Lycan King's Regret: Punished The Wrong Daughter

Arabella Toussaint:

The room suddenly went quiet. For a moment, I stood there feeling as though she had slapped me across the face.

I felt tears burning behind my eye lids. Who said that I had gotten confident enough to fight for myself? What was I even thinking when I accepted the dinner invitation?

Isolde Smith was right. Royals knew how to remind me of my place.

The queen at last looked at me, "We don’t allow slaves at the royal table!" She lifted her chin with a proud smile on her face and then decided to walk toward her seat.

Everyone else slowly sat down, but I remained where I was. I could feel Bradley standing just behind me, though I didn’t dare look at him. If I moved even a little, I was afraid the tears burning behind my eyes might finally fall.

Theodora reached for her chair, but instead of sitting, she looked behind me. "Bradley."

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Find her another seat. She is not sitting next to me." Another wave of humiliation washed over me when she made the announcement in front of everyone.

Bradley didn’t argue. His hand gently closed around mine and pulled me a step away from the table. "Come on," he said quietly. "I’ll find you another seat."

I closed my eyes for a second. My hands had already curled into fists, and I could feel my nails digging into my palms. I gave a small nod and turned with him.

Theodora finally sat down, looking thoroughly pleased with herself. Aliya was grinning beside her as if watching me being humiliated had made her entire evening.

And I?

I wanted to disappear. But I would be damned if I let either of them see that.

Bradley led me farther down the table and pulled out another chair. Once I sat down, he reached for the water and poured me a glass without saying anything.

I accepted it immediately and took a slow sip, grateful for the excuse to keep my face hidden behind the glass for a few seconds.

I was still trying to get my emotions under control when I felt a hand covering mine in my lap. I turned my head to look at the man whose face seemed guilty after what happened seconds ago. Bradley gave my hand a small squeeze before nodding at me.

"You okay?" he asked, keeping his voice low.

I tried to smile. "Do I look okay?"

"Not particularly. But you’re the most beautiful woman here." He then leaned toward me. "Does that make you feel better?"

Despite everything, I couldn’t stop the giggle. "Thank you."

"I swear. Ignore her. She is just jealous," he added quietly, but that made my eyes go wide. I tried to suppress another giggle, lowering my head so that the Queen wouldn’t see me smiling.

I looked at our hands for a moment before taking a slow breath. The smile on my lips was probably shaky, but at least I managed one.

I couldn’t give up now.

I couldn’t afford to.

Before I could tease Bradley, a guard’s voice rang through the dining hall. "Rise for His Majesty, King Lucien Volkov, and Lady Jasmine Smith."

Every chair moved almost at once as the entire table rose to their feet.

Strange. He didn’t call Jasmine the future queen or an ex- head warrior. I thought while standing up.

Lucien headed toward his seat at the head of the table, with Jasmine following close behind. He had just taken his seat when his eyes swept over the table and stopped on me.

When our eyes met, I quickly lowered mine.

"What are you doing over there?" He demanded. His voice carried easily across the table, and I knew immediately that the question was meant for me.

I looked up and found Jasmine following his line of sight. The moment she spotted me sitting beside Bradley, her mouth twisted a bit.

Lucien’s eyes shifted to his Beta. "Bradley. Wasn’t she supposed to sit in that seat?" He pointed toward the empty chair beside his mother.

Queen Theodora’s fingers stopped midway through straightening the silverware in front of her. "Lucien, dear." She carefully placed the fork back beside her plate. "That seat is for Isolde. Your mother-in-law." Her eyes flicked toward me for the briefest moment. "I asked the slave—" She caught herself in time. "I mean, Arabella, to sit somewhere else." That was intentional. I just knew that.

She reached for her napkin and unfolded it across her lap as though the matter had already been settled.

But Lucien was no longer looking at his mother. His attention had settled entirely on me, and from the look on his face, arguing would be useless.

"Go back to your seat, Arabella," he ordered. "And next time, don’t defy my orders."

Excuse me? I’m not the one defying your orders.

I gave him my sweetest smile and rose from the chair. After smoothing down my dress, I dipped into a proper curtsy. "I’m sorry, My King." Lucien watched me as I straightened. "I would happily obey, but Her Majesty informed me that slaves are not allowed at the royal table," I said loudly and glanced toward Theodora before returning my attention to him. "She also made it quite clear that she would not allow a slave to sit beside her."

The color drained from Aliya’s face as she began to speak. "That’s not what..."

I didn’t let that whore speak. "And yes. Her Majesty did say that this palace is not a shelter for strays like me."

I turned toward the queen, feigning innocence as I continued, deliberately provoking her.

You started this, My Queen! I have witnesses.

The silence around the table was deafening. "So, I thought it would be disrespectful of me to disobey the Queen."

For a moment, no one moved, and the room fell completely silent. As every eye turned toward the Queen, I hoped they all understood the message:

No one would ever mistake me for someone they could mess with again. If they wanted to play dirty, they had picked the wrong woman to mess with.