Chapter 143


    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 Sinir to discover that E 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 rmed.


    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. E’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 pce, but she’d been


    preupied trying to n a romantic dinner for the Prince once the ransom waspleted. In her


    mind Damon would have returned to the pce to retrieve E once Sinir agreed to surrender,


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


    the Prince would me her for concocting the n and missing the invasion.


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


    be 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 bodynguage reminded him so much of histe wife that a fresh wave of Wrath


    mmed 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 usatory 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 mmed


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


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


    to help me because you know Sinir soo well, but your ns 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


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


    exactly how Sinir’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 ws digging into her throat.


    “You’ve been a pain in my ass since the moment you arrived!” He rted, “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 Sinir,


    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 azy 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’te back because Sinir 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 Sinir 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.”


    Content (C) N?v/elDra/ma.Org.


    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 E and Sinir’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 rece his queen, and the crimes she’dmitted 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 ws break the skin


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


    knowing he would enjoy the sound.


    At the veryst moment an idea clicked into ce, and Lydia’s panicked body rxed 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 E


    until after she was already pregnant with Sinir’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 E 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 E wasn’t.” She hurriedly exined.


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


    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 rtives here until recently, besides I’ve never seen a pair of


    mates more in love.”


    “Then why hasn’t he imed 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 shing in his eyes. “Maybe it’s time to call in Roger


    again.”


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


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


    in about his rtionship – 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 E is who she says she is then she’ll have connections in the Shadow pack, evenmoners have


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


    have sessfully turned her assant’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 yourst 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.”