Chapter 27 Lev
TWENTY-SEVEN
LEV
Water droplets trailed down the hard planes of Lev’s chest as he stepped out of his shower. The hot spray had done nothing to wash away the adrenaline still coursing through his veins from the arena, or the lingering fury at Crispin’s vile taunting about Xelene during their lion combat.
Your human mate makes you weak, Prince.
Those words had nearly cost him everything.
For a split second, Lev’s control had wavered, his lion roaring for blood instead of the disciplined victory required.
Then through their telepathic link, Xelene’s voice had cut through the rage like a blade of pure steel, reminding him to focus and stay in control.
And at the same exact moment, she was pushing her strength into him through their bond until he felt invincible.
The memory of that power surge made his skin tingle even now.
He’d never experienced anything like it—the way her strength had merged with his own, amplifying his abilities beyond anything he’d achieved alone.
It should have been his moment of triumph, proof that he’d evolved beyond the reckless prince.
But when Councilor Christoph cut the strength test short, Lev felt it was the beginning of something far more dangerous.
Lev grabbed a towel and roughly dried his hair, his reflection in the mirror showing eyes that still held flecks of gold.
The strength test had been a setup—he could see that clearly now.
Christoph had orchestrated the entire thing, positioning Crispin as his opponent to create maximum humiliation for Lev.
The old bastard had miscalculated though. Lev’s victory had been decisive, dominant, leaving no question about who the superior lion was. But that only meant Christoph would probably escalate his tactics.
Lev pulled on dark jeans and a black henley, the familiar comfort of casual clothes helping to ground him after the formal intensity of the arena. He was reaching for his boots when his communicator buzzed against the nightstand with a sharp, demanding tone.
The caller ID made his blood boil. Councilor Christoph.
Already? The old snake doesn’t waste time.
Lev’s thumb hovered over the answer button for three rings before he finally swiped to accept. “Hello, Christoph.”
“Your Highness.” The elder’s voice carried that deceptively respectful tone that always preceded his most venomous attacks. “Congratulations on your performance today. Quite... illuminating.”
“I’m sure it was.” Lev kept his voice level, though his lion paced restlessly. “Did you call to offer your congratulations, or is there something else?”
“Indeed there is. We need to discuss your companion.”
Companion.
The dismissive term made Lev’s jaw clench. “What about Xelene?”
“I did some research after today’s events.
” Christoph’s tone sharpened like a blade finding its target.
“Xelene Warren. Elite reputation consultant from Earth. Quite the impressive resume—fixing scandals for billionaires, politicians, and celebrities. One hundred percent success rate, according to my sources.”
Lev’s blood turned to ice. The careful web of half-truths they’d built around Xelene’s presence was unraveling in real time. “And?”
“And it’s fascinating how a prince known for decades of reckless behavior suddenly appears so... managed. So controlled. Almost as if someone with extensive experience in image rehabilitation was pulling the strings.”
“You’re grasping at straws, Christoph.” But even as Lev said it, he knew the elder had found the weak point in their story. “Xelene is still here because—”
“Because you marked her.” Christoph’s words cut through Lev’s explanation like a sword. “Oh yes, I sensed it today at the arena. The completed mate bond. Quite convenient timing, wouldn’t you say?”
Lev’s free hand clenched into a fist. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means,” Christoph continued with silky menace, “that you’ve found a rather elegant solution to your problems, haven’t you? Hire a professional to clean up your image, then mark her to gain the focus and strength advantages of a mate bond. Kill two birds with one stone, as the humans say.”
“You’re wrong.” The words came out harder than Lev intended, his lion surging forward in protective fury. “It’s not like that.”
“Isn’t it? A man who’s been screwing up for decades suddenly transforms overnight into the perfect prince? Please, Lev. Even your father wasn’t naive enough to believe in such dramatic character changes.”
Lev’s grip on the communicator tightened until the case creaked. “The council has been pushing me to find a mate for years. To settle down and prove I’m fit for the crown. Well, congratulations—I found her.”
“You found her, or you manufactured her?” Christoph’s laugh was cold. “Your track record shows you’re quite skilled at manipulation when it serves your purposes. Charm, lies, whatever gets people to give you what you want. Why should I believe this is any different?”
“Because it’s the truth.”
“Is it? Because I watched your mate very carefully today, Lev. Saw the way she holds herself—controlled, resistant, like a woman fighting against something rather than embracing it. She doesn’t look like a woman who chose her fate. She looks like a woman who had it forced upon her.”
The accusation hit its mark. Lev sank onto the edge of his bed, the truth of Christoph’s observation cutting deep. Xelene was still fighting the accidental bond, still holding part of herself back. To outside eyes, it would absolutely look like coercion.
“The mate bond can’t be faked,” Lev said, but the words sounded weak even to him.
“No, but it can be manipulated. Exploited. Used as a tool to gain advantages you could never achieve on your own.” Christoph’s voice dropped to a deadly whisper.
“I saw what happened during your fight with Crispin. The way your strength suddenly amplified beyond anything you’d shown before.
That wasn’t natural ability, Lev—that was the mate bond giving you power you don’t deserve. ”
“Every mated shifter draws strength from their bond.”
“Every mated shifter who earned their bond honestly. Not every shifter who marked an unwilling woman to cheat his way to a crown.”
Lev shot to his feet, pacing to the window that overlooked the castle gardens. “You’re twisting everything. Making it sound calculated when it was—”
“When it was what? Love at first sight? Please. You’ve never loved anything more than your own pleasure.” Christoph paused, letting the words sink in like poison. “I’m calling to inform you of the council’s decision.”
Ice formed in Lev’s gut. “What decision?”
“We’re allowing the Trial to continue, but under new conditions. Your... consultant... will no longer be permitted to attend the remaining tests. She will also cease all reputation management activities on your behalf, effective immediately.”
“You can’t do that.”
“I can and I am. If you truly have changed, if this transformation is genuine, then you should have no trouble completing the Trial without her influence. Unless, of course, you’ve been depending on her guidance more than you care to admit.”
Lev’s lion roared inside his chest, demanding he challenge the elder’s authority. But Christoph held all the cards here, and they both knew it.
“And if I refuse these terms?”
“Then I’ll not only send your human back to Earth, I’ll halt the Trial entirely and open the floor to formal challenges for the crown.
” The satisfaction in Christoph’s voice was unmistakable.
“I wonder who might step forward to claim your birthright? Someone with a proven track record of stability, perhaps. Someone who hasn’t spent decades embarrassing the pride. ”
Crispin.
Lev didn’t need to hear the name to know exactly who Christoph had in mind.
The entire conversation was a carefully orchestrated trap, designed to force Lev into an impossible choice: lose Xelene’s support and risk failing the Trial, or refuse and hand the crown to Christoph’s son on a silver platter.
“You orchestrated this whole thing, didn’t you?” Lev’s voice came out deadly quiet. “The rogue attack on Xelene. Using Crispin as my opponent today. All of it.”
“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”
But the slight pause before Christoph’s denial told Lev everything he needed to know. The elder had been planning this campaign from the moment Lev’s father died, perhaps even before.
“You have until tomorrow morning to give me your answer,” Christoph continued. “The wisdom test is scheduled for midday. Your mate will either be absent, or the Trial ends. Choose wisely, Your Highness.”
The line went dead, leaving Lev staring at his communicator with a mixture of rage and despair. He’d played right into Christoph’s hands, giving the elder exactly the ammunition needed to destroy everything Lev had worked for.
How could he tell Xelene that her job—the reason she’d come to Nova Aurora in the first place—was being stripped away?
That she was being used as a weapon against him, her very presence turned into proof of his unworthiness?
And how could he ask her to stay when she still hadn’t fully chosen him, when part of her was clearly fighting the bond that tied them together?