Chapter 152: Chapter 152 The Palace Is The Target
Darius’s face twisted with rage as he glared at both Reginald and Alpha Sterling. "The king! The damn king is here! He’s the one leading the warriors!" His voice cracked with fury. "You promised me the king wouldn’t lead them, but there he is!"
Disbelief washed over Reginald’s features. "You’re certain?"
Darius let out a bitter laugh. "Our scout spotted his banner. No mistaking it—it’s him."
The remaining five alphas exchanged worried glances, their anxiety written all over their faces. Alpha Isaac shifted nervously, beads of sweat forming across his brow. "Think the backup from Valerium will make it here on time?"
Isaac had thrown his lot in with the rebellion because of his connection to the late Alpha Theodore—family ties that bound him to Fiona and Draven. That’s what drove him to take this risk.
Plus, with no heir of his own, the plan involved combining their territories and installing Draven as the alpha of the unified pack.
Now, though, the price seemed too steep.
"They’ll arrive when we need them. We just have to hang on a bit longer." Reginald turned toward Alpha Sterling, the one who’d been handling communications with their foreign allies. "Mind if we speak privately?"
Alpha Vance’s brow creased in irritation. "Why keep calling him alpha? He lost that title. And why the secret conversation? We’re all in this together—speak openly."
Reginald’s eyes hardened. "He remains an alpha, regardless of what you think. Even Alpha Theodore held that title until his final breath."
The statement silenced Vance while strengthening the others’ faith in Reginald. He carried forward the fallen alpha’s mission to topple the crown.
More importantly, his words deepened Alpha Sterling’s trust. A brilliant tactical move.
If only words could solve everything—this war might never have started.
The meeting dragged on without resolution, everyone circling back to the same arguments.
But Reginald secured his private moment with Alpha Sterling.
"We need to switch strategies. Charging straight at the king will get us slaughtered."
Alpha Sterling nodded grimly as he filled their glasses. "Good thing you finally see the reality." They’d prepared for the decisive battle, but their plans assumed the king would stay away from the front lines.
Now everything had to change.
"Having the king on the battlefield will fire up every last warrior. They’ll fight like demons with him leading them." Sterling drained his drink in one gulp. "And that’s not even considering the king himself. The Mad King in beast form is deadly. His presence alone can freeze you in place—a split second that decides whether you live or die."
Reginald poured himself a drink, already knowing these facts.
"Redirect the reinforcements to hit the palace instead," Reginald interrupted Sterling’s lecture.
"What are you suggesting? Another attempt to snatch Phoebe?" Sterling raised an eyebrow, gesturing at Reginald’s damaged eye. "See how well that worked out last time?"
"I’ve got something better in mind."
"Which is?"
"We retreat."
——
**Phoebe’s POV**
Three weeks had crawled by since Perry left the palace, and the ache of missing him never faded. These past weeks had been surprisingly quiet.
Ever since that incident in the dining hall, no elder had dared approach me with demands. The complaints about my fitness as future queen had also died down.
Part of that came from how approachable the king seemed whenever he spent time with his mate.
With this unexpected peace, I’d thrown myself into studying with Marcela, absorbing everything about healing and medicine. The knowledge came easily—I picked up lessons faster than I’d expected.
"Such a shame you weren’t born a healer, my lady," Rosa commented as she arrived with her younger sister Lynn.
Both girls had become Marcela’s students. "You’re already better than me." She grimaced at her latest failed mixture.
I smiled and mouthed my thanks to them both.
Lynn studied me with curious eyes. "My lady, I can see your tongue has healed, so why can’t you speak? Did he damage your throat?"
Lynn had been present during my kidnapping, assigned to keep me alive. She knew Reginald hadn’t physically harmed me—if anything, he’d been frantic when I wouldn’t wake up.
Rosa elbowed her sister to quiet her, which only deepened Lynn’s confusion. "What?"
"Lady Phoebe isn’t dealing with physical damage, but psychological trauma," Marcela explained gently.
"So she’s too frightened to speak now?"
Both Rosa and Marcela looked at me as I whispered, "Something like that."
"I apologize for my sister, my lady. She can be thoughtless," Rosa said, but I waved dismissively, letting them know it didn’t bother me.
As I half-listened to their chatter, movement in my peripheral vision caught my attention.
Viola.
I’d heard she was here, that her destined mate turned out to be one of the senior royal guards. But we hadn’t met face-to-face. I’d glimpsed her once but chose not to approach.
What would we even discuss?
None of what happened between us was anyone’s fault.
"Can I speak with you?" Viola asked.
