CHAPTER 37: CHAPTER 37: I CAN’T LET HER STAY HERE

Prince Vaelen’s POV ~

She was nowhere.

I had searched the entire wing meant for me—spacious, ornate, guarded with the best guards—but she wasn’t there. I walked through the east garden, past the reflecting pool, and even the quiet stone path near the Alpha chambers. Still nothing.

Selene was gone. Like she never existed in the first place. Not even a scent was left behind.

For the love of the goddess, where the hell had they hidden her?

I slammed the door of the guest quarters behind me with a force that startled one of the guards. My jaw clenched so tight it ached. The two girls I had brought with me, who were supposed to help me, Meriya and that other one, were absolutely useless. No, not useless. Worse. They are fucking real bitches.

Manipulative, jealous. Pettier than broken glass in a noblewoman’s slipper.

"Useless, scheming little snakes," I muttered to myself, pacing the edge of the room.

I had told them clearly to find Selene. Speak with her. Offer support. Instead, they came back with painted lips, empty hands, and smug little lies wrapped in honeyed tones.

"We couldn’t find her," they said. "No one knew where she went," they said. Bullshit.

I should have known.

Meriya had been raised by the side of my mother; how could she be any better? She was clever, beautiful, and deadly in the same breath. She played the role of future Luna so well, even I had almost believed she was here with good intentions. But I knew better now.

If she weren’t my cousin, I would have thrown her ten feet away from me and shut every door in her face.

And Arlena? That woman made my skin crawl. Every time she got near me, it was as if her eyes were trying to devour me whole. Like I was some prize cut of meat, and she couldn’t wait to sink her claws in. The way she leaned in, the way her sick smile was always plastered on her face, like a very perfect girl who had no idea of the world.

Pretending to be an innocent girl, but he knew just how she was, and first of all, any woman related to my mother can never be better. I would rather die than marry a woman of her choice.

Disgust rolled up from the pit of my stomach just thinking of her.

But Selene... Selene had never looked at me like that.

When I thought of her, I didn’t see a crown or a throne in her eyes. I saw a girl standing tall in the royal courtyard, refusing to look down even when all eyes were on her. She had that kind of pride that wasn’t loud. It was soft and steady and unshakable. And damn me, I respected her for that and admired her.

Because she can stand in front of her father, I can never stand in front of my mother.

In some quiet part of my mind, I had considered her. As a mate...as my queen.

She would have made a good one—better than good. She would’ve ruled with spine and grace, not petty jealousy like women who only know how to scheme. She had no interest in flattery, no need for theatrics. And that’s exactly what I needed.

My mother had been queen in name but tyrant in truth. A woman cloaked in elegance and power, who ruled the palace halls with a voice dipped in honey and a dagger always ready beneath her silks.

I’d grown up knowing that I was nothing more than a pawn in her endless political games. A crown prince, yes—but also a bargaining chip. My friendships were monitored. My emotions are treated like weaknesses. My heart? Never once mine to offer. She had chosen my tutors, my guards, and my meals, and now she wanted to choose my mate.

And every single woman she approved of reminded me of her. Cold eyes hidden behind warm smiles. Sharp tongues painted with pretty words. Arlena. Meriya. Dozens of others.

But Selene... Selene was nothing like her.

Selene did not hide behind veils or manipulate with practiced charm. She did not speak unless she meant her words. She did not smile to deceive. There was fire in her, but not the kind that scorched—it warmed. It reminded me of what it could mean to have someone loving.

And in the rare moments I let myself imagine a future with a queen at my side, it was her I saw. Not for political gain. Not for alliance. But because I knew... if Selene were queen, our children would grow up with a mother who loved them for who they were, not for what they could be molded into. They would laugh freely. They would cry without shame. They would be safe.

They would never know what it meant to fear a mother’s shadow.

They would have what I never did.

If the war hadn’t happened... if her father hadn’t destroyed half the continent... If I had moved just one step earlier...

Maybe things would’ve been different.

Maybe she would’ve been mine.

But I was too late.

The Duskdraven brothers had taken her first—and not with honor or her choice. They claimed her and marked her as a slave.

A slave.

The thought turned my stomach.

Selene Moonveil, bright, fierce, unyielding Selene...reduced to nothing but property under their feet. I couldn’t imagine it. No, I didn’t want to imagine it. Her smile, once so radiant and genuine, is now silenced. Her pride was broken. Her body, possibly... no. I stopped the thought there.

My hands curled into fists at my sides. But I knew the rules.

Royals don’t interfere. Not in wars of territory. Not in the rise and fall of Alphas. Unless their bloodline itself was threatened, we watched from afar, neutral and detached. That was the law. That was tradition.

But I couldn’t ignore this.

Selene wasn’t a royal. She had no title, land, or power. But damn it, she had been my friend. She had sat across from me in the palace garden, laughing at the wolves in the fountain. She had shared books with me under moonlight, challenging my views and matching my wit word for word.

She had always been more than just the Moonveil heir. And now they treated her like she was less than dirt.

No. I couldn’t leave her like this.

I couldn’t take her as a queen—not with that mark on her. But I could take her away. Far from here. Far from these cursed brothers and their warped pack politics. I would send her somewhere safe. Somewhere she could heal.

Because I owed her that much.

And if the Duskdraven Alphas thought they could keep her as their slave... they were about to learn that royalty doesn’t always sit still.

Sometimes, we bite back.