ATASHA’S POV


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    55 vouchers


    “Mydy, this is the second messenger the council has sent,” Rio said as he handed me a sealed letter. “Each of them insists on seeing the Lord in person.”


    I broke the seal, already knowing what it would contain. The parchment confirmed it, another request for an audience.


    “They want proof he’s fine,” I muttered. It wasn’t difficult to understand why. The council relied on Cassian’s presence to maintain stability. Without him visible, rumors could spread that he was gravely wounded or worse. Doubt like that could fracture their authority, weaken morale among the soldiers, and embolden the enemy.


    It was logical from their perspective. A leader who failed to appear in front of his council, especially during a time of crisis, invited spection. Spection led to whispers, and whispers led to panic.


    Unfortunately, Cassian remained in the same state. He was breathing steady, his body strong, but unresponsive, as though locked in a deep sleep.


    I knew he wasn’t injured anymore. His wounds had closed, his strength hadn’t diminished. Every sign pointed to simple unconsciousness, not death. Yet that distinction would mean little to the council if they couldn’t see him for themselves.


    Before I could decide what to do with the letter, another knock interrupted my thoughts.


    The door opened and a woman stepped inside, dressed in a warrior’s garb with leather tes fitted neatly over a dark tunic, a sword strapped to her hip. Her stride was firm, her chin lifted, but what caught my attention first was her face.


    She was striking, with sharp cheekbones and clear skin that might have belonged to a court beauty rather than a fighter. Yet her hair was cut short, cropped close to her jaw in a style umon for women in the north, giving her a bold and severe air.


    I frowned the moment her eyesnded on me.


    “My father sent me to speak with the Lord,” she said, her tone clipped.


    I raised a brow, but before I could say a word, Rio already butted in. “And aren’t you going to introduce yourself to the Lord’s wife… Miss Reina?”


    This finally drew the woman’s attention. Her sharp eyes slid back to me, and she gave a shallow bow that looked more like a mockery of respect than the real thing.


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    “My name is Reina Morrow,” she said tly. “Eldest daughter of Halden Morrow and the heiress of the Morrow House. My father tasked me to speak with the Lord about logistics for the uing Beast Tide.”


    “You may leave,” I said, my tone firm. “The Lord is not avable to talk to you.”


    Reina’s brow arched high, the corner of her lip twitching into something like amusement. “And who are you to say that?”


    Rio stepped forward immediately, hand resting on the hilt of his sword, but I lifted a hand, stopping him. His jaw tightened, but he obeyed.


    I rose from my chair. “I am his wife,” I said evenly. “His only wife. The Princess Consort.”


    Reina gave a sharp, dismissive snort. Her gaze flicked back to Rio. “Are you really going to draw steel on me over this?<b>” </b>


    Rio’s


    eyes narrowed. His hand didn’t move from his sword. “You wouldn’t know unless you tried,” he said through clenched teeth.


    Reina rolled her eyes, her posture still unshaken. “Keep yourself in check,” she said, her words aimed squarely at me. “You are not the Lady of the North. You are just someone the Lord picked up on his way home. A wolfless omega.” Her tone dripped with disdain. “How dare you speak as though you know his affairs?”


    I let out a slow sigh. I had expected this sooner orter. “The Lord is preparing to travel to the northern outpost today,” I told her. “He is upied. That is all you need to know.”


    “upied?” Reina repeated, her voice sharpening. “I’m not leaving until I see him. My father ordered me to confirm it with my own eyes.”


    My eyes narrowed. “Are you trying to insinuate something?”


    She smirked, lips curling in satisfaction. “It has been days since anyone has seen the Lord leave this cabin. People are starting to wonder. Many are asking if you had something to do with it.”


    My jaw clenched, heat prickling up the back of my neck. Mendez and I agreed to keep Cassian’s state hidden. If word spreads, the enemies will strike. That was the whole point of


    secrecy,


    “rify yourself,” I said.


    Reina tilted her head, her smirk widening. “Oh, I can understand why you’re still alive. You’re a beauty, I’ll give you that. And beauty is rare in this part of the world. That must be why the Lord kept you. But no one forgets who you are, Princess Consort. Wolfless and weak. An


    omega wrapped in a pretty face.”


    I stiffened. The room felt colder.


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    She stepped closer, her boots clicking against the wooden floor. “The Beast Tide is only days. away. Everyone knows the Lord’s presence is vital at the front. Yet he hasn’t been seen. Not in the courtyard. Not at the walls. And when you left the mansion, he vanished with you. Naturally, people are whispering. They say you’ve cursed him with your allure.”


    My hands curled into fists. “Cursed him?”


    “Yes,” Reina said smoothly. “That you’ve bound him, bewitched him, or drugged him. That you wanted him for yourself and kept him locked away. That’s the only way they can make sense of why the great Tyrant Lord hasn’t shown his face.”


    She nced at Rio then back to me, her voice lowering like she was enjoying every word. “Some even wonder if you’ve poisoned him. A southern witch in a consort’s robe.”


    I swallowed hard, my pulse hammering in my ears.


    This was exactly the danger Mendez had warned me about. The longer Cassian stayed hidden, the more people would question his silence, and now Reina stood here, voicing the suspicions I already knew were spreading.


    Before I realized what I was doing, my handshed out. The crack of my palm against Reina’s cheek rang through the room like a whip.


    Her head snapped to the side. For the first time, her smirk vanished.


    The noise must have carried, because the door banged open almost immediately. Two lieutenants stormed in, des drawn. Their movements were sharp, automatic, the steel already pressed against Reina’s neck before she could recover.


    The room tensed.


    Reina froze, her chest rising in shallow breaths as the edge of one sword kissed the hollow of her throat. She lifted her hands slowly, palms out, but her eyes still burned with fury.


    “Stand down,” Reina barked just as Rio stepped between us. His jaw was tight, his hand gripping his hilt, ready if she so much as twitched. “What the hell are you doing!? I am Reina Morrow!”


    Just as I expected, the lieutenants didn’t move. Their eyes stayed locked on Reina, their loyalty fixed not on her bloodline but on Cassian and by extension, me.


    I forced myself to straighten, ignoring the sting in my palm. “She insulted the Lord. She insulted me. And she dared to use me of treachery inside his own hall. Rio… ording to


    thews of the north, how should she be punished?”