A Reign of Malice Deluxe Edition

Some kingdoms are built on lies. Others are burned by them.

I came to Venaris to save my people, but it comes with a price…a mate who isn’t fated to be mine.

King Aeson offers everything I’ve now failed to deliver as queen: stability, safety, and salvation for my pack. Agreeing to his treaty—and to bond with him—feels like the only way to make things right.

Except something unknown lingers within these walls. The castle hums with secrets, and while Aeson does his best to distract me with grand gestures, there’s a mysterious force in the shadows. One that leads me to a truth I never saw coming.

Now I’m caught between duty for a kingdom and pack I swore to protect and the destiny of a bond that was never supposed to exist. The lies I’ve told are nothing compared to the ones I’m still unraveling, and if I’m not careful, I’ll lose everything I’ve been trying to save.

Because if I make one wrong move, it won’t just cost me the crown, it will cost me my heart.

Coming to Venaris was supposed to provide answers, a sense of clarity amid the chaos that’s consumed Alcaris. Instead, I’ve allowed my dark thoughts to take root, sapping my resolve and blinding me to the duty I still owe my pack. Clara’s right. I need to be the queen I was once capable of being. That means leaving this bed, stepping out of this room, and truly seeing what this kingdom has to offer.
Because while bonding with King Aeson of Venaris may seem like the most logical choice, it isn’t the only one.
I could walk away from it all—my crown, my land, my people. Queen Isla and Queen Estee would never turn away the shifters of Alcaris. Their mates, Asher and Theo, may be kings, but they’d listen to their queens. I could relocate everyone, give them a chance of survival in another kingdom. It’s a possibility I’ve considered, even though it would shatter me. The thought of letting Alcaris fade into memory feels like ripping my own heart into pieces, ones so small they could never be put back together.
And yet…staying here and choosing Aeson constricts my chest in a way that feels just as unbearable.
His offer is generous, maybe even lifesaving, but it comes with stipulations I haven’t decided if I’m capable of agreeing to. He doesn’t just want to unite our kingdoms. He wants me as his mate. His queen, who will stand by his side and lie in his bed.
For him, the choice is easy. His fated mate was killed by his brother over a century ago in a jealous fit of rage. But for me? I’ve never met my fated mate. Settling for a chosen one feels wrong. It’s a loss I don’t know how to articulate, a grief that lingers like a shadow I can’t escape.
My wolf stirs, her presence steady but quiet, a faint warmth in the back of my mind. Oddly enough, it’s her that has made me feel any glimpse of ease within these walls. She seems to be at home here, as though this is where we were always meant to be. That sense of comfort, combined with Aeson’s patience and unwavering support, has allowed me this time to wallow. But Clara is right.
That time is over.
I gave myself one moon cycle to decide if I would become Aeson’s mate. That decision can’t be made from a place of despair or my wolf’s uncanny sense of belonging. It has to come from me being the queen I’ve always strived to be.
I stand then cross the room, feeling Clara’s gaze burning into me the entire way. I grab clothes from the closet, and her smirk tells me everything I need to know about how she feels in this moment. Still, she can’t resist a jab.
“I knew yelling at you would work,” she quips, leaning casually in the doorway. “Though I’m a little disappointed I didn’t get the chance to toss you into an ice bath.”
I brush past her with my bundle of clothes, heading for the bathroom. But Clara isn’t one to let silence linger.