Chapter 6 When the table turns

Lena POV

The words were flat.

Behind us, voices rose. Aaron’s voice. Xandra’s laugh, too high, too fake.

Adam didn’t look back.

“I’m not asking you to trust me,” he said. “I’m asking you to let me get you out of here before he decides the cemetery is a good place to finish what he started.”

My heart stuttered. Because he was right.

Aaron didn’t walk away from things. He broke them first.

I glanced past Adam. Xandra was staring at us now, her smile gone. Aaron was watching too, and the look on his face made my stomach drop.

“Fine,” I said before I could overthink it. “But not because I trust you.”

“Good,” Adam said. “Trust gets people killed in this family.”

He stood, offering his hand.

I stared at it. At the clean nails, the steady wrist, the absence of bruises.

Then I took it.

His grip was firm. Warm. Nothing like Aaron’s.

As we left the garden, I felt it—Aaron’s gaze burning into my back.

Adam felt it too. His thumb brushed over my knuckles once, barely there.

“Don’t look back,” he said quietly.

I didn’t.

But my chest hurt anyway.

At first, it was a blur.

Adam’s eyes widened. My own vision swam. The lawyer’s mouth was moving, but the words didn’t land.

“Is… is that my name?” I whispered.

“I think so,” Adam said. His voice was careful, like he didn’t trust it either.

“What?! Lena?”

Aaron’s voice shattered the silence.

I jerked. The word hit me like a slap

I hadn’t misheard.

I was chosen.

How? How was that even possible? My mother wasn’t Pack royalty. I was nobody.

Aaron’s face twisted. His eyes went feral. He looked like he wanted to crawl across the table and erase what he’d just heard.

I shook where I sat.

The twins—Adain and Adnar—went still. Their cocky smirks vanished. Even the piercer stopped smiling.

Time stopped.

Aaron shoved back his chair and lunged for the lawyer, snatching the will from his hands. 

“This isn’t true!!!”

His voice cracked the room open.

The lawyer lifted his hands, trembling. “Do we have Lena Maury here? The Alpha has named her… Alpha.”

The words hung there. Heavy. Impossible.

Aaron stared at the paper like it might rewrite itself. His jaw clenched until I could see the muscle jump in his neck.

Beside me, Adam’s hand tightened around mine. Not enough to bruise. Just enough to remind me I wasn’t alone.

The twins exchanged a look. Silent. Calculating.

An old woman at the back gasped, soft and disbelieving.

“W‑what?” Aaron barked. He stepped forward, and the lawyer flinched. “You can’t be serious. I’ve trained for this my whole life!”

My heart hammered so hard I thought it would break my ribs. Adrenaline flooded me. Every instinct screamed.

Run.

My palms went slick with sweat.

This couldn’t be happening. I wasn’t a leader. I was a girl who’d shown up to a funeral she wasn’t even sure she belonged at.

I forced my eyes to the lawyer. “Are you… sure?”

My voice barely held.

He cleared his throat, hands shaking. “The documents are clear, Miss Maury. The Alpha line passed through your mother’s blood. There’s no contest.”

His eyes darted to Aaron, who had gone pale.

“You think a piece of paper erases everything I’ve done?” Aaron snarled. His fist slammed the table. The sound made everyone flinch. “The trials. The blood. The oath I swore? You’re a fraud!”

A shiver ran down my spine.

Every eye in the hall was on me now. Pity. Contempt. Expectation.

I wanted to disappear.

Adam leaned closer, his voice low. “Lena. Breathe. You don’t have to do this alone.”

His thumb brushed my knuckles.

I swallowed. “I didn’t ask for this,” I said. “I’m scared, Adam. I never wanted any of this.”

Saying it felt like surrender.

“Typical,” Xandra cut in. Her voice was poison-sweet. “A stray walks in, and suddenly she’s heir. What a joke.”

She glanced at my mother, who stood silent, eyes down.

Did she plan this? The thought made my stomach twist.

Ashar leaned back, grinning. “Did you plan this, Lena? Or did you just get lucky again?”

The twins snorted.

“Looks like the bloodline skipped a generation,” Adain muttered.

“Or maybe the old man gave the throne to someone who can actually use it,” Ace added. His voice was low. Dangerous. “She’s a wildcard, Aaron. The council will tear her apart.”

Aaron’s jaw clenched so hard I thought his teeth would crack.

“You think this is a game?” he snapped. “She’s not ready. She’ll get us all killed.”

“Not if we kill her first,” Ace said quietly.

My heart stopped.

My mother finally lifted her head. Her eyes met mine for half a second before she looked away. A statue. Present, but unreachable.

“Enough,” Adam said, rising. His voice cut through the noise. “The will is clear. Lena is Alpha now. We’ll deal with the fallout together.”

The weight of every stare pressed down on me.

“Now let’s hear the loser speak,” Xandra purred. “You’d better reject this.”

It weigh down heavily in my heart. To them, I was already dead and so what was the need of backing down.

My eyes narrowed down to everyone at the dining table. It felt like they were holding weapons, ready to jump at me if I go against their will, I'd be dead and if I don't, I'd still be dead in a minute.

"Lena say something!" Mom whispered gesturing to me.

Adam crossed his arms and scoffed.

"It clearly shows she's not interested so we can dismiss this whole meeting...turn against the will and..."

"We must hear it from her, we can't just conclude" Adam snapped. I didn't even know why I couldn't form a line because I was tensed and scared.

"Lena!!"

I shut my eyes and then moved my gaze to her.

Adam turned to me. That look in his eyes said "I’ve got you".

I didn’t want to look at anyone else.

I stood slowly, head bowed.

“Fucking look up if you’re talking!” Aaron snarled.

I lifted my head.

His eyes were murder.

My throat was dry, but I forced the words out. “I didn’t ask for this,” I said, staring him down. “But I won’t run. If you want to fight, fight with me. Not at me.”

I hadn’t planned to say it. But the words felt true the second they left my mouth.

A murmur tore through the hall. 

Xandra rolled her eyes. Ashar chuckled. The twins exchanged a look that said; we’re not done.

My mother stayed silent. Louder than any insult.

The lawyer shuffled papers, edging away from Aaron. “If there are no objections, authority transfers at dawn. Until then, the Pack remains under interim council rule.”

His eyes flicked between me and Aaron, praying for calm.

Goosebumps rose on my arms.

Aaron didn’t speak. He pressed a palm to his face and laughed. Hollow. Broken.

“Wait,” he said. “It’s not real, right? Lena? Alpha?”

He shook his head like if he said it enough, it would break.

A voice whispered in my head: He’s going to kill you.

The nightmare flashed back. Aaron holding a blade over me.

I snapped back when the lawyer cleared his throat.

“You’ve been assigned a guardian,” he said. His eyes moved to Adam, then lingered on Aaron.

Ironic. The throne he’d fought for was now mine.

I kept my eyes on Adam. He gave me a small nod. Relax.  

I could see it in his face. He was already planning how to shield me from his family.

I wanted that.

Ashar leaned forward, grin wicked. “I hope it’s me. I’d be faithful… in bed, Alpha.”

Adam’s expression darkened. “Don’t even think about it.”

Adain whispered, “I could help you wear the crown.”