The drive into town is too quiet.
Not the peaceful kind—this is the kind of silence that stretches thin, brittle, waiting for something to snap. The engine hums beneath us, steady and controlled, a sound I cling to because everything inside my head is not.
Samantha's face won't leave me.
I fucked up.
The way she pulled away.
The way she said our Majesty like it was a blade.
Cade paces inside my skull, every step sharp, furious. His anger isn't wild. It's cold. Focused. The kind that waits.
'You failed her,' he growls.
"I didn't," I snap under my breath.
Callen glances at me from the passenger seat but says nothing. He knows better. The guards in the back seats keep their eyes forward, senses alert. They feel it too—the pressure rolling off me, the violence barely leashed.
'You chose wrong,' Cade presses. 'Even if you didn't mean to.'
I grip the steering wheel harder, knuckles whitening. "I did what I had to do."
'You did what a king does,' Cade says, venomous. 'Not what a mate does.'
That lands harder than any insult.
The town rises up around us as we cross the boundary into Royal Pack territory proper. Wide streets. Stone buildings mixed with modern storefronts. Cafés with open windows. A bakery on the corner, already doing brisk business. Children—pups—race past in a pack of their own, laughter echoing as they chase each other between benches.
Normal.
Too normal for how I am feeling.
They have no idea what's coming. No idea that the ground beneath this calm is cracking, that old ghosts are stretching awake beneath centuries of buried blood.
'She scared them,' I muttered. 'And that they reacted like that'.
"She didn't hurt anyone who didn't deserve it," I say automatically.
The meeting hall comes into view—a massive stone structure set back from the main road, columns carved with old runes, banners hanging stiff in the air. It's meant to inspire reverence.
All it inspires in me is disgust.
We park. Guards fan out smoothly, practiced. Callen steps into place just behind and to my right—my Royal Beta, my anchor. Cade stills as we approach the doors, coiling tight.
Inside, the hall smells like old stone and stale power.
Twelve elders sit around an oval table, already waiting. No warmth. No welcome. Just measured looks and sharp eyes that track my every movement. The thirteenth seat—the king's seat—stands empty at the head of the table.
I take it without ceremony.
Callen remains standing, arms folded loosely behind his back, posture respectful, but alert. The guards position themselves at the walls.
For a moment, no one speaks.
Then Elder Sebastian leans forward, fingers steepled, lips curling into a smile that never reaches his eyes.
"Your Majesty," he begins smoothly, "we warned you."
My jaw tightens.
"I recall no warning," I reply coolly. "Only interference."
A ripple moves through the council.
Sebastian chuckles. "You were given options. A list of eligible Alpha-born females suitable to become Queen Luna."
"I didn't ask for one."
"And yet," he continues, voice sharpening, "you were told that if you failed to choose appropriately, the council would act on your behalf."
Anger sparks, hot and immediate. "You do not choose my mate."
"You forget your history," Sebastian says mildly. "The Elder Council was established when your great-grandfather took the throne. One of the conditions of the rebellion."
That makes Cade snarl.
"You mean the leash he put on power," I say. "To reassure cowards."
Sebastian's smile never falters. "To prevent tyranny."
I lean forward, palms flat on the table. "There was no Elder Council under the White Wolf rule."
The room stills.
"That is correct," another elder says, voice smooth, eyes sly. "And look where that absolute power led."
Blood. Slaughter. Lies wrapped in righteousness.
Callen jogs to my side, voice low. "They want you married because once she bears an heir, they can dispose of you. Control the throne. Stop your reforms."
Equality. Freedom. An end to old blood games.
They will never allow it.
My hands curl into fists for a second.
I straighten slowly adjusting my cufflinks. "The issue is settled. I have found my fated mate. She will be Queen."
Sebastian's eyes flick sideways. A look passes between several elders—satisfaction, thinly veiled.
"My King," he says softly, "you forget another clause of that ancient accord."
I don't like his tone.
"The royal bloodline," he continues, "was required to take an Alpha-born mate. A concession to the other Alphas, on the chance that their blood might someday sit on the throne."
Cold understanding slides down my spine.
"You will reject Samantha," another elder says pleasantly. "And choose an appropriate Luna. Or we will choose for you."
"And if I refuse?" I ask quietly through gritted teeth.
Sebastian's smile sharpens. "Then we will call the Alphas of the territory and begin proceedings to remove you."
The table creaks as my grip tightens.
"You don't even know who she is," I growl. "You don't know her bloodline. Her power. Her—"
Sebastian lifts a hand.
The doors behind me open.
Every instinct in my body explodes into violence.
Alpha Jered walks in.
Callen shifts beside me, a low sound tearing from his chest.
My vision narrows. Rage floods hot and blinding.
Jered bows shallowly, smug. "Your Majesty."
I don't acknowledge him.
"I raised the girl," Jered says to the council. "Samantha's parents were nobodies. Barely omegas. She has no Alpha blood. No claim. No worthiness to sit beside a king."
My hands shake.
Then Seraphina steps forward.
Perfect posture. Perfect smile. Eyes gleaming with triumph.
"My daughter," Jered continues, "is Alpha-born. Trained. Educated. She would be a perfect Queen Luna."
Something inside me snaps.
I surge to my feet, the table rattling violently. "You will never speak her name again."
The elders recoil as my aura slams into the room, raw and lethal.
"I will marry Samantha," I roar. "I will crown her. And if any of you think to challenge that, I will burn this council to the ground."
Silence.
Then Sebastian speaks, calm as ever. "You have one month."
My blood freezes.
"Comply," he says, "or there will be war. As of today—" he gestures lazily toward Seraphina, "—she is your fiancée."
Seraphina's smile widens.
"Tell Sam I said hello," she purrs.
I don't remember moving.
Callen is suddenly in front of me, hands gripping my arms, voice urgent. "Kieran. Don't."
Because if Cade gets out, none of them survive.
I tear free and storm from the room, stone cracking beneath my boots.
Then I stop.
The doors loom inches away, heavy stone and iron, carved with symbols older than most of the wolves seated behind me. I breathe once. Twice. Drag my rage down by the throat and force it to heel.
Slowly, I turn.
Twelve elders freeze.
Every last one of them.
"Out of curiosity," I say calmly, too calmly, "I was reading in the old library." I take a step back into the room, my boots echoing. "If there were a White Wolf of the royal line alive… what would happen?"
The air drains.
Not metaphorically—physically.
Color bleeds from faces. Spines stiffen. One elder grips the edge of the table like it's the only thing holding him upright.
It's Elder Sebastian who finally speaks.
"I—if there were one alive," he stammers, fear bleeding through his practiced composure, "the throne would rightfully be theirs. Not only by bloodline, but by divine choosing." He swallows hard. "By the Moon Goddess herself."
A hush follows.
I hum thoughtfully.
"Remember this, Your Highness," Sebastian adds sharply, venom creeping back into his tone as he regains himself, "if a White Wolf were to return, not only would the Elder Council be dismantled—your reign would end."
Alpha Jered scoffs, eager to reclaim attention. "Since there is no White Wolf alive," he cuts in smoothly, "I believe my son, Valen, would be the appropriate successor to the Clearwater pack, after the king's wedding to my daughter."
A growl rips from my chest before I can stop it.
Jered only smiles wider. "He couldn't be here today," he adds lightly, eyes locking on mine. "Important business elsewhere."
I don't acknowledge him.
I don't acknowledge any of them.
I turn and storm out of the building.
Because if I stay one second longer—
Cade will paint these walls red.