The messenger bows and hurries away, clearly relieved to escape whatever he walked into.
I turn back to find all four women watching me with renewed interest.
“The King wants to see you,” Marina observes. “This should be interesting.”
“We’ll let you get ready,” Catherine says, moving toward the door. “But Selene? We meant what we said. We’ll be having words with our dear brother.”
They file out one by one, leaving me standing in my quarters holding the royal summons, my mind spinning.
These are the domineering women Seth warned me about? The family he claimed I couldn’t survive in?
They just promised to protect me. From him.
Staring at the sealed scroll in my hands, I sink onto my bed, wincing again as the movement reminds me of exactly how thoroughly Seth claimed me last night.
What the hell is happening to my life?
“You should have told me immediately,”Lucian says, his voice deep as he stares at me.
I stand before the King’s massive, oak desk, my fingers curled tight, nails biting into my palms. The study is all dark wood and leather, bookshelves lining the walls from floor to ceiling, heavycurtains framing windows that overlook the palace grounds. Astra is positioned beside Lucian’s chair, one hand resting on the back of it, her expression tense and unreadable. He remains seated, but somehow his stillness makes him more intimidating, not less. The afternoon light streaming through the tall windows does nothing to warm the cold knot of dread in my stomach.
“I didn’t think it had anything to do with the royal family,” I say quietly, forcing myself to meet his gaze.
Lucian leans forward in his chair, his hands flat on the polished surface of his desk. His eyes flash—that dangerous, otherworldly gleam that reminds me he’s not just a king but also one of the most powerful shifters alive. “You didn’t think?” His voice drops even lower. “Selene, you are close to my mate. Your affairs have everything to do with the royal family. Both you and Daciana are direct links to Astra. Anything that affects you affects her.”
Of course. I should have realized. Astra is the queen now, and Daciana and I are her best friends. Everyone in the palace knows that. Daciana serves in the royal guard, and I’m a palace healer, but more than that, we’re the Queen’s companions. That makes us targets, vulnerabilities, pieces on a political chess board that I never asked to be part of.
Astra’s fingers tighten on the back of Lucian’s chair. Her dark eyes lock on mine. “Why didn’t you tell me what was happening?” The hurt in her voice makes my chest tighten. “About Zane? About the bond changing? About any of it?”
I open my mouth, but what can I say? That I was confused? That I didn’t want to burden her? That some part of me was ashamed of how quickly I’d latched onto Zane after Seth’s rejection?
“I was trying to figure it out,” I finally manage, my words coming out hushed and strained. “I didn’t think Zane had any ulterior motivations.”
“How do you know he doesn’t?” Lucian’s knuckles go white where they press against the desk now, but he remains seated, his power contained but palpable. “You’re just a healer, Selene. You have no idea about the politics going on in this palace, the games peopleplay. Zane Radrick is a Council member with questionable loyalties and a convenient history of dead relatives clearing his path to power. And you thought it was perfectly normal for someone like that to suddenly claim you as his fated mate?”
Each word lands like a slap. My face burns with shame and anger—shame because he’s right, anger because being right doesn’t give him permission to make me feel this small.
“I didn’t know—” I start, but the study doors suddenly burst open with such force that they slam against the walls.
Seth strides in, his expression thunderous, green eyes blazing as they sweep the room and land on me. I stiffen at the sight of him, my body reacting before my mind can catch up—heart racing, breath catching, the mate bond flaring hot and insistent in my chest.
I force myself to turn away, focusing on the row of leather-bound books on the shelf behind Lucian’s desk. But I can still feel Seth’s presence like a physical weight and sense the protectiveness rolling off him in waves through our bond.
“Why is my mate here?” Seth demands, his voice biting with barely restrained fury. He positions himself between me and the desk, his body angled protectively. “And why wasn’t I called?”
“Pipe down,” Lucian says coldly, still seated but somehow more commanding for it. Astra’s hand remains steady on the back of his chair, though her expression shifts to concern as she watches the confrontation unfold. “You’re in just as much trouble as she is.”
A muscle ticks in his jaw. “What trouble? What did she do?”
“It’s what you both didn’t do.” Lucian’s voice is steel wrapped in silk. “Why didn’t you tell me what was happening? That Selene was being courted by a Council member? That she claimed the fated mate bond had transferred to Zane?”
“This is a personal matter between me and my fated mate,” Seth bites out, each word clipped. “It is not the royal family’s business.”
The temperature in the room seems to drop several degrees. Lucian still doesn’t move from his chair, but his eyes narrow to dangerous slits. “Watch your tone, Commander.”
“My private life has nothing to do with either of you,” Seth continues,gesturing between Lucian and Astra. “You’re the ones crossing a line by interrogating my mate in private without notifying me.”
The protectiveness in his voice surprises me. After everything—after months of rejection, after making it clear he didn’t want this bond—now he’s suddenly defending me. Standing between me and his king with the kind of fierce possessiveness I never thought I’d hear from him.
