Twenty years ago, the Black Citadel wasn't a place of nightmares; it was a fortress of gold and white marble. The sun actually reached the courtyards, and the Alpha King wasn't a monster—he was just a boy named Caelum with knees scuffed from climbing trees and eyes that were more curious than predatory.
The first time i met him, he wasn't sitting on a throne. He was hiding in the royal gardens, tucked behind a thicket of white roses, trying to stifle a sob.
At ten years old, Caelum was already the crown prince, burdened by the expectation that he would one day lead the fiercest pack in the northern territories. But that morning, his first shift had failed. While the other noble children were showing off their sharpened canines and heightened senses, Caelum remained stubbornly, frustratingly human.
"You're hiding in the thorns," I said, pushing aside a flowering branch.
i am the daughter of the King's Master-of-Horse, a girl who spent more time in the stables than the ballroom. my dress was stained with hay, and i was holding a half-eaten apple.
Caelum looked up, his amber eyes red-rimmed. "Go away," he snapped, though the crack in his voice betrayed him. "I'm meditating. A prince needs his solitude."
"You're crying," I corrected, sitting down in the dirt next to him without an invitation. I took a bite of the apple in my hand and offered him the rest. "My father says that when a horse refuses to run, it's usually because the rider is pulling the reins too tight. Maybe you're just pulling your own reins too tight, Princey."
He looked at the apple, then at me, baffled by my lack of ceremony. No one spoke to him like that. Everyone else bowed; everyone else whispered.
"I'm supposed to be the Alpha," he whispered, finally taking the fruit. "If I can't shift, I'm nothing. My father says a King without a wolf is just a target."
"Well," I said, leaning back against the cool stone wall, "if you never turn into a wolf, at least you won't have to worry about fleas. And besides, I'll be there. If anyone tries to hit the target, I'll just hit them back."
Caelum laughed then—a small, genuine sound that seemed to chase away the heavy silence of the garden. In that moment, a bond was forged that had nothing to do with bloodlines or packs. It was just two children in the dirt, promising to face the world together.
He reached out and grabbed my hand, his grip surprisingly firm. "You promise? Even if I'm just a man? Even if I never grow teeth?"
"I promise," i said, my thumb brushing over his knuckles.