The Alpha King's Princess
The Alpha King’s Princess – Chapter 65

The joy filled my chest so much it felt like I would burst, but it popped, and I deflated as the terror struck through me. Candido was marrying Sibyl soon. I didn’t know how soon, but I knew it was too soon for comfort.

Too soon to be standing around here. I couldn’t be sure because my birthday was still a month out, but if golden wolves only mated with golden wolves, then there was such a small chance that I was wrong.

Candido had to be my mate.

He had to be. Whatever reaction I had to Armageddon had to be a fluke. I felt it. I knew it. It had to be true. What other reason would the Moon Goddess have led me to Candido and kept me safe with him all these years if we weren’t meant to be together?

I rushed out of the dressing room just as they finished paying for the dress. The sales clerk gasped in awe.

“You look lovely.”

I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and looked back at the leader of Team Gamma-2.

“Take me to the temple.”

They seemed shocked for a moment, but each of them grinned and nodded.

“Right away, Miss Hedy.”

We cut through the mall to the east side. The car was waiting there and running. They helped me in, jumped in behind me, and we were off. I couldn’t be sure if the driver was driving faster than usual, faster than legal, or normal, but I didn’t care. We had to get there soon. If the jeep could fly, I would have been grateful. My heart pounded at the thought that I would arrive too late. Getting a divorce after the fact would be hard, and Sibyl would already have all the power she would need to get rid of me, no matter what Candido said. I didn’t know much about divorce. I’m sure Allen did, but we hadn’t talked about that. I didn’t know if being his mate would simply protect me in the house or if it would force them to divorce. I didn’t want to take the chance.

I couldn’t prove that the next move was to have Candido murdered, but I knew that vampire would probably make that move.

The more I thought about it, the attack in the forest was likely originally meant to capture me, but being able to murder Candido in that forest would have been a bonus. The vampire was sly, shifting his plans as he needed to. Whoever he was in the vampire ranks was probably high up.

Was he one of those princes? A general of some kind? He had to be if he was trusted with causing so much disruption in the capital. I hoped the police and the guards managed to subdue at least one of the vampires that were working with him.

The driver drove almost recklessly, cutting through the city and traffic as I turned my thoughts over. I glanced down at the mark and worried my l*p. As much as I hoped, as much as I felt that the Moon Goddess was giving me this gift, there was no way to be sure. I hadn’t seen Armageddon’s moon mark and mine wasn’t complete. But I was willing to take the chance to at least buy them some time to get rid of Sibyl. That was all we needed. If there was one prayer that I needed to be answered right now, it was to stop this wedding.

The tires screeched. I opened the door and jumped out, hurrying up the steps and through the crowd. People turned to look at me, gasping. Team Gamma and Epsilon pushed people aside as they gawked at me and whispered. A small fight broke out between them and the Red Moon guards, but it was quickly handled. There was no competition.

“Who is she?”

“She’s crashing the king’s wedding?”

“Oh, my…She’s lucky she won’t be killed!”

The guards nodded at me as I passed, and I shoved the door open. People turned to look at me. Candido and Sibyl were already at the top of the aisle as I marched down it. People whispered and growled. Some of Sibyl’s family seemed to glare daggers at me. Her pack members, who I went to school with, stared at me wide-eyed as I marched down the aisle.

The music had stopped playing. Whatever the priest had been saying was lost to the silence and shock of my appearance.

I saw the rings still on the altar, and my heart swelled with relief. I hadn’t been too late.

“How dare you!” Sibyl cried. I spared her half a glance. The priest looked surprised, but his eyes dropped to my chest.

Norton growled. “Seize that woman and get her out of here!”

One of my guards shot forward, blocking a Red Moon Pack security officer and pushing him out of the way as I passed several rows of people and reached the top of the aisle. I stepped up the few steps to stand equal to him and Sibyl.

Sibyl raised her hand, aiming to slap me. “Who do you think you are to ruin my wedding?”

I caught her hand and threw it down. I shoved her back and away from me. She stumbled and hissed.

“You little—”

“Shut up!” I yelled. “I’ve had enough of you for the past four years. I’m not here to talk to you. I’m not even here to acknowledge you.”

“You—”

“Hedy,” Candido said calmly as I turned towards him. His gaze drifted over me as I looked at him, admiring how handsome he looked in his suit. It wasn’t much different than his usual three-piece suit save for the style of tie. “What are you doing?”

“She’s ruining everything! I told you!” Sibyl screeched. “See, father?”

That felt odd to me. Perhaps Sibyl had once tried to get out of this and had been forced to keep going, or she had complained about me, and her father kept telling her that I wasn’t a threat.

I wasn’t going to stand by and let them keep playing this game with Candido.

“Quiet, Sibyl!” Norton hissed. “Your Majesty, surely you can understand that as a father, I would take issue with this?”

Candid glared at Norton. “You take issue with a lot of things.”

“You cannot expect my Sibyl to ever share a home with this girl who would do this.” Norton urged. “She will be your queen. Perhaps it is time, past time even, for you to send her back to her pack as she has clearly misunderstood her place in the world.”

I glared at him. Sibyl looked smug and ready to agree. The thought of being sent back chilled me and filled me with rage. I felt the aggression that I had just started to shake off start to surge again. I almost wished they had attacked the wedding so I had a reason and an excuse to claw Sibyl’s face off.

“Perhaps it is time, past time, for you to stop lying about everything you can and can’t do,” I sneered. “Maybe it’s about time you step up and do what should be done as an alpha instead of selling off pieces of your territory instead of managing it.”

Norton flushed. “You little–”

“Maybe it’s time you stopped using this stupid deal as leverage,” I growled. “You should have willingly helped the rightful heir in his time of need, not blackmailed him!”

A gasp went through the building. Norton flushed as they whispered behind us. I knew no one had ever heard about what Norton had done. It was just the start of the way I would take Norton and the entire Red Moon Pack down.

“Enough,” Candido cut in and took me by the arm, pulling me aside. “Hedy. Go home.”

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m not going to sit by and watch you marry this evil woman for some old agreement that was unfair in the first place. She’s not your mate!” I jabbed my finger at her. “The evidence is clear as day on her.”

Norton growled, “What does that have to do with—”

“I know Sibyl is not my mate,” Candido said. “I never pretended otherwise. What are you—”

Then, his mouth shut, and his gaze dropped to the mark on my chest. His eyes widened, then slowly dragged up to meet my gaze. Was there longing in his eyes? Surprise? Hope? I didn’t know. My heart was racing as I watched understanding dawn on him.

He lifted his hand to his chest, just over his heart. I could almost feel the warmth of his hand over mine as I looked at him, willing him to understand and believe it as much as I did.

“Hedy—”

Someone grabbed me by my waist, pulling me away. I shoved at the man’s face.

Norton growled and pulled me more firmly down from the altar.

“You wretched—”

“I’m your mate!” I yelled, struggling in the man’s hold. “And I’ll die before I let you marry her!”