Chapter 18: The Palace Under Siege

Another explosion shook the palace.

The chandeliers trembled overhead, and fragments of stone fell from the ceiling.

“Everyone stay back!” the royal guards shouted.

Emmett immediately moved in front of me.

Elias stood at my other side, his wolf already pressing against the surface of his skin.

King Dominic remained remarkably calm.

“Seal the eastern wing.”

The guards rushed to obey.

A moment later, the palace doors burst open.

Several masked wolves stormed into the entrance hall.

They moved with military precision, striking the royal guards before anyone could react.

“They're not ordinary assassins,” Emmett said.

I watched the attackers carefully.

Their movements were familiar.

Too familiar.

“They've trained with royal guards,” I whispered.

Emmett glanced at me.

“You're right.”

One attacker suddenly shouted, “Take the girl alive!”

My blood ran cold.

They weren't here to kill me.

They wanted me alive.

Emmett's eyes darkened.

“That changes things.”

He stepped forward.

His Alpha presence exploded through the hall.

Several attackers immediately dropped to their knees.

The strongest among them resisted, but Emmett crossed the distance in seconds and slammed him against a pillar.

“Who sent you?”

The man refused to answer.

Elias shifted beside me.

His wolf emerged, powerful and silver-eyed.

The sight stunned me.

His wolf looked almost identical to mine.

For a moment, I felt something inside me respond.

A strange connection formed between us.

Brother and sister.

Same blood.

Same power.

Then one of the attackers broke through the guards and rushed toward me.

I raised my hands instinctively.

A silver barrier erupted around my body.

The attacker slammed into it and was thrown backward.

Everyone froze.

I stared at my hands.

The barrier slowly faded.

Elias looked at me in shock.

“You've awakened.”

I shook my head.

“I didn't do that intentionally.”

“You don't have to.”

His expression was almost proud.

“Your wolf knows how to protect you.”

Another attacker suddenly threw a blade toward me.

Emmett caught it in midair.

His eyes turned murderous.

“No one touches my mate.”

The words echoed through the hall.

He advanced on the remaining attackers, and within minutes the palace guards had subdued them.

The attack was over.

But something felt wrong.

I looked around the damaged entrance hall.

The attackers had been strong enough to breach the royal palace.

Yet they had deliberately avoided killing anyone important.

They had come for information.

Or for me.

King Dominic approached the captured leader.

“Remove his mask.”

The guards obeyed.

I recognized him immediately.

He was one of the royal security officers who had greeted us earlier that morning.

My stomach dropped.

“He's one of yours.”

King Dominic's face hardened.

“He was.”

The officer laughed.

“You were always too trusting, Your Majesty.”

Emmett grabbed him by the collar.

“Where is Marcus Hale?”

The man's smile disappeared.

“You're too late.”

“What did you do with him?”

“Nothing.”

He looked toward me.

“Marcus wasn't the one giving orders.”

Silence filled the hall.

King Dominic stepped closer.

“Then who was?”

The officer's eyes shifted toward the throne room.

“Someone who has been sitting beside you for years.”

The king's expression changed.

He immediately turned toward the guards.

“Lock the throne room.”

But before the guards could move, a voice came from the corridor.

“There's no need.”

Everyone turned.

A man in royal robes slowly walked into the hall.

He was one of the kingdom's highest-ranking council members.

And he was holding a bloodstained dagger.

King Dominic stared at him.

“Councilor Adrian.”

Adrian smiled.

“You finally figured it out.”

My heart pounded.

He looked directly at me.

“Twenty-four years ago, your bloodline was supposed to disappear.”

He raised the dagger slightly.

“Tonight, I intend to finish what was started.”