radicalducati Chapter 57
Chapter 57
Adolphus’s POV
The air left my lungs in a sharp, humorless exhale. I laughed, not from amusement, not from arrogance, but from the sheer absurdity of it all. It was the kind of laugh that rose when disbelief became unbearable.
“You can’t be serious,” I said, voice low and disbelieving. “What proof are you talking about?”
The Alpha’s eyes narrowed, shadows creeping into his already hard expression. “This is not a request.”
His words dropped like iron against stone, unyielding, final.
I met his stare, letting the silence stretch between us. My entire body was taut, every muscle coiled, rage pulsing just beneath my skin like a second heartbeat. I didn’t blink. I didn’t look away.
“And what if I refuse?” I asked, my voice calm, but dangerous.
He smiled.
Not the kind of smile that comes with joy. This was something colder. Sharper. A wolf baring its teeth before the bite.
“Then we’ll make sure Katrina suffers.”
The words hit with the force of a blade. Not just a threat. A promise.
Everything inside me stilled.
My fists clenched. My jaw locked. My blood turned molten.
Something inside me, something primal, snapped.
The silence that followed was thick, almost tangible. A slow burn rose in my chest, radiating outward like a storm building under the surface. They thought they could bend me. Thought they could use her against me. Thought I would fall in line like some obedient pawn.
They were wrong.
I inhaled slowly, deliberately, steadying the rising fury. My spine straightened, my shoulders squaring as I lifted my head. A slow, dangerous smile spread across my lips.
“Well, then,” I said softly, almost mockingly. “It seems we have a problem.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Cassandra take a step forward. Her brow furrowed, a flicker of confusion crossing her otherwise flawless mask.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
I turned my full attention to the Alpha, letting the smirk deepen. “You’re making a mistake,” I told him, my voice firm, ice-cold.
The Alpha didn’t move. His eyes remained fixed on me, unreadable, but sharper now, more alert.
“Explain.”
I stepped forward. Deliberate. Controlled. The guards tensed at my flanks, but I ignored them. My focus never left the Alpha.
And then I spoke the words that would fracture everything.
“I already have a mate,” I said, voice clear, measured. “So I can’t be mated to another.”
For a moment, the entire room stopped breathing.
Cassandra’s breath hitched. Her face went pale. “What?” she whispered, like she needed me to say it again just to process it.
“You heard me.” I didn’t blink. I didn’t soften the blow.
The Alpha’s jaw clenched. His tone dropped to a growl. “Careful, Adolphus.” He leaned forward. “We can do anything we want to her in the dungeon.”
My entire body tensed again.
Cassandra’s stunned expression twisted into something uglier, pure rage. Her hands balled into fists, her eyes blazing with betrayal.
“Who’s your mate?” she demanded, voice trembling with disbelief. “Katrina?”
“Yes,” I said without hesitation. The name rang like a vow.
She recoiled as if I’d struck her. “You’re lying,” she hissed.
I met her fury with something colder. “Am I?” I asked, voice dropping into a dark chuckle.
The Alpha remained still, watching me, calculating. But I could see it, the shift. The thin crack in his composure. There was unease behind his stare now. Suspicion. Fear.
And I wasn’t done.
I leaned forward slightly, dropping my voice into something lethal. “If Katrina is my weakness…” I said slowly, “then I’m afraid I also have something that might just be yours.”
Both the Alpha and Cassandra went still.
Cassandra’s expression faltered. Her fury became something else, caution. Her body stiffened.
“What are you talking about?” she asked, voice wary now.
I didn’t answer right away.
Instead, I let the moment hang, dragging it out, savoring the anticipation.
Then I said the words that would split the throne room in two.
“What would people say…” I began, each syllable deliberate, sharp, “…if they found out that Cassandra wasn’t the true bearer of the Eclipse Moon Bound?”
Gasps rippled through the chamber like thunderclaps.
Heads turned. Whispers surged. The weight of disbelief, suspicion, and dawning horror filled the space.
Cassandra’s face paled further, her hands visibly trembling now.
I held her gaze.
“Because the truth is,” I continued, voice low and unwavering, “the real bearer…” I paused, let the room hang on my next words. “…was Katrina all along.”
The throne room erupted into chaos.