LOGINThe bar on the door lifted with a heavy scrape.Caelan’s heart slammed against his ribs as Lucien stepped inside. The king filled the doorway, shoulders tight, eyes already scanning the room with predatory focus. His gaze landed on the open window, then on Rowan standing only steps away from Caelan.Rowan did not flinch. He offered a lazy smile instead, one hand resting casually on the hilt of his sword.“Brother. You are late to the party.”Lucien’s voice came out low and lethal. “Step away from him. Now.”The air thickened with alpha power. Caelan felt it press against his skin like a storm about to break. The bond between him and Lucien roared to life, hot and demanding, while Rowan’s presence added a sharper, more dangerous edge.Rowan tilted his head but did not move. “He opened the window. That was an invitation. Or have you forgotten how consent works?”Caelan spoke quickly, voice steady despite the chaos in his chest. “He came to talk. Nothing more.”Lucien’s eyes never left h
The next day passed in a blur of guarded silence.Caelan remained confined to the royal wing suite under heavy watch. Lucien sent meals, fresh clothes, and a stack of old scrolls about lycan law, but the king himself stayed away. Caelan understood why. The council was watching every move. Any open meeting between them would only fuel the accusations.He spent the hours reading the scrolls, tracing the ancient clauses that bound kings to female mates and pure bloodlines. Every line felt like a chain tightening around his throat. The royal blood in his veins hummed in protest, stronger now with the collar gone.By evening his nerves were raw.The note from Rowan still rested in his pocket. He had read it so many times the ink had begun to smudge.Midnight tomorrow. West wing. Choose freedom or watch him burn.Midnight was only hours away.As the moon climbed higher, Caelan paced the room. The bond pulled constantly toward Lucien, a warm, steady presence somewhere above in the royal cham
Caelan sat on the edge of his new bed in the royal wing, the heavy door barred and guarded from the outside. The room was larger than his old cell in the lower halls, furnished with dark wood and deep blue drapes, yet it still felt like a cage. Moonlight spilled through the tall window, casting silver bars across the floor.The scrap of parchment burned in his palm.Midnight tomorrow. West wing. Choose freedom or watch him burn.Rowan’s handwriting was elegant and sharp, just like the man himself. Caelan had found the note stuck to the sole of his boot after the chaos in the council chamber. He had hidden it quickly before Lucien could see.Now, hours later, the words would not leave his mind.He unfolded the note again and read it under the moonlight. The ink smelled faintly of Rowan’s scent, copper and night-blooming herbs. A deliberate taunt.A soft knock sounded at the door.Caelan tensed and slipped the note beneath the mattress.The bar lifted from the outside. Lucien entered al
The emergency council session was called for first light.Caelan stood in the center of the royal audience chamber, flanked by Lucien’s personal guards. The silver armbands on their arms gleamed under the rising sun that streamed through tall arched windows. He wore simple dark clothing provided overnight.. no finery, no crown, but the absence of the collar made him feel exposed in an entirely new way.The scent of royal blood still lingered around him, softer now but impossible to ignore. Every noble seated along the long crescent table caught it. Some wrinkled their noses in distaste. Others leaned forward, eyes sharp with calculation.Lucien occupied the throne at the head of the chamber. He looked every inch the ruthless king: black velvet trimmed in silver, hair tied back severely, storm-gray eyes cold and unreadable. Yet Caelan could feel the bond humming between them, tight with barely leashed fury.Rowan sat to the king’s right, one leg crossed casually over the other, green e
The lower east wing felt smaller after the collar came off.Caelan walked the corridors flanked by two of Lucien’s personal guards tall, silent alphas with silver armbands marked by the king’s personal crest. They did not speak. They did not need to. Their presence alone was a warning to anyone who might approach.The scent of royal blood still clung to him, faint now but unmistakable. Every passing servant paused mid-step. Every beta guard’s nostrils flared. Whispers followed like shadows.Old blood.The fallen line.How is he still alive?Caelan kept his head high and his steps even. The power that had surged when the collar broke had not faded. It simmered beneath his skin: sharper senses, steadier balance, a quiet strength in his limbs he had never known. He felt less like tribute and more like something the palace had tried—and failed to bury.They reached his chamber door. One guard opened it while the other scanned the hall.“Inside,” the first said. “Bar it. No one enters unti
Lucien did not knock.The door to the healing quarters flew open with enough force to crack the frame. Voss, who had been cleaning his tools at the far table, spun around. His face paled when he saw the king’s expression: eyes fully silver, pupils dilated to black points, chest heaving as though he had run the length of the palace.“Your Majesty,” Voss began, bowing low.Lucien ignored him.His gaze locked on Caelan, who still sat shirtless on the examination table. The broken collar pieces lay wrapped on a side tray. The air in the room was thick with the new, unfiltered scent: night jasmine laced with royal pine and the metallic edge of old bloodlines. It hit Lucien like a physical wave, sinking into his lungs, igniting every nerve.Caelan slid off the table and stood. He did not bow. He did not lower his eyes. The suppression gone, something in his posture had shifted, subtle but unmistakable. Less prey. More equal.Lucien crossed the room in four strides.Voss stepped forward inst







