(Nyx POV)
Oh, Goddess. What did we do?
The bond burned through me like wildfire in a storm. Kelly was pacing in my head, giddy and wild.
Best. Decision. Ever.
Dorian's wolf Fury prowled beneath his skin—dark, feral, magnificent. But deeper still, something ancient stirred.Varyn—his Lycan.
That name hummed through the bond like a drumbeat older than language. Varyn didn't snarl or rush. He watched, calm as eternity, eyes golden and knowing. I felt both sides of him—the beast and the immortal—studying me.
He'd waited two hundred years for this. For me.
The howls from the courtyard still echoed through the marble halls. Guards formed corridors, reverent and wary. Dorian's arm stayed firm around my waist—not merely protective but claiming, grounding me even as my legs trembled.
I'd bitten him, marked him before the entire kingdom.
His blood still lingered on my tongue—iron, cedar, wild power. Kelly stretched in my mind, smug and satisfied. Our mate. Our King. Our everything.
There was no undoing this. The Goddess herself had witnessed it.
As we passed, the High Elder struck his staff against the floor. "She glows brighter," he whispered. "It is as foretold."
A hush rippled through the Council gallery—old wolves muttering about Twinborns, about the second dawn. Some looked reverent. Others looked terrified.
Dorian didn't slow. His presence cut through their fear like a blade through fog. Cassian and Stephen flanked us as we stepped into the moonlit corridor.
Then came Liora's voice—cracked, shrill, echoing down the marble.
"THIS ISN'T OVER!"
The guards held her back. "She bewitched him! Bewitched all of you! The Elders will see! I'll see her ruin before I'm done!"
Her mother's sobs followed. Her father's silence was far more dangerous.
I exhaled slowly. "They'll keep pushing."
Dorian's jaw tightened. "Let them. You are mine, Nyx. That will not change."
Cassian cleared his throat. "My King… reports are spreading fast. Half the kingdom celebrates. Half demand proof the Ops unit didn't stage the attack."
My stomach twisted. "What?"
Cassian's voice dropped. "Your team's pay has been frozen. Orders from Liora's father. Until the inquiry clears them, they're considered compromised."
The words struck like claws. Twelve wolves. Twelve families. My wolves. My only family.
Dorian stopped, voice sharp as steel. "Unfreeze it."
Cassian hesitated. "Sire, the accounts fall under Prince Morvain's principality and its command."
Dorian's eyes flicked toward him — a single look that said everything.
Cassian straightened immediately. "Got it. Handled."
"They're going after my crew because they can't go after me," I said quietly.
Dorian turned me toward him, his hand cupping my jaw. "Then we fight for them. No one under my banner goes hungry for loyalty."
His touch burned—a vow written in skin and breath. Kelly hummed, smug. He means it. You chose well.
I swallowed. "You're stronger."
He nodded once. "So are you. The bond feeds both ways."
I could feel it—his strength laced into mine, my pulse echoing his. The power wasn't just emotional. It was physical, and the world itself seemed to sense it.
Before I could speak, a servant hurried into the corridor, bowing low. "Your Majesty. The Queen requests you in the library at once. She says it concerns the prophecy."
The word hung between us like thunder waiting to strike.
Dorian didn't even glance at the man. His silver eyes stayed locked on me. "Please tell my mother," he said evenly, "my Queen and I have unfinished business."
Before I could react, he swept me up—one arm under my knees, the other at my back.
"Dorian!" I gasped, hands bracing against his chest. "Put me down! Your Majesty, I can walk—"
He didn't even blink. Over his shoulder, his voice rolled down the hall, all command and heat.
"Do not follow."
Cassian's eyebrows shot up; Stephen quickly found something fascinating on the floor. The servant bowed so fast I thought he might faint.
Dorian strode away, silent but unstoppable, the heat of him seeping through my skin. My protests faltered against the steady thrum of the bond.
Kelly purred in my mind, stretching like a cat.
Oh, we're in trouble now. The good kind.