Lilith had never felt so hollow. The world she’d built—carefully, ruthlessly—was gone. Luke. Her position. Their union she'd believed would one day rule Midnight Crest. All of it, gone, crumbling like ash between her fingers.
She returned home alone, her cloak heavy with frost, her face raw from the cold wind and the sting of public humiliation. She didn’t go to her room. She went to the sitting room, where she knew they’d be waiting.
And they were.
Her mother sat by the fire, needle paused mid-stitch, while her father stood by the decanter, swirling wine he hadn’t yet tasted.
“You’re home,” her mother said, standing smoothly. “Finally.”
Her father turned to face her, lips already tight with disdain. “What Celine said to you—unforgivable.”
Lilith dropped into a chair, her limbs still trembling. “She humiliated me. In front of everyone. And you.”
Her mother’s eyes darkened. “We saw. She exiled you from Crimson Fang like she was born into royalty. As if you’re the danger.”
“She threw us all out,” her father added. “After everything we did for her.”
Lilith gave a bitter laugh. “Did we ever do anything for her?”
“We raised her,” her mother snapped. “Fed her. Let her stay under our roof. That ungrateful little wolf—she's always thought she was better than us.”
“No,” Lilith said slowly. “She became better. That’s the problem.”
There was a pause.
Then her father moved closer, voice quieter. “So what do we do about it?”
Lilith hesitated.
“I sent the message,” she whispered. “To the King. I wanted him to stop the wedding. I thought… I thought if I just told him what she was, he’d see.”
Her mother didn't recoil. Didn’t gasp. Instead, she smiled.
“That was a brilliant move.”
Lilith blinked. “You’re not angry?”
“Darling,” her mother said gently, “you tried to protect the realm. The King needed to see what she was. If he acts on it later—well. That’s not your fault.”
Her father stepped closer, one brow raised. “And now that Luke is out of the picture…”
Lilith flinched. “He rejected me,” she said, her voice thin and cracking. “It’s done. He ended the bond.”
Her parents didn’t gasp or comfort her. They strategized. “Then you’re free,” her father said.
“Free to bond again,” her mother added. “Free to aim higher.”
Lilith stared at them. Then her mother leaned in, her smile sweet but sharp as glass. “Tell me darling, how would you like to become the Lycan Queen?”
The words settled into the room like perfume. Lilith’s breath hitched. Her heart, still bruised from everything she’d lost, flickered with something old and familiar:
“Do you think he’d want me?” she asked, unsure for the first time in years.
Her father’s voice was low. “We’ll make sure he does.”