All Chapters of Aurora and the ruthless Lycan king: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The grand stone balcony overlooking the training courtyard was usually a place of strategy and command—where the kingdom’s most powerful males gathered to discuss war formations, border threats, and policy changes. But today, it was a place of silent reckoning. King Aries stood with his hands behind his back, shoulders taut beneath his ceremonial black and gold cloak, his bright eyes shadowed with the heavy burden of what he had witnessed. His jaw was clenched tightly, but his expression betrayed him. Beneath the stoic mask, there was pain. “She chose the pack,” he muttered more to himself than the others. Beta Thom stood beside him, arms crossed, chest rising and falling with shallow, uneven breaths. He was a man carved of stone—stoic, reliable—but today, the cracks showed. His mate, Iris, had just chosen to save her baby brother, the heir to the alpha title, over her own parents. Thom’s wolf roared silently inside, torn between admiration and sorrow. Gamma Mike was pacing behin

The morning sun had only just begun to rise over the high towers of the Lycan palace, casting golden light through the frost-kissed windows. But for Aurora, Bella, Iris, and Allie, the world felt as though it had shifted completely hours ago. Their mates. Fate. The bond. The air still buzzed with the shock of it all, but there was no time to let it settle. Not in the palace. Not under the High Chancellor’s watchful eyes. Not with the next trial looming. As they were escorted by two silent palace guards through the east wing corridor—lined with portraits of long-dead kings and queens—they were reminded once again that they were not guests. They were still competitors. Still pawns. And this morning’s task? Studying Lycan law in the royal library. “I feel like I’m being sent to detention,” Bella muttered, arms crossed over her chest as she stalked beside the others. “You do know you’re not actually in trouble, right?” Allie teased lightly, though her tone lacked its usual spark.

The soft chime of the morning bell echoed through the halls of the palace, a gentle reminder that another day had begun—though this one felt different. There was no pressure in the air, no impending challenge looming over their heads, no High Chancellor Theron waiting outside their door in his usual stern posture. The girls had woken slowly, not from urgency, but from a deep, emotional exhaustion that clung to them like fog after the storm of the loyalty trial. Aurora blinked up at the painted ceiling of her room. A lone wolf stood on a craggy cliff beneath a painted moon, howling at the stars. It made her chest ache—familiar and wild, like something buried in her blood. Her Lycan stirred faintly inside, quiet but watchful. She rolled onto her side to see Allie curled up under a blanket on the couch, Bella spread like a starfish across the rug, and Iris sitting cross-legged at the window with a steaming cup of tea in her hands, already dressed. Aurora smiled. “We’re a mess.”

The heavy wooden door to Aurora’s quarters creaked open, revealing a room cast in warm amber light. Soft linens, fur throws, and worn pages of law books scattered across the floor bore witness to the chaos of the week past. The air still hummed with the adrenaline from their victory in the law trial, but the girls moved in quiet relief, limbs sluggish with exhaustion and minds spinning from what lay ahead. Bella collapsed into her usual armchair with a deep groan, curling under a thick blanket like a cat refusing to budge. Iris tucked herself into a tight ball on the corner of Aurora’s bed, her eyes distant, as if she were counting all the ways she might fail the next trial. Allie sank into the velvet couch beside the bed, arms splayed wide, and let out a dramatic sigh. Aurora sat cross-legged at the foot of the bed, gazing up at the ceiling, her eyes following the mural of the forest and the lone wolf howling under a silver moon. “I can’t believe it,” Allie mumbled, breaking the si

The tension in the room was thick as fog. The morning sun had barely lifted itself over the mountains, but the girls were already up, huddled in Aurora’s quarters, stretching sore muscles and double-checking their gear. Black leggings. Check. Black fitted tops. Check. Combat boots laced. Check. Hair tied tightly. Ready for war. Iris sat quietly on the edge of the bed, wrapping her knuckles in thick cloth. Her hands trembled—not from fear of the fight, but from the fear of failing the girls who had come to mean so much to her. They’d trained hard, all of them, but no one questioned that this trial was hers to survive. The others were born for strength. She was born to feel, to nurture. And now, she had to fight. “You’re too in your head,” Bella said, coming up behind her with a bottle of water. “You’ve been quiet all morning.” Iris accepted it with a faint smile, cracking it open—just as Aurora snatched it from her hand. “Don’t drink it,” Aurora said sharply. Iris blinked. “Wh