We left at dawn.The camp was already packed up, everything loaded onto wagons. Twenty guards on horseback surrounded a single black carriage.
Our carriage.
I stood outside it holding Lyra while the healer finished checking Caelum one last time.
"They're healthy," she said, handing him back to me. "Strong. Should handle the journey fine."
"Should?"
"They're two weeks old and you're taking them across the realm. There's always risk."
Great. Just what I needed to hear.
Vaelor was talking to his generals nearby. Giving last instructions. Looking every bit the King in his armor and cloak.
I looked down at the twins in my arms. So small. So fragile despite their power.
Was I making a huge mistake bringing them into this?
"Aelara."
I turned. Rhea stood there, her scarred face serious.
"Rhea? What are you doing here?"
"Came to see you off. Make sure you aren't completely stupid." She held out a leather pouch. "Herbs. For pain, infection, fever. The babies too if they need it."
I took it. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet. You're about to walk into the worst place in the realm." She stepped closer, lowered her voice. "Don't trust anyone at the Crownlands. Not even the ones who smile. Especially not them."
"I'll be with Vaelor—"
"He's the King. He has to play politics, make deals, keep the peace. You don't. You're a mother protecting her young." Her one good eye bored into mine. "Remember that. When it gets bad, and it will, remember you're there for them. Not for him. Not for the realm. For your babies."
I nodded, throat tight.
She gripped my shoulder. "You're brave. Stupid, but brave."
Then she was gone, disappearing into the trees like she'd never been there.
"Ready?" Vaelor appeared at my side.
"No. But let's go anyway."
He helped me into the carriage. It was nice inside padded seats, windows with curtains, a small bassinet secured to the floor for the twins.
I settled them in carefully. They both fussed but didn't cry.
Vaelor climbed in after me. The door shut. We were enclosed in this small space together.
The carriage lurched forward.
We were moving.
---
The first day was awkward as hell.
We sat across from each other, the bassinet between us. Neither of us talked much.
I stared out the window. I watched the forest pass by. I tried not to think about where we were going.
"Tell me about the Crownlands," I said finally. "What should I expect?"
Vaelor shifted in his seat. "It's different from anywhere you've been. The Citadel is old. Ancient. Built for war, not comfort."
"Sounds lovely."
"It's not. It's cold. Dark. Everything is stone and iron." He paused. "The courtiers are worse."
"Worse than a stone fortress?"
"Much worse. They'll smile and call you Luna and bow. Then they'll plot behind your back."
My stomach dropped. "Great."
"I'm not telling you this to scare you. Just to prepare you." His eyes met mine. "They'll test you. See if you're worthy of being my mate. Of being their Luna."
"I'm not worthy. We both know that."
"That's not true."
"I'm wolfless well, I was. I'm nobody. An orphan from a dead pack." I looked at the twins. "The only reason they haven't rejected me outright is because I gave birth to your heirs."
"That's not the only reason."
I glanced at him. "No?"
"No. You're stronger than any of them. You've survived things they couldn't imagine." He leaned forward slightly. "You survived rejection. Pregnancy alone. Giving birth in ruins while being hunted. You think some pampered nobles are going to break you?"
Put like that, it sounded less scary.
"I survived rejection, pregnancy alone, and giving birth in ruins," I repeated. "I can handle some snobby nobles."
He smiled. Actually smiled. "That's my mate."
The casual way he said it made my stomach flip.
I looked away quickly. "Don't do that."
"Do what?"
"Act like this is real. Like we're actually together."
"We are together. The bond—"
"The bond is just biology. It doesn't mean anything."
Through the connection, I felt his hurt. Quick and sharp before he covered it.
Damn it.
"I'm sorry," I said. "That came out wrong."
"No. You're right. The bond doesn't mean anything if you don't want it to." He sat back, looked out his own window. "I won't push."
We rode in silence after that.
---
That night we stopped to make camp.
Vaelor insisted we share a tent. "For safety," he said.
The tent was small. Two bedrolls laid out with barely any space between them. The bassinet is set up right in the middle.
I fed the twins while Vaelor checked the perimeter with his guards.
When he came back, I was trying to get Caelum to burp. The kid was stubborn.
"Here." Vaelor took him, positioned him against his shoulder, patted his back.
Caelum burped immediately.
"Show off," I muttered.
He grinned.
We settled the babies down to sleep. Both of us lying on our bedrolls with the bassinet between us.
It was dark. Quiet except for the twins' soft breathing.
"Can I ask you something?" I said.
"Sure."
"Do you regret it? The claim?"
Silence for a long moment.
"No," he said finally. "Do you?"
I thought about it. I really thought about it.
"I don't know yet. Ask me when this is over."
"Fair enough."
More silence. Then I felt his hand reach across the space between us. Found mine in the dark.
His fingers threaded through mine.
I should've pulled away. Should've kept the distance.
But I didn't.
We fell asleep like that. Connected.
---
The attack came on the second day.
We were riding through a narrow pass when the first arrow hit the carriage.
I screamed, grabbed the twins.
"Get down!" Vaelor shoved me to the floor, covering us with his body.
More arrows. Shouts outside. The sound of fighting.
"Stay here," he ordered.
"Where are you—"
He was already gone, bursting out of the carriage.
Through the bond I felt him shift. Felt the surge of power as he became Lycan.
I huddled on the floor holding the twins. They were crying now, scared.
"It's okay," I whispered. "It's okay, daddy's got us—"
The carriage rocked violently. Someone was trying to get in.
The door burst open. A man in rough clothes, sword drawn, eyes wild.
A rogue.
"Give me the babies," he snarled.
"No."
He lunged.
I screamed.
The twins started glowing. Both of them, bright and sudden.
Caelum's cry became something else. Not a baby cry. Something more.
A pulse of pure power exploded outward.
The rogue flew backward like he'd been hit by a hammer. Slammed into a tree.
Didn't get back up.
I stared at Caelum in my arms. He'd stopped crying. Just looked at me with those silver eyes.
"Did you just—"
The sounds of fighting outside were dying down. I heard Vaelor's roar—massive, terrifying.
Then quiet.
I stayed on the floor, shaking. The twins' glow faded slowly.
The carriage door opened. I flinched.
It was Vaelor. Still in Lycan form huge, covered in blood, silver eyes glowing.
He shouldn't have fit through the door but he did somehow. Shifted back to humans as he climbed inside.
Naked. Covered in blood and gore. But his eyes were soft as they found us.
"Are you hurt?" His hands ran over me, checking for injuries.
"We're fine. But Caelum... he killed that man."
Vaelor looked at our son. "Good boy."
"That's not he's two weeks old—"
"He was protecting his mother." Vaelor cupped my face. "That's what he's supposed to do."
"This isn't normal."
"No. It's not. They're powerful, Aelara. That's not a curse. It's what will keep them alive."
Through the bond I felt his certainty. His pride in our son.
It should've scared me. Instead it made me feel safer.
He pulled me against his chest, not caring he was naked and bloody. Just held us.
"I've got you," he murmured. "All of you. I won't let anyone hurt you."
I believed him.
---
We arrived at the Crownlands border at sunset the next day.
The gates were massive. Black iron, easily fifty feet tall. Guards everywhere.
A herald announced our arrival.
The gates opened slowly.
On the other side, a crowd waited.
Nobles in fancy clothes. Council elders in dark robes. All of them watched as our carriage rolled through.
And at the center of it all Threx Morvain.
Smiling like a snake who'd just caught a mouse.
"Welcome, Your Majesty," he called out. "And welcome, Lady Aelara. We've been expecting you."
Behind him loomed Blackspire Citadel. A massive fortress of black stone that looked like it'd been carved from the mountain itself.
Dark. Imposing. Terrifying.
I held the twins closer.
Through the bond, I felt Vaelor's tension. His readiness for a fight.
We'd just walked into enemy territory.
And there was no turning back now.