Chapter 4 #2
The Goldridge representative spoke very carefully. “King Malachar, you truly would break the alliance over this?”
I met his eyes directly. “Without hesitation. Without regret. I would burn every kingdom to ash. I would slaughter every single one of you. And I would sleep peacefully afterward knowing I protected my family.”
Gasps echoed through the hall.
“I think it’s definitely time to go,” a voice said from somewhere. I barely recognized it as Elspeth Goldridge, Duskmere’s Queen.
That almost made me laugh. Almost. “I think it is. I am being a father, and you are all being fucking ridiculous if you think I would choose kingdoms over my son.”
Aurion remained beside me, keeping me restrained. His hand was firm on my shoulder. “And I will stand by my brother’s side.” He grunted, glaring at everyone. I wanted to feel thankful for my brother’s support, but couldn’t feel past my fucking rage.
“Get out,” I said, my voice carrying to every corner of the hall. “All of you. NOW.”
“King Malachar...”
“LEAVE. All of you. Before I forget I am king and remember I am just a wolf who will tear you apart for threatening his pack.” I snarled. The alpha command in those words was absolute. Every wolf in the room felt it in their bones, that primal urge to obey without question.
The guards released me slowly. I stood there, watching as representatives started filing toward the doors.
The kings weren’t compelled by my words, but still followed their delegations, maintaining their dignified silence even now.
They had let their people speak, let their people threaten and accuse, while keeping their own hands clean. Cowards. Every last one of them.
The Wynter representative lingered longest, making direct eye contact with me. An unspoken challenge. A promise that this was not over.
I bared my teeth at him, letting him see the predator barely contained beneath my skin. If the time came, I would rip him apart without a second thought. His strength was nothing compared to mine.
He held my gaze for a long moment. Then he turned and left, his footsteps echoing in the emptying hall.
We would meet again. And next time, there might not be enough guards to stop me.
The heavy wooden doors finally closed with an echoing boom. The throne room was empty except for my family, Aurion, and a few guards stationed at the walls.
The silence was deafening after all that chaos. I could hear my own heartbeat, still racing and ready for a fight that was no longer coming. I sagged slightly, exhaustion crashing over me, trembling. Adrenaline and rage made my body feel like it belonged to someone else.
“I almost killed him,” I said, looking at Wen. My voice was unsteady. “That man from Ebonvale. I almost ripped his throat out. In front of everyone. In front of our son. I almost...”
“I would have helped,” she said simply, cradling Killian against her chest.
“I lost control.”
“He threatened our son. You’re allowed to lose control.”
“I am king. I cannot afford to...”
“You’re also a father.” She crossed to me quickly, her free hand finding my arm. The contact grounded me, pulled me back from the edge. “Father comes first. Always.”
I pulled her close, breathing her in, Killian sandwiched between us. He seemed calmer, one of his ears pressed against Wen’s heart. Wen smelled like safety, like everything I was fighting to protect.
“What are we going to do?” I murmured against her hair.
“I don’t know. But we’ll figure it out together.”
My pup looked so small and fragile in her arms. So completely overwhelmed by a world that had just become terrifying in ways he couldn’t understand.
“I didn’t know,” Killian’s voice was barely audible. “I didn’t know I could do those things. I didn’t mean to.”
“We know, sweetheart,” Wen said softly. “We didn’t know either.”
“You did nothing wrong, pup,” I told him, caressing his hair. “Nothing.”
“But everyone’s mad at me.”
“Not at you,” Wen insisted. “Never at you.”
The doors opened again and we all tensed. But it was just Sorcha, looking worried and out of breath.
“What in the gods happened out there?” she demanded, then saw Killian’s tear-stained face. Her expression softened at once. “Oh, my sweet boy.”
“He has powers we did not know about,” I said, my voice rough from shouting.
Sorcha looked between us, confused. “Powers? But he is wolf, not witch. Wolves don’t have magic.”
“We don’t understand it either,” Wen said. “We thought he could only shift his ears and claws partially. This was... we had no idea.”
I ran a hand through my hair. “This was as much a surprise to us as it was to everyone else.”
Sorcha’s expression turned fierce. “That child needs rest and safety. Not interrogation from terrified nobles.”
Daphne, who’d been quietly standing in the corner looking shell-shocked, finally spoke. “Agreed. Get him to bed. Away from all this.”
“I’ll prepare his room,” Sorcha said, already moving toward the door.
I scooped Killian up gently from Wen’s arms. He barely had the energy to cling to me, his small arms wrapping weakly around my neck. He weighed nothing. How could something so small cause such chaos? How could something so innocent be seen as a threat?
We walked through the corridors in silence, guards falling into step behind us. The castle felt different now. Emptier, colder. Word would spread quickly about what had happened tonight. By morning, every kingdom would know that the hybrid prince had powers no wolf should possess.
Killian was making soft, sad sounds against my shoulder, exhausted and heartbroken.
“Papa...” he mumbled.
“Shh,” Wen said, walking beside us with her hand on his back. “No more apologies, baby. You don’t apologize for being who you are.”
We reached his chambers. Sorcha had already turned down the bed, lit the soft candles he liked, made everything warm and safe.
Wen closed the door behind us as I laid him carefully in his bed.
Wen climbed in beside him without hesitation, pulling him close.
He curled into her instantly, his eyes already closing from exhaustion.
I kissed both their foreheads, lingering longer than necessary because I didn’t want to separate from them. Then there was a sharp knock on the door, and I opened it slightly to see a guard standing outside, bowing apologetically.
“Your Majesty, your council demands immediate audience. They say it’s urgent. They’re quite insistent, sir.”
Of course they were. Because apparently tonight wasn’t terrible enough already. Because I couldn’t just have one moment with my family after the worst night of our lives.
Duty. Always fucking duty.
“Tell them I will meet them shortly,” I said.
Wen looked up at me from the bed. “Go. I’ll stay with him.”
“I should be with both of you.”
“You have to deal with this. We’ll be okay.”
“I would rather stay.” I tugged at my hair, sighing.
“I know.” She gave me a sad smile. “But duty calls. It always does.”
I hated this. Hated being torn between my responsibilities and my desperate need to protect my family. Hated that I had to choose. For years, I had put the kingdom first. Duty before desire. Responsibility before rest. It was what kings did. It was what I had always done.
But tonight, walking away from my wife and son felt like betrayal.
I knelt beside the bed one more time, touching Killian’s hair gently. “I will be back soon, pup. I promise.”
He barely opened his eyes, already half-asleep. “‘Kay, Papa. Love you.”
“I love you too. So much. More than any kingdom. More than any alliance. More than anything.”
He smiled weakly at that, the first smile I’d seen from him since the banquet. It broke my heart and healed it at the same time.
I forced myself to stand. To walk toward the door even though everything in me screamed to stay.
At the doorway, I looked back one last time. Wen was curled protectively around Killian, both of them looking small and vulnerable in the large bed. My family, my entire world. The only thing that truly mattered.
I closed my eyes briefly, gathering strength I didn’t feel.
Then I walked away toward duty, because that was what kings did. Even when it felt like leaving pieces of themselves behind.
This was going to be a very long night. And tomorrow would probably be worse.