[Hector’s POV]
I'm reviewing border patrol reports in my study when the commotion starts.
Raised voices. Running footsteps. The kind of chaos that signals something's gone wrong. I move toward the main hall, Alpha instincts already assessing threats, calculating responses—
And freeze.
Xander bursts through the doors carrying Daphne in his arms. She's unconscious, soaking wet, covered in blood and river water. Her dress is torn, her skin pale, her breathing shallow.
My mate. Hurt.
The panic that floods through me is immediate, visceral. Pure, human fear.
"What happened?" My voice comes out rougher than intended as I cross the distance in three strides. My hands reach for her automatically, needing to verify she's breathing, that her heart still beats.
Behind Xander, Talia stumbles in, her dress muddy, her face tear-stained and terrified. The pieces click together instantly.
"Explain. Now." The Alpha command in my voice makes them both flinch.
"It was an accident!" Talia blurts before anyone else can speak. "We were walking near the cliffs, and she stumbled, and I tried to catch her but—"
"Liar." Xander's voice cuts through her explanation like a blade. His face is murderous, his arms tightening protectively around Daphne. "You pushed her. I felt it—" He stops abruptly, but the damage is done.
Felt it how? The question hangs unspoken.
"I didn't!" Talia's voice rises with desperation. "I swear, Alpha, it was an accident! The ground was loose, and she fell—"
"Where." My voice drops to something dangerous. "Where did this happen?"
"The rapids cliff," Xander says, his jaw clenched. "She fell thirty feet into the river. Should have drowned. Should have been smashed on the rocks."
My blood goes cold. The rapids cliff. Pack members avoid it specifically because the fall is deadly—the current too fast, the rocks too jagged. No one survives that fall.
Yet Daphne is here. Unconscious but alive. Her chest rising and falling with steady breaths.
"I tried to grab her!" Talia is crying now, genuine tears of terror. "I reached for her hand but—"
I look at Xander. His expression tells me everything I need to know—Talia is lying, and he knows it. But he wasn't there when it happened. He has no proof beyond suspicion and whatever he felt that brought him running.
But I don't need proof.
I've watched Talia torment Daphne for years. Seen the cruelty in her eyes, the bitter jealousy poisoning her every interaction with my Luna.
This wasn't an accident. And I don't need evidence to know that.
"You will be confined to your chambers," I say to Talia, my voice cold and absolute. "Under guard. No contact with pack members. No access to common areas. You will remain there until I decide your punishment for this... accident."
Her face drains of color. "Alpha, please—"
"If I discover—and I will discover—that you deliberately harmed my Luna, the consequences will be severe." I let my wolf rise to the surface, let my eyes flash gold. "Do you understand?"
She nods frantically, tears streaming.
"Get out of my sight."
She flees, stumbling over her own feet. Two guards follow to ensure she reaches her chambers and stays there.
Once she's gone, I turn my full attention to Xander. "What else happened? How is she alive?"
His expression shifts—wonder mixing with something like fear. "She shifted. For the first time. Her wolf emerged to save her."
The words hang in the air between us.
Daphne has a wolf. Finally. After twenty-two years of being wolfless, her beast has finally surfaced.
"Her wolf," I repeat, keeping my voice neutral even as plans recalculate in my mind. "Describe it."
"Massive." Xander's voice holds awe despite his obvious reluctance to share with me. "Larger than any she-wolf I've seen. Pure white fur. Power radiating from her like—like nothing I've encountered before."
Larger than any she-wolf. White fur. Excessive power.
The royal bloodline manifesting. Just as I knew it would.
"How did this happen?" Xander's eyes narrow with suspicion. "She was wolfless for over two decades. That doesn't just... change. Wolves don't suddenly emerge that powerful, that dominant. It's not natural."
"I told you all when I announced my intention to mate her." I keep my voice patient, almost paternal. "There have been rare cases—very rare—where those who remained wolfless eventually met their wolf. And when they did, they proved more powerful than anyone expected."
The pride in my voice is undeniable. Calculated pride, yes, but also genuine satisfaction. I knew. I recognized her worth when everyone else saw only worthlessness. I claimed her when she was nothing and now she's becoming everything I predicted.
"I saw what others couldn't," I continue, reinforcing the narrative. "Her potential. Her strength. The fact that she was late to bloom didn't mean she was broken—it meant her wolf was building power, waiting for the right moment."
Xander's jaw clenches. He doesn't believe me—I can see it in his eyes. But he has no evidence to contradict the story. No proof that I've known about her royal heritage, that I've orchestrated every moment leading to this point.
"I'll take her now," I say, reaching for Daphne.
"I can carry her to—" Xander starts, his arms tightening.
"I will take care of my mate." The Alpha command brooks no argument. "Thank you for bringing her home safely. You're dismissed."
The look he gives me is pure fury. His wolf rises in his eyes—dominant, aggressive, unwilling to submit. For a moment I think he might actually challenge me right here.
But he doesn't. Can't. Pack law and hierarchy bind him as surely as chains.
He transfers Daphne to my arms with exaggerated care, his hands lingering longer than necessary, his eyes burning into mine with unspoken promise. This isn't over.
"Make sure she's comfortable," he says quietly, dangerously. "Make sure she has everything she needs."
"I always do."
He walks away, but I feel his gaze burning into my back as I carry Daphne toward our chambers.
I lock the door and lay her on the bed, still unconscious but breathing steady. A quick check: scrapes, bruises—nothing serious.
Then the marks.
Her left cheek is smooth— the lifelong birthmark, that womb-forged concealment, gone. The suppression spell has shattered; her power is loose.
I roll her gently to her side. On her left shoulder blade, the royal crescent glows faint gold—undeniable proof of bloodline.
The Lycan King’s lost daughter.
Everything aligns: her wolf has emerged, her powers awoken, our bond strengthened—exactly on cue.
The royals arrive in days; their advance guard confirmed it. King Thaddeus will search for his daughter one last time, never knowing she’s been here as my Luna. When he learns she’s bonded and marked, he can’t pry us apart without scandal—or defying the Moon Goddess.
Checkmate.
I should feel only triumph after twenty-two years of planning. Instead, something snags.
Daphne’s face soft in a way she never allows awake. She’s always been beautiful, but it’s more than that. She’s quick—picking up Luna work and politics fast. Loyal—standing with me in council. And unfailingly kind in a world that taught her cruelty.
She believes in people. Leaves flowers on graves. Mediates with compassion. It should be pathetic. It isn’t.
I’m drawn to it—beyond strategy. Pride warms me when she speaks with growing confidence. When other males look at her—especially Xander—rage flares that isn’t about property. It’s about something precious.
Feelings. The kind I dodged for forty-five years.
I brush a wet strand from her cheek where my mark lies. What answers isn’t calculation. It’s tenderness.
“Damn,” I whisper. “You weren’t supposed to matter this much.”
She stirs, fingers curling the sheets. I take her hand—telling myself it’s to comfort, to speed recovery. Truth sits heavier: somewhere between claiming a pawn and now, she became more.
Outside, Xander paces—bond strengthened, threat rising. I’ll deal with him.
But first, I need my Luna awake.
So I sit and wait: for her eyes, for the royals, for everything to lock into place—or spectacularly fall apart. And hope, dangerously close to prayer, that after the dust settles she still looks at me the same.
Though I don’t deserve it.