Betrayed by an alpha claimed by a lycan king

Chapter 178

SAGE

The following days passed in a blur, each moment filled with endless

preparations, hushed conversations, and the constant hum of excitement in the air. Elara and I found ourselves drowning in fabrics, floral arrangements, and ceremonial protocols, barely finding time to breathe between the whirlwind of decisions that needed to be made.

I had always imagined something small and intimate-a wedding where only those closest to us would gather, where I wouldn't feel the weight of a thousand eyes watching my every move. I wanted a ceremony that wasn't about the grandeur of royalty but about the love Titus and I shared. But, of course, Titus had other plans.

He wanted it as grand as possible. The day of our wedding will also be the day of my coronation, as he announced me being his queen and his luna.

Elara, of course, was over the moon. "This is going to be the most spectacular event in generations!" she gushed as she spread out different gown designs before me. "A royal wedding and a coronation? People will talk about this for centuries!"

I let out a soft laugh, shaking my head. "That's what I'm afraid of."

She rolled her eyes, nudging me playfully. "Come now, my lady. You'll look absolutely breathtaking, and His Majesty will be so enraptured by you that he won't even notice the hundreds of guests in attendance."

Despite the whirlwind of wedding and coronation preparations, I couldn't shake the feeling that something else was going

1. on.

Titus had been distant-not in a way that made me doubt his love, but in a way that told me he was preoccupied with something far more pressing. While I was drowning in silk swatches and flower arrangements with Elara, he was constantly locked in meetings, his expression sharp and unreadable. Whenever I caught glimpses of him in the halls, he looked deep in thought, as if he was bracing himself for something big.

And I was sure it wasn't the wedding.

If it were, he would at least pretend to be involved. But aside from insisting that it had to be grand, he hadn't so much as glanced at a single invitation or made a comment about the color schemes Elara kept pestering me about.

be so

her brows

a small smile onto my lips, hoping to brush off the unease settling in my chest. "It's nothing, Elara. I

reaching out to give my hand a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry, everything will be fine," she assured me, her

arrangements and seating charts, but no matter how hard I tried to focus, a nagging feeling refused to let go. Something was off. Titus was keeping something

around, I had made

turned into frustration. The night came and went, and still, there was no sign of Titus. I paced the room, glancing at

at the clock. Past

he was the king, that

him. He had always made time for me, no matter

have happened to him. Shaking the idea away, I threw on a cloak and stepped out

eerily quiet at this hour, save for the faint crackling of torches that lined the stone walls. My footsteps echoed softly

to find him buried in documents, exhausted from his duties. But

only a moment before pushing

few candles flickering on his desk, illuminating a pile

place-secrecy, tension, something just beyond my grasp. I trailed my fingers over the wooden desk, my eyes scanning

Maps. Letters. Battle strategies.

My stomach twisted.

about the wedding. This was

from the corridor, and I turned sharply just as

moment he saw me, surprise flickering in his eyes

lower than usual. "What are you doing

for him

time in a long while, I