Chapter 22

Third Person POV

Asher wandered the edges of the ballroom, noting Julian’s continued absence. Something smug surged through him at the success.

Sienna was still nowhere to be seen. What had happened in her meeting with the King? Unease prickled at the back of his neck.

His uncle was not a good man. He would jump at any opportunity for more power and control, and something wasn’t sitting right with Asher about their meeting.

From the sidelines of the ballroom, Asher catches sight of Sienna, and she’s a mess. Tears stream down her face, strands of her once undone hair falling over her features in an attempt to hide her distress.

He’s ready to tell her everything. Seeing her like that, in pain, so clearly hurting, he wanted to be done with all the lies and secrets.

Their bond was built on so many lies, and it was becoming exhausting.

He makes his way through the crowd, intercepting Sienna along the edges. No one had seemed to notice her yet, and it was better if they didn’t.

“Hey,” Asher said gently, resting his hand on her upper arm. “Let’s step outside.”

He guided her out the door behind them, following a path outside that wove into a small section of very flowered — and somewhat private — gardens.

It seemed no one else was outside, thanks to the cold, so they had the place to themselves. Asher’s eye caught a gazebo covered in vines, a place that offered the most privacy in the whole garden.

They could talk there.

Once he’d settled them underneath the gazebo, Sienna seemed to relax, even just a little bit. Her tears had stopped, though her cheeks remained stained by the trails of so many before.

“What happened?” he asked her softly, his voice slightly pained from seeing her in such a state.

She looked up at him, and something inside him broke apart. Her pain was written clearly all across her face - and it wasn’t just a little pain.

It was the worst pain you could imagine.

“The King, he - ” She looked like she she was at her limit, stress completely cracking her apart.

Curiosity bit at Asher, but he refrained from pressing her.

The King what? he thought to himself. What did he tell you?

Asher sat there next to her, his warmth pressed to hers, an arm gently draped over her shoulder.

And then the dam broke.

“He told me that Prince Alaric has been alive all this time, that he killed my parents because of their loyalty to the crown. He asked me to find the traitors who follow Alaric and out them, hoping it leads us closer to Alaric himself.”

When she looked up at Asher, there was a hatred in her eyes that startled him.

Well, this isn’t good.

“I hate him,” Sienna whispered, and for a moment, Asher thought she meant the King.

But no — of course she meant Prince Alaric.

Me, he thought bitterly.

“The King said Alar- Prince Alaric killed your parents because of their loyalty to the crown?” Asher frowned, his thoughts all yelling over each other.

How did that explanation make any sense? It sounded like a stupid excuse on the King’s part to try and turn Sienna easily to his side.

Clearly my uncle has no real leads on me, Asher chuckled to himself. So he’s pulling at any little string he can to try and draw me out.

Sienna’s next words ripped him from his cocky thoughts.

“I’m going to find him, and kill him.”

Asher’s eyes darted to hers, and he saw only truth in her gaze. She meant those words fully, with all of herself.

Well, this was getting even more complicated.

It didn’t seem to be the time to tell her the truth anymore. In fact, he was starting to doubt he’d ever be able to.

More and more lies…

Lies upon lies upon lies.

“Sienna — ”

“No. This is my decision to make. He deserves to pay for what he did.”

She was completely brainwashed by the King, like so many others had been. Of course she believed what he’d told her - the world had been lied to, assuming the king was a brave warrior who stepped in amidst a great tragedy.

Asher could change all of this right then, in that very moment.

He could tell her the truth, explain who the Lycan King really was — an evil, sadistic man obsessed with power.

So obsessed that he killed his own brother for it.

Sienna would surely believe him over the King, right? She knew he’d been keeping secrets, so it wouldn’t take her by surprise.

He opened his mouth to start, and found no words came out.

He couldn’t do it. She’d just had one bomb go off, so how could he drop another on her so quickly? One that was even worse than the lies of the King.

While Asher did blame himself for Sienna’s parents death, it wasn’t the way the King painted it to be. Of course Asher was an enemy to the kingdom — he was the rightful heir to the throne.

As long as he was alive, he would continue to be a threat. His uncle was starting to realize that now, so he was hunting him down.

He sure was doing a lousy job of it.

Instead of the truth leaving his lips, Asher said, “I’ll stand by you.”

Thus burying himself even deeper into his web of lies.

“You will?” Hope lit up in Sienna’s eyes in a way that shattered something in Asher. Here he sat, the man she hated to her very core, and yet she had no idea.

“I will,” he nodded, opening his mouth to say more when he was interrupted by the sound of a gong in the ballroom.

“That’s the call for the last dance of the evening,” Asher murmured, reaching down to squeeze Sienna’s hand. “Let’s get you cleaned up and out there.”

A few minutes later, after a stop at the bathroom for Sienna, her and Asher strode out onto the dance floor with all the others.

The Alpha’s all congregated to the middle of the room, Lucius in the very center as usual. He commanded attention, after all.

All the couples waited for the King to emerge on the upper balcony, all bowing in sync as he came out, waving so casually to the crowd. Cheers erupted across the room, though Asher was silent, as was Sienna.

Both silent for very different reasons.

Asher watched his uncle stride to the middle of the balcony, looking down on everyone like the scum he saw them as.

“Thank you all so much for being here tonight. This is a celebration of the Alpha’s and all their success, all the hours they put into keeping their packs running,” the King bellowed, fed by the constant applause and praise for him.

“I’d like to dedicate this last dance to our Sienna Hawke, who, like me, was thrust into her position due to a great tragedy. Rest assured, we will find those responsible and make them pay.” The King glanced down towards Asher and Sienna, a chill running up Asher’s spine.

There was no recognition in the King’s gaze, though. He didn’t recognize Asher, because his eyes barely lingered on the two of them at all.

They were dismissed like everyone else, used only as pawns for his greater good.

“And now, let us dance for the final time this evening!” the King hollered, cuing up the music.

Asher took Sienna in his arms as the orchestra started up, tearing his eyes from the looming figure of his uncle. Sienna was tense against his touch, her mind racing.

“We’ll figure this out,” Asher whispered to her, noticing the way her eyes had glazed over.

She would assume he meant this whole ordeal about Prince Alaric killing her parents — but what he really meant was that he would figure out the mess that he had gotten himself so wedged into.