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CHAPTER 11
~Author's POV~
Rhiannion was the first to leave.
Once the guards escorted her back, the chamber emptied slowly, the elders murmuring amongst themselves as they filed out with sharp glances and tight mouths.
The words "disrespect," "unfit," and "dangerous" lingered in the air like stale smoke.
But the Alphas didn't move.
Not immediately.
Kael remained at the center of the space, back straight, expression unreadable. The silence between the five of them crackled like a fuse waiting for fire.
Then Riven turned toward him.
"What. The. Hell."
Kael didn't answer.
Lucien rose next, crossing his arms. "Tell me you didn't know Seraphina pulled that stunt."
"I didn't," Kael said flatly.
"You picked out the clothes yourself," Talon added in a low but cold voice. "I watched you. You checked every seam like it was battle armour."
"She wouldn't have had access to the east wing delivery unless—" Darian began, then stopped, looking Kael directly in the eye. "Unless you gave her the authority."
Kael's jaw flexed. "I didn't."
"Then you better prove it," Riven snarled. "Because what just happened in there made all five of us look like amateurs. Like we don't know how to handle our own mate."
"I…"
Before Kael could speak further, his brothers narrowed their eyes and Lucien cut in, gesturing toward the door. "So go fix it."
Kael's fists clenched once, and without a word, he turned on his heel and stormed out.
***************
Seraphina's Quarters
Meanwhile, after getting all the clothes from Rhiannon, Seraphina lounged on a velvet chaise, long legs crossed, a silver hairpin clutched between two fingers. She was humming softly to herself when the door slammed open.
Alpha Kael didn't knock. He didn't need to, as any of the alpha could enter any of their mistresses' rooms as they liked.
She sat up straight, the hum dying on her lips.
"Alpha Kael." Her voice turned sweet in an instant. "To what do I owe the pleasure—"
"Where are Rhiannon's clothes?" he cut her off, stepping into the room like a storm rolling in. "The ones I ordered for her. Velvet. Silk. Leather, shoes, jewellery..."
Seraphina blinked once, feigning innocence. "What are you talking about?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about," he growled. "Don't play games with me."
She rose, robes whispering against the floor as she moved toward him. "I… might have admired a few of the pieces. But Kael, she gave them to me. Said she didn't want them. That she wasn't interested in handouts from Alphas."
Kael's brows lowered, his shoulders tightening. "She said that?"
Seraphina nodded smoothly.
"Kael," Seraphina said, her tone all wounded dignity. "If she didn't want them, should I have left them in the hall? She said it herself—'Keep them, I won't wear anything given by men who chain me.' I didn't know you'd be… upset."
She added, eyes wide, "You told me once not to make the pack look divided. I was only trying to help keep things quiet. She told me you were wasting your time, that she wouldn't be bought. She said she'd rather wear the dust from her old room than anything touched by you, especially."
Kael's brow furrowed as he looked keenly at Seraphina, trying to judge whether she was lying.
Her voice softened further, almost pained. "I didn't want to insult you by throwing them away… so I kept them. That's all."
Kael didn't move. Not for a moment.
His mind raced—replaying every look, every carefully timed barb Rhiannon had thrown in the council chamber. Was this a setup? A twisted way to see how far he'd let her fall?
'No. She wouldn't humiliate herself like that unless she had to,' he thought.
Which meant Seraphina was lying. Or at least bending the truth hard enough to snap it.
"I warned you once, Seraphina," Kael stated, voice low and full of warning. "Don't make me do it again."
"Kael—"
Rather than wait for her excuse, he was already walking away.
Seraphina watched him storm out of her room and immediately her anger rose. She had hoped to humiliate Rhiannon but had no idea Rhiannon would report her and have Kael storm in here.
"That bitch. It seems just taking her clothes and shoes wasn't enough. I will ruin her personally."
*************Corridor Outside Seraphina's Chambers
Kael walked fast.
Not storming and not running. Just that tight, clipped pace that said someone had made a mistake, and he wouldn't let it sit.
The door to Seraphina's room hadn't even cooled from slamming behind him as he walked past portraits of former Alphas lining the walls, their painted gazes seeming to follow him.
He didn't care.
His thoughts circled Rhiannon. The way she'd stood there in the council chambers, wrapped in insult and dust and still holding her head high. There had been rage in her, but not desperation. No begging. No breaking.
She had looked like she didn't need a crown.
Because she was already a threat.
And he'd allowed Seraphina to make her look less than that.
'Not again,' he swore to himself. 'Never again.'
A flicker of movement caught his eye. Two maids dusting along the arched corridor froze mid-step when they noticed him approach. One older, head down, already inching backwards. The younger one, barely out of adolescence, looked up just as Kael stopped.
His voice was sharp and low. "You."
She stiffened. "Y-yes, Alpha?"
The younger of the two straightened immediately when she felt Kael's eyes on her.
"Inform Beta Soren. Tell him to order a new set of garments for Rhiannon. Double the quantity. Double the elegance. Delivered to her room only. No one else touches them. Do you understand?"
The maid nodded swiftly as she lowered her gaze. "Yes, Alpha Kael."
"And tell him—he delivers them himself. Today. Before sundown."
"I will. Right away."
She hurried off, skirts brushing the floor.
Kael kept walking, jaw tight.
He hated this feeling—this itch in his skin, the burn of being too late. Of watching a woman who should've been honoured walk into a room wearing an insult like a second skin.
And worse, watching the others look at her like she'd chosen it.
She hadn't.
He should've known better, but something in him wondered if it was her ploy to humiliate them.
Still, the thought of Rhiannon slamming the door in his face made him want to halt or that she might say nothing at all.
But Kael didn't care. She deserved the truth. And he needed to give it before someone else took the right to stand beside her first.
His footsteps echoed through the east wing, cleaner, quieter, further from the rest of the estate. Hers now.
That damn council meeting replayed in his head.
He'd faced wars. Council threats. Power plays from rival packs. But nothing—nothing—had felt like this.
One woman standing in a council room, proud in her humiliation, and somehow making him feel like the one in chains.
The others had turned on him. For once, they were right to.
He turned around the next bend and continued down the hall, every step echoing like a war drum as he made his way towards Rhiannon's room.
Moments later, he stopped in front of her door and didn't hesitate.
Three sharp knocks.
A pause. Then soft footsteps.
The door opened—and there she was. Wrapped in a white towel, skin damp from a bath, her hair wet and hanging over her shoulder. Her eyes met his, unreadable.
Kael didn't let himself look down. He didn't smile. Didn't blink. All he said was, "We need to talk."