KING ALDRIC KENSINGTON POV:
The mask hit the polished oak of my desk with a wet smack.
Rain lashed against the tall windows of my study in the royal palace, a pale imitation of the fury storming inside me. My inner wolf was snarling, demanding I hunt down that pathetic excuse for an Alpha, Bennett Carlisle, and tear him limb from limb.
I closed my eyes.
Her face appeared behind my lids. Those ice-blue eyes, filled with so much pain, so much humiliation, but still so stubbornly proud.
Celina.
Four years. I had waited four long years. I first saw her in the border forests, a flash of silver hair and fierce determination, and my soul had recognized her instantly. Mine.
But I was fighting for the throne then, my identity a weapon my enemies would have used against her. So I watched in silence as she was bound by that ridiculous political union to protect her pack.
I had to let it happen.
But I did not let it happen. On their wedding night, using means I must keep hidden, I ensured a sudden, urgent summons pulled Bennett from their marriage bed. It was all I could do then. I had to wait for the right moment.
"Playing your mysterious 'Ash' again?"
My Gamma, Gage Knight, strode into the room, his boots silent on the thick carpets.Gage was more than just a Gamma; he was my spymaster, a man raised in the shadows of the royal court whose network of informants spanned the entire continent. He bypassed me and poured himself a generous measure of my best whiskey.
"Is one married Luna really worth all this royal temper, my King?" he asked, his eyebrow raised in amusement.
I spun on him, letting the cold fury bleed into my gaze. "She is not just any Luna, Gage. She is my future Queen."
Gage's hand froze midway to his lips. The mockery vanished from his face, replaced by grim seriousness.
"Aldric, you need to think this through. Stealing a subject's wife... the Elders will never approve."
The Elders. A council of old wolves clinging to tradition.
A cold smile touched my lips. I walked to the massive window, looking down at my kingdom, sleeping under the rain.
"I don't need their approval," I said, my voice low. "I just need a reason. One that leaves them with nothing to say."
My gaze fell back to my desk, to a secret report on the Carlisle Pack's finances. They were drowning in debt, kept afloat only by Celina's dowry.
"Bennett Carlisle is a fool, and his mother, Betsey, is a greedy imbecile. They were given a goddess's treasure and have treated her like dirt."
Gage came to stand beside me, his eyes following my gaze to the report. Understanding dawned on his face. "So, you're going to destroy them?"
"No," I said, shaking my head slowly. The smile on my lips turned sharper, colder. "I'm going to let them destroy themselves."
I reached into my coat and pulled out a small square of silk. It was damp, carrying the faint, sweet scent of lilies that was uniquely Celina's. It was the handkerchief that had fallen from her sleeve. I had picked it up when no one was looking.
I brought it to my nose, inhaling deeply. Her scent was the only thing that could calm the beast raging inside me.
Gage watched me, shaking his head in disbelief. "You're completely insane."
I ignored him, carefully folding the damp silk and placing it in the inner pocket of my tunic, right over my heart.
Where my Luna belonged.
I turned back to him, the Alpha King once more, all emotion locked away behind a mask of cold authority.
"Gage."
"My King."
"I want eyes on the Carlisle estate. Especially on the Omega, Daisey, and her child."
"Want me to arrange an 'accident'?" Gage asked, making a crude slicing motion across his throat.
"No. Not yet," I commanded. "Celina will deal with them herself. My mate doesn't need me to fight her dirtiest battles for her."
My fingers tapped against the signet ring on my thumb, the royal seal of the Kensington line. A quiet, rhythmic sound in the silent room.
"What I need," I said, my voice dropping to a predatory whisper, "is to ensure that when she reaches for a sword, mine is the first one placed in her hand."
Gage understood. He gave a single, sharp nod. "As you wish."
He turned and left, leaving me alone in the vast study.
My eyes were drawn back to the window, my gaze traveling past the rain-slicked rooftops, toward the distant Carlisle estate.
Celina. My mate. Your humiliation will end soon.
I will lay this entire kingdom, and myself, at your feet.
But first, you must become the phoenix I know you are. You must rise from these ashes on your own.
