Each step she took felt like a blade sinking deeper into her chest. Albenia was her life. Blue had never stepped foot outside its borders, never visited another pack or kingdom.
At first, she thought Father kept her hidden out of protection, maybe even pride, until the night of her ten-and-six ceremony.
The night she came of age.
It felt like yesterday, the way Father broke the news. Kraven had been ten-and-ten at the time, and the moment he heard it, his outrage shook the palace.
"We cannot let that happen! Blue is too innocent to be sacrificed like this. I will not accept this!"Kraven had shouted, his fury impossible to ignore.
Blue cried for weeks after that. Cried until her ribs ached. Cried until the ache turned numb.
And then came Kraven's disaster, the reckless decision that dragged all of Albenia into this mess. He claimed he did it for her. For family. And maybe he believed that. But it came at the cost of innocent lives.
When the Frost clan struck, they spared no one. The attacks came like clockwork—every week, a new slaughter. Women. Children. Elders were murdered.
Still, the Winter Pack didn't stop. Their revenge was endless.
And now, they'd come to take her too.
The carriage awaited outside the castle gates. No fanfare. No proper send-off. Just a weathered wagon and two guards standing like ghosts. There wasn't even room to stretch—how was she supposed to travel in that?
"Get in," a voice ordered behind her.
She turned. It was one of them, Kael.
She remembered hearing Draven call him that—Kael, the middle brother. A pale scar carved the skin near his eye, but somehow it only made him more alluring. He was handsome in a quiet, lethal way. Distant. Cold. Yet his scent made her knees falter. The mating pull was there. Strong.
She swallowed hard. Her voice came out shaky.
"I just want to say goodbye to my father."
"You've said enough goodbyes already," Draven hissed, yanking the door open.
Her eyes found Father, just a few feet away, standing like a broken statue. Tears spilled down her cheeks as he mouthed the words:
I love you.
And just like that, she was bundled into the carriage like some object. Like a burden being hauled off. No kiss. No proper farewell.
Just the heavy slam of the door behind her.
This was it.
Blue Sara Reign, princess of Albenia, was beginning a new chapter in a story she never asked to be part of.
---
*Five Years Ago at Winter Pack*
The letter sat untouched on the wooden table, the seal already cracked open, but none of them had spoken.
Three brothers. One mate.
And now, finally… a message.
They had waited years for this. Endless seasons without a word, until the raven arrived this morning bearing her name.
Blue Sara Reign.
Princess of Albenia. Their mate.
The seal was hers. No mistaking it. But the letter asked for secrecy, a private meeting just outside Albenia's borderlands.
"It says we can't tell anyone," Laziel said, squinting at the parchment. He is the last of the triplets.
Draven crossed his arms, jaw tight. "I know what it says."
Kael exhaled slowly, his eyes not leaving the words. "What if it's a trap?"
Draven's silence said he'd thought of that already. Since the death of their parents, he had taken on the burden of leading their pack. The crown was heavy, and the responsibilities never stopped. His brothers helped of course, but the final word was his.
Still, the idea of meeting Blue… it stirred something in all of them. Even after years of coldness, and silence, that bond hadn't faded yet.
From the doorway, a cheerful voice cut through the tension.
"You three are acting like pups about to meet their first crush."
Gillian.
The youngest of them all. Ten-and-five and already twice as clever as most warriors. The triplets were older than him by six seasons.
Laziel rolled his eyes. "Says the brat who still cries during sword training."
"That was once," Gillian shot back, grinning. "And you cut me!"
"You asked for it," Kael muttered with a smirk.
Draven shook his head, but even he couldn't help the small tug of a smile. For all the coldness in their lives, Gillian was their warmth. Since the death of their parents the king and queen, the triplets had raised him themselves—protected him, trained him.
He was the last light of their bloodline.
And now, that light would ride with them.
---
The forest just beyond Albenia looked abandoned, too quiet. No wind. No birdsong. Just the slow clop of hooves on damp ground.
Draven's eyes scanned every tree, every shadow.
"Something's off," he muttered..
Laziel sniffed the air. "No scent of her."
"She wouldn't send a letter and not show up,"Kael said, hand tightening around the hilt at his side.
They dismounted slowly. Gillian dropped down beside them, light on his feet, still beaming.
"Maybe she got nervous. You guys are scary-looking, you know."
"Stay behind me," Draven ordered suddenly, eyes narrowing.
"What—"
"It's a trap!!!"
The ambush was immediate, dozens of wolves burst from the trees, already shifted and snarling. At the center stood Kraven, baring his fangs.
"Run, Gillian!" Draven shouted.
But it was too late.
The arrow flew fast, clean, and silently pierced straight through Gillian's throat.
The sound he made, choked, soft, full of surprise—burned into them forever.
Kael roared. Laziel shifted mid-air, launching himself toward the archer. Draven tore through Kraven's men with his bare claws, heart breaking with every kill.
But it wasn't enough.
Bleeding and battered, the triplets barely escaped with their lives. Gillian's body was left behind.
Their brother. Their heir. Gone.
And worst of all?
Their mate—the one they waited years for was part of it.
She betrayed them.
After that night, the bond died. Or maybe it was just buried under the frost that slowly took over their hearts.
For five long seasons, Albenia bled under the weight of Winter's wrath.
---
Blue jolted awake as the carriage screeched violently.
The wheels spun in the mud, tilting sideways as the horses neighed and kicked.
"Incoming!"
"Halt!"
Outside, chaos was rising. And something in her gut said— They were not alone.