Page 42 of A Reign of Malice (Wolves of Lunara #3)

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

SLOANE

M inutes tick by, slow and heavy. I stand alone at the edge of the field, my breath steady even as the silence thickens around me. The scent of damp earth and distant fire lingers in the air. No more rustling. No birds. No wind. Even the forest feels like it’s holding its breath.

I shift my weight, hands loose at my sides, and try not to shake as my fingers twitch with anticipation.

In hindsight, maybe the new outfit wasn’t the best choice.

The warrior’s garb that once made me feel invincible might be working against me.

It clings to my body like a second skin, showcasing my strength.

I don’t look like a damsel calling for her king. I look like an assassin.

“Aeson, we need to talk,” I say, projecting my voice just enough to carry beyond the trees. “I know what their plan is. I snuck off once I’d convinced them I would fight with them. I’m here to warn you.”

The plan was always to lie my way into the castle, to create a distraction. It just looks a little different than I anticipated.

I walk forward with my hands up. “I’m not here for a fight.”

There’s a rustling in the trees, but I keep going.

“It wasn’t my choice to leave the castle the other day,” I say, keeping as much to the truth as possible.

“I was taken against my will—forced into a conflict I never wanted. When we returned, I was going to come straight back to you. I wanted to apologize for our last fight, but Clara called for me. She sounded scared. I couldn’t ignore her. You have to understand that.”

I’m nearly into the next section of trees, and the silence has returned around me, but not inside my head.

“ Lie better ,” Clara says. “ but not too well. Julian already isn’t handling this well. But don’t worry. Asher and Theo are keeping a close eye on him .”

I can’t even sense them, yet Clara can hear me? I don’t know how that’s possible, but I do as she requests.

“Listen, Aeson. We both know we were lying to one another before, but let’s be honest now.

” I step into the shadows of the trees. “We knew what we were doing when we signed that treaty. We both had our reasons. Now, it’s time for us to remember them and find a way to move forward.

You need me to beat Julian. Like I said?—”

A figure lunges from the trees. An arm wraps around my waist, a hand slams over my mouth.

My body reacts instinctively. I drive my elbow into ribs, stomp down hard on a foot, and slam the back of my head into someone’s nose.

A grunt of pain follows, but it’s quickly drowned out by the thunder of feet behind me.

More come. None of which are Aeson .

He’s not even here.

I was wrong. He didn’t take the bait.

Gods, I left them for no reason.

Yet, it’s too late to go back. I have to figure this out. Most importantly, I have to survive.

There are more men than I can count now, dressed in dark armor, their movements precise and rehearsed. These aren’t scouts. These are trained soldiers.

I snarl, ripping an arm free for a moment before two more pile on. I kick, claw, twist. One gets a fist to the jaw, another a knee to the gut. But I don’t go for the kill. I hold back just enough to make the struggle real, to sell the ruse because I want them to take me.

If I can’t bring Aeson to me, I can at least get inside and warn the others what they’re walking into. That’s better than this part of our plan being a complete failure.

Eventually, one gets a cuff on my wrist. The moment it locks, my strength wavers. Enchanted and not in a good way. I curse beneath my breath as they secure the other wrist then bind my ankles. They lift me off the ground and carry me like a slab of meat.

My wolf snarls beneath my skin, pacing furiously, but we both know the plan. We can’t fight. Not yet.

The air shifts as we cross the threshold into the castle walls. My stomach clenches, not from fear but from the sheer wrongness that floods the space. The magic here is tainted. The castle has always been cold, but now it feels like it’s decaying from the inside out.

They drag me past the courtyard, where I catch sight of the gathering.

Wolves. Dozens of them.

No—hundreds.

A sea of bodies in armor, some pacing, some shifting restlessly, others swinging weapons. Nearly two hundred. That’s what Garron said. And now I see them with my own eyes.

All of them ready for war.

The guards don’t slow. I’m shoved through the old servants’ passage then dragged into the great hall on the first floor. The room is lit with golden chandeliers, food spread across the long dining table like it’s just another feast.

Aeson sits at the head of the table.

He cuts into a thick slab of roasted meat with calculated precision, chewing slowly, like the flavors are the only thing he’s interested in savoring tonight.

I’m dropped into a chair, and I breathe a sigh of relief when the cuffs are removed, but it doesn’t last long. I’m then bound to my seat with thick rope laced with silver threads. The sting is immediate, but I don’t flinch.

Aeson doesn’t look up right away. He dabs his mouth with a cloth napkin and finally lifts his gaze to meet mine. Those dark eyes…they’re too calm. Too collected.

Like he already knows something I don’t. Or at least don’t want him to know yet.

“You look different,” he muses, cutting another piece of meat. “More feral. I like it.”

I don’t speak.

At the edge of the opulent dining hall, Dasha stands like a statue carved from regret. Her arms are tightly crossed over her chest, jaw clenched so hard I can see the tension from across the room. Her gaze remains fixed on the far wall—anywhere but me. But her silence is its own language.

She’s not with him. Not fully. But she’s not with me either.

Aeson lounges in his chair as if he’s a man at the head of a celebration rather than the edge of a war. The firelight dances off the wine goblet in his hand, casting crimson reflections across the stone table.

“Nothing to say now?” he drawls, voice laced with venomous amusement. “I thought you were here to warn me about Julian.”

The way he spits his brother’s name like it’s a curse he’s been choking on for decades sends a ripple of fury through me. My nails curl into my palms, but I force myself to remain still, to play the part.

“Excuse me for second-guessing my decision to do so,” I reply coolly, giving just enough edge to my tone. “Considering the warm welcome.”

Aeson’s gaze slides over the ropes binding me to the chair, and a crooked smile curls his mouth. “You’re right, but I didn’t take you for stupid, Sloane. Did you really think just because I was willing to fuck you that I’d let you walk in here and threaten everything I’ve built?”

My stomach twists. Not at the vulgarity, but at how easily he weaponizes the agreement I signed because I was too desperate to see what was right in front of my face.

But even worse is the fact that I did think I could fool him. I thought desperation had made him weak. I thought he wanted me too badly to see through the act.

Clearly, I was wrong.

Still, I lean into the lie one last time.

“The others are bringing a war to your front doors,” I say evenly.

“They intend to take your crown and dismantle this whole kingdom. Julian tells everyone who will listen that he was wrongfully accused, but there’s a darkness in him.

The others have passed it off as anger, but something about him isn’t right.

Why did you have him trapped beneath the castle? Why not just kill him?”

Aeson’s smirk deepens, his fingers steepling beneath his chin.

“Because killing him would’ve been a waste.

Death is too easy. But also interesting that you mention his darkness to me of all people,” he says, standing slowly.

“You didn’t sense it with me. Did you even try?

Or were you too busy falling for the monster you thought you could tame? ”

What does this man think he knows about what I’ve been up to?

Clara’s voice brushes through my mind. “Noen and I, plus one of the Venaris wolves, are near the castle. Are you okay?”

“For now.”

“Be careful,” she warns. “We were already attacked. We have no clue what Aeson and his people do or don’t know.”

I grit my teeth and adjust my strategy.

I meet Aeson’s gaze and let my voice harden.

“I didn’t think you were a threat. You were a means to an end.

I came to be Queen of Venaris. You were just the steppingstone.

Julian, on the other hand, he’s reckless.

Dangerous, even. I kept my eye on him because he didn’t bother hiding his intentions. ”

Aeson laughs. It echoes around the chamber, hollow and sharp. “Oh, Sloane. You’ll say anything to get what you want, won’t you?” He leans across the table, his eyes gleaming with sick delight. “I wonder what you’d do to get what you want.”

Clara again: “He knows, Sloane. He knows Julian is your mate.”

A chill pierces my spine. I’ve walked into the lion’s mouth.

“Dasha finally responded to Garron,” Clara continues, her voice clipped. “She said for you to get out. Aeson’s plan is to force the bond. To mate you and lock you away like he did Julian.”

And still, I don’t move as Aeson inches closer.

“Are you finally piecing things together, my queen?” He gets up and comes to me, stroking my cheek with the back of his hand. “I’ve always gotten what I wanted, and nothing will change that. Not you, not my brother, and not the ninety-eight wolves you have left to fight against my army.”

He lowers and takes a deep breath at my neck, a low moan coming from the back of his throat. “Hmm, maybe you’re smarter than I gave you credit for. You didn’t fuck my brother the first chance you got. Maybe I can reward you just a little.”

Aeson grabs my chin and smashes his mouth onto mine. It’s not a kiss. It’s a violation. Acid poured over my lips. His tongue forces its way past my teeth, and I jerk, trying to wrench away. Rage explodes behind my eyes, and I do the only thing I can.