Rejected by the King, Protected by Her Alpha Twin Chapter 06

Rejected by the King, Protected by Her Alpha Twin Chapter 06 Buried Truths 

Mother’s fingers dug hard into the hem of my tunic, her voice shaking.

“Selene has lost her mind! “She killed the cub Evelyn carried and plotted to assassinate the alpha king. We locked her in the dungeon to stop her from turning feral.”

“To save her?” I slammed my boot against the stone trapdoor under the altar.

The heavy stone slab crashed open, revealing stone steps leading down into shadow. Thick, damp fumes of blood and silver-rust washed over me, sending my wolf spirit into a wild, roaring frenzy.

I shot a sharp glance at Mother. “Is this what ‘saving’ looks like-leaving people half-dead?”

Her face drained of all color. She moved to block my path when Evelyn shrieked out of nowhere. “Stop looking for her! Selene is already dead!”

Silence fell across the courtyard. I turned slowly toward her.

Evelyn thought she had found my weakness. Malicious glee glinted in her eyes.

“A useless thing with no further purpose does not get to live.”

Caius spun on her, stunned. “What did you just say?”

Evelyn’s smug smile froze. “I… I never imagined she was this fragile…”

I wasted no breath on empty excuses for a corpse.

I-hurled my long sword. The blade grazed Evelyn’s cheek and pinned her to the wooden post behind her. A strand of blood-soaked blonde hair fluttered down as she screamed.

“When I get back, I will cut out your tongue.”

With that, I dove into the hidden passage.

Ronan and his men followed close behind. Black, gritty blasting powder coated every step. He knelt, rubbed a pinch between his fingers, his expression turning grim.

“Blasting powder from dwarven mine workings.”

They planned to blow the whole tunnel the moment anyone stepped inside.

They meant to bury Selene alongside every last scrap of evidence.

“Cut all fuses. Seal every exit.”

pushed deeper into the tunnel.

My sister was still alive.

The steadily mounting pain surging through our twin bond was proof enough.

At the far end of the stone corridor sat a cell. Selene hung in chains from a torture rack

Her head lolled limply forward. Her thin white dress was soaked through with blood. Her right arm hung useless, her legs criss-crossed with wounds from silver-barbed lashes. Barely a faint wisp of her laurel scent lingered in the air.

An elderly warden held a red-hot silver pin, badgering her for answers.

“Give me the full list of private guards. Admit Vesper plotted to seize the alpha king’s throne. Do this, and the future luna might spare your life.”

Selene forced her head up. Her voice was faint, yet unbroken.

“Come… closer.”

Convinced she had finally broken, the warden leaned in, self-satisfied.

Selene spat blood straight in his face. “My sister defended the northern frontier. She saved the entire pack. Torture me a thousand times-she will never be a traitor.”

Rage exploded through the warden. He raised the glowing silver pin, aiming straight for her

eye.

A hand shot out of the dark, locking tight around his wrist.

He whirled around, terror flooding his features. “Who are you?”

“The traitor you’ve been smearing,” I gave him a cold, thin smile. “And the one here to end you.”

I squeezed and crushed the bones in his wrist. His scream barely escaped before I kicked him hard into the silver torture frame.

Ronan and his squad burst into the cell, severed the remaining fuses, and quickly subdued the on-duty guards.

Still, I dared not touch Selene yet.

She weighed almost nothing. Utterly fragile.

It felt like the lightest touch could shatter her in my arms.

iced her chains apart, carefully supported her uninjured left shoulder, and eased her down into my hold.

“Selene.”

Her eyelashes fluttered repeatedly until she finally opened her eyes.

My face slowly registered in her dull, clouded

gaze.

“Vesper?”

“It’s me.”

She stared at me, then lifted her working left hand and pinched my cheek hard.

I did not pull away.

“Does it hurt?” she whispered through tears.

“Terribly.”

“Then this is not a hallucination…”

She buried her face against my chest. The sobs she had held trapped for so long finally broke free.

“Why did you take so long to come for me?”

That short line cut deeper than any silver blade.

I held her tighter, letting her blood soak my tunic.

“I’m so sorry I’m late.”

“No one will ever tear us apart again.”

Footsteps echoed outside the cell.

Caius and his men stormed into the dungeon. The second he saw Selene’s mangled body, he froze. His cedar-scented pheromones spiraled completely out of control.

He knew she had been flogged.

He had given that order himself.

Yet he never knew silver chains had torn her legs raw. He never learned her so-called banishment was only a cover story for Evelyn to lock her away in this secret dungeon.

“I only ordered the lashings.” For the first time, Caius’s voice shook. “Who gave you leave to imprison her down here?”

I kept Selene safe in my arms and pinned him with a cold stare.

“You’re putting on this act now? It’s far too late. “You gave the very first order for those hes. Without your blind indulgence, none of them would have dared torture her like this.

Caius’s mouth fell open, unable to form a single word. At the sound of his voice, Selene’s whole body went rigid.

She clung tight to my tunic, shaking like a frightened cub.

“Sister, don’t let him touch me.”

Caius took one step forward. My sword snapped up, pressed flat against his throat.

“Didn’t you hear her?”

I looked down at the powerful alpha king, a bitter, mocking tilt to my lips.

“Your fated mate finds you repulsive.”

My private guards dragged Evelyn into the dungeon. The instant she saw Selene alive, every trace of color drained from her face.

“Impossible! You were supposed to be-”

She caught her slip and tried to run.

Ronan kicked the back of her knee and forced her to her knees right before Selene.

Curled against my chest, Selene nodded toward a wooden storage cabinet beside the torture

gear.

“Sister, there is a hidden compartment underneath it.”

Ronan split open the false panel. He pulled out a blood-stained medical treatment log and several gold-backed payment slips stamped with the wolf crest of Evelyn’s house.

I flipped the log to its final page.

Evelyn had never carried a royal cub.

Her alleged miscarriage was a complete fraud. She had bribed a healer, using beast blood and forbidden pheromone-boosting drugs to fake the whole incident.

Selene lifted her pale face, her gaze icy as she stared at Evelyn.

“There was no cub. And I never pushed you off the altar.

“You have been lying this entire time.”