The council chamber was cold that morning. Not from the weather, Eldfrost was always cold but from the fear sitting heavy in the air.
Twelve council members stood when the king walked in, their expressions stiff, some respectful, some anxious.
Zarek Alexander Volk, the Beast King of Eldfrost, looked like he hadn't slept.
His eyes were sharp, glowing faintly under the torchlight. The curse had been getting worse.
Everyone knew it.
He didn't speak when he reached his seat. He simply sat, hands folded, waiting.
Councilman Rowan cleared his throat first.
"Your Majesty… we must speak about the matter of the Seventh Bond."
Zarek's jaw flexed. "Again?"
"It cannot be ignored anymore," another councilman said. "The prophecy was made two hundred years ago. The seventh fated bond will save the crown. Save you."
"And you believe repeating it every meeting will make my soulmate appear?"
The man fell silent.
Then Councilwoman Haleen, the most elegant and unshakably loyal, stepped forward.
"Your Majesty… the full moon is in three nights."
No one needed to say more.
Everyone in that room knew.
The Beast King's curse.
His growing feral nature.
His loss of control.
His monthly imprisonment in the dungeon with chains reinforced with charmed silver.
Another councilman cleared his throat. "…Your Majesty, you lost control again last week."
Zarek didn't look up. "It lasted less than five minutes."
"Five minutes are enough to level half the palace," Councilwoman Freya whispered.
Councilman Rowan spoke again.
"If Your Majesty continues to lose control…" He swallowed.
Zarek's fingers tapped the arm of his chair in a continued rhythm. The flames around him stretched toward him, almost touching his shoulders like obedient pets.
"Speak," he said. "Say what you came here to say."
Haleen exhaled. "There is still no heir. If your beast takes full control before you find your fated mate..."
Councilman Caldor cut in, his voice trembling, "...the kingdom will fall into chaos."
Zarek's eyes flashed blood-red for a second. The council instantly fell silent.
"Then suggest a solution," Zarek said. "If you gathered us at dawn, you must have one."
"We do." Haleen exchanged looks with the others. "Stake another woman, Your Majesty. From a strong bloodline. A chance at an heir..."
"No," Zarek cut in sharply. "You all seem to forget that I have taken four women already. All from strong beast bloodlines. All chosen with care by your very selves." His tone hardened. "And all have failed to bear me an heir."
Haleen folded her hands, her poise wavering slightly. "It is not uncommon for such matters to take time and dedication. Perhaps a concubine must be kept long enough for the bond to..."
"Four centuries," Zarek interrupted. His tone did not rise, but the force of it silenced her. "I have lived long enough to know time is not the issue. Nor is devotion. The beast women you chose were fertile and loyal. The outcome was the same."
No one spoke. Even the guards by the doors looked away.
Councilman Rowan cleared his throat. "Your Majesty, sometimes fate tests its chosen. The women, perhaps they were not..."
"Not what?" Alexander's eyes narrowed slightly. "Worthy? Or strong enough to endure me?"
Rowan lowered his gaze. "I meant no insult, Your Majesty."
"Then measure your words better," Zarek said flatly.
Haleen tried again, "Your Majesty, if the Royal Seers spoke true before, surely they can speak again. A new prophecy, or an answer, something to guide us. Shall we summon them?"
Zarek nodded. "Summon the royal seers."
The doors opened minutes later.
Three young looking figures entered, too youthful, too flawless to be centuries old, yet their eyes held ages of knowledge.
At the front was High Seer Maelina.
Dark hair like ink. Bright silver eyes. Her silver tattoos shined under the moonlight; a lion roaring before a wolf.
She was a beauty.
Behind her walked Seer Lorian, tall, seemingly quiet, and Seer Nora, who had a soft smile on.
All three bowed deeply.
"Speak," Zarek ordered. "Does the Seventh Bond prophecy still stand?"
Seer Lorian spoke first. "It stands, Your Majesty."
Seer Nora nodded. "It has never broken. Not once in two hundred years."
Councilman Rowan frowned. "But previous Beast Kings with soulbonds found their mates early in life."
"That is true," Lorian said gently. "But those were the first to the Sixth Bonds."
Nora added, "Fate created each one differently. But the Seventh… is unlike anything before it."
The council exchanged uneasy looks.
Zarek leaned forward. "Explain."
Nora hesitated.
Lorian looked at the ground.
Only Maelina met the king's dangerous eyes.
"The Seventh Bond," Maelina said softly, "is the rarest bond fate has ever woven. It is absolute. Pure. Possessive. It does not share. It does not bend. It allows no other joining."
Silence.
Councilwoman Haleen's voice shook slightly. "Meaning?"
Maelina took a breath. "Meaning the King's beast will sire no heir with any woman except his soulmate."
The room erupted.
"What?!"
"That cannot be!"
"This has never happened before!"
Maelina raised a hand, and the air stilled; she was a fearsome beast and a pureblood seer.
"The Seventh Bond is unlike the six before it," she said. "It was decreed that his blood, his life, and his seed shall answer only to his true mate. The bond cannot be diluted, nor forged by force. Only when the Seventh finds his other half will the line continue."
"That is impossible!" Councilman Rowan barked. "Soulmates are rare, yes, but even the six could procreate with others!"
"This has to be a curse," another muttered.
The High Seer ignored them. "Call it what you will. Until his soul meets its match, the King's line will remain still."
Silence.
Even Zarek did not move. Only the faint tightening of his palm betrayed his thought.
Councilwoman Haleen's voice was cautious when she spoke again. "Then… there is truly no other way? No concubine, no enchantment?"
Maelina shook her head once. "His fate was sealed before the ice of Eldfrost was born. His body will not betray that destiny."
Her eyes flicked to the Beast King. "He will know her when she stands before him. The air will sweeten. His beast will still. And the mark will burn, appearing at once."
Zarek remained perfectly still.
But the air around him pulsed.
The torches suddenly flickered wildly. The air grew colder.
A force rolled off him in a silent wave and every council member bent instinctively, fear gripping their bones.
He didn't notice.
His eyes, now faintly red, stayed locked on the seers.
Zarek finally spoke, "Why was this… never told to me?"
Maelina bowed her head. "Because the Seventh Bond hides its truths until the fated time. Only now has it allowed us to see this part."
Zarek stared at her, his fingers still tapping on his armrest. "Tell me," he said, "…where is she?"
Maelina closed her eyes.
A faint glow pulsed around her, soft as moonlight.
"She is close, Your Majesty," she whispered.
"Close enough that fate has already begun shifting the threads."
At last, Eirik, an influencial sharp-tongued councilman who was never afraid to say what others swallowed leaned forward.
"So the Seventh Bond is binding the king even before he finds her," Eirik muttered. "Fate is forcing his hand."
Councilwoman Haleen, ever loyal, shook her head. "No. Fate is protecting him. The curse has worsened. If the bond is this strict, then it means his soulmate is the only one powerful enough to hold the king's beast."
Another councilman added, "Then we must find her soon, Your Majesty."
Zarek waved a hand, facing the royal seers.
"Enough," he said. "Leave."
The seers bowed deeply as they backed away.
Only the council remained.
Eirik cleared his throat. "Your Majesty, there is still one more matter..."
The doors opened.
Commander Aldric stepped in, bowed, and waited.
Zarek didn't lift his head. "Speak."
"There's a rebellion in the human settlement of Ravehaven," Aldric said. "Their leader rallied them to refuse all commands."
The room shifted.
Humans rebelling was not new, but it was always… inconvenient.
Councilwoman Freya clicked her tongue softly. "Humans never learn."
Zarek finally looked up.
Even that tiny movement made Aldric tense.
Everyone did.
"What do you want to do?" Zarek asked.
Aldric opened his mouth, but Eirik stepped forward first.
"The usual," Eirik said. "Rebellion can't go unpunished."
Freya nodded once. "Burn their leaders. Make an example."
Caldor added, "The rest can be taken into custody. Work them if they survive."
Zarek didn't blink.
"Do it."
Aldric bowed. "At once, Your Majesty."
"Make it quick," Zarek added. "I don't want delay."
The commander left, boots echoing down the hall.
Caldor murmured, "Humans bring trouble on themselves."
Haleen exhaled. "That should settle the matter."
Eirik glanced at the king carefully. "Your Majesty, is there anything else you require?"
He seemed to have forgotten what he wanted to say.
Zarek leaned back in his chair, "No," he said. "Leave."
The council bowed deeply, too deeply, then hurried out, grateful to escape the king's presence.
The doors closed.
Zarek was alone. Again.
"Where are you?" He whispered to the air.