The Lycan Prince's Silent Bride

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e for BloodHowl before the moon reached its peak. My stomach coiled. I would no longer see the sunrise of Silver Claw again. We had just reached the edge of the great hall when an annoyingly familiar voice called out, shrill and commanding. "Wait!" Judy. Her footsteps snapped against the floor as she swept toward us, her red painted lips stretched in a false smile. She bowed low before Alaric, though her eyes sparkled with venom when they flicked to me. "My prince," she said sweetly, "before you depart, allow me to send with you one of our serving girls. A companion for my dear daughter." Alaric's brow arched, suspicion sharp in his gaze. "A serving girl? Why?" The silence that followed tightened the air like a noose. Judy didn't falter. Her smile only widened, her voice pitched to carry to every ear present. "Because my daughter is mute," she said smoothly. "She cannot speak for herself. Surely, she'll need someone to interpret her silence." The words sliced through me, hot and cold all at once. My fists curled against the folds of my gown, nails digging into my palms forming crescent shapes . Humiliation prickled up my spine, but worse than that was the raw truth... my secret laid bare for all of them to sneer at. The Lycan nobles that heard her gasped softly, they began whispering behind fans and hands. My cheeks burned, but I did not bow. I did not let them see me break. Alaric's reaction was instant. His jaw locked, his amber eyes igniting with fury. He stepped toward Judy, towering, predatory. The silence stretched taut. "Mute?" he repeated, his voice low, and dangerously lethal. "You insult my bride at my own wedding?" Judy faltered, her smile flickering at the sound of his raging voice. "I.. I only meant what... " "You meant WHAT?," Alaric snarled, "to tell everyone including me of her flaws. To parade them like trinkets before us. To humiliate me. Do you think I am subject to your venom?" The room froze. Even Alpha King Ethan's expression tightened, but he said nothing. Then, out of the corner of my eye.. I caught it. A subtle gesture from Queen Seraphina. Barely a tilt of her head, a flick of her jeweled fingers. A signal... To him. She wanted him to control it. To let the insult slide, or bury it quietly. But it was obvious Prince Alaric was not a man to be muzzle