a feast, flower arrangements, musicians…and you give me this lifetime surprise? That’s just rude.”
I turned to Margaret and her little gaggle of vipers still cowering near the dais. “Am I wrong, Aunt?”
Margaret swallowed, managed a jerky nod. The councilmen behind her grunted agreement like frightened cattle.
Queen Selene’s voice broke the silence, small and raw. “I just want to see my daughter…please.”
Ariston stepped forward, chin high, trying to salvage dignity. “Your majesty, I’m sorry that my sudden arrival seems like a threat to you. We just want to see Arabella. I’m only a father worried about his—”
My hand was around his throat before he finished the sentence. I lifted him clean off the ground with one arm, boots kicking uselessly. His sons lunged in defense but Matteo intercepted them, a wall of muscle and fangs, and the princes skidded to a halt.
I brought Ariston’s face level with mine. “You said I see you as a threat,” I whispered, loud enough for every soul in the room to hear. “You? I could erase the North before dinner today. Scatter your pack like leaves. And no one…no one…would dare question me.” I let that sink in, watched his eyes bulge. “Yet you march an army into my throne room and have the balls to act offended when I react?”
The queen sobbed, hands pressed to her mouth and that snapped my wolf back.
I sighed, obviously bored, lowered him gently…almost tenderly…and smoothed his cloak like a doting son-in-law.
“You’re family,” I said, smiling again. “Forgive my manners. Allow me to welcome you properly.”
I turned to Matteo. “Escort the princess’s family to the grand hall. Feast will be served immediately.”
Already I was mind-linking Thomas to instruct every chef, every servant to drop whatever they’re doing, slaughter the fattened calves, roll out the winter wine, light every chandelier and prepare for the feast.
I faced the northern delegation again with a forced smile. “We were preparing something grander for tomorrow, but since you’re here early…we’ll improvise. Please, follow Matteo to the hall.”
Queen Selene opened her mouth… “My daughter—”
“Will join us shortly,” I cut in, smile sharpening. “My queen is…resting. You’ll see her at dinner. Now—” I leaned in close to Ariston, voice velvet over steel.
“Family shouldn’t visit with war in mind. Next time you bring soldiers to my door without invitation, I won’t stop at one heart. I’ll teach you a lesson the North will recite for centuries. Understood?”
Ariston managed a stiff nod.
“Good.” I clapped my hands once. “Off you go.”
Matteo herded them out like sheep. The doors boomed shut again.
Silence fell as I turned slowly to the other upcoming traitors still clustered by the corner.
Margaret. Levi. Fenwick. Harrington.
“Now,” I snarled, letting every ounce of predator bleed into my voice, “where were we?”
They cowered. All except Levi.
He straightened his spine, met my eyes…foolish or brave, I hadn’t decided yet…and said, “You leave me no choice, cousin.” His voice rang clear. “If you must know…I have a mate and as such, I must decline the arrangement.”
Margaret whipped toward him, face white with fury. “Levi. Don’t.”
Too late.
The words detonated between us like a war drum.
A mate?
All of a sudden?
My smile came back…slowly and utterly delighted.
“Well then,” I said softly. “This just became so much more interesting.”