Then the Ebonvale noble, the one with cold eyes who’d been pushing hardest all night, said the words that shattered my control.
“Some of us are questioning whether the boy should live at all.”
The entire room went silent. Even the people who’d been arguing stopped mid-sentence.
I went very, very still. My breathing stopped. Kane Aurelius’s eyebrows shot to his hairline, turning to see his own representative in shock. But he stayed quiet, not interrupting his people. Fucking coward.
“What did you just say?” My voice was deadly quiet.
The Ebonvale noble had the audacity to continue. “For the good of the kingdoms, perhaps we should consider...”
I didn’t let him finish. If his King wouldn’t teach him manners, I fucking would.
Everything happened at once. I was moving before conscious thought engaged, shifting partially as I went. Claws extended, eyes burning. My fist connected with his face with a satisfying crunch of breaking bone. He went down hard and I was on him in an instant.
He suggested killing my son. My Killian. This man wanted him dead. So I hit him again, and again, and again.
“BROTHER! Stop!” Aurion’s voice cut through.
Hands grabbed me, trying to pull me off. I fought them, snarling, still trying to get to the man bleeding on the floor. Four guards, maybe five, all straining to hold me back.
“Your Majesty, please!”
“King Malachar!”
Six people were restraining me now, including Aurion. The Ebonvale noble was scrambling backward, leaving a trail of blood from his shattered nose. Good. Let him carry that scar as a reminder of what happens when you suggest murdering a child.
“He threatened my SON!” I roared.
Someone from Crescentborn’s delegation stepped forward carefully. “King Malachar, please, be reasonable...”
“Reasonable?” I was still straining against the grips holding me. “You want me to be reasonable while you threaten my child’s life?! Come here and I will fucking teach you howreasonableI can be right now.”
“We want assurance this won’t happen again,” the Wynter representative said, carefully neutral now.
I stopped fighting, went completely rigid. The guards didn’t release me, smart enough to know it might be a trick.
“Then I assure you,” I said, my voice cold and certain. “Anyone who harms my family answers to me. Personally. And I will make it hurt and last for decades. If my son’s life is what brings down this peace alliance, so be it. I won’t tolerate any of you, fucking pricks, threatening my family.”
The Goldridge representative spoke very carefully. “King Malachar, you truly would break the alliance over this?”
I met his eyes directly. “Without hesitation. Without regret. I would burn every kingdom to ash. I would slaughter every single one of you. And I would sleep peacefully afterward knowing I protected my family.”
Gasps echoed through the hall.
“I think it’s definitely time to go,” a voice said from somewhere. I barely recognized it as Elspeth Goldridge, Duskmere’s Queen.
That almost made me laugh. Almost. “I think it is. I am being a father, and you are all being fucking ridiculous if you think I would choose kingdoms over my son.”
Aurion remained beside me, keeping me restrained. His hand was firm on my shoulder. “And I will stand by my brother’s side.” He grunted, glaring at everyone. I wanted to feel thankful for my brother’s support, but couldn’t feel past my fucking rage.
“Get out,” I said, my voice carrying to every corner of the hall. “All of you. NOW.”
“King Malachar...”
“LEAVE.All of you. Before I forget I am king and remember I am just a wolf who will tear you apart for threatening his pack.” I snarled. The alpha command in those words was absolute. Every wolf in the room felt it in their bones, that primal urge to obey without question.
The guards released me slowly. I stood there, watching as representatives started filing toward the doors. The kings weren’t compelled by my words, but still followed their delegations, maintaining their dignified silence even now. They had let their people speak, let their people threaten and accuse, while keeping their own hands clean. Cowards. Every last one of them.
