Chapter 143

3rd Person

There was a time when Lydia had dreamed about witnessing a Prince’s temper tantrum – mostly

because she always imagined it would be her son, and she would have been so thrilled to be a mother

and queen that she wouldn’t have cared about a childish outburst. Seeing a fully grown man, an Alpha

she was hoping to seduce, rant and rave was a different thing entirely. Prince Damon had arrived back

from the failed meeting with Sinclair to discover that Ella was long gone, and promptly torn her

bedroom to sheds in the heat of his anger.

Walls punched, curtains torn, furniture toppled and broken – at this point it looked like a tornado had

swept through the room, and Lydia was both disgusted and alarmed.

She wasn’t sure whether she should make her presence known or not. The guards had fetched her

after they returned and filled her in on the situation, but Damon’s destructive fury worried her. Ella’s

warnings about the man abusing his mate rung in her ears, and right now she had no trouble believing

it. Lydia was furious with herself for not noticing the small army infiltrating the palace, but she’d been

preoccupied trying to plan a romantic dinner for the Prince once the ransom was completed. In her

mind Damon would have returned to the palace to retrieve Ella once Sinclair agreed to surrender,

completed the trade and come home to celebrate with her. However now she was more worried that

the Prince would blame her for concocting the plan and missing the invasion.

Lydia tried to make herself as small as possible, hovering just inside the doorway and praying to

become invisible. He wouldn’t kill her.. would he?

The way he was shouting and cursing sounded much like an overwrought toddler, but this man was

twice her size and could easily snap her like a twig if he wanted to. What have I gotten myself into?

She thought anxiously, true doubt assailing her for the first time.

Right on cue, the Prince whirled around and saw Lydia, cowering with her arms wrapped around her

slender body. Her body language reminded him so much of his late wife that a fresh wave of Wrath

slammed into him. He didn’t need to be reminded that his mate had been taken from him, especially

not by this schemer. “You!” He seethed, jabbing an accusatory finger in Lydia’s direction, this is all your

fault! Where the hell were you!”

Her eyes widened, “I-” Before Lydia could say another word, the Prince crossed the room and slammed

her back against the wall, wrapping his powerful fist around her throat.

“Shut the hell up.” He ordered ferociously. “You stupid bitch, you come here bragging about being able

to help me because you know Sinclair soo well, but your plans have done nothing but backfire! I told

you he wouldn’t give up his campaign that easily! I told you he would stage rescue!”

Lydia wanted to snap back at him, to tell him he never would have even had the opportunity to kidnap

Ella if it wasn’t for her. After all, his rogue attack had failed miserably, and she’d been able to tell him

exactly how Sinclair’s emergency protocols worked. She was the reason he was getting so much

sympathy in the press, the reason his ratings were so high. But she couldn’t say any of this, because

he was still shouting at her, his claws digging into her throat.

“You’ve been a pain in my ass since the moment you arrived!” He related, “Honestly, you have some

nerve – waltzing in here as if you aren’t just the barren reject of a lesser man.”

Lydia’s jaw dropped, and despite the fact that she could barely breathe, she argued, “How dare you –

that isn’t true!”

“Oh give it up!” The Prince countered, a sadistic glint in his eye. He’d always preferred to inflict physical

pain, but there was no denying how pleasurable it could be to destroy a woman emotionally. “I called

your husband, you know. I wanted to rub it in his face that you’d transferred your allegiance to me and

you know what he told me? He told me that you came slinking onto his doorstep after you left Sinclair,

promising to give him a whole litter of pups and bragging about all your experience as a Luna. And

when he realized you were just a lazy gold digger who couldn’t conceive an original thought – much

less a baby, he kicked you to the curb.” Damon informed her maliciously.

“You didn’t come back because Sinclair upgraded a younger, prettier she-wolf, you did it because you

had nowhere else to go.” Tears burned in Lydia’s eyes as the cruel man taunted her with her worst

failures, but this only seemed to egg Damon on. “And I let you stay because I thought, I thought, your

knowledge of Sinclair could still hold some value for me, but it turns out you’re as useless a strategist

as you were a mate.”

His grip on her throat was getting tighter now, and Lydia dug her fingers into his hand, trying to pry it

away so she’d have the space to breathe. “Please.”

She begged. “I- I can still help you.”

“I don’t see how.” The Prince scoffed, “if anything you being close to me is weakening public sympathy

for me.” He paused, a dawning light overtaking his features as Ella and Sinclair’s clues about

Angeline’s murder swirled through his mind. “Why is it that you waited until my campaign was already

on the upswing to offer your assistance anyway?”

Lydia’s already pounding heart sped up as she realized Damon was starting to suspect her true

ambitions to replace his queen, and the crimes she’d committed in order to make it happen. She knew

she had to think quickly, and her mind raced through possible distractions. Like the Prince, there were

details hovering at the edge of her consciousness, just out of reach. She knew she had the key to her

own survival within reach, she just had to pull the puzzle pieces together. The longer she stayed silent,

the angrier the Prince became, but she could risk saying the wrong thing when he was already

determined to hurt her.

The Prince’s threatening growls were growing louder and louder, and Lydia felt his claws break the skin

of her neck. Hot, thick blood trickled down her clavicle, and she fought back a whimper instinctively

knowing he would enjoy the sound.

At the very last moment an idea clicked into place, and Lydia’s panicked body relaxed with a sudden

confidence that absolutely rankled the seething Prince. Fortunately for Lydia, she forced the words out

before he could act on his feelings.

“Ive got a better question for you.” She gasped hoarsely, “Why is it that no one had ever heard of Ella

until after she was already pregnant with Sinclair’s child? He’s the most famous man in the territory and

the tabloids follow him constantly, but no one ever heard a single word about him dating someone new.

And if Ella is supposed to be a cousin of Aileen Crentin’s, why did I never meet her? I was at Aileen

and Hugo’s wedding, and I can tell you right now that Ella wasn’t.” She hurriedly explained.

“You think they’re lying about their relationship?”

The Prince blinked, processing this idea. He only gives it a moment of thought before shaking his head.

“They said she hadn’t known about her relatives here until recently, besides I’ve never seen a pair of

mates more in love.”

“Then why hasn’t he claimed her?” Lydia hissed, something in her gut telling her she was on the right

track. “Don’t you find it suspicious that they can’t keep their hands off each other in public but he’s

letting her run around unmarked? The most possessive, dominant wolf in the world”

Prince Damon’s grip loosened slightly, and he rumbled pensively, “So what, you think he hired her?

That it’s all been a show for the campaign?”

“Maybe.” Lydia shrugged. “You have to admit it makes sense, things start going bad for him and all of a

sudden he conjures a breeding mate out of the air? It’s more than a little suspicious.”

“You have a point.” The Prince nods, his wolf flashing in his eyes. “Maybe it’s time to call in Roger

again.”

“Roger?” Lydia scoffed, unaware of just how much Sinclair’s relationship had changed with his brother

in recent months. “I’ve got news for you, Roger is the absolute last person who Dominic would confide

in about his relationship – or politics.”

“Then who am I supposed to ask? His men are too loyal to be bribed and the Goddess knows his

security is too tight at the mansion to get a bug in.”

The Prince questioned in frustration.

“If Ella is who she says she is then she’ll have connections in the Shadow pack, even commoners have

work histories and educations, I think need to verify hers.” Lydia mused aloud, so utterly relieved to

have successfully turned her assailant’s attention to the other woman.

“You’d better be right about this.” The Prince snarled, abruptly releasing Lydia’s neck. The she- wolf

crumpled, trying to steady herself against the wall as her legs gave out. “This is your last chance,

Lydia. One more slip up, and I’ll kill you where you stand.”

Rubbing her neck, Lydia tried to hide her trembling. “I believe you.”