<b>Chapter </b><b>129 </b>
The war room buzzed with conversations as strategies were discussed and warriors from different territories exchanged updates. Maps, reports, and scouting notes filled the long wooden table.
Among those present was Audrey, one of the kingdom’s most revered warriors–a fierce protector of her people and one of the few who had stood by Luna Eine from the beginning.
Audrey stood tall, arms crossed, her sword resting against the edge of the wall behind her. Her golden–brown hair was pulled into a tight braid, and her eyes, sharp as des, scanned the documents before her. She was focused, but her wolf instincts remained aware of everything around her.
When a faint whisper broke the rhythm of the discussion, she turned sharply.
“Why should we all continue waiting for someone who might never wake?”
Though the words were barely above a whisper, every royal knight and warrior in the room heard them clearly.
Enhanced senses–both a blessing and a curse–made even the softest utterance echo like thunder in their minds.
Audrey turned her head slowly, her gaze locking onto Lady Kiera–the recently rescued Alpha daughter of Alpha Gregory from the Barcelona
territory.
She stood off to the side, thinking she had spoken to herself. Dressed in avish cream gown, her honey–blonde curls cascading over her
shoulders, Kiera had a look of mild irritation on her face.
She continued, still whispering to herself, unaware of how clearly she was being heard: “King Alpha Francesco should move on. He deserves someone beside him who is strong and awake, not someone lying unconscious in bed.”
Silence nketed the room.
Warriors, Betas, strategists–everyone froze.
Audrey’s heart pounded as rage surged through her.
Her wolf growled inside her mind. Her eyes, already narrowed, now glinted with fire.
She took a step forward.
Kiera noticed the attention and looked around, confused by the sudden hush in the room. Her fake smile faltered as she saw the cold, hard
stares directed at her.
Audrey’s boots echoed as she walked out of the war room. But instead of walking away, she turned back and waited outside the chamber.
As Kiera exited the war room momentster, Audrey met her with a re that could freeze blood.
“You should be grateful that Luna Eine helped you all by removing the ck magic at the risk of her life,” Audrey said coldly, her voice low
but razor–sharp.
Kiera blinked, startled, she didn’t aware the she was heard. “I… I didn’t mean-”
“Save it,” Audrey snapped. “You owe your freedom to her. You don’t get to speak of her like that, not even in a whisper.”
Before Kiera could formte a response, Monica appeared–Audrey’s best friend and a trusted healer in the royal household.
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Monica, who had tended to Eine personally, had also heard what was whispered through the link between warriors.
Rumors traveled fast, and Monica stormed through the hallway, eyes zing.
She stood beside Audrey, her jaw clenched. “Please, for the sake of your father, Alpha Gregory, don’t speak or n stupid things anymore, Lady Kiera,” she said, her voice tight with fury.
The young Alpha daughter flushed a deep red, shifting ufortably as other guards, warriors, and even servants in the hall stared at her.
The weight of their silent judgment was crushing.
“You’re lucky he didn’t chomp your head off for speaking such stupidity,” Audrey added, her voice louder now, fueled by sheer rage.
Gasps were heard among those gathered.
The silence that followed was not kind.
Kiera’s eyes widened, ncing from one face to another.
No one came to her defense.
She realized that almost everyone present was fiercely loyal to Luna Eine.
“I… I’m sorry,” Kiera muttered, voice trembling. “I didn’t mean to insult her. I was only thinking out loud.”
“Then keep your thoughts to yourself next time,” Monica said tly.
Audrey said nothing. Her re was enough.
Red–faced, humiliated, and overwhelmed, Kiera turned and bolted down the hallway, heading toward her father’s guest chambers. Her shoes clicked loudly on the stone floor as if running from her own shame..
Monica exhaled slowly and looked at Audrey. “Do you think the King heard that?”
Audrey smirked bitterly. “He didn’t need to. Even if he did, King Alpha Francesco never wastes time on foolish chatter. Not unless someone poses a threat to Luna Eine.”
That night, the castle remained tense.
Rumors spread like wildfire, whispering about the arrogant Alpha daughter who dared insult the King’s mate.
Though King Alpha Francesco said nothing on the matter, his silence held weight. He had seen the shift in the energy of his warriors. He knew.
In his private chambers, Francesco sat beside Eine, holding her hand.
The moonlight bathed her pale skin in silver.
“You still protect this ce even as you sleep,” he whispered, brushing his thumb against her knuckles.
His mind drifted to the war room, to the whispers carried by the wind, to the words Kiera foolishly uttered.
He had heard them–whether by his own acute senses or through the rippling tension of his warriors, it made no difference.
He simply didn’t care.
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Francesco had never paid any attention to silly women fawning over him. He considered such things minor distractions–trivial, meaningless. Kiera’s affection, veiled in her insult, didn’t so much as stir him. He didn’t entertain petty emotions or childish games.
But the moment someone dared to endanger or insult Eine, even passively, the air shifted. And those who served under him knew it.
Francesco wasn’t a man who barked warnings.
He was a man who bit.
He thought of Audrey and Monica–his most loyal people, whose actions reflected his unspoken will.
Their protection of Eine, even in her sleep, only deepened his trust in them.
He would not forget.
And neither would Kiera.
Some lessons came with a bruise.
Others came with silence.
But both left scars.
And Kiera had just earned hers.