Auctioned to the Cruel King - Chapter 74: Chapter 74

Lance’s POV
The sun had climbed well past the horizon, but the curtains in my chamber remained drawn. Not a single servant had entered. Not a knock had dared reach the wood until now. A firm rap.
I didn’t move from the edge of the bed, where I sat shirtless, legs apart, elbows resting on my thighs. The wine I hadn’t finished from last night was still staining the rim of its glass beside me.
“Enter,” I called.
The door creaked open.
“Your Majesty,” Ric said.
I didn’t raise my head. “Seriously? You’re calling me that again?”
He stepped in fully and closed the door behind him. “We’re alone.”
“Exactly.” I kept my gaze on where they had been. “So drop the formalities.“
He hesitated—just enough for me to catch it.
“I know. That was only a slip,” he said. “Are you all right, though? No one’s seen you all morning.”
I leaned back. “I think I’m coming down with something. Boogers and all.” I rubbed at my nose, feigning a sniff. “Maybe a flu. Tragic, really. But let’s not waste time on me.”
I studied him now, fully.
“You’ve got a look on your face, Ric. Not the usual ‘I’d rather be somewhere else’ expression. This one’s new. What happened?”
“Hm…” He exhaled.
Ric shifted his stance. His arms were crossed, his stance rigid, but not in that I’m-on-duty way. More like someone trying too hard to stay neutral.
“I must’ve overdone it last night during training.”
“Training,” I repeated, voice flat.
He did prefer to train late. Always has. Something about the quiet. The dark. The solitude. But I knew him too well. Knew the scent that clung to his skin even under the soap, under the sweat, under the effort to hide it. It wasn’t just exertion that marked him now. There was a trace—faint, but I could still smell it. A scent that is unmistakably Vivian’s.
Of course it was.
I leaned forward slightly, forearms bracing on my knees. My head tilted, and I looked at him for a long, silent moment. Tried not to laugh.
“What?” Ric asked. “Is there something on my face?”
I let out a short, dry laugh.
“You tell me.”
He frowned.
And I dragged on a black pants that stuck slightly to the sweat I hadn’t bothered to clean off. “Not your face. Just the irony.” I stepped past him, retrieving a ring from the side table and sliding it onto my finger. “Seeing you… the once legendary Ric of Madame D’s... now walking around like some reformed monk. It’s exhausting.”
His eyes narrowed. “You’re exaggerating.”
“No,” I said. “You’re pretending.”
“What was it the girls called you—The Beast Beneath the Sheets?”
His jaw twitched.
I smirked without smiling. “I mean, Sissy and Mina? Their stories alone could set fire to an entire bar.”
Ric shook his head. “Only because you made me—”
“Funny,” I cut in, even knowing fully well I had manipulated him into fucking those women then. Put him in the tight spot where he had to fuck to calm his thirst so I won't have to be the only one having fun. It may have been the first but I had gotten Intel on it. On him.
“I don’t recall you ever complaining.”
He didn’t answer. Didn’t deny it either.
“That part of you,” I said, “it’s still there. I can smell it.”
His lips parted slightly, then closed again. He knew I knew. I could smell Vivian on him, like burnt sugar and bitter wine. He hadn’t fucked her. Not yet. The scent hadn’t matured. But it was there.
He’d wanted to.
Badly.
“She’ll draw it out,” I said idly, pouring the last of my untouched wine into my mouth. “Viv. She’ll break the part of you still trying to pretend you’re made of stone.”
Ric scoffed. “She won’t get the chance.”
I looked at him again. “You didn’t push her away, did you?”
He stilled.
“That’s what I thought.”
A tense beat passed between us. I waited. He didn’t speak. Not about what happened. Not about what he let happen. Or whatever that was.
“Don’t act like I’m judging you,” I said. “If anything, I’m relieved. Vivian is… determined. Strong-willed. Beautiful, lethal, stubborn. She’d make any lycan break their rules.”
He looked down. A muscle flexed in his jaw.
“You're wondering why you don’t want her,” I said softly. “Or maybe you're wondering why you do.”
“I don’t want to get involved with her.”
“But you already are.”
His silence told me everything.
“And don’t pretend this is about loyalty to me. Me and Vivian—whatever we had—it ended long ago now. It served its purpose. That’s all.”
He looked at me now, and there was a question in his eyes that hadn’t quite found its voice. But instead, he said, “Why does it sound like you actually want me to be with her?”
“Because I do,” I said.
He stared.
“I want you to stop pretending you're someone else,” I said. “You’ve chained yourself to this idea of who you’re supposed to be. The perfect second. The loyal protector. Emotionless. Dutiful. Controlled. It’s bullshit.”
His nostrils flared slightly, but still, he held his tongue.
“You think you’re protecting anyone by holding back?”
Ric shifted. “She doesn’t want me. She wants a distraction.”
That may be right at first.
“She wants to be consumed. You could give her that.”
“I’m not some savage.”
“No. But you are the only man I know who could fuck her like she needs…” Not to mention I can smell his thirst now too.
He flinched. Just slightly. Enough to prove I’d hit the nerve.
“Enough about her,” I finally said. “Where are we with Landon?”
Ric’s mouth pressed into a hard line. “We got a reply from him early this morning.”
I stilled. “You’re only just telling me this now?” My tone cut the air like a blade. “Why didn’t you lead with that?”
He blinked once, probably debating whether or not to call my reaction dramatic. But I’d already risen too quickly, and the shift in my balance hit like a blow.
The room tilted. My vision pulsed black for a beat.
“Shit—whoa.” Ric stepped forward. “Are you alright?”
I waved him off with a tight hand, gripping the bedpost to steady myself. Fuck, how many alchol did I consume last night? “I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine,” he muttered.
“I just turned too fast.” The lie tasted sour. “I’ll call the doctor later if it persists. Right now, tell me about Landon’s message.”
Alaric hesitated before continuing. “It wasn’t what we expected. It was… ceremonial.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Meaning?”
“An invitation,” he said slowly. “To a coronation.” I went still and Ric added, “He’s announcing a formal union with Alpha Kane’s surviving pack.”
A breath left me, sharp and cold. “A coronation,” I repeated. “Of what?”
“He didn’t say. But he used that word. Publicly.”
I clenched my jaw. “And how long have you known?”
Ric stood straighter. “It came in late. I didn’t think—”
“You didn’t think,” I cut in, voice suddenly low. “We have people inside his ranks. I was promised early warning signs. Not ceremonial invitations.”
His expression twisted slightly. “We did have someone in there. One of the field-level shadows we placed through the merchant trade routes.”
“Had?” I echoed, cold crawling down my spine.
“She’s dead,” Ric said.
I closed my eyes. A long breath. “Cause?”
“Ambushed. She tried relaying an encrypted sigil two days ago. Never finished the sequence. Her body was dumped near the Emberline ravine.”
Silence stretched.
My voice, when it came, was barely audible. “Has her family been settled?”
Ric nodded. “Already on it. We wiped all traces. Her name will not be connected to this court.”
I nodded slowly, folding my arms behind my back. I stared out the window, the sky bleeding into a haze of light that felt far too calm. But in all odds, I wasn't much worried about Landon’s plan. I’d have a plan of my own but knowing what he is after will make it a good run to ruin it all.
“You said union,” I murmured. “That implies alliance.”
Ric’s voice turned graver. “It’s more than that. He’s not just linking to the Alpha’s territory. He’s claiming inheritance. Dominion. As if he’s the rightful heir of their lands and power structures.”
I turned sharply. “And our allies?”
“Unnerved. But not yet opposed. No one wants to make a move until they understand what Landon’s really doing.”
“Then I want that understanding first. Before he moves. Before he breathes. I want to know his next step before he does.”
Ric watched me quietly. “We’re already trying to insert a new mole.”
I scoffed. Probably because I already did, but, “Try harder. I don’t want to go begging Vivian and her flock of spying parrots for scraps.”
“We’re exhausting every other option.”
“Good.” I turned around, reaching for my buttons. What a load of stress.
He gave a short nod, then paused, studying me. “Are you going to be okay?”
I paused mid-motion, halfway through unbuttoning my trousers. “You going to stand there and watch me shower too?” I muttered.
He gave a dry exhale, shook his head, and turned to leave.