h4Chapter 306: The Night Before Forever/h4

    strongZane~/strong

    After surviving what felt like a soul-sucking eternity of royal posture drills, dramatic cape twirls, and more boot fittings than any sane person should endure in a single lifetime, I finally copsed into my chamber. My legs were jelly, my back ached, and yet, I couldn’t stop smiling.

    Sebastian lounged across from me, his crimson drink swirlingzily in his ss, while I stared down at the medallion cradled in my palm. It pulsed gently, golden and warm, like it knew what it meant. Like I knew. My chest felt tight—in that way where you’re so full of something good that your heart doesn’t quite know what to do with it. Pride. Joy. Maybe even disbelief.

    Then came the knock.

    Three sharp, deliberate raps on the outer door of my sitting room.

    I didn’t even look up. "Come in."

    The door opened, and in walked a royal guard, wrapped in the polished gleam of silver-and-midnight armor, looking like he’d been carved out of moonlight and discipline. His voice was clipped and emotionless.

    "Your Highness, His Majesty requests your presence in the Sr Chamber."

    I blinked. Once at him, then at Sebastian, who raised a brow.

    "The Sr Chamber?" I echoed. "Are we... summoning a demon or something?"

    The guard didn’t react. Not a twitch. Not a blink. Just pure, stoic, professional statue.

    I sighed. "Didn’t think so. Alright. Lead the way."

    I pushed off the chair and turned to Sebastian.

    "I’ll be back, Seb."

    He grinned and lifted his ss like he was giving a toast. "And I’ll be here enjoying premium pce blood and pretending to care about politics."

    I chuckled, shaking my head. "You do that."

    The walk through the pce corridors was quiet, our footsteps muffled by endless gold-threaded rugs. Despite the hour, the halls still gleamed—sunlight preserved in crystal sconces, magic humming faintly in the walls.

    But the closer we got to the Sr Chamber, the heavier the air became.

    The Sr Chamber wasn’t just a room. It was the room—sacred, guarded, revered. The kind of ce whispered about in court gossip and bedtime stories. It was where the royal scepter was kept, sealed inside a vault built with runes so old, no one even remembered how to rewrite them. Alongside it were artifacts, relics, histories—everything the kingdom was built on.

    And tonight... I was being summoned there.

    No pressure, right?

    When the guard opened the double doors, the chamber practically breathed.

    Warm, golden light spilled out like honey. Inside, everything glowed—soft and alive. The walls were etched with celestial patterns, some of them gently shifting as if drawn by invisible hands. The air smelled of ancient parchment, melted candle wax, and something evergreen. Magic, maybe.

    My boots clicked gently against the polished stone as I stepped inside, and that’s when I saw him.

    My father.

    Standing tall and silent by the enormous arched window, his frame silhouetted by the moon. He didn’t speak. Didn’t turn. Just stood there, staring out over the kingdom like he was watching something none of us could see.

    For a beat, I didn’t say anything. I just watched him—this man who was more than a king. A legend. A force. My father. He looked... different tonight. Not weaker. But heavier. Like something was pressing on his soul.

    I finally cleared my throat. "You called for me?"

    He didn’t answer right away.

    Just kept staring out over thend. His voice, when it came, was soft. Measured. Almost like he was speaking more to the night than to me. "I always dreamed of showing you this view one day. When it felt right."

    The air caught in my throat. I swallowed hard, eyes drifting across the horizon but not really seeing it. "Is that... today?"

    Finally, he turned to face me, and for a moment, I didn’t recognize him—not as the man I knew as my father, but as someone softer, someone whole. His eyes shimmered, like the past had caught up to him and offered grace. "Today," he murmured, "I just wanted to say thank you."

    I blinked, confused. "Thank me? For what?"

    He took a step closer, and his voice steadied like he’d been holding these words for years. "For surviving. For holding on when everything tried to rip you apart. For waking up, day after day, even when it hurt like hell. For growing into the kind of man your mother would’ve wrapped in her arms with pride. And... for letting love back in. That takes courage most people never find."

    I couldn’t breathe for a second. My chest tightened as he ced both hands gently on my shoulders—solid, grounding, real.

    "I thank the Moon Goddess every day for giving me you," he said, his voice almost a whisper. His words didn’t feel like a blessing. They felt like home.

    I looked at him—really looked at him. The familiar face that had once seemed carved from stone. The same one I used to study from a distance, wondering if I’d ever be enough. "I used to think I’d disappoint you," I admitted. "That I was too shattered to be anything worth holding onto."

    He shook his head slowly, his grip firm, like he needed me to believe every syble. "You were never broken, Zane. Not even once. You’re my son. You were just... waiting. Waiting for the right soul to remind you of your light."

    And then, without hesitation, we stepped into each other’s arms—not the awkward, half-hearted kind of hug we used to fake for appearances. No. This was real. Warm and unspoken and healing.

    We weren’t just father and son in that moment.

    We were two men who had walked through fire and finally found each other on the other side.

    strong********/strong

    Later that evening, my chamber was less of a sanctuary and more of a bachelor’s lounge. Sebastian had taken over the velvet couch like he was some vampire prince on vacation—one arm flung across the backrest, boots kicked up on the edge, sipping deep red blood from a crystal ss garnished with a wedge of lemon. His so-called "evening cocktail."

    I chuckled under my breath. The audacity was impressive. He looked like he had no ns of moving—or sobering up—anytime soon.

    "Seriously," he said after a dramatic sip, smacking his lips like he’d just tasted vintage wine. "You Lycans really know how to crank the drama on pre-wedding rituals. I thought that instructor was going to snap your neck just for existing."

    "She thought about it," I muttered, swirling thest of the whiskey in my ss. "Her left eye twitched every time I breathed. Pretty sure I unlocked a new level of rage."

    Sebastianughed, loud and unashamed. "You do have that effect on people."

    Before I could respond, the door mmed open like a scene straight out of a rom.

    "Daddy!"

    I barely had time to react before Alexunched himself at me like a missile. I caught him midair, spinning him around as he erupted into giggles. Hisugh—pure, infectious—filled the room like a burst of sunlight through heavy clouds.

    Two of his ever-present savants entered behind him, nodding politely. Meanwhile, Alex had already turned Sebastian into his personal yground.

    "I’m a vampire!" he dered proudly, baring his tiny teeth and growling at Sebastian with all the menace of a fluffy kitten.

    Sebastian raised an unimpressed brow and shed his actual fangs with a slow, theatrical grin. "You’re gonna need sharper canines than that if you want to be one of us, little terror."

    "You’re scary, Uncle Bas," Alex said between giggles, "but not scarier than Jasmine!"

    At the mention of Natalie’s wolf, a smile tugged at my lips. Jasmine had be more myth than beast in this household.

    "Where’s your mom now, buddy?" I asked, brushing his wild hair from his forehead.

    "With Aunty Cassandra and Easter," he replied with the kind of pride only small children possess. "They’re doing girl stuff. I told Jasmine to protect her!"

    "Of course you did," I said, giving his cheek a quick kiss. "And are you going to check on them?"

    "Yep! Gotta make sure Mom’s okay for tomorrow!"

    With that, he kissed my cheek again, gave Sebastian a bear hug that made the vampire wince dramatically, and dashed out the door like a bolt of energy—with his two guards following like loyal shadows.

    Sebastian exhaled deeply, watching the door with a soft, nostalgic grin. "He’s growing up too fast. You know I usually can’t stand little people, but that one’s special."

    I smiled, letting the silence settle for a moment. "He’s my anchor. Him and Natalie. Sometimes I look at him and wonder how I ever got this lucky. And gods, I miss her."

    "I know," Sebastian murmured, shifting closer and sitting beside me on the couch. "Cass is with Natalie tonight. Helping her prepare. Which means I’m mate-less too."

    A shared pause hovered between us. Then—like clockwork—we both looked at each other and burst intoughter. The kind ofugh that onlyes from deep exhaustion and deeper love.

    "Gods," I said, rubbing my face. "We’re such simps."

    Sebastian lifted his blood-filled ss with a dramatic flourish. "To beingpletely, hopelessly whipped."

    I clinked my whiskey against his with a smirk. "To the women who own us."

    And we drank—two fools, deeply in love, bonded by blood, fate, and the undeniable reality that even warriors like us were no match for the ones who held our hearts.

    Then silence settled in again—warm, but heavy.

    "I still can’t believe this is happening," I said, voice low. "Tomorrow I marry her. I marry Natalie."

    Sebastian smiled, but he didn’t interrupt.

    "I remember..." I continued, my voice trailing, "after Emma died, I thought love was over for me. My world turned ck. I was half a man. Half a father. Just... shadows and orders. Always hiding. Always watching my back because of my uncle. I had no name. No face."

    I turned the medallion over in my hand, its glow flickering gently.

    "But now? I’m not the Faceless Prince anymore. I’ve been seen. I’ve been chosen. By her."

    Sebastian’s voice was soft. "You deserve it, Zane."

    Red stirred in my chest, his deep voice rumbling through me.

    "We’ve waited a long time for this," Red said. "Natalie and Jasmine are the home we never thought we’d have again."

    "They’re perfect for us," I whispered.

    Sebastian nodded. "We were two lonely souls, you and I. You gave me a reason to live when I should have died under the sun. And now? We’re the luckiest bastards in the world."

    Suddenly, without warning, the room exploded—a crackle of blue lightning, a gust of supernatural wind, and the kind of magic that made your spine buzz.

    Just perfect.

    Jacob had arrived.

    And, of course, his band of walking disasters came with him.

    Fox. Tiger. Eagle. Bubble.

    I didn’t even get to groan before I was shielding my whiskey ss like it was a sacred artifact.

    "Seriously?!" I half-yelled, ducking from the breeze. "Would it kill you guys to use a door like normal people?"

    Fox grinned like a pyromaniac with a secret. His hair, the color of wildfire, flickered as if it had a life of its own. "Where’s the fun in that?"

    Eagle hovered just above the ground, arms folded, every bit the broody guardian angel. "It’s time."

    I narrowed my eyes. "Time for what?"

    Jacob stepped forward, his ever-calm brown eyes sparkling like he’d been waiting for this moment all day. "Bachelor party."

    "Nope," I said tly, pointing a finger at him like a schoolteacher handing out detentions. "Absolutely not. We are not doing this."

    "You don’t get a vote," Bubble chimed in, sounding way too chipper for someone juggling floating spheres of water above his head like a circus act.

    "I swear on the Moon Goddess," I growled, "if you teleport me into some weird—"

    Jacob gave me that infuriatingly calm smile. "Rx. Fox is hosting. His realm."

    I blinked. "That’s supposed to make me feel better?"

    Sebastian stood up beside me, straightening his coat with the grace of a vampire who enjoyed watching others suffer. "I’ming too. Someone needs to document your humiliation."

    "Traitor," I muttered.

    Fox pped once—and the entire room vanished in a sh of searing firelight.

    Wended in heat.

    And color.

    And chaos.

    Fox’s realm was like stepping inside a dream forged in mes. The sky above zed with streaks of gold and crimson. Lava flowed in glowing rivers through scarlet jungles, lighting up the trees from underneath like molten veins. Fire-birds—actual, living mes—swooped and soared overhead, leaving trails of sparks in their wake.

    Sebastian’s mouth fell open. "Okay. I admit. This is... sick."

    I barely had time to agree before something massive slithered out from beneath a molten waterfall.

    It was part lion. Part dragon. Entirely terrifying.

    Fox smirked, mes dancing across his knuckles like they were alive. "Wee to the Hunt."

    Jacob stepped beside me, and just like that, his expression shifted—no longer yful, but solemn, grounded, ancient.

    "Tonight isn’t just celebration," he said. "It’s tradition. A final hunt. To remind you who you are before the vows are said. You’re not just a groom, Zane. You’re a warrior. A protector. A king. And most importantly, The Night Alpha."

    Tiger gave a single nod, silent as always. His golden-brown hair stirred as if the entire jungle responded to his heartbeat. Eagle circled overhead, already scanning the terrain like a battle strategist. Bubble summoned glowing water arrows, their edges pulsing with raw magic.

    Sebastian nudged me. "So... you ready to chaseva monsters in a magical jungle for the sake of tradition?"

    I sighed, rolling my neck as Red stirred inside me.

    "Only if I survive long enough to say ’I do.’"

    Then the brothers raised their hands—and the field around us erupted.

    Dozens of glowing beasts burst from the jungle, fire pouring from their eyes and ws like living embers. Crimson me-tigers. Lava wolves. Infernal stags. All of them running wild, roaring challenges into the burning night.

    Fox’s voice rang out: "First one to bring down a crimson me-tiger gets eternal bragging rights!"

    "You’re on," I growled, letting Red surge to the surface.

    My bones cracked, muscles stretched, and fur rippled across my skin as I shifted, power surging through me like wildfire.

    Red howled into the sky.

    strongi"Let’s hunt,"/i/strong he growled.

    And we ran.

    Through fire.

    Through smoke.

    Through magic and madness.

    Into thest night before forever.