Chapter 91. Palace Invitation

* Ivan *Dorina and Lucian left at dawn. I stood on the porch of the Alpha house and watched the old car go until the dust settled and I couldn't hear the engine rattling anymore.It was Prince Douglas's old green Land Cruiser, the one he refuses to throw away because "it still runs, Ivan" even though the back door only opens from the inside and the aircon only works if you hit the dashboard twice. Dorina said she didn't want a Palace car with guards and flags. She wanted something quiet so he gave it to us. Lucian had his head out the rear window the entire time, even after Dorina told him three times to sit properly and put his seatbelt on. He was waving at me with both hands, his hair a mess from the wind, his new hunting knife, just wooden, I made sure of it, tucked into his belt like he was going to war."Mama says Grandpa built new training grounds!" he shouted over the engine as they pulled away. "I'll bring you a sword, Papa!""You will not!" I shouted back.Dorina laughed fr

Last Updated : 2026-09-16

Chapter 92. Children’s Party

* Dorina *The Palace was loud because of the big celebration. A different kind of loud from when Lucian was six months old and fighting Matilda over silly things. This was happy loud. Music for kids, pups running, tables full of food that Mandy insisted on because "Ravel only turns one once."Princess Ravel a pretty one-year-old with chubby cheeks, and hair like Mandy's, was sitting on Queen Arriane's lap, wearing a crown that kept sliding off. Every time it slid, Prince Aaron would fix it for her, so serious, so gentle. My twelve-year-old nephew, who the other day had Lucian in a headlock in the forest, now holding his baby sister like she was made of glass.And my little boy Lucian. Lucian was in the middle of the garden, in that old green Land Cruiser's dust still on his boots, telling the story of the oak tree marking to any pup who would listen. And even to those who wouldn't."And then Aaron said 'stay behind me' but I saw it first.”"You saw a bush," Prince Aaron called from a

Last Updated : 2026-09-16

Chapter 93. The Incident

* Dorina *I should have known boys would be boys, and they didn't listen. After the cake, and right after Douglas squeezed my shoulder and said "South Field has a double patrol," I watched them. Prince Aaron and Lucian. They were sitting by the old green Land Cruiser, eating the last of the frosting straight from the plate with their fingers, whispering to each other. That whisper that I failed to understand. But I know that whisper. It's the same whisper Prince Douglas and I used when we were pups and Father told us not to go to the river.Lucian looked at me and waved. "We will stay in the garden, Mama!"I believed him because I wanted the birthday to be perfect. So I just nodded. Princess Ravel was finally asleep on Mandy's chest, with frosting in her hair. My mother, the Queen was humming. Father had gone inside to take a call about the south line. Everything felt safe again so I breathed easy.Ten minutes had passed. I just looked away for ten minutes to help Mandy clean Princ

Last Updated : 2026-09-17

Chapter 94. Go Home

* Ivan *I broke every speed rule riding my old car to the Palace. Dorina's text came at two fourteen PM. Come get us early? Then Prince Douglas's text came at three-seven PM. Just a few words. It says, Come now. Bring the old car. South field.My mother-in-law, Queen Arriane called. Her voice was shaking. "Ivan, drive carefully, but come. Lucian is, Aaron is okay, but Lucian… something happened just come."My wolf didn't pace. He roared inside of me. He ripped through me and I almost shifted behind the wheel of my own truck.I left Beta Mikael in charge, grabbed the keys to my old pickup, not the Land Cruiser, because the Land Cruiser was already there, dusty in the Palace garden, and drove.Two hours of road that felt like ten long hours. I kept seeing Lucian's letter in my drawer. I will practice staying behind Aaron. He didn't stay behind.When I pulled through the Palace gates, it was too quiet. No music at the party. No more birthday, was it finished? The tables from Princess Ra

Last Updated : 2026-09-18

Chapter 95. A Sibling

* Dorina *We were lucky that the old pickup didn't break down on the way home. That was a good sign. Ivan drove with one hand on the wheel, the other holding mine across the console, and Lucian slept in the backseat the whole way, finally, deeply, his head tipped against the window, his hand still holding Ivan's sleeve through the gap like when he was just a baby boy.When we finally arrived at the Green Meadows, Ivan carried him inside, straight to his bed. He didn't wake even when Ivan took off his dirty boots. Ten years old, first kill, and he slept like he was six months old again, curled on his side.I stood in the doorway and watched Ivan sit on the edge of the bed, just watching him breathe. Just to make sure he was still there. The way Ivan watched him the night he was born.That night, after Lucian finally stopped whimpering in his sleep, Ivan pulled me close."He asked me in the truck," Ivan whispered into my hair. "Before he fell asleep. He said, 'Papa, if I had a little b

Last Updated : 2026-09-19

Chapter 96. Alone in the Cabin

* Ivan *When I came home from pack duties Matilda told me to take Dorina to the river cabin. Not in those usual words. Matilda never says things directly. She told me, "Alpha, the river patrol needs checking, and Luna needs fresh air, and that old cabin has a leak, you should fix it," while looking at me like I was the stupidest Alpha alive.I understood it. So I took Dorina's hand that night after Lucian asked if we were still there, and I said, "Tomorrow, you and me. Let's take the old truck. No patrol or Luna duties. Just the two of us."She blinked. "But Lucian.""Will stay with Matilda for one night. He is ten years old. He survived a hunter, Dorina. He can survive one night without us watching him breathe."She laughed, then cried a little, then nodded. The next morning, I did something I haven't done in ten years. I told Beta Mikael, "Two reasons that I will make you disturb me. One, if a rogue crosses, call me; and two, if the border burns. But if it's paperwork, burn it you

Last Updated : 2026-09-20