Auctioned to the Cruel King - Chapter 86: Chapter 86

Kayla’s POV
I’d had dinner with Lance. There were no words for how different it felt or how natural it was.
Like the storm between us had gone momentarily silent, all that remained was the weight of what we were building in the dark. I could feel it in the way he looked at me across the table. He was different now.
Everything between us, in a good way.
A maid passed by, cradling an empty basket in her arms. Her steps were light, her shoulders drawn in politely. “Good evening…and goodnight, my Luna,” she said, dipping into a graceful curtsy as she passed.
I offered her a small nod. “Goodnight to you too.”
But just as I stepped forward again, something fluttered to the floor from her dress.
I looked down.
A folded note now lay at the edge of my path.
Frowning, I bent to pick it up. “Hello?” I called out gently, straightening. “Wait—you dropped your—”
I turned back toward where the maid had gone only to find her gone.
“Well, whatever,” I sighed. It must not have been important.
And on instinct, I flipped the note and paused;
Meet me
An hour past midnight
At the garden path.
The paper crinkled slightly in my hands as my fingers clenched. My pulse began to rise, a steady throb under my skin. The corners of the note blurred as a breath caught sharp in my throat.
Cartier, it could only be him.
I looked around again, suddenly aware of every flicker of shadow, every corner that could hold unseen eyes. And the fact that it came through a maid’s pocket…
My breath quickened.
Panic was rising fast.
I clutched the note tighter, trying to force air into my lungs as I stumbled forward, leaning heavily against the nearest wall. My vision spun for a second.
“I think…” I gasped quietly, “I think I’m going to faint.”
Damn it.
I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek and forced a deep breath through my nose. One step. Then another. I kept moving, dragging my hand along the wall like a tether.
“My Luna?”
I blinked at the voice.
A different maid now stood ahead, her eyes wide with concern. “Are you alright?” she asked, stepping forward.
I shook my head once, trying to steady my voice.
“I’m fine,” I said.
Lie.
I wasn’t fine. I was spiraling. But I couldn’t let that show. Not with strangers. Not with anyone who might be working with that cunning bastard.
The maid tilted her head. “Do you need help? I can fetch someone—”
“No,” I snapped. I definitely didn't need anyone finding out.
Her face shifted, startled.
“I said I’m fine,” I repeated, firmer now. “I don’t need help.”
She took a step back, blinking rapidly as if trying to recover. I exhaled and closed my eyes for a beat. Then, just as she turned to leave, guilt hit me like ice.
“Wait,” I said.
She turned back.
The flicker of fear in her eyes made my chest twist but I didn’t back down. She was young, probably barely out of training and she might have thought she was doing the right thing by approaching, but I couldn’t afford kindness right now.
“What’s your name?” I asked quietly.
She swallowed. “Cece, my Luna.”
I nodded once. “Good. I’ll remember it.”
Her brows lifted slightly.
“Tell no one you saw me like this,” I said. “Not your friend. Not your roommate. Not even in passing thought. Do you understand?”
“I—yes, my Luna,” she whispered. “I won’t say a word.”
“If a word of it crosses my ears that you did…”
Her bow was low and trembling. “I’m sorry, my Luna. I’ll forget.”
I nodded.
She turned and hurried down the corridor, skirts whispering.
The moment I reached the safety of my room, I shut the door behind me and leaned against it, forcing a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. My hands trembled faintly, the note from Cartier still crushed in my grip. The paper was slightly damp now, crumpled from the heat of my palm, but the ink remained.
I crossed the room in a quiet rush, grabbed the water jug from the table, and poured myself a glass. My throat ached with dryness, and the first sip made my head throb with how fast I’d been breathing.
The second sip was slower.
I set the glass down and exhaled, then bent to untie my shoes, slipping them off one at a time. The cool floor met my bare feet. I peeled off the light vest I’d worn over my dress and tossed it over the back of the chair. Then I sat on the edge of the bed, letting my elbows rest on my knees, fingers rubbing at my temples as if pressure alone could press the dread out of my skull.
Should I tell Lance?
That was the question circling like a vulture.
Would he even be surprised if he knew Cartier had made contact? What Cartier was after? Did he already know? Had he anticipated this just as he anticipated every other move lately?
I stared at the clock on the wall.
A little past ten. However, sleep claimed me before I could finish deciding, but it wasn't for long.
Because I soon stirred with a jolt, my eyes flying open to a room bathed in moonlight. My eyes shot to the clock again.
Past midnight.
Shit.
A cold knot twisted low in my stomach and I pushed myself up, wincing as my body protested, the kind of heaviness that came from sleeping in tension. I slid on the soft, padded shoes beside my bed, pulled on a heavier wrap, then crossed to the door. My hand hovered over the knob.
I wasn't crazy. I just needed…
I opened the door slowly, inch by inch, until I could slip through and shut it quietly behind me. My wolf snarled low in the back of my mind but I needed to figure out his plan, where and when … if Cartier truly meant to challenge Lance for the throne...
The garden path was empty.
I crept past the fountains, and then—I saw him.
Cartier stood near the pavilion, his silhouette unmistakable. He wore a long coat draped over his broad frame, hair catching faint streaks of moonlight. A man lounged near him, half-shadowed by the hedges—one of his guards, likely. The one with that odd name.
I didn’t hesitate as I stepped closer.
“I’m here,” I said, my voice flat.
Cartier turned to face me, his mouth twitching.
“My eyes do not deceive me, then,” he said smoothly. “A little late, but we can look past that.” His hand gestured casually toward the lounging man. “I was just telling Destiny here how much I’m going to miss you.”
My gaze slid toward the male in the shadows. He tilted his head slightly, just enough to suggest a smile that never quite reached the surface. I kept my attention on Cartier instead.
“Touching,” I said. “Though let’s not pretend I had a real choice in coming.”
Cartier’s lips curled faintly. “Ah,” he said. “But even so, you’re here. That alone earns a salute.” His tone darkened as he took a step forward. “To walk into this not knowing what you’d find… that’s a bravery few would risk.”
I forced myself not to step back. Even as my senses screamed to retreat, I kept my footing.
“I remembered something when I woke up,” I said quietly. “You need me. If you’d wanted me dead, you would’ve done it the last time we met. Killing me now wouldn’t serve your ambitions, it would only ruin them.”
“Would it?” he asked, amused.
“If your goal is to take the Alpha throne from Lance,” I continued, “then you’d gain nothing by spilling my blood. In fact, it would only make things worse. The Council wouldn’t forget it. Lance wouldn’t, especially not now.”
It was a gamble to spill it on him. Something flickered in Cartier’s eyes.
“I imagine,” I went on, “that just out of spite, and with a little push from the Council, he’d bed anyone willing, just to replace the heir you’d destroyed.”
If he didn't understand before, he did now. That I was carrying Lance’s child, that there is already another claim to the throne.
Still, those words left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Lance with someone else. Lance creating a new heir with another woman…
Even though I’d said it myself, even though it was a bluff—I hated the thought more than I expected to.
“You’re confident,” he murmured.
“I’m right.”
His expression turned unreadable, but his voice didn’t lose its edge. “You have a sharp tongue now, I’ll give you that. But perhaps it’s only me… or perhaps you still don’t understand the situation you’re in.”
He stepped close enough that I could feel the heat of his body, though he didn’t touch me.
“I expected to find fear in your eyes tonight,” he said softly. “But instead... I see something else. Something that shouldn’t be there.”
I didn’t flinch.
But then, someone else spoke.
From behind the hedges. “What you see,” Vivian said as she stepped into the clearing, “is stupidity disguised as courage. Only she doesn’t know it.”