The hall was still empty when Adam came back. Ann was bent over Coral's notes, trying to make sense of half a dozen numbers at once, when his shadow stretched across the table. She looked up, expecting another clipped report about patrol rotations or supply chains. But the look in his eyes stopped her cold.
"Enough," he said. Just that, his voice rough with a decision that he had already made.
Ann sat back slowly.
"Enough what?"
"Enough of this." He gestured at the papers, at the quiet corridors, at the throne room beyond. "Enough of having our people scattered and hoping the defences don't break. Dark Moon is too far…if Ely drives his knife there next, I can't protect them from here, and if I'm there and he attacks here…I can't be in two places at once."
Her heart sank. She knew where this was going before he spoke the words aloud.
"The Dark Moon Pack needs to be relocated," Adam said. "Sooner rather than later. I want them closer to the palace. Closer to me and closer to you."
Silence stretched between them and Ann's fingers smoothed the corner of the stackof papers in front of her, more to keep them from trembling than for neatness.
"You're serious. You want to do this now…in the middle of everything that's going on."
"Think about it, there's going to be a whole extra workforce to utilize in the refugee settlement. The buildings will go up twice as fast and…"he said excitedly, his eyes burning with a passion that seemed to have been missing outside of their bedroom antics lately.
Ann held a hand up gently to stop him and her heart twisted at the look of hurt that flashed in his eyes briefly.
"Yes, the work will get done twice as fast, but our supplies will also dwindle at the same rate. Do we have the resources at Dark Moon to sustain them until we have a solid source to keep our supplies at an acceptable level? My logistics manager is good at what he does, but hes already pushed ot the limit in acquiring supplies fo the refugees. If I throw any more mouths at him Im afraid the poor man is going to have a heart attack."
"If he did it would be one less mouth to feed," Maeve observed thoughtfully.
"Shut up Maeve,"
Ann took a deep breath as she absorbed Adam's sullen silence.
"Look, I want them all closer too, but do you have any idea what kind of storm this is going to cause? The nobles are already muttering about my decrees and half of them nearly fainted when they heard of the portal proposal. Now you want to uproot an entire pack and plant them at the palace gates? They'll call it favoritism or they'll call it weakness on my part."
"They can call it whatever the fuck they like as long as i know my wife, my pups and my pack are fucking safe and easily reachable if they're in danger. Every single member of the Dark Moon would happily face death in your name!"
"I would never ask that of them." Ann answered softly, trying to temper his wolfs anger. She knew what a difficult position he was in and although she had never expected their first years to be easy, what they had faced already and continued to face went beyond any reasonable expectations.
His hands braced on the table as he refused to meet her eyes.
"I can't do it Ann…I'm done gambling with distance. I refuse to stand in another burned village and tell myself that I should've moved sooner or that I should have walked a different route."
Maeve stirred, low and restless.
"Dont be angry. His wolf is hurting too. It's a pain that I can't even put into words…a mixture of grief, fury, pain, failure, paranoia…he's beside himself Ann…his instinct is to protect and right now, whichever way he turns, he risks losing."
Ann's pulse drummed at her temples almost in time to the pups kicking furiously in her belly. It was as if they could sense their fathers unrest.
She leaned back, searching his face.
"Why not wait, Adam? Greyson, Lexi, Allen...they'll be back soon. They're better suited for this than you tearing yourself in half. Greyson can map the ground in his sleep and organise your warriors to facilitate the move, Lexi can take over the Queen's Beta responsibilities and you wont have to stand through any more of those stupid council meetings, and Allen? Allen is your shadow, everything you would do, he will already have thought of it. If we hold on just a little longer..."
"No." The word cracked in the air and Ann felt as though she had been slapped.
He hadn't snapped at her in anger, the word was cloaked so thickly in fear it terrified her.
"We've already lost too much waiting. Every day another family packs what's left of their lives and prays they're not next. I won't add weeks to that count. With the Dark Moon Warriors here the patrols wont be on such a quick rotation and fighters and scouts will actually get chance to rest instead of wearing themselves into the ground. Tired fighters make mistakes, and mistakes can get people killed."
He hesitated, then met her eyes squarely.
"Besides, when they do come back, you're going to tell Greyson about his mother and the boy."
"Adam..."
"I don't disagree with you, he should know. But we have no idea how he'll take it. He might need time. He might need distance and I won't land him with the responsibility of a relocation on his shoulders the same day you rip his world apart.This can't wait."
Ann closed her eyes as she felt her heart tear in two.
She understood exactly where he was coming from and she knew deep down that he had to do this for everyone's sake..but it didn't make it any easier.
The photos of the devastation on each ste that Ely had hit were burned into her minds eye and they only stacked higher as each dawn came. More lives lost in increasingly horrific ways.
Adam was right. She hated it, but he was right.
"Tell him," Maeve pressed. "Don't leave him waiting and second guessing himself."
Ann opened her eyes and reached across the table, brushing her fingers against his.
"Then do it. Move them. But don't expect me to be happy about it."
Something like relief flickered in his eyes followed quickly by guilt.
"I'll leave at first light. There's too much for me to arrange…land clearing, temporary shelters, routes for livestock. I need to see the ground myself before I trust anyone else to lay it out."
"You're leaving me here alone." Ann hated how raw that sounded and she hated how much that it would hurt him, but it was the truth. "You're leaving the palace without its Alpha."
His face softened slightly as he stepped towards her.
"My Queen, You are the Alpha here," he said. "They'll follow you because you're strong and you rightfully wear that crown. You have nothing to prove to them."
"And if they don't?"
"Then I'll come back and remind them." His mouth curved without humor. "But they will."
Ann studied him, memorizing the sharp lines of his face, the weary light in his eyes. She wanted to cling to him, to demand he stay, but that wasn't who she was...or who he was. Adam needed to move on things and to act decisively,chaining him here would break him.
"You'll be gone a week?" she asked softly.
"Two, maybe three."
Her chest pulled tight. "That long?"
"There's no faster way," he said. "Not if I want it done right. And I do."
Maeve's growl hummed in her mind, edged with resignation.
"Let him go, Ann. It's better that he listens to his wolf otherwise I have a feeling that you're going to end up with a few dead nobles lying around the palace…that's not really great for PR."
Ann swallowed as she stood pressing her palms to his chest, feeling the steady drum of his heart beneath.
""Then go. But don't you dare come back with excuses. I expect the grounds surveyed, shelters marked, and the first families moving before dusk...or I'll send Coral after you, and you know she terrifies you more than Ely does."
That pulled the faintest twitch of a smile from him.
"That's fair."
His hand lifted, hovering at her cheek before letting it fall. He leaned down and pressed his forehead to hers, the weight of his decision practically poured from him.
When he finally pulled back, his voice was quiet. "Take care of yourself. And don't trust anyone who smiles too quickly."
Ann tried to smirk, but it faltered. "I'll manage. I always do."
Adam kissed her crown and stayed there a moment before straightening. Then he turned and walked for the door. His steps were steady, his decision already made. He didn't look back.
The hall felt emptier once he was gone. Ann stood still until the sound of his boots faded, then lowered herself into the chair.
Maeve's voice brushed against her thoughts. He needed to go. You needed him to. Doesn't make it easier, but it makes it right.
Ann tipped her head back, staring up at the ceiling. "And now it's just me."
Not just you, Maeve said. Me. Coral. Eva. Half a dozen captains running on fumes. And every set of eyes waiting to see if you'll break. You won't. We won't. And if anyone thinks you will, we'll shove the proof down their throats until they choke on it.
Ann straightened, pressing her hands flat to the table. The crown still weighed heavy, but she'd carried worse.
She thought of the laughter outside the windows, tired and worn, but still alive.
She thought of the orchard that would soon hold families instead of blossoms.
She thought of Adam, carving a safe home for his people out of the land itself.
Ann took a deep breath and reached for the papers that Coral had left on her desk.
The palace was hers to hold and alone or not, she would not let it fall.