Chapter 5 MY DECEITFUL FATHER.

Seren’s POV

The world didn't end with a bang. It ended with the wet, sickening thud of a bolt burying itself in the King’s shoulder.

He didn't scream. He didn't even stumble. He just stood there,  shielding me from the man who had raised me and the prince who wanted to own me.

"Father!" Aiden’s voice was a frantic mess of shock and triumph. He scrambled back, his bloody palm still hovering near my face, the ritual half-finished and burning like acid against my skin.

The king turned his head slowly. The bolt was sticking out of his shoulder , the silver tip pulsing with a sickly light that was meant to paralyze an Alpha. But the king wasn't just an Alpha. He was a man who had finally found something worth dying for.

"You missed," He rasped.

His hand shot out, catching Aiden by the throat.

The sound of Aiden’s windpipe groaning under the pressure was the only thing I could hear over the roaring in my ears.

"Stop!" I scrambled backward, my hands scraping against the gravel of the grotto.

He didn't listen. His golden eyes were fixed on the balcony where my father stood, frozen with the empty crossbow in his hands. The king tossed his son aside like a broken doll and began to walk toward the palace wall. Every step he took left a smear of dark blood on the white stone.

"Seren, run!" my father screamed, his voice cracking. He dropped the crossbow and turned to flee, but he wasn't fast enough.

The king didn't use the stairs. He leapt.

He caught the edge of the stone railing,  and hauled himself up. I watched, paralyzed, as he vaulted over the edge.

A sickening crash followed. Then silence.

"No," I whispered, forcing my stiff legs to move. "No, no, no."

I ignored the searing pain in my forehead where Aiden’s blood had touched me. I ignored the chaos of the palace bells. I ran back toward the entrance, my cloak fluttering around me like a funeral shroud.

I reached the balcony just as The king was stepping back into the light. He was alone.

"Where is he?" I asked, my voice trembling.

He didn't answer. He just looked down at his hands. They were covered in fresh blood and it wasn't his.

"He won't hurt you again," was all he said. His voice was hollow. Dead.

My father—the man who sold me, the man who tried to kill me was gone. And the man I was bonded to had done it without a second thought.

"You killed him," I breathed.

"I protected what is mine," he countered, stepping toward me. He reached out with a bloody hand, and I flinched.

He stopped, his hand hanging in the air between us.

I saw the flash of agony in his eyes. It looked like the rejection hurt him more than the silver bolt ever could.

"The Council is regrouping in the throne room," he said, his tone lacking the softness they once held. "My Son is gone, he fled. The kingdom is tearing itself apart, Seren. I need to finish this."

"By killing everyone?" I snapped. "Is that the only way you know how to lead, My king?"

“Call me Draven”

Draven stepped closer, pinning me against the stone railing. He was so close I could feel the heat radiating from his chest, the metallic scent of his blood mixing with the cedarwood.

He smelled like power. He smelled like ruin.

"I led with mercy for twenty-five years, and it landed you on a slab," he hissed, his face inches from mine. "I'm done being merciful. I am going to burn every Mage, every Council member, and every traitor who touched you until there is nothing left but ash."

He leaned in, his lips brushing against the shell of my ear. "And then, I am going to make you my Queen."

"I don't want a throne," I whispered, my heart hammering against my ribs. "I just want to be free."

"You were never free, Seren. You were just waiting for a master who knew your value."

He pulled back, his eyes searching mine for a flicker of the submission the Mages had tried to force. He didn't find it. He found the same defiance that had started this whole mess in the market.

He liked it. I could see the dark, twisted pride in his expression.

"Stay here," he commanded, the Alpha power in his voice making my knees buckle. "If you leave this balcony, I will have the guards lock you in the High Keep until the war is over. Don't test me tonight."

He turned and strode back into the palace, the silver bolt still protruding from his shoulder like a gruesome ornament.

I stood there, shaking, watching him go. The bond was screaming at me to follow him, to protect him, to submit. But the girl from the Outer Wards—the girl who knew the price of a silver coin was telling me to run.

I looked over the edge of the balcony. The gardens were a maze of shadows.

If I stayed, I was a Queen to a monster. If I ran, I was a peasant in a war zone.

I climbed over the railing.

I dropped into the bushes below, the thorns tearing at my cloak, and began to run toward the servant’s gate. I didn't have a plan. I didn't have money. All I had was the burning mark on my forehead and the knowledge that the most powerful man in the world would tear the kingdom apart to find me.

I reached the gate, but it wasn't unguarded.

Aiden stood there, his face bruised and his eyes wild. He wasn't alone. Six Royal Enforcers stood behind him, their swords drawn.

"Going somewhere, Wife?" Aiden sneered.

"Let me go, Aiden. You've already lost."

"Lost? No." He walked toward me, a knife in his hand. "My father thinks the bond is unbreakable. But the Mages told me a secret. A bond only lasts as long as the heart is beating."

He raised the knife.

"If I can't have the power, I'll make sure he lives the rest of his life in the same hell he left me in."

He lunged.

I closed my eyes, waiting for the cold steel. But instead, I heard a howl.

I opened my eyes.

A massive, black wolf—the size of a carriage burst through the stone wall of the gatehouse. Its eyes were molten gold, and its fur was matted with blood.

It wasn't Draven the King. It was Draven the Beast.

The wolf didn't hesitate. It tore through the Enforcers in a blur of fur and teeth. Aiden shrieked, swinging his knife wildly, but the wolf swiped him aside with a paw that could crush a boulder.

Then, the wolf turned on me.

It stalked forward, its breath hot and smelling of raw meat. It unsettled me.

It growled, a sound that vibrated in my teeth. It pinned me against the gate, its massive head lowering until its wet nose touched my neck.

I was terrified. I was disgusted.

And yet, as the beast let out a low whimper and licked the blood from my forehead, I felt a surge of desire so sharp it made my breath hitch.

The beast shifted.

Bones cracked and skin stretched as Draven returned to his human form, naked and covered in the gore of his people. He didn't look ashamed. He looked hungry.

He grabbed my hair, pulling my head back so I had to look at him.

"I told you to stay put," he rasped, his voice more animal than man.

"You killed them all," I whispered.

"I'm just getting started."

He crushed his mouth against mine. It wasn't a kiss; it was a claim. It tasted of salt, iron, and desperation. I fought him for a second, my hands pushing against his bloody chest, but the bond snapped tight. I melted into him, my fingers tangling in his dark hair as I kissed him back with a ferocity that scared me.

He pulled away, his eyes scanning the horizon.

"They're here," he said, his voice dropping.

I looked toward the city. Thousands of torches were winding their way up the hill. The Council had raised the citizen's militia. They weren't just coming for the King.

They were coming with pitchforks and fire for the "Abomination" that had bewitched him.

Draven looked at me, a dark, twisted smile on his lips.

"Ready to be a Queen, Seren? Because tonight, we’re going to give them a reign they'll never forget."