The dining hall of Thunder Heart had never felt so heavy. The long tables were still scarred from the celebration-scratches in the wood where plates had been dragged aside in haste, overturned benches shoved back to make room for shifting wolves and rushing bodies. The faint scent of smoke and blood lingered in the air, impossible to banish completely.
No one spoke at first.
The current Alphas sat together near the head of the hall, shoulders squared, faces grim. These were wolves who had ruled packs, survived wars, buried friends-but tonight, something sat deeper than grief. Regret.
Colt stood at the front, arms crossed, his presence commanding even in stillness. He hadn't called this meeting. He hadn't needed to. They had come to him.
Teagan was the first to break the silence.
"We were wrong," he said bluntly. And his words echoed louder than any cannon blast.
Cairo exhaled slowly, eyes fixed on the scarred floor. "We thought this was...idealism. A noble experiment. Mixing fae and wolves, stripping titles, letting children lead."
"We thought-"Teagan spoke again "We thought that you were a joke. We thought that we would just go along with your plans, to show 'respect' to the newest Alpha. We thought that you would see for yourself how foolish and naive you were being."
Cairo repeated. "We were wrong, so very wrong."
Jaxson shook his head, a rueful smile tugging at his mouth. "Turns out it wasn't idealism, it was preparation."
Owen leaned forward, forearms braced on the table. His voice was rough. "Our children fought like veterans. They gave orders. They adapted. They protected one another without hesitation." Pride flickered across his face-quick, fierce, undeniable.
Alex swallowed. " I watched my son stand between magic and a child who wasn't even from his pack without thinking twice."
Asher's jaw tightened. "And I underestimated the Unseelie." he admitted. "We all did."
That landed harder than any accusation.
"They weren't probing," Griffen added quietly. "They were hunting."
All eyes shifted-to Stacy and Olivia, seated together along the wall. Stacy's hands were clasped tightly in her lap. Olivia's posture was calm, but her shadows stirred faintly, restless even now.
"Their focus was unmistakable," Cairo continued. "They didn't care about casualties. They cut through our defenses like they knew exactly where to push."
"To get to them," Teagan finished.
Colt finally spoke. "You didn't trust my methods," he said evenly. No accusation, no anger. "But you trusted your children to come here."
The Alphas nodded-one by one.
"And tonight," Colt continued, "they proved you were right to trust them."
Silence fell again-but it was different now. Less heavy. More resolute.
Jaxson straightened. "Whatever this becomes-whatever war is coming-Thunder Heart isn't standing alone."
"Agreed," Owen said firmly. "Not again."
Colt inclined his head once. Acceptance. Not triumph.
"Then we move forward," Colt said. "Together. Oh-and more thing." he paused for effect. "I told you so."
That broke the tension in the room, and got a blend of eye rolls and chuckles.
The Knights
Later that night, the new trainee house breathed differently. The weight of the night, their first battle, everything was just overwhelming. Candles flickered, scattered around the room, their flames steady as the table in the center. Zane stood at the tables edge, arms braced against the wood.
"This isn't just about tonight," he said. "They're going to come again."
Andrew nodded. "And next time, they'll be smarter."
"They already were," Riley muttered. "That's what scares me."
Garrett leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled. "They wanted Stacy and Oliva alive."
That silenced the room.
Ryder broke it softly. "Which means they'll try isolation, kidnapping, divide and conquer.
Easton approached the table touching the wood, deep in thought. "Then we don't let them."
Cedric's voice was quiet-but it carried. "We protect them. Not just as twin souls, as people." he hesitated, then added, "as family."
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then Zane turned to the others. "They don't sit this out."
Everyone followed his gaze. Harris stood near the wall, arms crossed tightly over his chest, looking like he wasn't sure he belonged in the room at all. Harper was beside him, chin lifted, eyes sharp despite exhaustion. Liora lingered just behind them, hands clasped, magic, hummed slightly beneath her skin.
"They fought with us," Zane said. "They bled with us."
"They saved us," Riley added.
Cedric stepped back and gestured to the table. "Sit." Harris blinked. "I-I don't think, I mean I didn't know-"
"Sit," Garrett repeated, more gently.
Harper didn't hesitate. She took Harris's wrist and pulled him forward, claiming a chair beside Cedric without a word. Liora followed, settling in with quiet grace. The circle closed.
Zane rested his hands on the table and took a deep breath. "What happed tonight wasn't random," he said. "The Unseelie are moving with intent and strategy."
Harris spoke, "They were after Stacy and Olivia."
Cedric's fingers curled slowly. "Then we become what they didn't expect. "
"A shield," Ryder said.
"A wall," Easton added.
Garrett shook his head once. "No, a vow."
They looked at one another- seven future Alphas, bound not by bloodline alone, but by somethin forged in fire. Zane drew a shallow blade from his belt and pressed it lightly to his palm. A bead of blood fell onto the table's center carving."
"For Stacy," he said.
Andrew followed. "For Olivia."
Riley swallow hard, then nodded. "For the future."
One by one, they added their blood-wolves and fae alike. Harris hesitated. Cedric met his eyes, "You belong here."
Harris exhaled-and pressed his palm down.
Unexpectedly the carving flared. The crescent moon glowed bright silver, the fae sigil a purple so light it was almost white, and the wolf a deep blue an the night sky. Light and shadow intertwined across the tables surface, responding to the oath being spoken not just aloud-but meant.
Liora gasped. "The Moon Goddess is blessing us."
Zane straightened. "Then hear this," he said. "From this night forward, we stand as one."
"We protect," Andrew said.
"To honor," Garrett added.
"Fae and wolf alike," Cedric finished.
The carving burned brighter.
The Knights of the round Table were formed-not as legend, not as pageantry-but as necessity. And somewhere beyond the Veil, something ancient shifted.
Because oaths like that do not go unheard.
Answers Needed
The door closed softly behind them. For the first time since the horns had sounded, since blood and magic and fear had torn through Thunder Heart, the world narrowed to just the two of them. Stacy leaned back against the wood, exhaling a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Her shoulders sagged- not from weakness, but release. Colt turned the lock with a quiet click and rested his forehead briefly against the door, grounding himself in the simple, solid reality of it. "We're alive." he said finally, voice low.
Stacy laughed softly, the sound a little shaky. "That feels like a victory worth celebrating."
They crossed the room without urgency now. The carefully chosen outfits were shed piece by piece-discarded not in haste-but with care, as though setting down the weight of the night. Stacy rinsed blood from her hands in the ensuite bathroom, watching the red swirled away into nothing.
"I've never been so proud," she said quietly.
Colt met her eyes in the mirror. "Me neither."
He stepped behind her, resting his hands lightly at her waist. Not possessive. Anchoring.
"They didn't panic," he continued. "Not one of them. They adapted. Took command. Protected each other like the were born knowing how."
Stacy smile faintly. "They were." She dried her hands, turning to face him. "Zane shouting orders like he'd been doing it his whole life. Harper holding her illusions steady while chaos burned around her. Cedric dismantling runes under fire."
"And Harris," Colt said.
The name settled between them.
Stacy moved to the bed, sitting slowly. "Harris scars me," she admitted. "Not because he's dangerous-but because he shouldn't be possible."
Colt sat beside her, elbow resting on his knees. "Shadow magic alone would've been rare enough for a wolf. But light too? That wasn't just brute force. That was control."
Stacy shook her head, "He didn't draw from me," Stacy said. "I felt it. He didn't pull-he matched."
Colt frowned, deep in thought. "Which means it wasn't learned. It's intrinsic."
Stacy hugged her knees to her chest. "Fae magic doesn't just... happen in wolves. Even fae-touched don't manifest like that without training, catalysts, rituals."
"And Harris had not of that," Colt said. "Yet he moved like he'd been waiting his whole life to stop holding back."
They sat in silence for a moment, the enormity of it pressing in.
"What if...the Unseelie weren't just after us?" Stacy asked softly. "What if they were testing him too?"
Colt's jaw tightened. "Then we're already behind." She leaned into him then, forehead resting against his shoulder. "I don't want to be wrong about him."
"I don't think you are," Colt said gently. "I think he's terrified of what he is, and that makes him dangerous-to himself."
Stacy nodded. "Which means he needs answers. Real ones."
Colt kissed the top of her head, decision settling in his bones. "Then we go to the one person who has lived long enough to see just about everything."
She looked up. "The Seelie Queen?"
He met her gaze. "If anyone knows how a wolf can carry fae balance without being torn apart by it-it's her."
Stacy exhaled, tension easing just a fraction. "Good, Because I don't want to wait until the Unseelie decide to come back for him."
Colt smiled faintly. "Neither do I."
They finished cleaning up in quiet companionship, the room gradually shifting from aftermath to sanctuary. When they finally lay down, Stacy curled instinctively against Colt, his arm coming around her without thought.
Outside, Thunder Heart slept uneasily-but it slept.
Visiting the Queen
Stacy felt it the moment she and Colt crossed the threshold- felt the way the light adjusted to their presence, how the air shimmered as if reality itself had taken a careful breath and decided they were welcome.
The Seelie Queen awaited them in her court, seated upon a living throne grown from silverwood and moonblossom. Her crown was delicate, almost fragile in appearance, but Stacy could feel the weight of her power like gravity, constant and undeniable.
"You come carrying the echo of battle," the Queen said, her voice soft, melodic. "And victory...lace with unease."
Colt bowed, respectful but unbroken. Stacy followed suit, the Moon Goddess's blessing humming quietly beneath her skin. "The Unseelie struck Thunder Heart," Colt said, "Openly. Strategically."
The Queen's eyes darkened-not with surprise, but recognition. "So the Veiled one has grown impatient."
Stacy's fingers tightened around Colt's for a brief moment. "They targeted civilians," Stacy added. "Children. They attempted to isolate Olivia and me."
"And failed," the Queen said calmly. "That, too, carries consequence."
Colt drew a tablet from his back pack. With a subtle press, he brought the surveillance footage up on the screen and faced it toward the Queen.
The battle replayed in ghostly silence. The Queen watched without interruption as Unseelie fae poured through forest, as wolves and fae fought side be side, as command was taken by young voices instead of panicked ones. And then-
Harris.
The shadows responding to his right hand. The sudden bloom of light in his left. The clean, impossible balance of it. For the first time, something shifted in the Queen's expression. When the scene ended, she rose gracefully from her throne.
"This," she said, "is not a conversation for the open court."
She turned, the silken folds of her gown whispering against the marble floor. "Walk with me," the Queen commanded-not unkindly.