?Chapter 92


    MAEVE POV


    Eric collided with the marble tile floor with powerful force, the sound ringing so violently, so painfully in my ears that I could not help but flinch with a gasp. Meanwhile, his father towered above him


    He... he just hit him. In front of everybody...


    Themotion between the Alpha King and his reclusive second son brought the bumbling courtyard to aplete standstill, with everyone''s eyes glued to the dramatic scene. However enthralled everyone might have been, no one dared to intervene on the young prince''s behalf.


    Suddenly, I was brought back to Sarah''s birthday party... drenched with wine, trembling and humiliated and utterly alone. No one from my own pack thought toe to my rescue.


    I wanted to be the one to break that cycle. No one should know loneliness like that.


    But it was like I couldn''t move. My feet were frozen where I stood.


    "What could he have possibly done this time?" Isabelle muttered from behind me.


    Chest tightening, I watched as Eric slowly propped himself up, lifting a hand to gingerly touch his cheek. He was turned away, so I couldn''t make out the details of his face.


    The two royals were a considerable distance away from us, so we could not make out all the words but that did very little to conceal the rage that entwined with the alpha king''s foreboding, threatening voice. But I did not need to hear him to feel the pain and the fright that Eric might have felt in that moment.


    "What''s going on?" one of the women from this morning''s circle asked. "Who did the king just hit?"


    "He''s probably just another ipetent omega," another woman muttered, apparently oblivious to the ufortable reactions made by the queen and myself. "They''re getting more and morezy by the day, I swear."


    *I''m sure he had iting, whoever that boy is."


    "Alright, everyone, that''s enough," Queen Leonora said loudly, rendering the bustling crowd silent. "This is not a spectacle for your entertainment. We thank you all foring, but I ask that you give the king his privacy and go home."


    To their credit, their respect for the queen outweighed any interest for gossip, and the crowd began to dissipate. King An still towered over his son, muttering something to him that I still couldn''t quite hear, but once he caught sight of the queen trying to tame the crowd, the anger on his face quickly shifted to that of tant disgruntlement.


    And just like that, he spun around on his heel and left.


    I watched Queen Leonora''s gaze flicker over her son''s crippled form before snapping back to that of her husband''s retreating figure. For the first time since I''d met her, she looked so helpless, so torn... like no matter what decision she made right there at that moment, it would never be the right one.


    But then she took one step back, slowly followed by another.


    "I''m sorry," she whispered after a long, agonizing moment, tearing away from the two of us to follow the enraged king.


    My heart dropped, but now was not the time to mull over such things.


    Eric was hurt. He needed help. He needed a friend.Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    Once the queen had left, Isabelle decided she was done with the scene and left without another word. Not that that impacted me or my decision.


    If no one would be there for Eric, I would.


    So I ran to him.


    *Come on... up you go-* I urged, steeling myself to help lift him to his feet. "We need to get you to the pce physician."


    He shook his head. "No... no... that''s not necessary."


    With a grunt, I helped hoist him up. "Yes, it is," I insisted. "Your face is going to swell if you don''t."


    "I don''t care."


    "Well, I do," I loudly said, startling him. "One way or another, you''re getting help, so either we go together or I''m finding him myself."


    Slowly, he nodded and led us through the pce corridors. For a while, there was nothing but silence as we navigated the pce, passing gilded window after window, and different priceless sculptures that decorated the hallways.


    "I can''t believe he could just strike you out of nowhere just like that." I tried my best to contain the tremble in my voice, stirred by echoes of the past. I could see little snippets of my father in the king, and it was like I was stuck living in the dark depths of his shadow once again.


    I heard Eric swallow. And then he mumbled something that I did not quite catch.


    Gently, I touched him on his shoulder. "What did you say?


    Eric lifted his eyes to meet mine. "It was me," he repeated. The stillness in his voice and face unnerved me. "I provoked him."


    I couldn''t believe my ears. Was it possible he was... defending his father?


    *There''s not a single excuse in this world," I said, as stern as I could muster, "that could even begin to defend him for doing this to you."


    All of a sudden, he let out a shortugh, tinged with bitterness. "Thest thing I would ever do is defend that man." The intensity that burned in his eyes slowly morphed into something distant as he again lifted his hand to touch his cheek, still very red and tender. "I... I said something to him. Something that he never expected me to say, and... he did not like what he heard."