Wolf Princess Sold to the Dragon King

GREYHALL CROSSING - COUNCIL CHAMBER

TWO HOURS LATER

Here’s what you missed on The Real Alphas of Nyros:

What started as a simple blade-pointing argument turned into a diagram on the table with every Alpha’s dagger representing their location when the blades were drawn. That led to a multi-person full crime-scene reconstruction starring fourteen Alphas on the actual chamber floor.

It took thirty minutes for Stepdad to get the circus back in their seats. Will it stick?

Let’s check in.

Absolutely fucking not.

Darwin Blackmoor had already popped out of his seat and was currently demonstrating for the hundredth time his exact body angle when the blades were drawn on Guinevere, proving once-and-for-all that he was a victim of bad optics.

”I also want it on the record that my blade was pointed at the floor the entire time. I have witnesses,” he stated to the chamber.

”You are so full of shit,” Benjamin shot back immediately. ”Everyone outside of one person saw exactly who you were backing. You were also the one who bet me she’d FAIL the rite.”

”I bet you she’d PASS. YOU bet she’d fail. YOU lost. And your blade was pointed at Veilcross, not the floor. I have witnesses too.”

”MY blade was at Veilcross because Veilcross drew on the GIRL.”

”So we agree that Veilcross drew on the girl.”

”I did NOT draw on the—”

”YOU LITERALLY DID,” four Alphas said in unison.

”Luna of Shadowfell AND Queen of Velkaris. That’s who you drew on, Veilcross.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the table, a full debate had broken out over who Guinevere Lunaris was currently fucking. Renwick hated that conversation for approximately seventeen different reasons. But what he really needed was for the entire table to have shut the fuck up two hours ago.

”She’s not crowned in Velkaris at this point in time,” Renwick raised his voice, cutting through all the arguments. ”And she’s also not Luna of Shadowfell. Somebody fucking write that down. This table’s memory makes a goldfish who can’t find its castle look like it has its shit together.”

Stepdad just called the kids dumb and the kids didn’t flinch.

”Now, back to the fucking agenda for the love of the gods,” Renwick continued. ”Wards. Your keeps don’t have them. Shadowfell and Lunaris have a guy who will put them there.”

Reed: As in the guy Nicholas hired. The one Renwick hasn’t spoken a single word to. That guy?

Damon: Yes, that guy.

Reed: Does Renwick even know that guy’s name?

Damon: What do you think?

Stepdad had gotten the group back on track again.

Will it stick?

Not a chance in hell.

The prior saboteur was already mid-sabotage, muscle memory fully engaged.

”Two crowns,” Darwin repeated it back to himself, loud enough for the entire chamber.

Benjamin gave him the once over. ”And you drew on her. A little girl. Disgusting.”

Redmoon pinched the bridge of his nose. ”Here we fucking go.”

”I didn’t draw on her,” Darwin snapped. ”Do you want me to go back to the floor and show you AGAIN?”

”NO,” the entire chamber roared as one: Alphas, Betas, Gammas, and warriors united.

Darwin froze standing like someone unplugged him.

”Good. Now that we’re all on the same page that I did nothing fucking wrong,” he said, dropping back into his seat, ”let’s all accept that Shadowfell and the Dragon King are double-dipping the same wife and get back to the actual issues.”

He turned to Renwick like he had been the sole voice of reason the entire time.

”Double-dipping a QUEEN,” another alpha corrected. ”Wife and queen. The political math looks different, Darwin.”

”Enough,” Renwick clipped. ”One husband. One matebond. Two kings who are fully aware of each other. This is not a conspiracy. This is not a power grab. And if I have to explain the difference between a marriage and a matebond one more time, I’m going to start charging tuition.”

The table did not enroll. It kept talking.

”Shadowfell and Lunaris alone gives him the majority of Nyros. Add the dragons in and we might as well be calling Lunaris our king now.”

”We are. He is running this session.”

”Did Shadowfell approve of this?”

”You are all just jealous that you didn’t think to have your daughters double-dip.”

Reed: They really can’t let the double-dip go. They’re going to argue about this for another hour.

Damon: Wait until they find out it’s actually true.

Reed: Excuse me, WHAT?

Damon: I’ve said too much. Actually no, that was the perfect amount.

Reed:Damon Tavian, what the fuck have you done.

Damon:That is a future-Damon problem.

Reed: Present-Damon just made it a present-Reed problem.

1

Damon: Some doors are better left closed, Reed. I just accidentally opened one. Help me shut it.

Renwick eyed the Old Boys Club like a substitute teacher locking onto the one quiet kid for silent validation that this class is always a complete clusterfuck. Rhetorical question. They’d been at it for over two hours. Redmoon’s face rubber-stamped it again for him.

”She’s queen of two kingdoms and her father is playing both sides.”

”That’s not playing both sides. That’s an auction with two winners.”

”Or two losers who don’t know about each other.”

The table had gone from questioning stepdad’s authority to questioning whether stepdad was building a fucking empire using his daughter as the mortar. Stepdad rubbed his temples completely over this.

Reed: You are an evil genius.

Damon: I don’t know what you are referring to.

Reed: You have been fucking him for six hours and he still hasn’t noticed the condom is inside out.

2

Damon: Renwick offered to take over the council today. I didn’t make him.

Reed: Yes you did. You somehow made this happen. Don’t deny it.

Damon: I would never manipulate an Alpha King into doing exactly what I wanted. That would be wrong. And also really easy.

”Lunaris. Answer this once and for all: did you double-deal your own daughter?”

The question hung in the air. This was the part of the dinner where stepdad realizes the belt isn’t going to work on this many of them at once.

”You’re asking if I double-dealt my daughter. The answer is no. What I did was arrange one marriage. What the Gods did was arrange a matebond. If you have a problem with the overlap, cry about it to your Beta. I have a council to run.”

The room absorbed that the way children absorb a swear word from their stepdad. Shocked, delighted, and absolutely going to repeat it later.

”The Beta was SHOVED in a CLOSET,” Redmoon announced with excess energy, like a children’s book narrator who knew the audience was already lost, trying to yank the room back to the agenda for the fourth goddamn time. ”Stonehowl’s own Beta. MURDERED. Inside this building!”

”His throat was cut,” Renwick confirmed for the table. ”The body was concealed in the Stonehowl wing’s closet and the room was scrubbed.”

”My money’s on the Dark Fae,” Grimscar said. ”If Stonehowl brought them in as allies and the Beta found out, they kill the loose end. End of story.”

”Or Stonehowl did the job himself,” Thornback countered. ”A Beta who learns his Alpha is dealing with the continental enemy is a Beta who becomes a problem.”

The chamber doors slammed open.

Every head turned. Every conversation died. Forty-seven Alphas, their Betas, their Gammas, and every officer in the upper rows locked onto the soldier standing in the doorway.

”Apologies for the interruption, Alphas,” he panted.

His eyes found his Alpha first, Veilcross, giving him the briefest acknowledgment. Then they moved to the upper row.

”Beta Tavian. There’s a situation.”