Rourke quickly dressed himself and threw himself against the door in anticipation. “What should we do?”
“I don’t know what he’s doing,” I said. “Why would he send so many knights here? How did he know we were here? What is he…?”
“Sebastian, get dressed,” Rourke said. “We haven’t done anything wrong, but you need to be the one to talk to them. They respect you.”
His words knocked some sense into me. Yes, Rourke was right. I was Prince Sebastian. I should not be afraid in the face of whatever was about to happen.
I hastily put my clothes back on, then stood with my shoulders back and calmed my breathing. I let my practiced princely façade settle over me. No matter what Father was planning, I needed to remember who I was and how much power I held. There was nothing for me to be so nervous about.
“Come away from the door,” I instructed Rourke.
He balked, but ultimately obeyed, returning to my side. There was no leash to control him now but Rourke stood a step behind me. Whether it was his natural inclination, or to create an illusion of subservience to Father and the knights, I didn’t know.
Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t quell the rapid beating of my heart, but I didn’t let it show on my face as the armored fist of the knight banged against the door.
“Open up!”
Outrage immediately flared within me.
“Excuse me?” I demanded. “Do you have any idea who you’re speaking to?”
A slight guilty pause, then Father’s voice. “Sebastian. This is your father. Open the door. We need to discuss something.”
I glanced to Rourke, who shrugged and nodded towards the door. My nerves were frigid, but I had no choice but to open it. I steadied my breathing and turned the knob.
Father stood there with a severe expression. Knights stood in a still swarm behind him, filling the entire hall. There were so many of them that I knew they must overflow down the staircase and through the main hall.
What was going on? Why had Father brought so many knights here? Something didn’t feel right. He had been acting strangely since our conversation yesterday. Even then I’d been uneasy with his behavior, but now I was borderline terrified.
“The alpha is with you,” Father stated. He glanced at Rourke once, like he was a piece of furniture, then back to me.
“Yes, he is,” I said. Despite my inner fear, my voice was calm and commanding. Years of practice had built up a good reserve of confidence for me to pull from. “Is there a problem?”
“There might be,” Father replied. His nostrils flared and my stomach sank. I knew he could smell the scent of sex in the air. “Answer me this. Have you consummated with this… lowly alpha?”
Even though they were trained to be stoic, visible shock ran through the knights. Father was doing this on purpose—he was trying to humiliate me.
“And what if I have?” I countered. “I am the prince. The taboo against mating down does not apply to me.”
Father barked out a cold laugh. “Is that what you think, Sebastian? You’ve as naïve as Elian. Your status doesn’t extend that far. You are not protected from anything.”
A cold terror gripped me.
“You’re bluffing,” I said quietly so only he could hear.
“I am not.” Father shook his head, his eyes coldly meeting mine. “I’m disappointed in you, Sebastian. Your little act of rebellion was not a total surprise, but you have crossed a line.”
My heart turned to ice.
The King raised a hand. “Take the alpha.”
My façade was lost. The word tore itself from my throat. “NO!”
It did nothing. It didn’t stop the knights from flooding into the room and grabbing Rourke from all sides. He couldn’t fight back. There were too many. Father had practically assembled an army for the sole purpose of ripping my fated mate away from me.
I couldn’t stand there and let it happen. Without any regard for what would happen to me, I launched myself at Rourke. I found his arm in the crowd and gripped it tightly.
“Rourke!” I cried.
