I want to respond, to tell her I love her, to ask about what happened with Zara, and to process everything that's happened in the last few hours. But my body has other plans. The last thing I register is the soft kisses being pressed against my head, alternating between Solace and Alessia. Then there's Alessia's soft touch on my waist and Solace's hand in my hair.
I drift off surrounded by warmth and care and the knowledge that somehow, impossibly, I've found exactly what I didn't know I was looking for.
King Frederik
"Protocol must be followed now that the heir to the throne is deceased, Your Majesty," my cousin Margot says, her voice carrying that infuriating tone of forced patience she always uses when she thinks I'm being unreasonable. She’s been living in Darencia, a few countries over trying too soothe over relations, but annoyingly came back the moment we heard of Kaia’s death. She stands before my throne with her hands clasped in front of her, the picture of proper Beta composure. "We cannot delay these decisions any longer. The kingdom needs certainty, needs to know who will rule after you."
I stare at her from my throne, my fingers drumming against the armrest in a rhythm that matches my racing thoughts. The Beta driver brought back Kaia's bloodied clothes just hoursafter I departed back to the castle, stating that Solace had killed her, unable to have her for herself. It was a long time coming, the Beta had said, his face pale as he delivered the news that shattered what remained of my world. The implication was clear. Solace had harbored inappropriate feelings for my daughter, feelings that festered into something dark and violent when she realized she could never truly possess an Omega meant for an Alpha.
I rewarded him with gold for his honesty, for bringing me the truth no matter how painful. Then I immediately required preparations for a search party to hunt down Solace, that traitorous wolf who no doubt escaped into the Shadowlands thinking she could hide from my justice in that cursed wilderness.
No one has found anything in the last few days despite my best trackers combing the borders, but if she returns,whenshe returns, she will be hanged. I will see to it personally. I will watch the light leave her eyes as payment for taking my daughter from me.
And now we must make preparations for who will take the throne since it will not be Kaia. The throne that should have passed to my daughter, my only child, my last connection to the wife I lost years ago. Gone. All of it gone because a Beta couldn't control her base desires.
"I will honor whoever brings back a dragon's head," I growl out, my wolf rustling beneath the surface. "That promise stands. But they will not rule alone. They will rule alongside you, Margot. A king or queen consort to my cousin, since you are the closest blood relative and a suitable heir."
Margot's expression doesn't change, but I see the flash of something in her eyes. Satisfaction, perhaps. She's always been ambitious, always positioned herself carefully within the court. As a female Beta, she's had to work twice as hard to be takenseriously, to be seen as more than just breeding stock for some Alpha's ambitions. Now she stands to inherit a kingdom, and I can see her already calculating what that means for her future.
"That is generous of you, Your Majesty," she says carefully. "Though I hope you know I never wished for this outcome. Kaia was a bright light in this kingdom, and her loss is felt by all."
"Do not speak her name," I snap at my cousin. "Do not pretend you cared for her when you spent years telling me she needed to be controlled, needed to be broken of her wild ways. You saw her as a problem to be solved, not a person to be valued."
Margot has the grace to look chagrined, but she doesn't back down. "I cared for the kingdom's stability, which required Kaia to fulfill her duties. That's not the same as wishing her harm. Besides, I am no more in the wrong than you are for using your daughter as a pawn in your quest for riches.” She clears her throat, smoothing the fabric down at her waist. “I'm sorry for your loss, truly."
I wave her words away, unable to bear the false sympathy. My eyes drift to the empty throne beside mine, the one where my wife sat for too few years before she was taken from me. The woman I stole to be my own, plucked from another kingdom with promises of love and prosperity.
She was supposed to give me everything I was promised when I took her. Wealth, power, an unshakeable dynasty. Instead, she gave me a daughter. Not even an Alpha daughter who could have ruled with strength and commanded respect. Just an Omega, beautiful and fierce but ultimately powerless in a world that values strength above all else.
I should have never taken her, should have never believed the fortune teller who promised me riches beyond measure if I claimed the golden Omega from the neighboring kingdom. That fortune teller spoke of prosperity and abundance, of a throne that would stand for generations, of wealth that would flowlike water. But all I got was a wife who died too young and a daughter who couldn't even shift, who walked around barefoot like a commoner and spoke her mind like she had the right to opinions.
The fortune I was promised never materialized. Twenty-three years I've been chasing it, sending warrior after warrior to claim dragon gold, to bring back the riches that were supposed to be mine by right. And now the last of my bloodline is gone, murdered by a Beta who couldn't control her unnatural desires.
I stand abruptly, unable to sit still any longer. "We will have a ceremony at the end of the week to mourn her death," I announce, my voice carrying across the chamber. "That gives us enough time to bring Solace home and see her hanged so that justice will be served. My daughter will have that much at least, knowing her murderer paid for her crimes."
"Your Majesty," one of my advisors speaks up, an older Alpha named Cornelius who's served since my father's time. "Perhaps it's unwise to send more people into the Shadowlands. We've already lost too many to that cursed place. If Solace went in there, she's likely dead already. The Shadowlands don't suffer trespassers kindly."
"I will not let her run from her crimes," I say firmly, turning to face him with all the authority of my position. "She will die by my hand just as soon as I hear her pitiful reason for taking a royal's life when I gave her the very luxuries she enjoyed. She had everything. A position of honor, the trust of the royal family, access to wealth and comfort most Betas never dream of. And she repaid that generosity by murdering my daughter."
"But Your Majesty—" Cornelius tries again.
"Enough," I growl out, letting the shift overtake me. My wolf surges forth as I leap toward Cornelius, snarling in his face. Everyone takes a step back from my massive size, power and magic swirling around my dark fur. I blow out a deep breath,waiting for Cornelius to bow his head before shifting back, bare as the day I was born but unashamed. "My word is law. Send the best trackers we have. Offer a reward for anyone who brings her back alive. I want to look her in the eyes when I ask her why. I want her to know that she gained nothing from this betrayal, that my daughter’s death served no purpose except to rob me of my only child."
The room stays silent, my advisors exchanging glances but knowing better than to argue further. I can see the concern in their faces, the worry that I'm making decisions based on grief rather than logic. They're not wrong, but I don't care. Logic didn't save my wife. Logic didn't give me the prosperity I was promised. Logic certainly didn't protect my daughter from a murderous Beta.
Margot steps forward again, her voice gentle in a way that sets my teeth on edge. "The ceremony will be arranged as you wish. We'll need to notify the noble families, prepare the temple, and commission mourning clothes for the court. A week gives us just enough time to do this properly, to give Kaia the farewell she deserves."
"She deserves more than a ceremony," I mutter, turning back to stare at my wife's empty throne. "She deserved a life. She deserved to choose her own path, perhaps. She deserved better than what I could give her."
I've spent years trying to control Kaia, to mold her into the perfect Omega princess who would secure alliances and strengthen my position. Every rule I imposed, every restriction I placed, was meant to protect her and ensure she fulfilled her duty. But maybe Cornelius was right all those times he suggested I was too harsh, too controlling. Maybe if I'd given her more freedom, more choice, she wouldn't have been vulnerable to Solace's manipulation.
No. I shake my head, banishing that line of thinking. This isn't my fault. I did what any father would do, what any king must do to protect his legacy. Solace is the one who killed her. Solace is the one who destroyed everything.
"Your Majesty," another advisor speaks up, a younger Beta woman named Helena who handles diplomatic relations. "There's another matter we need to discuss. Several kingdoms have sent envoys asking about the procession, about when the warriors will return. Word has spread about the dragon hunt, and there are concerns about the stability of the region if another kingdom claims the prize first."
"Let them be concerned," I say dismissively, the cold air of throne room throwing a shiver down my back but I stand tall, refusing to show I’m affected. "No one is taking what's mine. The dragons' treasure belongs to Valoria, and whoever brings it back will be rewarded as promised. The fact that they'll now rule alongside Margot instead of Kaia changes nothing about the arrangement."
"But Your Majesty," Helena presses, "some of these kingdoms are suggesting that perhaps the hunts should stop. That sending warriors into the Shadowlands repeatedly is destabilizing trade routes and creating unnecessary tension. They're proposing a summit to discuss alternative arrangements."
