LYCAN KINGDOM

Scarlett pov

A day had passed.

Three days to reach the Lycan kingdom.

The further we drove, the quieter Reed became.

Not cold. Not distant.

Focused.

The road stretched endlessly ahead of us, cutting through dense forest that felt older than memory. The trees here were different — taller, darker, as if they had been standing long before packs or politics ever existed.

The air felt heavier too.

My wolf stirred beneath my skin.

We were getting close.

“You’re thinking too loudly,” Reed said without looking at me.

“I’m not making a sound.”

“You don’t have to.”

I crossed my arms, staring out the window. “Is it always like this?”

“Like what?”

“Like the air is watching.”

A pause.

“Yes.”

That didn’t comfort me.

Stone markers began appearing along the roadside — tall black pillars carved with the royal Lycan crest. Each one spaced perfectly. Deliberate.

Territory markers.

Claimed land.

Reed’s grip on the steering wheel tightened slightly as we passed the first border post. Guards stood there in dark armor, their presence commanding even from a distance.

They recognized the car immediately.

No one stopped us.

But they bowed their heads as we drove through.

I felt it then.

The shift.

We were no longer traveling through neutral land.

We were in his world now.

“Once we arrive,” I said slowly, “what happens?”

Reed didn’t answer immediately.

“There will be dinner tonight.”

“Dinner,” I repeated.

“Yes.”

That single word carried too much weight.

“Who will be there?”

“My father. The royal family.” A slight pause. “Others.”

Others.

I turned toward him. “You’re being vague.”

His jaw flexed. “The King is firm but fair. He will not embarrass you.”

“That wasn’t my question.”

His eyes flicked to mine briefly before returning to the road.

“You’ll meet everyone at once. It’s easier that way.”

“Everyone?”

“My father has two wives,” he said evenly. “Queen Azura — my mother. And the First Consort, Vita.”

So the stories were true.

“And the children?”

“My full siblings will be there. Cassian. Sayer. Indigo.”

His tone softened slightly at Indigo’s name.

“And the others?” I asked.

A beat.

“Fenton. Aising.”

Step-siblings.

There was something unspoken there. Something edged.

“Tension?” I guessed.

Reed exhaled quietly. “The palace is… layered.”

“That sounds diplomatic.”

“It needs to be.”

Silence settled between us again, but it wasn’t comfortable.

“You said others,” I pressed.

His fingers tapped once against the steering wheel.

“There are alliances the crown maintains.”

“That still doesn’t answer me.”

He glanced at me again — this time longer.

“There are families closely tied to the throne.”

My chest tightened slightly.

“Closely tied how?”

Another pause.

“You’ll see tonight.”

My stomach dropped.

That wasn’t reassurance.

The forest began thinning, opening into vast stretches of land rolling toward distant mountains. And there — faint but unmistakable — I saw it.

The kingdom.

Stone walls rising against the horizon.

Even from this distance, it felt immense.

Ancient.

Untouchable.

Reed slowed slightly as the road curved downward toward it.

“You didn’t tell me everything,” I said quietly.

His jaw hardened.

“There hasn’t been time.”

“For what?”

“For complications.”

That word lingered in the car like smoke.

Complications.

My wolf stirred uneasily.

“Is there something I should know before walking into that palace?” I asked.

Reed’s voice dropped lower.

“There is nothing that changes what I told you.”

“And what exactly did you tell me?”

“That you stand beside me.”

The certainty in his tone made my pulse jump.

But certainty and truth weren’t always the same thing.

The kingdom walls grew larger as we approached.

Massive iron gates stood ahead, guarded by armored Lycans who straightened the moment they recognized the royal insignia on the car.

The gates began to open.

Slowly.

Grandly.

No turning back now.

As we crossed into the capital, I felt hundreds of eyes shift toward us. Citizens lining the inner streets. Soldiers posted at intervals. Whispers following the vehicle as it moved toward the palace at the center of it all.

Reed’s expression became unreadable.

Prince. Heir. Future king.

And suddenly, I wasn’t sure where I fit in that picture.

The palace rose ahead — towering stone, banners of deep midnight blue bearing the royal crest.

Reed parked at the base of the grand staircase.

For a moment, neither of us moved.

“This dinner,” I said quietly. “Is it a welcome?”

He didn’t look at me.

“It’s an introduction.”

The way he said it made something inside me go cold.

He stepped out first, then came around to open my door.

I took his hand.

The palace doors opened.

Inside, servants were already moving with quiet efficiency.

“Dinner is in an hour,” one of them said, bowing slightly.

An hour.

Enough time to breathe.

Not enough time to prepare.

As we walked toward the private wing, I caught something in Reed’s posture.

Tension.

Not fear.

Anticipation.

And beneath it —

Guilt.

I stopped walking.

He stopped with me.

“What is it?” he asked.

I searched his face carefully.

“There’s something you’re not saying.”

His silence confirmed it.

“Reed.”

His throat moved slightly before he answered.

“It’s political.”

“That’s not an answer.”

His eyes softened for a fraction of a second.

“It won’t matter.”

I didn’t like that.

Because things that “don’t matter” rarely get mentioned at all.

A servant approached again.

“Your Highness,” she said gently. “The Solace family has already arrived.”

The name hit the air like a dropped blade.

Reed went still.

I felt it.

Not shock.

Recognition.

My voice came out quieter than I expected.

“Who is the Solace family?”

A pause.

Too long.

Then—

“An old alliance.”

Before I could push further, the palace doors at the far end of the hall opened.

Laughter echoed in.

Feminine. Familiar.

Confident.

And then I saw her.

Tall. Elegant. Dressed in silver that caught the light like she owned it.

She walked straight toward us without hesitation.

Without doubt.

Her eyes locked on Reed.

And she smiled.

“I’ve missed you,” she said softly.

Then she closed the distance—

And wrapped her arms around him.