The war room was dim, lit only by the fire in the hearth and a bit of sunlight filtering through the high window. Maps lay sprawled across the long oak table, marked with ink and carved wolf figurines. The scent of iron, leather, and cold stone hung in the air.
Thornak stood at the table's edge, hands braced on either side of a worn border map, his brow furrowed in thought.
The door creaked open, without a knock and Queen Maravelle swept in, every inch the sovereign matriarch, her velvet robes trailing behind her.
She didn't wait for acknowledgment.
"Why did you leave your wife alone at the Moon Lighting Ceremony?" she said sharply.
Thornak didn't lift his gaze.
"She is not my wife."
"Don't be childish, Thorn."
Now he looked up. Slowly and coldly.
"Would you have me stand beside a stranger and pretend it's love? Before the whole court?"
Maravelle strode closer, her gaze locked on his.
"You don't need to pretend love. You need to show leadership. You left her standing alone with the nobles. Do you think that will earn you loyalty?"
"Loyalty earned through false ceremony is worth nothing." Thornak turned from her, pacing toward the fire. "This kingdom was not built on pretty traditions and choreographed moonlight."
"But it will fall without them," she snapped. "You think power is just blood and claws, but appearances hold empires together."
Thornak's voice dropped, low and dangerous.
"She is here because of politics. Not prophecy. Not fate. I owe her civility, not devotion."
Then the door swung open without ceremony.
"Pardon the interruption," Kael said, eyes locking on Thornak, "but we have to go. Dain and Ruvan are already waiting. It's urgent."
Maravelle didn't turn.
"Can't you see we're talking?" she snapped.
Thornak's voice was calm but final.
"I have to go, Mother."
"You do not walk away from me."
"We'll talk when I return," he said already leaving.
Her voice cracked like a whip.
"Thorn this conversation is not over."
The doors closed with a heavy, echoing thud.
Thornak exhaled slowly, the chill of the corridor biting at his jaw. He rolled his shoulders once, as though shedding the last of his mother's presence.
"My thanks," he said quietly, not looking at Kael. "A moment longer and I might have thrown myself through the window."
Kael fell into step beside him, his tone dry.
"I saw her leaving and I knew you were in trouble."
Thornak cast him a grateful look.
"You're too gracious."
"Always. But you know she'll be livid," Kael added, glancing back over his shoulder. "Someone's going to suffer for your exit."
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Thornak's mouth.
"If the gods are kind, it'll be Lord Erwin."
Kael laughed once, sharp and quiet.
"Now that would be mercy."
They met with Dain and Ruvan, his Beta and Gamma, and rode into the wilds to hunt. It was the one thing that never failed to steady Thornak's mind, the chase, the silence, the blood. Out there, far from his mother and council chambers, he could breathe.
Thornak crouched behind a mossy rock. His sharp eyes watched the trees above, looking for any movement. His breath formed clouds in the cold air, and every muscle in his body was poised to strike.
Beside him, his younger brother Kael muttered, "You know, this was supposed to be a quick hunt."
"And now it's interesting," Thorn replied, his voice was low and calm but alert. However his senses prickled. Something wasn't right.
Behind them, Dain crept up silently. "Smell that?"
Thorn inhaled. Blood. Fear. Wolves. And something else. Something electric, wild and familiar in a way that made his bones ache.
Kael's brow furrowed. "You feel that, don't you?"
Thorn didn't answer. His chest tightened and a strange surge rising inside him - foreign and powerful. His heartbeat quickened, not from fear... but recognition.
Then he saw her.
Across the clearing, past the trees, there was movement. It was a woman and she was wielding a sword like it was an extension of her soul, fighting with a ferocity he'd never seen. She was being attacked by countless rogues and even as her body bled, she didn't fall, rather she moved like fury itself.
Thornak's heart slammed in his chest.
"By the Ancients..." Ruvan whispered.
"Mine," Thorn growled as he shifted into his lycan form running towards the woman.
His heart pounded like thunder in his chest, as if fate itself were roaring through his veins his gaze fixed upon the woman the goddess had marked as his.
Strange. Rogues were never this organized. They tore at each other long before they ever thought to unite. Whatever alliance had brought them together, it wouldn't hold. It never did. But thirty werewolves crossing into his territory as one? Attacking a woman, that wasn't chance. That was calculated.
Thornak didn't hesitate, he rushed towards her the same moment a rogue lunged at her exposed back, Thorn moved like death itself.
With a growl that shook the trees, he collided with the rogue mid-air, snapping his bones and sending the creature flying.
He landed in front of her, blood steaming on his claws, his massive form shielding her from the rest.
He turned his head just enough to look at her, really look at her.
Her eyes were wide with shock, her body was badly injured.
Beautiful and brave he thought.
His voice came out as a snarl. "No one touches what's mine."
A while later the clearing was still and the scent of blood hang heavy in the cold air. Thornak stood in the center, his golden eyes locked on the unconscious woman lying on the floor. She was covered in wounds and she was bleeding, her cloak was torn and her sword still gripped loosely in one hand.
"It looks like she is human," Kael said slowly, stepping up beside him.
"She is a human," Thorn replied immediately. And Jax his lycan growled ... "I am taking her home."
Dain exhaled. "If your mother finds out you brought home a human....."
"You know how Queen Maravelle feels about humans." Ruvan finished grimly.
Thorn's jaw clenched. "I don't care what she thinks."
"Any particular reason, or is it to irritate the bride to be?" Kael asked.
"She's my mate."
Dain let out a low whistle. Then Kael muttered, "Wow, mother's going to have a heart attack."
Ruvan cracked a small smile. "You have got a war on your hands."
Thorn brushed a bit of dried blood from her temple. "I've never backed down from a war."
He picked her up in his arms.