Chapter 85: Begin The Feast

Chapter 85: Begin The Feast REED POV The castle loomed against the dusk—just as cold and regal as I remembered. Grey towers spiraled into a bruised sky, and the ancestral scent of pine, steel, and blood drifted through the heavy gates like ghosts coming home. The gates of the Alpha Palace loomed ahead like the open jaws of some ancient beast. Stone walls ran jagged through the mountain’s edge, old magic humming in every crack. Wolves lined the entrance, warriors in full ceremonial armor, bearing crests of their bloodlines—packs from every corner of the territory. Some bowed as I passed. Others watched. Measured. I didn’t care. I wasn’t here to play prince. The guards parted as I crossed the threshold, my boots thudding against polished black stone, echoes of my return ringing through the great hall. My boots echoed down the stone corridor leading to the throne chamber, flanked by banners of my lineage—each one baring the silver crest of the Crescent Fang Pack. Father would be in his seat, as always. Watching. Waiting. I didn’t come for the ceremony. I came for a conversation. The double doors creaked open. Two sentinels stood at attention, their eyes dropping respectfully. The scent of age-old power struck me first—and then, the man himself. Alpha King Thorne. My father. He sat on the raised dais of ironwood and stone, tall and broad in his ceremonial armor. Despite the grey threading his hair, his presence filled the room like thunder. His sharp gaze snapped to mine—and then softened. "Reed." His voice was gravel and warmth. "I was just about to summon you." I offered a tight nod. "I figured. Thought I’d beat the summons." My father—the Alpha King—strode from the council chamber, broad and still impossibly powerful for a man his age. His golden hair had silvered with time, but his presence was undiminished. The wolves flanking him dropped to one knee. I didn’t. He pulled me into a crushing embrace. "I was just about to summon you," he said, stepping back with a proud grin. "Your blood must have heard the call." "I didn’t come for the ceremony," I said lowly, eyes flicking to the distant stone balconies above. "I need to talk to you. It’s important. It’s about—" Before I could finish, a familiar voice cut through our moment like a blade. "Your Majesty!" It was Gamma Leo, my father’s most trusted advisor—an old wolf with a spine of steel and eyes sharp as an eagle’s. He bowed. "The wolves have gathered. All who could make the journey are here." Father’s expression shifted instantly, the weight of duty falling into place like armor. "Already?" he muttered. "I thought the ceremony was scheduled for dusk." "They came early," Leo said My father exhaled, nodding with a heavy sense of duty. "Good. The full moon waits for no wolf." Leo continued, glancing briefly at me. "The she-wolves have assembled as well. Those of age are anticipating the appearance of your heir, my king. Many believe he may be their fated mate." I stiffened. My father only chuckled. I clenched my jaw. Leo continued, oblivious. "Other wolves have gathered too—young males looking to find their own mates among the invited females. And the warriors from the outer packs have arrived to represent their regions in the Alpha Hunt." They await your address." Of course they did. Father turned to me, his eyes glinting with amused pride. "It seems fate won’t let us linger in private today." I hesitated. My voice caught just behind my tongue. I have to tell him about her. About Clause. About the bond that defied every law of our kind. But Leo was still there. And Father was already gripping my shoulder. "Father," I tried again, low and urgent. "There’s something I have to tell you. In private. It’s not for their ears." I nodded toward the balconies, where courtiers lingered like vultures. But my father was already turning away. "Later, Reed. Duty first. The people need to see their prince." He clapped a hand on my shoulder, dragging me forward. "Come now. They’ll tear down the mountain if we keep them waiting." I clenched my jaw, biting back a curse. I couldn’t say it here. Not with every ear twitching to catch gossip. Not with this many wolves present who’d lose their minds knowing their future Alpha’s mate... was human. And not just human—missing. Taken. "Come, Reed," he said, dragging me forward with a force I couldn’t deny. "Your future waits." No. Mine is locked in a cage back in the forest, I thought bitterly. And no one here knows it but me. He led me through the long corridor toward the ceremonial courtyard, his voice booming as he greeted warriors, betas, deltas, even old bloodlines long thought extinct. But all I could feel were the walls closing in. The smell of anxious anticipation hung heavy in the air—heat, musk, perfume, desperation. And then— We entered the clearing. Hundreds of wolves, both shifted and human-shaped, filled the grand stone amphitheater beneath the night sky. The moon hung low—waxing toward full. Fires blazed in great braziers, casting flickering light across marble columns and banners bearing the crest of the Alpha Line. The ceremonial hall was flooded with wolves when we entered. Music thudded like distant drums, and torches cast flickering shadows across the great stone walls. The scent of perfume, sweat, and sharpened steel swirled in the air. And then they turned. All of them. Eyes. Hundreds of golden, silver, and hazel wolf eyes fixed on me. Some were curious. Some hungry. Some calculating. The she-wolves stepped forward as one, their dresses glittering like starlight over their curves. Each one marked from high lineage—each one trained to believe the Alpha King’s heir might be theirs. One even stepped toward me—dark hair, cruel mouth. Her scent was thick, her aura pressing. Father grinned and raised a hand to the crowd. The she-wolves. Painted and perfumed, cloaked in silks that revealed more than they hid. All of them watching me. Measuring me. Sniffing for fate. Hoping to feel the tingle of a bond that didn’t—and wouldn’t—exist. Because my bond already belonged to someone else. My father raised his arms, and the amphitheater fell silent. "Wolves of the Blood Crescent, I welcome you!" he roared. "Tonight, we honor the ancient laws—the bonds of mates, the strength of packs, the fury of the hunt! Let the ceremonies begin!" Cheers echoed like thunder. Growls, howls, fists raised. And before I could move, he was gone. The moment the opening rites were done, my father vanished into the upper halls to speak with the Elders, leaving me standing on the ceremonial dais. Alone. Just like that. Leaving me in the wolves’ den. The she-wolf who’d stepped forward was suddenly by my side. "I’ve waited years for this," she purred. I took a step back. "You may wait a few more." But they kept coming. Corners of the hall that once felt like home now pressed like cages. Each conversation, each flirtation, each brush of a manicured hand was a trap. I couldn’t breathe. They came then—like shadows. The she-wolves. Not just one or two, but dozens. Beautiful, lethal, determined. Some smiled. Others prowled. I dodged questions. Avoided touches. Every breath was an effort. Every time I moved, another blocked my path. "Your scent is so strong," one murmured. "Do you feel it?" another asked. "The bond?" "Maybe you’re just nervous," a third said, fingers brushing my arm. "Let me ease you..." I bared my teeth. "Back off." But they didn’t. They circled. They crowded. Because while they fought for my attention, my mate—my human mate—was locked away in danger. And no one here could know. Not yet. And the longer I waited to tell my father the truth, the more tangled this would become. I needed the right moment. But with every corner I turned, another she-wolf was waiting. And all the while, my thoughts screamed of her. Clause. Small, stubborn, furious Clause who had vanished under my watch. Who I had rejected, only to realize too late she was mine. My fated mate. My soul. And now I stood surrounded by wolves who didn’t understand that I had already chosen. My heart had chosen her, no matter how much bloodline, law, or tradition said otherwise. But how could I tell them?How could I tell my father?How could I explain the storm inside me while pretending to be their future king? I needed to escape.I needed to breathe. But the wolves only pressed closer. I knew I was going to snap. The minute the third she-wolf in ten minutes pressed her cleavage into my arm and called me "future king" like it was foreplay, something in me frayed. I’d tried—tried to smile, nod, keep my mouth shut and my temper buried where the court couldn’t see it. But I could feel it building—like thunder under my skin. Leo saw it too. Gamma of the Crescent Fang Pack. My second. My leash, apparently. He’d been watching me from the edge of the ceremonial floor, his arms folded, mouth tight, that calculating glint in his eyes. He saw the flicker in my jaw, the twitch in my fingers, the slight shift in my stance. Leo always knew when I was about to lose it. He read me like wolves read weather: instinctively and with dread. I didn’t shout. I didn’t throw a drink or bare my teeth. But when the fourth one tried to claim me with her tongue and giggle, I turned so fast she flinched. The glare I gave her sent her stumbling back into her friends, who blinked like deer who’d finally seen the gun barrel. The tension in the room thickened instantly. I should have been out there. Searching. Tearing the world apart. Instead, I was dodging daughters of Alphas with too much perfume and too little soul. And Leo moved. He moved in like a shadow, sharp and deliberate. "Ladies," he said smoothly, bowing. "The prince has had a long journey. Surely you’ll allow him a moment to breathe." They protested, of course. Pouted. Whined. One even dared to say, "We haven’t even sniffed him properly yet." Leo smiled like he didn’t want to smack the arrogance out of her. "Royal affairs await. The Alpha King will make sure you all get your moment." He turned to me, his tone dropping to something only I could hear. "Let’s go. Now." I didn’t argue. Didn’t thank him either. Done with the perfume-drenched cattle parade. Done pretending that I didn’t want to rip through this entire masquerade and tear every banner down until they gave me back what mattered. Clause. Leo steered me toward the side doors of the hall like we were going for air. A few noticed. Most didn’t. We slipped out into the side corridor, torches crackling against ancient stone, the cold air biting harder than expected. I shook his hand off my arm. "You think I’d actually kill one of them?" I asked. Leo looked at me. "No. But you’d scare the hell out of them. And that’s just as bad when their daddies are watching." "They think I care about publicity?" "They think you care about being Alpha King," he said flatly. I turned on him. "Do I look like I care about titles right now?" "No." He crossed his arms. "You look like you’re about to burn this entire castle down." "Maybe I should." He held my stare, calm, annoyingly calm. "Your father’s trying to maintain peace between the packs. That means politics. That means alliances. That means not lunging at alpha daughters who throw themselves at you like heat-starved dogs." I growled low in my throat. "Then maybe they shouldn’t throw themselves." Leo sighed. "Look, Reed. I’m not here to defend them. I’m here to stop you from becoming a scandal." I laughed, cold. "Is that what this is now? Babysitting duty?" "Your father ordered me to follow you." I froze. "What?" Leo didn’t flinch. "He said if I let you out of my sight, and you ran off or did something stupid, it’d be my head. So, yeah. I’m following you." I stared at him. I stared at him. "So what, you’re my fucking babysitter now?" Leo didn’t flinch. "No. I’m your damage control." My hands balled into fists. "This is bullshit." "You think I don’t agree?" Leo’s voice was low, sharp. "You think I don’t see you vibrating like a ticking bomb?" "I don’t have time for this," I growled. Then at the far hallway that led toward the throne chamber—toward the only man in this damn place who could override the rest of this charade. The only one who might understand why I needed to leave, now. Before Clause disappeared for good. I started walking. Leo followed. I stopped. Raised an eyebrow. "Still coming?" I asked, voice low and deadly. He met my gaze, cool and unshaken. "Still under orders." I rolled my eyes. "So I can’t even talk to my father alone now?" "He’s in meetings. The high seers. The southern pack envoys. All of them are here. He barely has time to breathe, let alone talk about your... mood." "My mood?" I echoed, voice rising. Leo held up a hand. "Don’t twist it. I’m just saying—he’s not free right now." "I don’t give a damn if he’s free," I snapped. "He should make time. He should’ve made time the moment I walked into that cursed hall."