After My Mate Betrayed, I Fought Back Chapter 04

After My Mate Betrayed, I Fought Back Chapter 04

As I stood in the center of the circle, my mind-link call echoed silently through the pack bonds. Not the limited, local links that most wolves used to communicate within their packs, but the specialized, encrypted Royal frequency that only those with clearance could access. I sent the signal again, a repeating pattern that would trigger immediate action from my team.

Several of the guard-rank wolves around the circle suddenly stiffened, their heads tilting slightly as if hearing a distant sound. One-a muscular Delta with scars across his forearms-frowned

deeply, his nostrils flaring as he tried to identify what had changed in the atmosphere.

“Something’s wrong,” he muttered to his companion, who merely shrugged it off.

“Just get on with it,” Madison snapped, noticing the subtle shift in the room’s energy. Her fingers dug into Dylan’s arm, leaving crescent-shaped marks on his skin. “Begin the rejection ceremony

now.”

Dylan stepped forward, his face a mask of cruel satisfaction. “I, Dylan Blackwood, Beta of the

Moonveil Pack-”

He never finished the sentence.

A wave of pure, undiluted power swept through the hall like a physical force, causing every wolf present to stiffen. The doors to the main hall burst open, and the crowd parted involuntarily, wolves dropping to their knees not by choice but by instinct.

He entered without fanfare or announcement-a tall figure dressed in impeccable black, his movements fluid and predatory. Prince Lucas Nightshade, son of the Lycan King, heir to the throne that ruled over all packs. His aura rolled before him like a tide of midnight, forcing heads to bow and necks to bare in instinctive submission.

I remained standing, the only wolf in the room besides the Prince himself who didn’t drop to a subservient posture.

His obsidian eyes swept the room once before landing on me. What happened next sent shockwaves through the gathered wolves.

Prince Lucas Nightshade, royal heir and one of the most powerful Alphas in existence, inclined his head to me in a gesture of respect.

“Guard Blackwood,” he said, his voice deep and commanding yet tinged with deference.

A collective gasp rippled through the hall. Madison’s face drained of color, her mouth opening

and closing wordlessly as she struggled to process what she was seeing. Dylan remained frozen, his eyes darting between the Prince and me with growing horror.

“Your Highness,” I acknowledged with a slight nod, no longer bothering to keep my voice meek or my posture submissive. “Your timing is impeccable.”

A ghost of a smile touched his lips before his expression hardened as he turned toward Madison and Dylan. “You speak of rejection in my presence?”

The question cut through the hall like a blade, silencing even the whispers. Madison dropped to her knees fully now, her forehead nearly touching the marble floor.

“Y-Your Highness,” she stammered, all her previous confidence evaporated. “We didn’t know- we were just-it’s a private pack matter-”

“Private?” Prince Lucas’s voice was dangerously soft. “You summoned representatives from four neighboring packs to witness what you called a ‘humiliation.’ That hardly seems private.”

Dylan trembled visibly, his face ashen. “My Prince, there’s been a misunderstanding. We didn’t know Aria was-” He stopped, clearly unsure what exactly I was to warrant such respect from royalty.

The Prince’s gaze returned to me, a silent question in his eyes. I gave him an almost imperceptible nod, granting permission for what was to come.

“Perhaps,” Prince Lucas said, addressing the entire hall now, “it’s time for proper introductions.”

The wolves around us remained frozen in shock and growing fear, finally beginning to understand that they had not gathered to witness my downfall, but rather the beginning of their

own.

As the Prince took a step toward me, I felt my carefully constructed facade finally begin to crumble. The meek, unremarkable Aria Blackwood was disappearing with each passing second, revealing glimpses of who I truly was beneath-and the reckoning that was about to unfold.