Mated to the Alpha: Sold to the King novel Chapter 233

Chapter 233: 0233

Kaelen POV

A deep, vicious growl vibrated through my chest, shaking the air around us. My wolf was seconds away from tearing through my ribs, taking control, and ripping Viktor’s throat out right in front of his precious Council.

Before I could do something that would trigger an all-out civil war, Darius smoothly stepped forward, his calm, measured voice cutting through the tension like a blade.

"Where is your proof that she is cursed?" he asked, crossing his arms as he looked up at the dais with cool indifference.

The smug satisfaction instantly drained from Viktor’s face. He blinked, momentarily caught off guard. "What... what do you mean, where is our proof?"

"You claimed the Council conducted an investigation," Darius pointed out, casually adjusting his cuffs. "Surely an institution as important as the High Council wouldn’t label a woman cursed simply because another man whispered something in your ear. Or did your so-called investigation consist entirely of taking the word of a bitter, disgraced Alpha?"

The twelve elders exchanged uneasy glances, their earlier confidence beginning to crack.

They hadn’t expected that question. Although Lorelei had privately confessed to me about her shadow-twin lineage, the Council clearly didn’t have a shred of actual evidence. All they had was Jaxen’s desperate, snitching mouth.

And Darius, that brilliant bastard, had just backed them into a corner. Without concrete proof, their entire accusation amounted to nothing more than high-grade slander against the woman I had chosen as my mate.

Slowly, the chaotic rage coursing through my veins began to settle under my control. My claws retracted with a soft click, but the fury remained simmering beneath my skin.

I took a slow step toward the dais, allowing my dark aura to spread through the chamber until the air grew heavy and suffocating.

"Don’t tell me," I murmured, my voice dropping into a terrifyingly quiet register, "that you summoned your King here to accuse my woman of carrying a dark curse... and you don’t even have proof?"

The words hung in the air like a blade suspended in mid-swing. Several elders shifted uneasily in their seats, their eyes darting between one another as they silently searched for someone brave enough to speak first.

Elder Alistair Thorne was the one who finally broke the silence.

"We would never!" he snapped, slamming his fist against the armrest. His blue eyes narrowed at me, blazing with offended pride. "What would we possibly gain by sabotaging a woman we barely even know?"

I tilted my head, studying him with cold, predatory interest. Alistair was the youngest of the twelve elders, forty-eight years old, with sandy-brown hair and sharp, aristocratic features. He had earned his seat through connections rather than accomplishments.

His father-in-law was a powerful Alpha, his wife was a high-society darling, and Alistair himself had never fought a battle or led a pack in his entire life. He was a man who had lived comfortably, done nothing to deserve his position, and simply married into the right circles while smiling at the right people.

And now, he sat there pretending to be deeply offended because I had dared to question him.

"I don’t know," I replied slowly, letting the mockery seep into every word. "You tell me."

I held his gaze without blinking, allowing the crushing weight of my Alpha aura to settle over him. Alistair managed to hold on for three seconds before his eyes shifted away. His jaw tightened, his fingers curling around the arms of his chair as though they were the only things keeping him upright. When he swallowed, the movement in his throat was painfully obvious.

Clearly desperate to redirect the attention away from himself, he pointed toward the shadows along the far wall.

"Alpha Jaxen," he barked, though his voice cracked slightly as he said the name. "Explain yourself. Don’t make us look foolish for standing up for the truth."

I nearly laughed.

Standing up for the truth.

These corrupt old bastards wouldn’t recognize the truth if it clawed its way down their throats. They had spent decades burying it, twisting it, and selling whatever version benefited them most to the highest bidder.

Yet now, they were sitting there pretending to be champions of justice simply because it served their agenda.

A mixture of humiliation, anger, and desperation flickered across his face. For a moment, he looked like he wanted to shrink back into the darkness, but then his expression slowly changed. His jaw tightened, and he lifted his head, a disturbing sense of resolve flashing through his eyes. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

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