Roderic
The door closed behind Esmira — Enora — and I turned away before my gaze could follow her out.
I crossed to my desk and began sorting through the stack of letters that had arrived that morning.
Trade correspondence, border reports, a request from a minor alpha about a land dispute — the tedious machinery of a kingdom I ruled in name only.
I opened the first letter and pretended to read.
Lord Aven didn’t say a word.
I could feel him watching me from across the room, his silence deliberate, his presence a pressure I’d long since stopped pretending didn’t affect me.
He had a talent for making even standing still feel like a threat.
After a long moment, he walked toward my desk, his footsteps measured, and settled himself in the chair across from me without being invited.
“You seem to be in better spirits this morning,” he said, his tone pleasant.
“I’m glad to see you and the princess are getting along. She seems… different somehow. Softer, perhaps. Marriage has a way of bringing the best out of people.”
I almost laughed out loud.
Lord Aven was testing whether I’d noticed that Enora was not really Princess Esmira.
This was just him checking to make sure everything was working the way he wanted.
I set the letter down and met his gaze with practised coldness.
“The princess is very much the same, Lord Aven. She attacked Lady Lysara yesterday, drew blood from an unarmed woman in her own chambers, and showed not a shred of remorse.” I leaned back in my chair.
“The only reason I haven’t taken action is that her father is here and I have no interest in starting a war over a catfight, but don’t mistake my restraint for forgiveness.”
Lord Aven’s lips curved into a knowing smirk.
“By the time you take any action, the princess may be carrying your child and despite all your protests about not wanting her—” He paused, letting the silence do its work.
“I know you like her, Roderic.”
I stared at him, eyebrows raised.
“I’ve seen the way you behave around her,” he continued.
“The way you look at her when you think no one is watching.
For someone who doesn’t like her, you seem to want her in your room every night.
His arched brow deepened.
“Tell me, are you not enjoying her?”
I slammed my hand on the desk.
The inkwell rattled, and a letter slid to the floor.
“Why are you so interested in my intimacy with the queen?” I said through clenched teeth.
“Is there anything in this palace that you don’t feel entitled to monitor? What else do you want from me, Aven?”
He stared at me quietly, his expression unreadable.
“I was only teasing, Your Majesty. I apologise if it felt like I was prying. It was not intentional.”
This was new.
Elder Aven never apologises.
I eyed him warily, trying to gauge his emotions, but it kept coming back blank; this man was up to something.
“What brings you here?” I asked, changing the topic.
“I just wanted to report another recent development to you this morning. The Eastern Kingdom has refused to open their trade borders.”
I stopped reaching for the fallen letter.
“What?”
“Word reached Lord Maxwell Vaelis about what happened between Lysara and Esmira yesterday, and he’s furious. He’s ordered the borders closed, and my sources tell me he’s on his way to Valdren as we speak.”
Lord Maxwell Vaelis.
Lysara’s father.
Head of House Vaelis and one of the most influential lords in the Eastern Kingdom.
A man whose wealth controlled the primary trade route between Valdren and the eastern territories, and whose wife — a princess by birth — had blood ties to the Western Kingdom.
I leaned back in my chair and studied Aven with barely concealed amusement.
“Are you scared, Lord Aven?”
His jaw tightened.
“After all,” I continued, “Esmira’s father is here. Why shouldn’t Lysara’s father come too?”
Lord Aven took another step closer to my desk.
His composure was intact, but I could see the strain beneath it, saw the faintest tightening around his eyes, the way his fingers pressed slightly harder against his clasped hands.
“First of all,” he said, his voice controlled, “this palace is not a gathering hall for every nobleman with a grievance nor a confederacy for fathers. Esmira’s father is here because the alliance demands it. Lysara’s father has no such claim since his daughter is your mistress.” He paused.
“I’ve told you repeatedly to end your relationship with the Vaelis girl. Your stubbornness is precisely what creates situations like this.”
“The law permits me a kept woman,” I said evenly.
“As many as I like, in fact. Even a formal companion, if I choose. I have no intention of leaving Lysara alone.”
“Secondly,” Aven continued as though I hadn’t spoken, “Alpha Eldric is here. You know as well as I do that Eldric and Maxwell despise each other. Having both men under the same roof is inviting a fire into a room full of oil. I’ve come to warn you — Lord Vaelis is not to be allowed within the palace grounds. We must keep the peace.”
I said nothing for a moment.
I let the silence build, let Aven believe he’d delivered his warning and won the exchange.
Then I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the desk.
“The eastern trade borders are vital to this kingdom,” I said quietly.
“You know that better than anyone. Lord Vaelis controls the primary route, and through it flows grain, iron, timber — the resources that keep Valdren fed and armed. If he closes those borders permanently, the kingdom will starve.” Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Aven’s expression didn’t change, but I saw him shifting uncomfortably.
“Furthermore,” I continued, “Lord Vaelis’s wife is Princess Margaux of the Western Alliance. One word from her, one letter to her father’s court, and the west turns its back on us too.” I tilted my head.
“If the east closes the trade routes and the west withdraws their support, how exactly do you plan to smuggle in gold, cannon powder, weapons, siege materials, and medicinal supplies? Through which borders, Lord Aven? With whose cooperation?”
I saw surprise flit through his eyes for a second at what I’d just exposed.
He was shocked that I knew about his illicit business.
Lord Aven’s teeth clenched.
His eyes flashed with annoyance that for a moment, I thought he was going to explode, but he was Lord Aven, and composure was his armour.
He exhaled slowly, smoothed his expression back to neutral, and said in his characteristically cold voice.
“What do you want, Roderic?”
I rose from my chair slowly, crossed to the window on the far side of the room, and looked out at the palace grounds—the gardens, the walls, the sprawling expanse of a kingdom I’d been born to rule and spent my entire life watching another man control.
My heart was beating faster than I wanted to admit.
It was beating with something I hadn’t felt in years.
Triumph.
Why hadn’t I thought of this before?
The answer had been sitting in front of me the entire time, wrapped in red hair and green eyes, and I’d been too blinded by grief and rage to see it clearly.
Lysara wasn’t just the woman I loved.
She was a political asset, and her father was the key to a lock I’d been picking at for years.
I inhaled deeply, turned from the window, and met Lord Aven’s stare.
“The only way to appease Lord Vaelis and reopen the trade borders,” I said, “is for me to recognise his daughter’s position formally. Not as a mistress or as a kept woman.” I paused, letting the words settle.
“I want to take Lady Lysara as my Luna Solace.”
Lord Aven’s nostrils flared.
“Are you insane, Roderic? You want to pit women who don’t see eye to eye against each other? Besides, Luna Solace is an old tradition. A lot of packs and Kingdoms have abolished it.”
Luna Solace is the ancient title for a formally recognised second mate.
A lot of Alphas used to practice it in the old times when their marriage was politically arranged, and they didn’t get married to their fated mate or someone whom they love.
The law allows them to marry the love of their life as a second mate.
It was sanctioned by the wolf law and blessed by the priestess.
A Luna Solace also carried legal standing, court recognition, and most importantly, the protection of her house.
No one could dismiss her or remove her.
In theory, she was also a Luna and shared similar benefits as one, only she is limited in terms of claim and rights.
“Well, Valdren didn’t abolish the tradition, the last time I checked”, I said finally.
“It doesn’t make sense to keep going back and forth with her when I can have her lawfully. So, I’d like to take her as my second mate.”