Lilienne
Kaelen walks up to the scene with two other gamma warriors at his sides. I know it's a ruler for the king to have guards with him at all times, but he has never had them follow him inside the palace before.
On second thought, considering how his dark brown eyes keep flashing to Serina, my guess is that this new addition to his palace rules has been made for her.
He brought these guards for her. To protect his new woman. From me.
"What's with all the commotion?" He speaks again, and as if on command, Serina rushes toward him, nearly falling into his strong, muscular arms, outlined by a simple, tight, black shirt.
"Alpha Kaelen!" She wails, fake tears already glistening on the tips of her lashes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make a mistake!"
"A mistake?" My husband raises his brows and gently wraps his fingers around Serina's wrists, but the moment his skin touches hers, the blonde flinches theatrically, sniffling louder as she rubs the same wrist my beta grabbed a few moments ago.
"Aw! It hurts..."
"Who did this?" Kaelen immediately looks at me, which only makes me raise my eyebrows at him in response. Of course, he just had to assume it was me. This is turning into a badly written soap opera.
"It was me, Your Majesty," Melanie steps in, her brows furrowed, her expression dark. "I did it to protect Her Majesty as the rogue was trying to assault her."
"I was not!" Serina yelps, but the moment she realizes that she has shown a bit too many emotions, she turns away and presses her face against my husband's chest, sniffling loudly, her tender shoulders shaking.
"I don't see any signs of attempted assault on the queen," Kaelen notes after his dark eyes scan my appearance for a moment. "Yet Serina's wrist is so red as if it has been roped."
"I just touched her to pull her hand away from my Luna," Melanie insists, nearly rolling her eyes in frustration. "She'll be fine soon."
"She is an omega," Kaelen snaps at her, his eyes burning with fury now. "She does not heal as fast!"
Now, it's my turn to roll my eyes. An omega and a runaway rogue? Even if the Moon Goddess herself blesses this woman to be Kaelen's mate, she will forever be nothing in the eyes of the entire Moonrise Kingdom.
And yet, he is so protective of her, it's embarrassing.
"You are overreacting, Alpha," I finally chime in, barely containing my amusement. "If her condition bothers her so much, I will be more than happy to send her my personal doctor for a checkup. But I doubt her life is in danger from a mere redness around the wrist."
With that, I no longer intend to continue this ridiculous charade. I did not get to talk to Kaelen about my concerns, but I don't have to anymore––this situation alone has told me more than he could have.
So I turn around and gesture for my beta to follow me, but my hurried exit only fuels more irritation in my husband's heart.
"Stop," his voice is quiet but commanding, carrying the regal undertone he usually only uses with the lower wolves. "Your beta made a mistake, she needs to be punished for that."
"What?" I am beginning to lose my patience as well. Punished? This is no longer a soap opera, it's a full-blown circus now.
"No matter the circumstances," Kaelen continues, "your people have no right attacking my people."
"Attack? Don't be ridiculous, Alpha, Melanie did nothing of the sort."
My voice remains just as cool as his, but under the surface, my blood is boiling. I can feel both Melanie's and Kaelen's wolves growling at each other, and although I am appalled by the stupidity of this situation, I know the king will not let this go.
And it sickens me to admit that even if I protest, it's his word against mine. And the king always wins.
"Beta Dawn," I hear Kaelen's voice echo inside my ears as if he's announcing a jail sentence. "By the Alpha King's Royal Order, you will spend the next four days in the detention cell. No food. No water. No wolf. Effective immediately."
"Kaelen!" I no longer know what patience is, while my manners have vaporized like steam. "She is my beta, you cannot––"
"Luna Lilienne!" He barks back using the name he only uses when he is mad at me, and I cower as I sense the suffocating presence of his wolf. "The more you protest, the longer her detention will be. Gamma Milton," he then jerks his chin at the gamma to his right. "Take her to the cell."
I clench my fists at my sides as I watch Milton unceremoniously grab Melanie by the shoulders. It wasn't necessary by any means––if anything, Melanie could snap this man in half if she wanted to. But Kaelen likes the power play. He likes everyone to see it.
But my attention is not on my beta anymore. It's on Serina.
She has been fake sniffling all this time, still pretending to be hurt, but once Kaelen ordered for Melanie to be taken away, I heard it––a faint, almost inaudible snicker; a tiny expression of triumph.
A runaway omega, huh? Rogue or not, but just like Melanie has noted, it looks like her soul is truly filthy.