Chapter 119

Amelia

The shared supply base smelled of dust and dried grain, the air heavy with the scent of sweat and damp stone. It was one of the few areas where soldiers from both the Haven and the outer bunkers crossed paths, trading lists and crates under the wary eye of guards. I had come looking for medicine ledgers, hoping to sort shortages before they spiraled further out of control. Instead, I turned a corner and froze.

Jenny was pressed against the shelving, Adam’s mouth fused with hers. His hand roamed boldly under her shirt, her fingers tangled in his hair. They weren’t hiding this time. They were flaunting it. A pair of soldiers walked past and looked away quickly, though I saw the smirk one failed to suppress. The whispers spread instantly, prickling along my skin like static.

Jenny broke the kiss first. Her eyes locked onto mine, triumph glittering in them. She tilted her head and gave me a mocking pout, like she pitied me. Then her mouth curved into a blade of a smile. “Did you really think you could ever replace my mother? Poor Amelia. You’re such a little voyeur, standing there gawking. Maybe stick around, you might learn something to keep Father from getting bored of you. Adam says you’re vanilla anyway.”

My chest flared hot, my face prickling. “I don’t think that’s a problem,” I forced out, though my voice shook. “He seems to like it just fine.” Outwardly I stood my ground, but inside Adam’s smug look twisted in my stomach. Vanilla? The memory of Richard fucking me raw in the woods the night before burned behind my eyes. Didn't seem very vanilla to me.

My chest tightened. “Jenny—”

Adam cut in before I could say more, his arm snaking possessively around her waist. He looked straight at me, his expression smug, daring me to speak. “Looks like some things never change,” he said lazily. “Some of us will always know where we belong.”

I wanted to scream, to rip her free from him, but my throat closed. The eyes of staff and soldiers pressed on me from every corner. My silence felt heavier than words. Jenny smirked, satisfied, and leaned back into him as though I were invisible.

“Careful, Amelia,” she added, her voice dripping disdain. “One day the people will see you the way I do. A parasite playing dress-up.”

Richard

From outside the base I caught sight of them leaving together, Jenny tucked against Adam’s side like she belonged there. Rage built in my chest until I thought it would burst. My wolf pushed against the cage of my ribs, demanding I tear him apart.

I imagined grabbing Adam by the throat, slamming him into the wall until the smirk bled off his face. But I forced myself still. If I lunged, if I gave in, it would erupt into scandal. David would seize it, twist it into another narrative of a king unhinged, a father unable to control his own blood. So I stood there, my fists clenched until my knuckles burned, swallowing the roar in my chest. Every heartbeat carved pain deeper, but I endured, because I had no choice.

I caught Amelia’s eyes across the lawn, saw the fury and shame burning there. She wanted me to step in. And gods, I wanted to. But I shook my head just slightly, begging her not to make me choose between my daughter and her in front of so many witnesses. Her jaw tightened, and she turned away, her silence cutting me sharper than Jenny’s betrayal.

Amelia

By the time I returned to my quarters, my stomach was knotted, my hands trembling. Jenny’s words cut sharper than any blade, her voice replaying in my head until I wanted to claw it out. I said nothing, though. I could not bring myself to add to Richard’s pain.

That night, I heard Adam before I saw him. His voice carried down the hall where soldiers and staff lingered. He leaned casually against a column, Jenny beside him, as if the world belonged to them. “You know,” he said smoothly, eyes flicking toward me, “I’m not convinced she’s simply wolfless.” His smirk widened. “There’s more to her than she lets on.”

Silence rippled through the gathering. Whispers tangled like wildfire. My chest hollowed out, my palms clammy. He knew something, or wanted me to believe he did. Either way, the seed of doubt was planted, and I felt it burrow deep. Jenny laughed beside him, tilting her head onto his shoulder like she’d already chosen his side.

Richard

When the halls were quiet again, I found Amelia waiting for me, her eyes searching mine. I wanted to tell her she had nothing to fear, that Adam’s words were empty, but the truth strangled me. My daughter’s laughter still echoed in my head, threaded with Adam’s voice.

“She’s gone, Amelia,” I whispered, the words tearing free before I could stop them. “Jenny is lost to me.” Saying it out loud cracked something open inside me. “I don’t know if I can bring her back. I don’t even know if she wants to come back.”

Her hand found my arm, steady where I was breaking. “You’re not alone in this. You still have me.”

That truth steadied me in a way nothing else could. I pulled her close and kissed her, not with fire but with desperation. She kissed me back, her lips soft, certain, a balm against the wound in my chest.

We fell together into bed, seeking not conquest but connection. Our bodies pressed tight, and for once I didn’t rush. I pinned her wrists above her head, testing, watching her eyes. She gasped, then smiled, her cheeks flushed. “I like this,” she whispered. “I like having you totally in control of me.”

Her words made something primal snap inside me. Still, I hesitated. “Amelia—”

“Please,” she begged, tugging against my grip. “Please don’t stop. I want this.”

I let the tie from my collar slip free and bound her wrists to the headboard, the fabric pulling snug. She squirmed, not in protest but with need, her thighs clenching around me. “You’re beautiful like this,” I murmured, kissing her throat. “Completely mine.”

She blushed deeper, her breath coming fast. “I really want this, Richard. I want to surrender to you. Just don’t keep shutting me out when it’s your turn.”

Her words struck me harder than I let her see. I held her bound wrists and thrust into her slowly, my lips against her ear. She was giving me everything, letting me see her open, unguarded, desperate for me to take all of her. And I wanted to give the same in return.

I wanted to pour every fear, every weakness, every regret into her hands. But the thought froze me. What if I gave her that much of me and she saw what I really was underneath the Alpha King? What if she realized I wasn’t strong enough, not for her, not for this kingdom? My chest tightened with the weight of it.

She moaned under me, her head tipping back, wrists straining against the tie. Each sound she made dragged me further from my thoughts, forcing me to stay with her body, with her trust. I kissed her throat and whispered, “I’ve got you. All of you.” But inside, I wrestled with myself. Could I let her hold me the way I held her? Could I risk that kind of surrender?

The sex was tender, slower than our usual fire, but charged with something different. Every plea she made, every shiver in her voice, told me she craved the surrender as much as the touch. And though fear still lingered in me, I worked through it, because she was begging me to. She gave me everything, and all she asked was that one day, I let her hold me the same way.

When she came, she was panting, incoherent, her wrists straining against the tie as she cried my name. I followed soon after, releasing her hands and gathering her against me. Her wrists were red where the fabric had held, and I kissed them.

Even as the kingdom fractured and my daughter slipped further from me, Amelia was still here, binding me back together with her trust. And I knew the day was coming when she would demand the same surrender from me. And I prayed I would be strong enough to give it.