CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
Snarling wolves and tearing flesh echo across the castle grounds as chaos erupts. I shift partially, claws extending as I swipe at an enemy warrior's throat. Blood sprays, but another Jax Manor soldier charges toward me, fully shifted into his massive black wolf form.
"Hold the east wall!" I roar to Gamma Campbell as I dodge snapping jaws. The seasoned warrior rallies our defenders against the wave of enemy wolves pouring through our breached defenses.
My heart pounds as I scan for Aubrey's blonde hair among the chaos. Where is she?
I sink claws deep into another attacker's chest. Around me, war fills the night—howls of pain, bodies hitting stone, blood mixing with wolf poison.
"Prince Knox!" Astor appears, clothes torn and gore-splattered. "Someone sabotaged our defenses from the inside."
Ice floods my veins. "Aubrey?"
"No. We found evidence—someone else has been feeding Jax information for months."
Relief crashes through me. Not Aubrey. But if someone's been feeding Jax intelligence, what else might they have compromised?
My parents.
"Are my parents secure?" I grab Astor's arm.
His face pales. "Communications are down."
My parents' residence sits isolated at the castle's far end. If someone wanted to strike at our monarchy's heart...
"Take command here," I order, already running toward the royal quarters.
I sprint through smoke-filled corridors. Please let them be safe.
Wolf poison hits me first—thick and cloying. My steps falter as I round the corner. The door hangs askew, kicked in.
No.
My father lies sprawled across the rug, throat torn open, grey eyes staring sightlessly. My own words echo: "I have reliable information that Jax is planning a rebellion."
I warned him. I TOLD him this would happen.
"You must be mistaken about your brother's intentions."
He wouldn't listen. Called me jealous, paranoid. His stubborn refusal to believe the truth got them killed.
My mother lies beside him, broken in a pool of blood.
"Mother?" I whisper, crawling toward her. Her skin is already cold.
Grief hits like a landslide, twisted with bitter vindication. I was right about something I desperately wanted to be wrong about.
"I tried to warn you," I whisper to his corpse.
"Knox."
I spin around, claws extending. Aubrey stands in the doorway, her face already streaked with tears.
"What are you doing here?" Suspicion floods my chest.
Her gaze falls on my parents and she lets out a broken sob. "No... not Grace." She stumbles forward, falling to her knees beside my mother's body. "She gave me her ring. Called me daughter."
"You helped him plan this," I say bitterly.
"I know," she whispers, her hands shaking as she touches Grace's cold cheek. "I gave him information that helped him murder the woman who welcomed me into her family." Her voice cracks. "I'll never forgive myself."
The raw anguish in her voice cuts through my suspicion. This isn't manipulation—this is genuine heartbreak.
Her honesty cuts through my rage, but it's the devastation in her voice when she speaks about Grace that convinces me. This isn't someone who planned this massacre—this is someone who's horrified that she might have enabled the murder of a woman she'd grown to love.
"Why should I believe you?"
"Because I love you. And because..." Her voice breaks as she looks down at Grace again. "Because she loved me too, and now she's dead because of choices I made. Because I trusted the wrong person."
Love. The word hits like a blow.
"The best way to honor them is to save the kingdom they died protecting."
She's right. Wallowing won't bring them back.
I stand. "Then let's end this."
We burst from the royal quarters together. Battle sounds grow louder as we approach the courtyards.
"There!" Aubrey points toward enemy warriors breaking through our left flank.
We fight with deadly coordination, months of training creating telepathic understanding. But the enemy's organization captures my attention—disciplined precision, perfectly timed attacks.
"How are they so organized?" I grunt, tearing out another throat.
"Jax has been planning this for years."
Years. While I learned statecraft, my brother built an army to destroy our family.
Just as Aubrey drives claws through an enemy's chest, a piercing scream shatters the night. Pure terror and agony, so horrific that even hardened warriors pause.
"What the hell was that?" Aubrey breathes, face pale.