NOT YOURS

Scarlett pov

I didn’t sleep.

Even with Lucian pacing outside the guest room and guards stationed at every entry point of the estate, sleep felt like something that belonged to someone else.

Not me.

I stared at the ceiling, the ache in my limbs dull now but constant. My body still hadn’t recovered from the shift. Not just the physical toll—but the emotional whiplash.

My wolf had been silent since the battle, but I could feel her still. Lurking beneath the surface. Restless.

Waiting for something.

For him.

I rolled over and groaned. My muscles protested. The bruises from the fight bloomed across my skin like reminders—I was alive, and the world wanted to change that.

A knock sounded at the door.

Lucian didn’t wait for me to respond before he cracked it open. His hair was a mess, his jaw tight. “The council’s calling another meeting.”

My voice came out rough. “Now?”

“They want answers.” He stepped fully into the room, tossing a cloak onto the foot of the bed. “And so does Reed.”

The bond pulsed, just faintly.

“Of course he does,” I muttered.

Lucian leaned against the wall, watching me. “You shifted.”

“I noticed.”

“No. I mean… that wolf.” His golden eyes softened. “Scar, she’s massive. Bigger than most Alphas.”

“So?”

“So… she’s what you were meant to be.”

I didn’t reply. I couldn’t.

Lucian cleared his throat. “Reed sent word this morning. The Lycan King knows now. And he’s expecting a formal report.”

I blinked. “Already?”

“Apparently when a royal heir finds his mate mid-coup and survives a rogue ambush, things move fast.”

I snorted. “Mid-coup. That what we’re calling it now?”

Lucian raised an eyebrow. “You tell me.”

I sat up, brushing hair from my face. “Are they expecting a war?”

“No one’s saying it out loud,” he said. “But Reed’s got half the palace guards riding in within the next twenty-four hours.”

That was answer enough.

By midday, the council chamber buzzed like a beehive struck with a stone.

Reed stood at the head of the long table, his presence anchoring the room. Cloaked in black, expression unreadable, he didn’t look like royalty—he looked like consequence. Like something final.

No one dared meet his eyes for too long.

Lucian and I entered together. Every head turned. Conversations ceased as if someone had slammed a door on sound.

To some, I was an echo of a scandal they helped create.

To others, an inconvenience they’d hoped was dead.

I walked past them without flinching and sat in the empty seat across from the Alpha’s chair—my father’s chair.

Reed’s gaze found mine like it always did—like I was the center of his gravity. That bond between us buzzed faintly under my skin.

I ignored it. Mostly.

Darius’s seat remained empty.

Of course.

Coward.

Reyes entered last, every inch of him clenched in barely concealed fury. He took his place with the same arrogance he always wore, but this time, no one looked at him like he was in charge.

That power had shifted.

Reed’s voice cut through the room like steel. “Let’s begin.”

No formalities. No niceties. Just purpose.

He looked at the elders first. “Last night’s attack was not random. It was an execution. Timed. Coordinated. Targeted.”

His eyes slid to me.

“To eliminate the Monroe heir.”

Councilor Elara’s mouth tightened. “We acted under the belief she was no longer among us. The trial moved forward accordingly.”

“There was no trial,” Reed said. “Only whispers. Lies. And silence.”

“And what of the evidence?” Reyes interjected. “The council reviewed the accusations—”

“The council saw only what you let them see,” I said. “The lies you painted, the evidence you hid.”

Reed didn’t look away from Reyes. “You tried to crown a successor without informing the Crown, without a proper rite, and while your true heir sat in chains. That alone is treason.”

Reyes’s jaw flexed. “She was guilty.”

“Says the man who benefitted most from her absence,” Lucian said. “Funny how quickly Darius moved into my sister’s place, don’t you think?”

Elara cleared her throat. “These are serious claims.”

“They’re facts,” Lucian replied.

“What evidence suggests this wasn’t just a rogue uprising? Random. Uncontrolled. Like all the others?”

I met his gaze.“Because they waited for the moment the room was most distracted—when the rite began, when all eyes were on Darius. Not before, not after. That’s not chaos. That’s precision.”

Lucian added, “And one of them—before he died—said, ‘The bloodline burns tonight.’ That wasn’t about the pack in general. That was about Scarlett.”

A tense silence followed.

Councilor Elara’s expression tightened. “You’re saying this wasn’t just an attack—it was an execution attempt.”

Reed stepped forward. His tone was clipped, controlled. “That’s exactly what it was. Not just an attempt to kill her, but a move to wipe out the Monroe legacy entirely. And it happened under your watch.”

A few council members shifted uncomfortably.

“This wasn’t a mindless rogue attack,” Reed said, his voice even but cutting. “It was calculated. Tactical. Someone fed them intel—someone with access, strategy, and a clear objective. And they’re not finished.”

Elara’s voice lowered. “So what do we do?”

Lucian said, “We start by stopping the lies. No more pretending this was random. No more pretending Darius was ever meant to rule.”

I stood, voice firm. “This pack isn’t just under attack from the outside. It’s crumbling from within. And if we don’t face that now, there won’t be anything left to protect.”

The meeting lasted over two hours. By the end of it, every member of the council had sworn loyalty to the Monroe line under royal command. Darius still hadn’t shown. Reyes looked ready to combust.

I was the only one who wasn’t surprised.

Outside the chamber, I found Reed waiting.

Alone.

“Are you following me?” I asked.

His eyes were unreadable. “I needed to speak with you.”

I crossed my arms. “About?”

“You,” he said.

I blinked. “What about me?”

“You’re stronger than they expected. Smarter than they were prepared for. Now… they’re afraid.”

I let out a bitter laugh. “And fear’s supposed to be comforting?”

“No,” he said, tone quiet. “But it means they’ll think twice before coming for you again.”

We walked in silence, the training field stretching ahead. The place where they burned the rogue’s body still smelled faintly of smoke and iron.

“You knew I’d shift,” I said. “You weren’t even fazed.”

“I expected strength,” he said. “But not something that could silence a room.”

“Not what you were expecting?”

He looked at me then—steady, unreadable. “No. It impressed me.”

That shouldn’t have sent heat up my spine. But it did.

The bond buzzed between us, soft but insistent, like a pulse I couldn’t quiet.

“I’m not yours,” I murmured, not as steady as I wanted.

Reed stepped closer, gaze sharp and unreadable. “You don’t have to be.”

“Then stop looking at me like I already am.”

He didn’t flinch. “Maybe that’s because I feel it. Even if you won’t.”

My breath hitched.

He didn’t touch me.

But gods, it felt like he had.

He stood there—calm and steady, a quiet strength in the middle of chaos.

And the worst part?

For a moment… I felt safe.