Nine Hot Therians and Their Only One Queen novel Chapter 267

**When She Opened the Door to the Life She Was Afraid to Live by Nora Vale Kingsley**
**Chapter 267: Outrageous!**

It truly wasn’t his fault—not really.

“Your Majesty!”

“Awful news—Prince Marcus has returned! He’s back!”

The Wolf King, Maurice, had just managed to fend off the relentless Chitinids. His wounds were still fresh, barely stitched together, and he had been yearning for a rare evening of uninterrupted slumber—until those startling words ripped him from his fleeting dreams, propelling him upright in his bed.

“What did you just say?”

With urgency, he grasped Roshivo, the Great Elder, by the wrist, his grip tightening with disbelief. “Marcus… he has been returned?”

Roshivo’s expression was one of utter despair. “A clansman just reported it; the prince has come home.”

If that wasn’t a return, then what could it possibly be?

Maurice felt a knot form in his chest, a sudden pressure that constricted his breath. His head pulsed with the weight of the news.

All the effort, the costly dowries that had been sacrificed to send the boy away—and now he was being sent back like some faulty merchandise.

“After everything we paid to send him away… how could she send him back?”

For a fleeting moment, darkness clouded his vision, and he wondered if the Beast God was beckoning him home.

But then, the instinct to command surged within him. “Roshivo, contact Marcus’ huntress at once. Inquire as to why she returned him. If she is dissatisfied, we will meet any demands she makes. Tell her the Wolf Clan is willing to do anything—just, please, persuade her to take Marcus back!”

Before Roshivo could utter a word, a booming voice echoed from outside—

“Maurice! I’ve brought my huntress home! Why aren’t you out here to greet her?”

Maurice nearly crumbled under the weight of his frustration.

He turned to Roshivo, his body trembling with a mix of fury and disbelief. “Did you hear that ungrateful brat? He expects me to step outside and welcome him?”

Outrageous!

“Don’t stop me. I’m going out there right now to knock some sense into him!”

He needed to remind Marcus just how bitterly cold Frostveil could be.

Roshivo quickly intervened, pretending to restrain him. He understood that Maurice was all bluster; deep down, the man wouldn’t dare actually strike Marcus—not with that unpredictable power of his.

“Your Majesty, please, calm yourself,” Roshivo urged, providing a graceful exit for Maurice to reconsider. “I believe I heard Prince Marcus mention he brought his huntress with him?”

Maurice froze mid-stride, confusion washing over him like a cold wave. “What did you just say? Marcus brought his huntress home?”

Roshivo nodded, his expression grave. “That’s exactly what he said.”

Outside, Emma sat beside Silas, absorbing the grandeur of the hall before them.

The shadowstone building was far more expansive inside than it appeared from the outside—like a universe unto itself, reminiscent of the Interstellar Hunter Alliance headquarters. There were mountains and streams, pens brimming with beasts and herbs, and at its heart, an enormous, beautifully crafted mansion.

They were seated now in its main hall.

Marcus had told her this was the house his father had constructed for his mother. But his mother had departed for “another father’s domain” fifty years ago and apparently wouldn’t return for another decade.

“Maurice…” Marcus muttered, his frown deepening as his father remained absent. He inhaled, ready to bellow again, but Edric quickly placed a hand on his arm.

“Let’s wait a moment,” Edric suggested gently. “The Wolf King is likely preoccupied with… something.”

He knew all too well that Marcus’ tongue was sharper than any blade; nothing good ever came from his mouth when he was riled.

Still, Edric hadn’t anticipated Marcus speaking to his own father in such a manner. No wonder Maurice chose to remain hidden.

If he were the Wolf King, he wouldn’t show his face either.

Corvin leaned in, whispering, “Marcus, aren’t you afraid of how he’ll react?”

Marcus slouched lazily in the Wolf King’s own chair, a smirk playing on his lips. “He can’t beat me,” he replied nonchalantly. “And he won’t dare try.”

Corvin stared at him in awe. “If I had an ability like yours,” he said with admiration, “no one would ever dare lay a finger on me again either.”