Defying the Rogue Alpha
Chapter 158: Dark

Chapter 158: Dark

Then Herod shrugged and turned on his heel, strolling off. As he passed Alaric, he stopped briefly, offering him a casual pat on the shoulder. "Solving problems is so easy," he said breezily. "You just have to be willing to get your hands a little dirty."

Alaric’s grin widened, eyes twinkling with admiration as he watched the king walk away. "Magnificent," he muttered under his breath.

But not everyone was impressed.

Ava stood rooted to the spot, one hand wrapped tightly around her neck as if trying to hold in her soul. Her breath came in shallow gasps. Her eyes, wide with disbelief, brimmed with tears that refused to fall.

She had suspected Herod was dark, yes. A little controlling, of course. But this? This was madness. She had just watched a man toss his queen off a balcony and blamed gravity.

She turned to look at the guards, at the terrified expressions on their faces, at the servants who had frozen mid-gasp.

What had she gotten herself into?

Ava didn’t move. Couldn’t move. Her fingers curled into fists, her stomach tightened from fear. Fear that Herod had shown her a glimpse of who he really was.

*****

Ava was trembling so violently that her knees almost gave way beneath her as Lucia gently guided her into the room. Her eyes were wide, glassy, and disoriented.

"Miss, you have to be strong," Lucia whispered. "For your baby."

But Ava wasn’t listening. She was still on that balcony. "He pushed her... he pushed her," she whispered, over and over. Her voice trembled as if the words themselves were too heavy for her lungs. "She didn’t jump... she didn’t jump... she—he... he pushed her."

Her mind was swirling in a typhoon of horror and disbelief. She wasn’t just scared. She wasn’t just shocked. She had seen death before but nothing like this. Nothing so cold. So final.

"I’ll get the doctor to give you something to calm down," Lucia said quickly, already half-turning toward the door.

"No!" Ava snapped, gripping Lucia’s arm as if it was the last branch above a pit. "No. I need my mind sharp. Please, don’t let me fade."

Lucia hesitated, her lips pressing into a thin line before she nodded and gently eased Ava to sit on the edge of the bed. "Then breathe, Miss. Please. For your sake. For the baby."

Ava sat stiffly, her breath erratic, her eyes darting toward the door as if expecting it to burst open again with another violent surprise. "Help me, Lucia," she said finally. "Help me leave. I can’t stay. Not another night. Not after this."

Lucia’s eyes filled with a sadness that was deeper than pity. "You cannot leave, Miss. You are the king’s woman now. You carry his child. That alone binds you. To leave him is...treason."

Ava shook her head, her heart pounding. "But he—he killed her. His wife. That could be me next."

Before Lucia could answer, a knock came. The door creaked open, and in strolled Herod with calm and grace.

Ava’s entire body went rigid. Her hands clutched the sheets beside her.

Lucia bowed quickly and slipped out, her head down.

Ava wanted to run after her. But she couldn’t move. Her body refused. Every cell screamed danger, but still she sat, watching him.

"Ava..." Herod said. "I... I’m sorry you had to see that. But... please believe me, I had had enough. She was spiraling. She was...she was trying to hurt you."

"You pushed her," Ava said. "If you didn’t want her anymore, you could have divorced her. Banished her. Anything but that. No one deserves to die like that."

Herod sighed, a wistful sigh. He moved to sit on the armchair beside the bed, not too close—perhaps to appear disarmed. Perhaps to lure her in.

"Before you," he began, staring into some invisible past. "There was someone. Someone I loved with all of my heart."

Ava blinked, unsure where this was going, but her body stayed tense.

"I was young then," Herod said with a bitter chuckle. "Still a prince. I told my parents I had found the one. Oh, I was so proud, so hopeful."

He leaned back in his seat, rubbing his temples dramatically. "They tried to surprise me. Brought the girl to the palace in secret, arranged the whole engagement. But there was a miscommunication."

"Eliza was the first daughter," Herod continued. He paced slowly in front of Ava. "And they just assumed... assumed she was the one I was hopelessly in love with. No one bothered to check. No one thought to ask me. My parents had already given their word, in our world, you don’t unsay a royal word. They said it, they sealed it, and that was the end of it. Except it wasn’t. Not for me. I refused to marry Eliza. I refused. So, we—me and her sister—we made plans. Eloping wasn’t just scandalous; it was treason. But we didn’t care. We were young. Stupid. Brave."

He stopped pacing and stared off into the middle distance, his eyes swimming in old grief. "I waited for her. That night. I waited until the stars gave up on me. But she never came."

Ava’s heart twisted painfully in her chest. Even now, even knowing what he had done, it was hard not to feel the tragic weight of his younger self’s heartbreak.

"Eliza got what she wanted," he said. "She wore the crown she had stolen. And we both knew the truth. She had killed her own sister to do it." His eyes snapped back to Ava. "You think I was going to let her do the same to you?"

Ava opened her mouth, but the words tangled somewhere between her chest and her lips. Finally, she managed to whisper, "Herod? I..."

He stepped closer. "I will protect you with my dignity, my life, my throne," he vowed. "Anyone breathes the wrong way around you, anyone"—his gaze darkened dangerously—"it will be their last breath."

Ava should have felt reassured. Protected. Instead, a shiver crawled up her spine.

The way he said it... It wasn’t just devotion. It was obsession laced with madness.

Just how far would he go?

And what would happen when Ava herself made a mistake?

*****

Lucas heard the news about the Queen’s death. The queen had jumped. Jumped! Lucas snorted to himself.

He doubted it.

He didn’t buy it for a second.

The king was preparing to crown Ava.

What Lucas didn’t understand—what gnawed at his was why Ava was going along with it. Why wasn’t she fighting?

Was she protecting herself? Or Zoe?

Lucas sat in the corner of the Bleeding Ladies, idly twirling a knife between his fingers. His mind wouldn’t settle. He was sure Ava had seen him that day in town, when she passed by beside the king.

Her expression was that of confusion.

Did she think he wouldn’t come for her? Did she really believe he would abandon her?

Kade entered the bar and approached him.

"They’re almost ready," Kade said, flopping down into a chair. "Most of the men are scattered around the city. Just waiting for your signal, Alpha."

Lucas grunted in response. He didn’t want to think about the men, the plan, or how many of them might not come back. Especially since Dennis had cooked up a plan that sounded stupid.

Becky, bless her scandalous soul, was going to be their key in getting one of the guards.

And from there, well... chaos had a way of opening doors.

Lucas had one single, burning, all-consuming priority: Ava and Zoe had to be safe. Then they would burn the king and his palace to the ground.

"I heard the mating ceremony is in three days," Kade said.

Lucas nodded stiffly.

He didn’t want to talk about another man fucking his mate beneath the full moon, under the sacred sky, where vows were supposed to mean something.

He didn’t want to imagine Herod touching her.

Or kissing her.

Or worse, branding her.

"Any idea where my father is?" Kade muttered, needing to redirect his brain before he punched a hole through the table.

@PrincessH: Welcome back! I missed you.

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