Chapter 277
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Riley stood amidst the wreckage of her pride, her body still smeared with frosting and blood. Yet even drenched in humiliation, her back remained straight, her wolf’s fire flickering in her eyes.
Lucien Duskgrave swept into the Silverfang Den like a storm breaking through steel. He paid no heed to the cream coating her hair and skin. Instead, his arms wrapped around her with startling gentleness, shielding her battered frame. One hand stroked her trembling back, the other reaching to drape his jacket over her shoulders, cloaking her in his scent—an Alpha’s mark of possession and protection.
Riley sagged against him, her fingers clutching the fabric at his chest as if grasping the last tether keeping her upright. She was weak from the earlier shift, her body straining against the aftermath of claws and fangs, but her spirit refused to bow.
Every gaze in the room locked on Lucien.
The men and women who only moments ago had reveled in Riley’s degradation stood frozen. The Alpha Prince of Stormridge was no rumor, no distant figure of Legend-he was here, tall and unyielding, his tailored black suit sharpening the Lethal cut of his shoulders, his dark eyes blazing with dominance so potent it sucked the breath from their lungs.
For a beat, silence reigned. Then-defiance, desperate and brittle.
You-who the hell are you to strike our classmate? Do you want to die here?” one male spat, voice shaking.
Another scoffed, clinging to bravado. “You look sharp in that suit, but do you know where you’re standing? This is Silverfang Den’s supreme VIP chamber. Our Aaron is favored by the company that runs this place-daring to cross him is daring to cross the whole pack of allies at his back.”
A girl sneered, venom dripping from her words. “Are you Riley’s friend? Then let me warn you-she’s filth. She seduced Selene Ashford’s mate, and she’s nothing more than a convict. Touch her, and you’ll be smeared with her disgrace.”
Their voices overlapped, sharp, desperate, ugly.
Aaron, who had lingered smugly in the background, now stood pale and hollow-
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eyed. His triumph evaporated, replaced by a sheen of sweat across his brow as his gaze locked on Riley nestled against Lucien’s chest.
It couldn’t be real. Riley—the girl he’d sought to crush-was shielded by the Alpha Prince himself.
Lucien’s cold eyes swept the room. Wherever his gaze landed, spines bowed, shoulders hunched, the air thick with instinctive submission. Wolves knew when a predator greater than themselves had arrived.
At last, his stare pinned Aaron. “You. Are you the one they call their top wolf?”
Aaron’s legs trembled, but he forced a fawning smile. “I—I am. Alpha Prince, what brings you here?”
Lucien’s voice was a blade of ice. “This chamber was reserved by me-for my pack’s celebration. Tell me-why should I not ask why you’re here?”
The words detonated like thunder.
Faces drained of color. Shock gave way to horror. The room full of posturing heirs and sycophants now understood—the man shielding Riley wasn’t just another wolf with influence. He was the Alpha Prince of Stormridge.
And Riley… the woman they had smeared with cake and blood… was his betrothed.
Panic cracked through the crowd. The men bent their spines, forcing smiles of submission. The women’s gazes shifted, greed and envy swirling as they took in the sight of Riley draped in Lucien’s jacket.
Selene Ashford herself tried to adapt, her twisted expression smoothing into a saccharine smile. She stepped forward, voice honey-sweet. “Alpha Prince, we were only protecting you. This woman-Riley-she was shamelessly clinging to Aaron. We couldn’t stand by and allow her to dishonor your name, so we punished her.” She flicked her hair, trying to draw his attention, her eyes shining with desperate
allure.
But Lucien’s gaze did not flicker to her once. To him, Selene was nothing more than a shadow on the wall.
His attention remained fixed on Aaron, his tone low and lethal. “I asked again— who permitted you to claim this chamber? Who dared touch what belongs to me?”
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Aaron swallowed hard, his smile trembling. “Alpha Prince, I swear, I didn’t know. I would never have trespassed if I knew this was yours. They-” He thrust a hand toward his classmates, desperation bleeding from every word. “They brought me here. They said it was free. I only followed.”
The others flinched, betrayal burning like acid in their veins.
“You liar!” one spat. “It was you who told us this chamber was reserved for your pack!”
“You boasted you had the Alpha Prince’s backing!” another howled.
“Don’t turn on us now, Aaron-you dragged us here!”
Lucien watched their squabbling with cool disdain. Then his verdict fell like a death-knell. “You are finished. You are stripped of your post. Effective immediately.”
Aaron’s knees buckled. “Alpha Prince, please-I didn’t mean-please, grant me another chance-”
Lucien’s gaze turned glacial. “Did you grant my betrothed a chance to explain? Did you grant her mercy when you spat on her name?”
Aaron’s breath stuttered. No answer came.
Lucien tilted his head toward his Beta, Caelum Knox. “Spread the word. Any company allied to Stormridge who dares employ you will be considered an enemy of my house.”
Aaron’s face drained of the last vestige of color. His wolf shrank into nothing. His future-obliterated in a single decree.
And Riley, trembling but unbroken, tightened her grip on Lucien’s jacket. In her veins, humiliation burned alongside pride. She was no longer alone. No longer
prey.
The Alpha Prince had arrived-and the Stormridge Pack’s shadow now covered
them all.
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