The sudden presence of the gilded document . a formal Royal Marriage License bearing the embossed crest of the Crown and the stylized signatures of Prince Kyon and an empty space for Lord Arion smashed the carefully constructed political calculations of the war room.
A deadly silence descended. The maid, a Beta oblivious to the pheromonal storm, deposited the letter on the desk and scurried out.
Cassian stared at the license, his face turning a dangerous shade of crimson. "He dares," he hissed, the paper crumpling in his fist. "He claims the boy as a ward, and now he claims you as his consort? Publicly? He's making you his legal Queen! His breeding stock!"
Duchess Maeva rushed forward, snatching the license from Cassian's trembling grip. Her eyes scanned the document, and a look of cold, calculating alarm replaced her maternal fury. "This isn't about love, Arion. This is Kyon locking down the Eastern Dominion's political allegiance through marriage, while simultaneously legitimizing your son's presence as Crown Heir through his legal mother."she stated, her voice sharp.
Torvin gripped Arion's shoulder, his alpha scent of smoldering wood spiking with protective rage. "We refuse! We burn the paper and publicly denounce him!"
"No," Arion stated, his voice flat, the realization of Kyon's genius and his malice sinking in. "Kyon isn't giving us an option to refuse. The decree is already public. If we burn this, we are declaring war not just on Kyon, but on the Crown itself, and risking a civil war over a piece of paper. He's cornered us. He's forced my hand."
Cassian, whose initial shock had melted into a calculating frenzy, saw not a setback, but a new opportunity. He watched Arion, now visibly distraught, arguing quietly with his mother. Kyon's move had clearly shaken Arion's fierce resolve.
"Arion," Cassian said, his voice deceptively smooth, "Kyon's move is brilliant, I grant him that. But it confirms one thing: you are the key. If you are his consort and had already produce his heir, he controls the East forever."
Cassian walked to his desk, pulling out a small, ornate vial. a high-concentration pheromone booster and fertility agent. "We need leverage now, before this marriage is formalized. Kyon wants an heir. We give him another one, but one raised under my influence."
Arion looked up, confusion clouding his features. "What are you doing, Cassian?"
"You said you were Kyon's former soldier," Cassian explained, his eyes cold and devoid of all former camaraderie. "A soldier follows orders, Arion. If Kyon's heir is born while he is unstable, the legitimacy falls apart. But if the East's true champion—the former Black Tiger—produces my heir, the momentum shifts back to me."
He moved toward Arion, vial in hand, his Alpha scent of cracked ice and mint suddenly spiking with ruthless dominance. "The East will follow its own bloodline, Arion. I will be your Alpha. You will carry my child. It's the only way to break his claim."
The realization of the sheer, self-serving betrayal hit Arion like a physical blow. Cassian wasn't an ally; he was simply another Alpha looking to possess and use the valuable vessel Kyon had created.
Arion's composure shattered. He let out a sharp, guttural snarl, a sound born of his repressed Alpha core mixed with the defensive rage of his Omega status. "Get away from me, you opportunistic filth!"
He lunged back, slamming his shoulder into Torvin, propelling his brother between himself and the approaching Cassian. Maeva let out a cry of alarm as the small vial shattered on the marble floor, releasing a concentrated cloud of musky, artificial pheromones that instantly stung Arion's sensitive nose.
Torvin, an Alpha, reacted instantly, his scent of smoldering wood flaring up in a protective haze, trying to burn away the synthetic pheromone cloud. "Cassian, stop this madness!"
Arion stumbled back, gripping the desk for support. The brief exposure to the agent was enough to send a sickening wave of heat through his body, causing the mark on his neck to pulse painfully. He fought the primal urge to submit and instead channeled his warrior training, kicking out violently at Cassian's legs.
Cassian dodged, his face contorted in frustrated fury. He had gravely miscalculated the depth of Arion's loyalty and his Alpha resilience. "You ungrateful fool! I am offering you power! Stability!"
"You're offering me a different cage!" Arion spat, clutching his abdomen where the fertility mark throbbed. "You are just like Kyon, but without the honesty! Get out! Get out of my sight!"
***
The fight ended with Cassian retreating, snarling about missed opportunities and Arion's foolish sentimentality. Maeva immediately tended to Arion, administering a calming tea, while Torvin stood guard, his Alpha rage barely contained.
"This changes everything," Arion said once the initial wave of heat subsided. He picked up the scattered pieces of the marriage license. "Cassian cannot be trusted. He will try this again. He only saw me as a means to an heir."
"We must leave here," Torvin urged. "We take Aiden and vanish."
"No," Arion shook his head, looking at the marriage license. "Kyon has outmaneuvered us. The only way to save Aiden now is to play Kyon's game. He wants a political consort and a public acknowledgment of the heir. We give it to him."
Arion picked up the pen and, with a heavy, final stroke, signed the marriage license.
"Arion..."
The air felt thin. Maeva looked at her son, her eyes wide with shock.
Arion gave Maeva a small head nodded .
"He wants me to walk into the Palace and expose him," Arion explained, his voice hollow. "I will. But I won't do it for Cassian's revenge. I will do it to save my son and shatter his perfect life. If I am his legal consort, I have a right to my son. I have a position to protect him from within."
He handed the signed license to his mother. "Mother, take this to the nearest official. Have it formally recorded. Torvin, prepare a message to Prince Lorcan's delegation. We are going to expose Kyon's abduction, exactly as we planned. But we are also going to announce the wedding."
Arion met their horrified gazes, his warrior's resolve returned, colder and sharper than before. "Kyon prepared a beautiful, gilded trap. Now, I will walk into it as his Queen. And I will burn his reign from the inside out."
***
After a while cassian come back , more calm then before. ( he had jerk off before coming ^^)
" my obsession got the better of me." He smile not feeling guilty at all .
" yeah right!" Torvin scoff .
{A while later }
"I'm still worrying" Maeva sigh .
" don't worry mother-" torvin got cut short by Arion.
"And anyway It buys us time. We stall the wedding, citing my need for a 'recovery period' after my ordeal. Cassian, your new duty is to publicly release Lorcan and use that as cover. I am going to the palace to claim my son. I will be your double agent, your viper in the Serpent's nest."
Cassian watched him, a dark, grudging respect mixing with his possessive desire. "You will be watched constantly. He will drug you, Arion. He will try to mark you."
Arion laugh. a cold dry sounds .
"He already did ," Arion agreed, "But he will find that the black tiger of the north is no longer the man he knew. We fight him on his own stage. You secure Lorcan, you secure my family's support, and you prepare for the war that starts the moment Kyon attempts to put a wedding ring on my finger."