First Night as a Family

Two weeks after the coronation, and the Citadel finally felt quiet.

No more Council meetings. No more threats at the gates. No more blood on the stone. Just the soft sound of Aria’s breathing and the crackle of the hearth in our chambers.

For the first time since I came back, we were all under one roof. Safe. Together.

Darius had insisted we all sleep in the same room tonight. “No more separating,” he’d said, carrying a yawning Aria from the nursery. “Not after everything.”

So here we were. A Lycan King, a Lycan Queen, a 5-year-old Lycan Prince, and a 2-week-old Lycan Princess all in one massive bed that used to belong to Darius’s ancestors.

It was ridiculous. And perfect.

Elias was curled against my side, one arm protectively thrown over Aria’s bassinet even though she was asleep. At 5 he took his big brother job very seriously. He’d spent the whole week teaching her how to howl, which mostly resulted in him making weird noises and her staring at him like he was insane.

“She’s gonna be stronger than me, isn’t she?” he whispered, watching Aria sleep. Her silver hair caught the firelight and glowed like moonlight.

Darius, behind me with his Lycan arm around both of us, chuckled. “Probably. She’s got your stubbornness and your mother’s Moon-blessed blood.”

I leaned back into him, exhausted in the best way. “Don’t remind me. She’s been awake every two hours since she was born.”

“That’s Lycan for ‘I’m hungry’,” Darius teased, nuzzling my hair. “Wait till she starts shifting. You’ll miss the sleep.”

Elias giggled. “Aria can’t shift yet! She’s too tiny!”

“And you couldn’t either at two weeks,” I reminded him. “You shifted during a thunderstorm and scared the whole eastern wing.”

He went red. “That was one time!”

We laughed together, and for a moment it felt like we’d always been this way. Like the 5 years of rejection and war and blood never happened.

Then a knock.

Not a polite knock. A hard, urgent one.

Darius was on his feet instantly, Lycan instincts flaring, putting himself between the door and us. I sat up, pulling Aria’s blanket up higher even though she was still out cold.

“Who is it?” he growled.

“Captain Roric, my King,” came the voice through the door. “There’s something you need to see. From the old Council records. It’s about… about Queen Elara.”

My stomach dropped.

Elias sat up, instantly alert. “Is it bad?”

Darius looked at me, and I saw the same fear I felt in his eyes. The Council was gone, but their secrets weren’t. And some of them were dangerous.

“Stay here,” he told me, then to Elias: “Protect your mother and sister, little moon.”

Elias straightened, all 5 years of him puffing up like a warrior. “I will.”

Darius kissed my forehead and left, closing the door softly behind him.

The room felt too quiet after he left.

Elias scooted closer to me. “Mommy, do you think it’s about Kade?”

I pulled him against me, hand resting on Aria’s bassinet. “I don’t know, baby. But whatever it is, we’ll handle it. Together. As a family.”

Aria shifted in her sleep and let out a tiny whimper. Elias instantly reached over and stroked her hair.

“She’s safe,” he whispered, more to himself than to me. “We’re all safe now.”

I wanted to believe him.

But the way Roric had said “about Queen Elara” made my blood run cold.

Darius came back 20 minutes later. His face was grim.

“What is it?” I asked before he could even speak.

He sat on the edge of the bed, taking my hand. “They found records. Old ones. From 300 years ago. The last time a Lycan Queen was born with full Moonblood like you.”

My heart was pounding. “And?”

“And the Council erased her,” he said quietly. “They erased her, her mate, and their children. Called them abominations. Burned all records of them.”

Elias gasped. “Why?”

“Because they were afraid,” Darius said. “Afraid of what full Moonblood could do. Afraid of losing control.”

I looked down at Aria, sleeping peacefully in her bassinet. At Elias, holding her so carefully. At Darius, looking at me like I was the only thing keeping him grounded.

“And now they’re afraid of me,” I whispered.

Darius nodded. “And they’re afraid of her.” He nodded to Aria. “The records say Moonblood runs stronger in females. That a Moonblood daughter can either unite the Lycan lines… or destroy them.”

The room went silent.

Outside, the wind howled through the Citadel like a warning.

Elias tightened his grip on Aria’s blanket. “Nobody’s gonna hurt her. Not while I’m here.”

Darius pulled us all close - me, him, Elias, and Aria in her bassinet. “Nobody’s gonna hurt any of you. Not while I’m breathing.”

I rested my head against his chest and closed my eyes, listening to Aria’s steady breathing and Elias’s fierce little heartbeat.

The Council was gone. Kade was neutralized. For now.

But the past wasn’t done with us yet.

And neither were the secrets the Council had died to keep.