Chapter 7 7

Amelia's POV:

When Father had insisted that I rest because we would “discuss later,” I obeyed without protest. I had no energy left for arguments, not after the night I’d had. So I returned to my chamber, loosened the laces of my gown, and sank onto my bed.

But rest? That was another matter.

My thoughts refused to quiet. They thrashed and tumbled through my mind like waves in a storm.

What if I had failed? What if I’d been caught? What if those riders I’d seen thundering toward Denary’s camp had arrived moments earlier before I’d shot my arrow?

I turned on my side and pressed a hand over my chest, feeling my heart still racing as though I were back up in that tree.

“My lady.” Serah murmured from the corner of the room. “You should rest. Truly, you do deserve it.”

I forced out a smile. “I’m trying, Serah. But my mind simply refuses to listen.”

“Would you like a bath first, my lady?” She asked softly, all ready to go fetch the water.

“No.” I sighed, staring at the ceiling. “Not yet, I’ll try to fall asleep first.”

She glanced toward the window where the morning light was spilling in. “It’s almost breakfast time. But since you don’t take breakfast with them anyway, perhaps you can sleep, and I’ll wake you later. You can eat whenever you wish, then have your bath.”

I nodded, exhaustion finally creeping into my bones. “Yes. That sounds perfect.”

Serah smiled gently. “Then rest well, my lady. You were very brave last night.”

Brave? No one had ever called me that before.

I forced my eyes shut, and at some point, sleep claimed me. When I woke up, sunlight had filled the room, I yawned and turned toward the window, realizing that it must be close to noon.

Just as I was sitting up, the door opened and Serah stepped in, a look of surprise on her face. “Oh you’re awake already, my lady.”

I rubbed my eyes. “Where’s my breakfast?”

She hesitated. “It’s… rather past breakfast time, my lady. You looked so peaceful, so I didn’t wish to wake you.”

“Then where’s my lunch?”

Serah smiled awkwardly. “Your father insisted that you join everyone for lunch. He told me to come draw your bath so you could wash and come down.”

I blinked. “Really? He invited me?”

“Yes, my lady.”

That was… unexpected. Father rarely invited me to anything resembling a family meal. Perhaps this was progress.

“Very well.” I said, smiling.

Serah hurried into the adjoining room to draw my bath. Then, I slipped into the warm water and let it wash away the dirt and the dried sweat of the night before. When I was done, I dressed in a pale blue gown and descended the stairs.

In the dining hall, Father sat at the head of the long table, Margaret was to his right and Hunter, her precious son, sat at his left, looking smug as always.

I took my seat beside Hunter, and the servants began to serve the food. After we ate, Father dabbed his mouth with a handkerchief and turned his cold eyes on me.

“Amelia.” He began. “We must speak of your misbehavior.”

“Misbehavior?” I repeated quietly.

“You took a reckless risk last night ” He said. “Yoy acted without thought of the consequences that have brought ruin upon this entire pack.”

For a moment, I just stared at him. I had expected, perhaps foolishly, that he might praise me, that he might finally see me. But instead, he blamed me.

I could feel heat rising in my chest. “I don’t understand. You should be proud. I took a decision that your precious son here never could have taken.”

His expression darkened. “You would have done well to remember that you are not a soldier. There would have been consequences, Amelia. If that arrow had missed and Denary wasn't forced to retreat, then he would have slaughtered twice as many men to soothe his pride.”

I folded my hands tightly in my lap. “There were no consequences and no lives were lost. I took a risk, yes, but it paid off. Shouldn’t I be praised for that?”

He shook his head. “You see? You are thinking like a woman.”

My jaw clenched. “Really? You are saying that I think like a woman, when the only one thinking like a woman here is you.”

His eyes flared.

“Yes ” I continued, anger spilling from me now. “You’ve made decisions that have dragged this pack into ruin. You’re the reason we lost half our resources and manpower. I did something no one else here had the courage to do and you chastise me for it? You should be proud, Father. Proud that your daughter did what your incompetent son could not.”

The table rattled as Father slammed his fist against it. “Do not dare insult me! You’re speaking to the Alpha of this pack and your father.”

Tears stung the corners of my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. “And you’re speaking to your daughter.” I said softly. “So when you decide to show me the compassion I deserve as your daughter, then I will show you the respect you deserve as my father.”

For a long moment, silence hung between us, then Father shoved his chair back and stood.

“The pack adores you for your foolishness, because they are peasants and their minds are not built for logic.” He said coldly. “They believe you saved them, but all you’ve done is delay the inevitable. Denary will return, and when he does, he will bring ruin upon us all.”

“I bought us time.” I shot back. “Enough time to find allies or to rebuild our strength.”

He laughed without humor. “Time? You think you’ve bought us time? Denary is the kind of man who would fight with a hundred wounds rather than yield, so no sane Pack under this moon will align with us now. You’ve done more harm than good.”

With that, he turned and stormed from the dining hall, while I sat there, frozen. The pack had praised me, the Elders had praised me, yet my own father, still looked at me as though I were dirt beneath his boots.

How deeply had Margaret poisoned his heart against me?

The sound of laughter broke my thoughts and I turned sharply to see Margaret laughing while swirling the wine in her cup.

“Did you really think?” She said sweetly, setting the glass down. “That your father would see you as his heir because of one stupid decision?”

I glared at her. “Stupid? You call my decision to shoot an arrow into the chest of one of the most ruthless Alphas alive, stupid?”

“Yes.” She replied coolly, lifting her cup again. “Utterly.”

I rose slowly. “While your nincompoop of a son sat safely in his room, I spent the night perched in a tree, waiting for the right moment to strike and you dare call that stupid? For doing something neither you nor your cowardly son could even imagine doing?”

Hunter stood abruptly, his chair scraping the floor. “Don’t you ever speak to my mother like that again.”

I tilted my head. “And what will you do, Hunter? You're just a coward.”

Normally, I would have swallowed those words. Normally, I would have ignored them all just to keep the peace. But something inside me had broken, so I refused to be silent any longer.

Hunter’s hissed. “Do you really think that just because everyone’s praising you now, they’ll ever let you become the first female Alpha? They’re only flattering you in the moment but when the time comes, they’ll stab you in the back and choose me, because, well… you’re a woman.”

“Don’t you worry,” I said evenly. “I’ll prove them wrong. I’ll spend every day showing this pack that I am better than you. And one day, they’ll see it, and so will Father.”

He scoffed. “Really? You think he’ll ever see you that way?”

I met his gaze and smiled faintly. “Trust me, he will.”

I turned to leave, but Hunter caught my arm.

“You’ll pay for this.” He hissed. “You’ll pay for challenging me, and for insulting my mother.”

I looked down at his hand. “You can’t do anything.”

He leaned closer, his voice low. “You’ll see.”

I yanked my arm free and walked away, my heart pounding because for the first time since I’d known him, Hunter actually sounded serious. And that frightened me more than I wanted to admit.