Chapter 3 The Queen's Jealousy

LILA

The coronation was a week-long celebration.

Lila spent most of it trying to be invisible. She stood in corners during balls, avoided Adrian's eyes at dinners, and endured Celeste's increasingly sharp comments.

"You look tired, Lila. Are you sleeping well?"

"That dress doesn't suit you. Try the brown one tomorrow."

"Could you smile more? You're making our family look dour."

Nothing Lila did was right.

On the fifth day, Celeste called her to the Queen's chambers.

"We need to talk." Celeste dismissed her ladies-in-waiting. Once alone, she turned on Lila. "What's going on between you and Adrian?"

Lila's blood ran cold. "Nothing. What do you mean?"

"Don't play stupid." Celeste's voice was sharp. "I've watched you two avoid each other all week. You won't even look in the same direction. And Adrian keeps asking servants about your schedule."

"He's just being a good host."

"He barely speaks to me!" The words exploded out. "We've been married a week and my husband treats me like a political obligation. But you? You he notices."

Guilt crashed over Lila. "Celeste, I promise…"

"Do you know what the worst part is?" Celeste paced. "I thought marrying an Alpha King would mean power, respect, maybe even love eventually. Instead, I get a husband who looks at me like I'm a duty he has to endure."

Lila wanted to comfort her but anything she said risked revealing the truth.

"Maybe he just needs time," she tried weakly.

"Time?" Celeste laughed harshly. "We've had a week! A week where he's done his duty exactly twice, both times like he was completing a chore."

The mate bond twisted in Lila's chest. She didn't want to hear this.

"Maybe I should leave," Lila offered quietly. "Go to Moonstone Province. Give you space."

Hope flickered in Celeste's eyes. Then died.

"No. If you leave, people will talk. They'll say the Queen can't even keep her own sister close." She sat heavily. "Just... try to avoid Adrian completely. Maybe if you're not around, he'll finally pay attention to his wife."

"Okay," Lila agreed, even though they were already avoiding each other.

That night, Lila heard them fighting.

Sound carried through the old palace. Celeste's voice rose, shrill with frustration. Adrian's remained low, controlled, but sharp.

"You don't even try!" Celeste shouted.

"I'm doing my duty."

"Your duty? Is that all I am?" Something shattered. Glass, maybe. "I see how you look when she's in the room. Your little sister-in-law. Do you think I'm blind?"

"Celeste, you're being irrational."

"Don't you dare patronize me! I'm your Queen!"

"You're my wife. There's a difference."

Silence. Then Celeste's voice, cold and venomous. "If you won't love me, Adrian, I'll find someone who will."

A door slammed.

Lila pressed her face into her pillow, trying not to hear. Trying not to feel Adrian's emotions through the bond the guilt, frustration, and underneath it all, bone-deep misery.

---

The fight with Celeste left Adrian restless.

He stalked to his study, poured whiskey, and tried to focus on kingdom matters. Trade agreements. Border disputes. Anything but the disaster his marriage was becoming.

Three hours later, his Beta Marcus arrived.

"The council is concerned," Marcus said carefully. "About the Queen."

"What about her?"

"There are... rumors. About her spending time with Lord Garrett. Alone."

Adrian's wolf snarled. Not from jealousy. He felt nothing for Celeste except duty and guilt. But from the political implications.

"How alone?"

"Gardens. Late evening. Multiple times this week." Marcus hesitated. "The servants talk."

Of course they did.

"Keep it quiet," Adrian ordered. "The last thing we need is scandal during coronation week."

Marcus nodded. "And Lady Lila?"

Adrian's head snapped up. "What about her?"

"The staff has noticed your... attention. The rooms you chose for her. How you track her at dinners." Marcus met his eyes. "Whatever this is, Adrian, be careful. The council already questions your marriage. If they suspect…"

"There's nothing to suspect."

"Then stop acting like there is." Marcus's voice was gentle. "I've known you since we were boys. I've never seen you like this. Distracted. Unfocused. Whatever Lady Lila is to you…"

"She's nothing." The lie tasted like poison. "She's my wife's sister. That's all."

Marcus didn't look convinced. "The council wants you to send her away. They think she's a distraction."

"No."

"Adrian…"

"I said no." His voice came out harder than intended. "Celeste requested her presence. Sending Lila away now would insult the Queen."

It was a weak excuse. They both knew it.

Marcus sighed. "Just be careful. You've worked too hard to let politics destroy everything."

After he left, Adrian returned to the window. Lila's chambers were three floors below. He could feel her through the bond—awake, miserable, probably crying into her pillow.

His wolf wanted to go to her. To comfort her. To claim her properly.

His duty demanded he stay away.

The war between them was tearing him apart.

---

LILA

The next morning, Lila woke to find a note slipped under her door.

Stay in your chambers today. Don't ask questions. —A

Adrian's handwriting.

Lila obeyed, spending the day reading. Trying not to wonder what was happening. Trying not to feel the tension radiating through the bond.

Evening came. Then night.

Finally, a knock.

Adrian stood in her doorway, looking exhausted.

"We need to talk," he said.

"You told me to stay in my chambers."

"The council wants you gone. They think you're a distraction." He ran a hand through his hair. "I convinced them to let you stay, but Lila, you have to be more careful. No more dinners. No more public appearances. You stay in this wing."

"So I'm a prisoner now?"

"You're protected." His eyes were fierce. "Because if the council suspects what you are to me, they won't just send you away. They'll use you against me."

The threat hung between them.

"How long?" Lila asked quietly. "How long do I have to hide?"

Adrian's expression was broken. "I don't know. Until Celeste is pregnant. Until the kingdom is stable. Until…"

"Until you can pretend I don't exist?"

"Yes."

The word was a knife.

"Then go," Lila said. "Leave me alone to my prison."

Adrian looked like he wanted to argue. To say something that would make this bearable.

Instead, he left.

And Lila was alone again, trapped in a palace that was supposed to be a sanctuary but felt more like a tomb.