Defy The Alpha(s) novel Chapter 781

Chapter 781: Taryn’s Truth

Hannah had been lucky.

It turned out that the moment she had left her quarters and wandered into the kitchens to grab something to eat and drown out her heartbreak, the palace had shuddered with a deafening roar. The sound had ripped through the halls like thunder, shaking stone and glass and sending Fae scrambling in terror.

By the time the dust settled, she was homeless.

Only later did the rumors spread, that the devastation had been caused by Violet. The princess had lost control during her training and nearly tore the kingdom apart.

And so Hannah found herself displaced, standing in the eastern hall among dozens of other Fae. The place buzzed with restless chatter, voices overlapping, and emotions running high. Fear. Awe. Anger. Wonder. The hall was loud as hell, and no one seemed able to stop talking.

The wing that had collapsed, it turned out, was one that housed the servants’ quarters—both high-born attendants and low-born workers—along with several eco-bound Fae who lived close to the palace to tend its inner workings.

Groundskeepers, ward-keepers, archivists, caretakers of the Tree of life and enchanted roots that ran through the palace foundations. Some minor nobles lived there too—not powerful enough to demand private estates, but close enough to court to serve, advise, or simply remain visible in the queen’s favor.

With so many Fae gathered in one place, it was the perfect opportunity for Hannah to socialize and carry out Operation: Get a Fae Husband.

However, it was safe to say that after Taryn had ripped her pretty little heart straight out of her chest, she had no desire for such foolishness anymore.

She hadn’t even realized it until now, but none of the Fae males around her held the slightest fascination. Every single one of them failed in comparison to him.

Hannah sighed. Perhaps it was for the best.

Happiness was never meant for her.

Once the Fifth One decided she was to die, she would go peacefully. They would probably grant her a death so swift she wouldn’t even feel it. And honestly, that was far better than meeting a slow, horrible end at the hands of that bitch, Ziva.

She let out a long, tired breath.

The romances written in books were lies. Big, fat lies.

Yep.

Hannah was depressed.

She might as well have been a ghost in the middle of that din. The noise, the laughter, the endless chatter of the Fae washed over her without touching her at all.

Then it happened.

A sudden pull tugged at her and Hannah turned.

And there he was.

Lord Taryn.

He was moving toward her with that same infuriating confidence, his strides unhurried, while the crowd parted for him without being asked. For a split second, it felt absurdly like one of those overdone romance scenes, where the dashing male lead advanced in slow motion, the world blurring around him, every other presence fading into irrelevance.

Except this wasn’t scripted.

And her heart was hammering far too hard for it to be pretend.

It was almost laughable how long it had taken her to realize the truth. All that irritation and heat beneath her skin whenever he was near. The constant urge to snap at him, to shove him, to do something just to piss him off.

It hadn’t been hatred, or even attraction the way she’d understood it.

It had been the bond that was pulling, provoking and twisting them toward each other while she stubbornly mistook it for fury.

Hannah couldn’t tear her eyes away now. Her gaze clung to him like a magnet, her breath shallow as he closed the distance between them. Each step he took felt echoed in her bones, until he stopped right in front of her.

He was close enough that the noise of the hall finally vanished completely.

And all that remained was him.

Taryn was incredibly handsome. No—he was impossible. A picture of perfection that had no business existing outside of myth. His hair was braided today, though not entirely. It was a Fae style with some strands woven neatly into braids, and the rest left loose to spill over his shoulders.

Her eyes traced him helplessly. That perfectly straight, pointed nose and high brows that always seemed carved in judgment. The sharp, chiseled jaw that looked capable of drawing blood if one got too close. And then his lips—

The same lips she vividly remembered kissing the night before.

Heat rushed to her cheeks before she could stop it. Hannah frowned, mortified, as the memory rose uninvited. She immediately dropped her gaze, suddenly recalling the way he humiliated her last night.

She focused on the pain, as if it could undo the way her body reacted to him.

But before Hannah could retreat any further into herself, Taryn thrust his hand toward her. "Come with me," he said.

Her brows knitted into a frown at once.

"Why?" she asked.

His throat bobbed as he swallowed, clearly working up the courage. "You don’t deserve to stay here," he said carefully. "Come. I have a space we can set up for you to rest while the earth wielders work on restoring the fallen wing."

Hannah let out a short, humorless laugh.

"Don’t worry," she said coolly. "I’m nothing but a foolish prisoner..." She deliberately used the same words Taryn had thrown at her the day before.

He swallowed hard, and for a brief moment, the light in his eyes dimmed.

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