+40)

    bChapter /bb163 /b

    It took nearly a week before Beta Alfonso arrived.

    When he did, he did note alone. Behind him marched over fifty warriors of the Kingdom–each bearing the silver crest of the Lycan King, each radiating discipline and strength that could be felt even at a distance. Their presence was a storm waiting to be unleashed, and it stirred whispers among the surviving members of the broken French pack.

    Word traveled quickly through our world, faster than even human technology could trace.

    The moment Alfonso received the news that his King had struck down an Alpha in a neighboring territory, he moved with the precision that only years of loyalty and brotherhood could forge.

    He came not as a visitor, not as a negotiator–but as a shield and a reminder to every eye watching that the King of Lycans did not act without purpose.

    But when Alfonso had first received the news that his King and his Luna had traveled to France on what was described as a holiday, this–this chaos, this broken pack, this seized territory–was not at all what he had imagined.

    Taking down an Alpha and reiming and poisoned by corruption and parasitic magic was far removed from the idea of a restful

    retreat.

    Marlow and Audrey were the ones waiting at the border to wee them.

    Audrey still looked pale from her ordeal in the chamber, but her wolf was strong, and her stubbornness stronger. She had refused to stay behind, insisting she had to see this transition through. Marlow stood beside her, arms crossed, his stance as casual as ever, though his eyes carried the sharpness of someone who trusted nothing and no one until proven otherwise.

    When the warriors arrived, their boots pounding against the earth in synchronized rhythm, Marlow stepped forward to greet them.

    He exchanged sped forearms with Alfonso, who looked both relieved and exasperated at once.

    “Beta Alfonso,” Marlow said simply, his tone carrying both wee and apology.

    “Don’t Beta ‘Alfonso‘ bme/b.” The Beta’s sharp eyes scanned thend beyond, his mouth tightening as if the earth itself confirmed the rumors. “When I received the report that my King had taken down an Alpha, I thought it was some exaggerated bard’s tale. Now…” He let out a low whistle. “Now I see it’s worse than even the rumors painted.”

    Audrey gave him a nod of greeting. “It’s a long story. But the short of it? This bpack /bwas drowning, and its Alpha dragged them deeper every day”

    Marlow’s mouth quirked into the faintest of smirks, though there was no humor in it. “You’ll love the paperwork. I’ve kept notes for you.i” /i

    Beta Alfonso turned his head sharply, eyes narrowing. “Notes?”

    Marlowughed, the sound harsh and dry, as though it scraped his throat. “Yes. Notes. Because when you sit down and start writing your endless reports, you’ll need to exin how one Alpha nearly destroyed his people while letting a Subus drain their souls. You’ll need to exin how your King, who came here only to rest, found himself saving and from its own master.”

    Alfonso blinked, his expression stuck somewhere between disbelief and horror.

    He was a man who had seen battle, betrayal, and the ugliest parts of politics, yet this still made his brows twitch in silent protest.

    40

    Audrey stepped in before he could reply.

    Her voice was steady but soft, carrying the weight of what she had seen. “It began with the missing pack members. At first, people thought they’d fled. Then it became clear–they hadn’t run away. They’d been consumed. Former Alpha, Henri believed he could revive his Luna, that by feeding a parasite with his people’s souls, he could breathe life back into her. The Subus wore his mate, Cristina’s face, but it was a mask, nothing more.”

    Beta Alfonso stiffened, his jaw tightening.

    He nced back at his warriors, and Marlow could see the storm brewing in his mind: the endless documents, the exnations to the Kingdom Council, the negotiations with bordering packs.

    This wasn’t simply a battle.

    This was politics, and politics could be messier than bloodshed.

    Marlow pped him on the shoulder, his grin widening at the Beta’s expression. “You’re already calcting the parchment cost, aren’t you?”

    Alfonso muttered something under his breath that might have been a curse in the old tongue.

    Together, the three of them walked the slow road deeper into the heart of the territory.

    As they passed, wolves peered from doorways, cautious, eyes wide with something like hope–and fear. Mothers kept their children close

    The young women… there were none. The absence was like a wound, raw and bleeding, a truth no one wanted to speak but no one could ignore.

    It hit Alfonso hardest.

    His steps slowed, his gaze sweeping across empty porches, silent houses, the hollow spaces whereughter should have rung. “Where are the young?” he asked, though the question was hardly needed.

    “They’re gone,” Marlow said bluntly, his tone clipped. “The young women, drained by the Subus over years. Henri let her feed, thinking she was his dead mate. Thisnd would have copsedpletely within a generation.”

    Audrey’s voice was quieter, sorrow cutting through. “That’s why King Alpha Francesco had to act. If he hadn’t…” She shook her head. “There would be nothing left to save.”

    The truth settled like frost, hard and cold.

    Alfonso’s face hardened

    He had been furious when he thought his King had acted rashly, but now–now he understood.

    His King hadn’t just acted.

    He had intervened

    Marlow turned to the warriors marching behind. His voice carried authority, sharp and unyielding. “Secure the borders. Patrol every mile of territory. Speak to no one until I give leave. I want every inch of thisnd ounted for.”

    The warriors bowed their heads and broke formation, scattering into the shadows with swift obedience.

    11:00

    Tue, 2 Sept

    日时家71%日

    +40)

    Beta Luc, the second–inmand of this broken pack, appeared at the edge of the field. His steps were hesitant, but his body bowed low as he approached. “We will cooperate,” Luc said, his voice hoarse with something that sounded like shame, “Whatever is needed, we will do it. Thisnd belongs to your King now.”

    Marlow studied him for a long moment, then gave a single nod. “Good. Cooperation will keep your people alive.”

    With that settled, the three continued their walk, the weight of what they carried pressing on every step.

    When they finally reached the Alpha Manor, the air shifted.

    The doors stood open, light spilling out into the dim twilight. Inside, Francesco sat with me at his side, our chairs pulled close together as we listened to an elder couple–Julius and his mate, Bethany. Their hair was silver, their hands marked with time, but their eyes still sharp. Julius had once been a trusted ally of Henri’s father before the man was killed five years ago in a rogue ambush. Unlike Henri, Julius carried himself with humility and the kind of quiet strength that came only from surviving loss.

    Francesco rose the instant he saw his Beta, Alfonso.

    The dark light in his eyes softened, though the aura ofmand never left him.

    Alfonso bowed deeply, not just to his King but to me as well. “My King. My Luna.”

    The title still sent a shiver through me. It was strange, hearing it after this time thinking we were free from it, feeling the weight it carried. Not a title given lightly, not something ornamental–it meant responsibility, presence, unity. And though I had not yet fully grown into it, Francesco’s steady hand resting lightly against mine made me believe I could.

    “Well…” Alfonso’s voice cut through the silence, wry as ever. “This is a funny idea of a holiday.”

    Augh escaped me before I could stop it, though it was broken with exhaustion. Francesco only rolled his eyes, long–suffering. He had heard that sarcasm a thousand times before.

    “I love you, Alfonso,” Francesco said dryly, his tone deliberately heavy with mock affection. “Which is why I knew you’d want more

    work.”

    Alfonso groaned audibly, his head tilting back as though he might pray to the moon for deliverance. “The gods curse me with loyalty”

    shook my head in disbelief, unable to stop the smile tugging at my lips.

    Their rtionship was unlike anything I had witnessed before–close, unbreakable, forged not only of respect but of something deeper Not just King and Beta, but brothers.

    “Come,” Francesco said, his hand brushing against mine briefly before gesturing toward the elders, “Meet Julius and Bethany. They will be crucial in stabilizing thisnd?

    Alfonso straightened, his expression shifting into professionalism, though his eyes still burned with curiosity.

    He sped Julius’s hand firmly, bowed respectfully to Bethany, and then joined us at the table,

    Togetherb, /bwe spoke of the future.

    This territory was no longer Henn’s

    The people had already chosen.

    11:01 Tue, 2 Sept

    Their allegiancey with Francesco, and by extension, with me.

    But a choice in spirit was not enough. Laws needed to be written, borders redrawn, protections established.

    We spoke of the missing–those who would never return.

    金70%會

    +40)

    We spoke of the hidden young who would have to be nurtured, of women who needed protection, of warriors who required retraining after years under false leadership.

    We spoke of rebuilding trust, not just among the pack but between thisnd and its neighbors, iwho /iwould no doubt circle like vultures once word of Henri’s fall spread.

    It was heavy work, the kind of burden most would flee from. But Francesco did not. He carried it with the same weight he carried me, never faltering, never bending.

    By the time the meeting ended, the moon had climbed high, casting silver light through the manor windows. The warriors outside stood at ease, their patrols silent but vignt. The pack’s eyes glowed faint in the dark, watching their new King with awe and something that looked like hope.

    And though the road ahead would be long and fraught, though Henri’s screams still echoed faint in my memory, I knew one truth with absolute certainty.

    We were no longer trapped.

    We were building something new.

    And together, we would rise.

    (