Chapter 26
Kellen
Three days of silence, and I’ve spent every hour of it bracing for the emotional concussion of today. The palace always smells like old wood polish and judgment, and today, there’s the underlying note of something scorched. I think it might be my relationship with my parents.
The butler who meets us at the top of the main stair is so pale, I suspect he’s been briefed on exactly everything’s that’s happened. He lets us inside and guides us toward my parents.
Elliot is glued to my left, silent and alert. Piper’s perfume is a gentle wave of vanilla and cherries, at war with Nolan’s campfire musk. The two of them are close but not touching.
We get the full audience chamber today, not the smaller sitting room, so this isn’t just a family talk. It’s theater.
My mother sits, ramrod straight, next to my father at the north end of the room. My father stares right at me, unblinking.
Elliot tugs at my elbow, a physical “Ready?”
I nod.
We cross the floor, which is polished so intensely that I can see the reflection of Nolan’s frown all the way down the inlaid wood.
I clear my throat. “Your Majesties.” I feel my own voice reverberate off the coffered ceiling. Everything about being met here rather than elsewhere in the palace screams formality. I’m not Prince Kellen today. I’m some random commoner who happens to get to enjoy their presence.
My mother gestures to the chairs across from her. “All of you, please. Sit.”
We sit. A beat of silence passes.
My father lifts his chin. “Let’s get right to it, shall we?
” He snaps his fingers and an aid produces a folder which he hands to me.
I open it while he continues. “We’re aware of the situation.
We’re also aware that you believe—” he gestures at Piper, at Elliot, at Nolan, as if to indicate their collective existence, “—that we engineered the reveal.”
His voice is not judgmental, but the words are precise. I have to remind myself he’s not angry, he’s just never let a scandal blindside him before. The fact he’s handling this rather than my mother speaks volumes, too.
I open the folder. Inside is a printout of Piper’s genetic designation file, highlighted in fluorescent pink and annotated in the queen’s handwriting.
I also note the next page is a map of social media shares, overlaid with data points and arrows.
I want to laugh. Of course they made an entire war room out of it.
Piper breaks the silence with a restrained tone. “I understand why you’d think it best to control the narrative. I just wish it hadn’t happened without warning.”
My mother’s hands tighten. “We did not authorize the release. Your safety and your dignity are not just your concerns—they’re ours, too.” She turns to me, the flint in her gaze sparking. “Kellen. You know us better than that.”
In which she means my safety matters most, so keeping the person I’m “supposed to be dating” safe matters, too.
My collar tightens like a vise, sweat prickling beneath the starched fabric as blood rushes to my face. Yes, I do know her better, but paranoia is what keeps royal lineages alive. And honestly, I can see her revealing Piper’s secret designation if it bettered the royal line.
Still, if they have evidence of who else might have done it, then I’m happy to hear it out. “I had to be sure,” I say. “And we needed to hear you say it.”
Elliot leans forward. “With your permission, Your Majesties, I’d like to provide our findings.”
I glance at him with raised eyebrows. Nolan, who’s seated on Elliot’s other side, gives me a nod.
“We investigated on our own,” Elliot declares as he produces a small rectangle from his coat pocket. It’s a secured drive, one I’ve seen him carry before. It’s etched with Ravenwood Shield Security’s logo.
“Did you,” my mother says.
Nolan looks her straight in the eyes. “Yes, we had to be sure that all threats to both Piper and Prince Kellen were taken care of.”
And it’s clear that Piper’s security was of lesser priority to my parents. I can see why Nolan and Elliot took this extra step.
My father gives a nod, one eyebrow up. “Go ahead, Mr. Blaine.”
Elliot’s face remains confident. “We monitored the digital trail surrounding the leak, as well as attempted sabotage to the Palace’s crisis response. The signature is not consistent with Palace IT. In fact, it’s not even state infrastructure.”
“Then what is it?” my mother asks.
Elliot looks to Nolan, who takes over for him. “The hack was routed through three dead-drop proxies, but the original upload came from the servers at Reverie Rest.” He glances at Piper.
Piper’s jaw slides open. Not even she knew what Elliot and Nolan had found.
“I don’t…” The color drains from Piper’s face, leaving her freckles standing out like constellations against suddenly pale skin.
Elliot continues. “Raelynn Roberts orchestrated it. We have time stamps, message logs, and a copy of the contract addendum that would have made Piper’s omega status a matter of public record within a month, regardless.”
Piper lets out a shaky breath. “I can’t say I’m surprised, just exhausted. Like what the fuck.”
The queen’s eyes narrow.
I clear my throat in an effort to remind Piper she’s in front of royalty.
My mother lifts her hand. “Was Raelynn acting alone?”
Nolan answers this time. “No evidence of a third party. She moved fast. She even tried to get ahead of any Palace counter-spin.” He looks at me with a soldier’s pride. “We confirmed the source an hour ago. Wanted your words first, before anything became … adversarial.”
The king leans back and steeples his fingers. “So. This wasn’t a royal play. And now everyone in the world knows not just your pack structure, but your designations.” He looks at me as if weighing my soul. “You realize, son, that you’re not only breaking tradition, you’re vaporizing it.”
I almost smile, but the weight of the moment keeps my mouth in check. “I’m aware.”
My mother’s eyes move from Elliot to Nolan to Piper, then back to me. For a split second I see her not as a monarch but as a woman who wants her child to be safe and happy, and maybe not make international news with his relationship choices. “Explain to us, Kellen, why this is so important.”
I breathe in, and every instinct tells me to be diplomatic, but I find I can’t.
“Because this is who I am. This is who we are. And the old system never cared about any of us as people, just as pawns. I want to build something different, where I—we—choose this, not a Council who only looks at family trees before picking.” I swallow hard and say the hardest thing they need to hear.
“And I need you to understand, if you ever want to see me again, that this is my family now.”
The words hang in the air. Elliot’s fingers press into my forearm, anchoring me to the moment. The air thickens with notes of vanilla and cherries, and wraps around us like silk, making my next breath catch in my throat.
The king’s gaze is implacable. “And if we were to say no?”
“I’d still walk out with them,” I say, steady. “And I’d do it on camera, with or without a crown.”
My mother’s composure breaks. Her mouth trembles, and I think she’s about to stand up and hug me, but then she regains herself and says, “Let it be known in the record: Prince Kellen Hale is granted the freedom to form his own pack, with all privileges thereof.”
A beat. The king nods, and that’s it. There’s no applause, no emotional group hug, just a transfer of power that ripples through the room and the generations behind us.
It’s done.
I stand, a little shakily, and the others follow. Nolan’s jaw twitches, and Elliot’s spine uncoils just a little. Piper is blinking back tears.
“Thank you,” I tell my parents.
They both incline their heads. My mother smiles up at me. “You’re welcome. Now, go.”
We don’t linger in case they change their minds. The doors open. There’s already a line of diplomats and aides waiting to use the room for whatever crisis is next on the list. But for now, for these next five seconds, my pack has won.
We walk out together—Piper at my right, Elliot at my left, Nolan behind us like an avalanche at rest. At the end of the corridor, I stop and look back. My mother watches us with soft eyes and one hand pressed to her mouth. My father gives us a small, private salute.
I square my shoulders and head for the future, ready to face whatever Raelynn, or the world, throws at us next.