His Forsaken Luna-Chapter 78: Aftermath (3)

"Eryx?" I voice before I can fully comprehend what was before me.

My brother, who looked well if not for the shadows under his eyes, rose from the throne, staring down at me from across the hall. I wanted to ask him about where he went, what he witnessed, and if he’d slept at all since returning. It was obvious he had not. That discussion would be on hold until later.

The nobles line the walls, their expressions hard with a rigid set of their shoulders, murmuring their discontent about the Southern Weres and last night’s attack.

The Southern Alpha Prince stood tall in the centre with his Beta by his side. Faidon, for obvious reasons, could not be here.

So, Eryx hadn’t been caught snooping in my brother’s study?

As I stepped closer into the hall, guards closed in on us, and it wasn’t until Kharis protectively stepped in front of me, acting as my shield, that I realised he was the one they wanted.

Then what was this? What is going on?

"Yes, Eryx," Alaric says, confusing me further.

The guards grab Kharis by the arms, and I reach forward as though to stop them, but the Southern Were smiles and gives me a casual shrug. I’m not sure if it calmed like he expected it to.

A palpable tension spread through the room like a storm ready to break, making the air heavy and my pulse quicken. Every noble’s gaze was laced with suspicion, their whispers venomous and unrelenting. They didn’t just disapprove—they radiated hostility.

I allow my mask of neutrality to fall into place. This was no time to act out. There were witnesses, and all eyes fell on us with judgment.

"Brother," my voice grows sharp. "What is this about?"

I ignore the nobles’ hushed words rising about my behaviour towards the Alpha King. I will still play my role as the Princess, but no longer will I act as though that role is nothing more than a title in name only. I was not a slave, a servant or a Lady but a Princess with an Alpha Bloodline.

I’ve proven to myself from years of studying and now even learning to use a crossbow that one doesn’t need a wolf to succeed. It merely made my life harder in a place where Weres rules above all else in a hierarchy power-hungry.

"This is not the time to speak of gossips when we were attacked last night." I gesture behind me as though everyone can see through the palace halls to where the wall is being repaired.

"That is precisely why I am asking you this," Alaric clips back, his voice a slight rumble along the ground, a warning to me. I hold his gaze, trying to decipher the tension in this room and the connection to last night, before dropping my gaze submissively and walking further into the hall.

It is clear Eryx and Cohnal have been here for a while, and when I asked Kharis about his prince’s order, he hesitated about the reason for staying away. It was because they were being interrogated by my brother in front of everyone.

"I will ask again, sister," Alaric says. "Were you with Eryx last night?"

"Everyone saw me with the Alpha Prince last night. He was my escort to the ball..." I trail off when I meet my brother’s eyes again. Oh. I blink back a few times, realising with the slow rise of colour to my cheeks that he is asking if I was alone with Eryx last night.

I briefly glance at the Alpha Prince, but he shows no emotion. The attack flashed across my mind in seconds, reminding me just how small it was and how many Weres were left after the intruder vanished. I’d been taken away before I could see anything else.

From the rising tension in the hall and how Eryx, Cohnal, and now Kharis were kept in the middle of this angry crowd, I know exactly the answer I should give.

"Yes." My gaze flicks back to Alaric, ignoring the slight surprise behind Eryx’s eyes that quickly hardened into neutrality. "I was with Eryx last night until the early hours."

Murmurs rose around us, some claiming their shock at my behaviour while others nodded along as though they wouldn’t expect anything less from the Forsaken Princess.

Alaric’s expression hardened like the stone walls of the hall. He stepped down from the dais, his footsteps creating loud thumps, almost rumbling under his weight as the Alpha blood in him caused everyone along the walls to drop their heads, frozen from the power almost crippling them. It gripped me by the spine, but instead of lowering my head, my blood pulsated like lightning, shot through me and kept my chin levelled.

"I do not believe you," Alaric hissed once he was close to me. His voice hadn’t yet dropped, so it was only a conversation between brother and sister. What was the meaning of this? I glance behind him, noting Eryx’s warriors; they had their heads bowed in respect.

The Alpha Prince didn’t seem affected like my brother’s power bounced off him. He turned and watched Alaric approach me. Those green eyes were sharp, locked on Alaric’s back, ever so watchful and observant.

My chin raised slightly. "Brother?"

"Guards reported you with another Were walking the grounds when the attack happened," he replied quietly, his voice deadly.

That was... surprising, considering most who might have seen us were probably dead. Harsh but true.

"Let us speak of this without an audience," I hissed, holding his gaze. I know my brother was trying to save my virtue in front of the court, but I couldn’t stand by as others were falsely accused of something they hadn’t done. It was obvious what was happening now.

I’d spent most of my life under Deyanira’s reign, accused of countless things while she controlled the court. I couldn’t let the same fate befall those who had saved my life just hours before. Enemy, pawn, whatever, the relationship, I shrugged it off. At least my conscience would be free.

Alaric leans forward, his voice still so quiet. "If he is innocent, the nobles need to hear it for themselves."

If he is innocent?! My fury couldn’t stay contained as I glared in their direction, but Alaric’s low rumbling growl warned me again. I’d slipped and needed to keep a cool head. It was comical that Alaric was silently scolding me over it. He was worse, like all Alphas.

Still, I couldn’t believe they thought Eryx and his men were the ones to attack us!

Well, I could. They were our enemy. We’d been at war for centuries. But we were putting it behind us with this peace treaty!

They were the ones helping! The only ones who came up with a brilliant idea, using their teamwork to wear down whatever that intruder was last night! Didn’t Hanok inform my brother of this? He, too, was there.

No, Alaric was right. Even if he was informed by his Beta of Eryx’s efforts, it was the nobility that needed to be won over. I wanted to share how Eryx and the Southern Weres were truly the heroes of last night, but that would never work with this crowd. One sharp look from the Alpha Prince also halted any efforts from leaving my lips.

"Fine," I speak louder for all to hear. Eryx’s unreadable eyes remained on mine as I spoke our ’truth’. "We shared a nightcap together after the ball, staying up late. When I was a little tipsy, I went for a walk; Kharis," I gestured at him. "he acted as my guard and escorted me back to the palace. It was there we saw the aftermath of what happened to the wall and buildings."

"Lies!" A man shouted, but Alaric’s sharp look quietened them immediately. Nobody else spoke out of turn. They also didn’t go against my words.

"I hope you know what you are doing, Ida," Alaric sighed, scrunching his eyes shut.

My head whips to the side to glare at him. "You know it wasn’t them."

"I cannot have the kingdom falling into chaos. We need to know more about this new threat now before we can disclose it to others," Alaric hisses back. "And then you go and put yourself out there as the number one target. You’ve just branded yourself as Eryx’s mi-"

"Mate." A new voice finishes before Alaric can. Simultaneously, we look to Eryx. I fight my bottom lip from dropping to the ground.

"Your..." I cannot voice the word.

"I thought we should wait until the next ball, but it has come to this." Eryx strode forward, all conceit, power emanating off him as those nearby flinched and backed away. I stood, enthralled by the Southern Were and what else he might spit from those ridiculously kissable lips.

His hand slides around my waist and tugs me into him, his gaze dropping down to me, softening as he spoke to the room. "Princess Idalia Snorravik has agreed to become my mate."