Betrayed by My Ex, Marked by His Alpha Emperor Brother novel Chapter 276

Chapter 276: Chapter 276

Elara’s POV

"Rise."

They obeyed. Every last one. And as they climbed to their feet, the hall erupted. Cheers rattled the vaulted ceiling. Fists pounded against breastplates. Someone started a chant—low at first, then building, rolling through the crowd like thunder over open water.

I stood on the platform and let it wash over me.

For the first time in my life, I didn’t want to shrink.

I stepped forward. Away from Kaelen. Away from his hand at my back, his warmth, his shadow. I stood alone at the edge of the platform and waited. The noise dimmed. Hundreds of faces tilted upward—scarred and smooth, old and young, some still streaked with the grime of battle.

"I know what you’ve heard about me," I said.

My voice carried. Steady. Clear. The Luna command wasn’t something I forced—it simply was, threaded into every syllable like silver through stone.

"The baron’s ward. The orphan with thinned blood. The girl who had no name worth remembering." I paused. "I believed it too. For a long time."

Silence. Absolute.

"I’m not asking you to forget those stories. They happened. I was that girl." My chin lifted. "But I am also the daughter of the Northern Frostfang Duchy. I carry Alpha blood. And I just stood on a battlefield beside your Emperor and fought for this empire with my own teeth and claws."

A murmur rippled through the crowd—not dissent. Something warmer. Acknowledgment.

"I won’t hide what I am. Not anymore."

The cheering returned, louder than before, and this time I let myself feel it. Let it settle into my chest like a second heartbeat.

Then a small voice cut through the noise.

"Mama?"

I looked down. Valerius stood at the base of the platform. Dark curls. Golden eyes—his father’s eyes—fixed on me with an intensity that no child should possess.

"Are you really an Alpha?"

The question was quiet. But in the sudden hush that followed, every person in the hall heard it.

I descended the steps and knelt before him. Eye to eye.

"Yes, little one," I said softly. "I am."

He studied me. Nostrils flaring slightly, testing my scent again, confirming what his instincts already knew.

"So you can protect us? Like Father does?"

My throat tightened. "Always. I will always protect you."

He considered this. Then gave a single, solemn nod—so like Kaelen that it nearly broke me.

Lyra had no such restraint.

"Can I see your wolf?" she demanded, tugging at my sleeve. "Please, Mama? The big silver one? Can I see it now?"

I laughed—a real laugh, cracked and raw and wonderful. "Later, baby. I promise."

"You promise promise?"

"I promise promise."

She beamed. That was enough for her. Everything was simple in Lyra’s world. Promises were kept. Mothers came home. Wolves were beautiful.

I wished I still lived in that world.

A blur of motion—someone crashed into me from the side. Arms locked around my neck with enough force to stagger me. The smell of steel and sweat and dried blood filled my nose.

"Your Highness!" Riley’s face was inches from mine—smeared with dirt, streaked with tears, split by a grin so wide it looked painful. "Your Highness! Did you see—did you—I got one! A massive one, scarred all across the face, twice my size, and I dropped him!"

I caught her shoulders to steady us both. "I heard."

"He came right at me and I—"

"Riley." Cassian’s voice cut in from behind her, dry as dust. "You’re crushing the Empress."

Riley released me but didn’t stop bouncing. "But I got him, sir! You saw!"

"I saw you ignore a direct order to hold formation." Cassian crossed his arms. But the corner of his mouth twitched. Just barely. "We’ll discuss your definition of ’discipline’ later."

Riley deflated for exactly a moment, then brightened again. She leaned toward me conspiratorially. "He’s proud of me. He just won’t say it."

"I can hear you," Cassian said.

"I know," Riley said.

Then—

"Elara."

Brenna’s voice. Barely a whisper, but it cut through everything.

I turned. She stood a few paces away. Her dark hair was loose around her shoulders, and her eyes were swollen, red-rimmed, brimming with fresh tears that she wasn’t bothering to hide.

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