The morning light filters through the curtains of the Alpha’s suite. Heidi opens her eyes, and for a fleeting second, the weight of the crown feels absent. There is only the warmth of the man beside her and the rhythmic thrum of his heartbeat against her cheek.

"Peace," her wolf whispers. "It tastes like silver and honey. But don’t get used to the silence, Little Alpha. The world is waiting for you to wake up."

Heidi sighs, shifting her weight. Every muscle in her body aches with a delicious, heavy soreness—a reminder of the night Darien had spent reclaiming her, marking her with his touch and his scent. She sits up, the silk sheets sliding down her skin, and looks at the man who is now her husband.

Darien is still asleep, his dark hair messy against the pillows, his face softened in a way the pack never gets to see. He looks younger like this. Less like a soldier, more like the boy he might have been if their world hadn’t been built on a foundation of blood.

She slips out of bed, her feet hitting the cold stone floor and heads straight to wash up. As she begins to dress, pulling on her structured suits and sigil that marks her new rank, she hears the rustle of the bedsheets behind her.

"Going somewhere?"

Darien’s voice comes in a low, sleep-roughened growl that sends a familiar shiver down her spine. She turns to see him propped up on one elbow, his chest bare, his eyes tracking her movements with a possessive warmth.

Heidi smiles, reaching for her belt. "The sun is up, Darien. The pack doesn’t stop moving just because we had a long night."

"The pack can wait," he grumbles, though he begins to swing his legs over the side of the bed, his own clothes scattered nearby.

He stands, crossing the room to wrap his arms around her waist from behind, his nose nuzzling the sensitive skin behind her ear. "I thought the first morning of our marriage would involve staying in this room until noon. I want to spend every second reminding you that you’re mine."

Heidi leans back into him, closing her eyes.

"He smells of woodsmoke and devotion," her wolf purrs. "Let’s stay with him. Let the world burn for another hour."

But the thought of the border, and the two people waiting there, pulls at her heart. She turns in his arms, placing her hands on his chest. "Have you forgotten? Amias and Isolde are leaving today. I promised I would see them off. I want to help Isolde pack."

Darien’s expression changes as a brief shadow of grief crosses his face, then he masks it with a tired smile. The reality of his brothers’ deaths and Amias’s exile is still a raw wound, one they haven’t quite figured out how to heal.

"I hadn’t forgotten," he says softly. "I just... I suppose I wanted to pretend for a little longer that our family wasn’t shrinking again."

Heidi reaches up, cupping his face. "Get up, Darien. Dress yourself. We owe them this much." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

She stands on her tiptoes, pressing a lingering, bittersweet kiss to his lips. "I’ll meet you at the gates later. Don’t be late."

As she leaves the room, the Alpha suite’s heavy doors thud shut behind her. The hallway is already bustling. The transition of power has turned the estate into a hive of activity. Maids carrying fresh linens and warriors heading to the training grounds pause as she passes.

"Good morning, Alpha Heidi," a young maid says, dropping a deep, respectful curtsy.

"Good morning, Elena. The flowers in the foyer look lovely today," Heidi responds. Her voice is warm but carries that new, underlying authority.

"They fear you and love you," the wolf observes. "A dangerous, beautiful balance. Keep it."

Heidi moves through the labyrinthine corridors of the estate, heading toward the west wing where the Ines quarters—and Isolde’s room—are located. The air is cooler here, further from the hearths of the main hall.

As she rounds the corner near the grand staircase, she stops dead.

Standing by the tall, stained-glass window is Amias. He is dressed for travel with heavy boots, a dark jacket, and a pack slung over one shoulder. He looks like a man who has already departed in his mind, his gaze fixed on the mountains outside.

"Amias," she says, her voice echoing slightly in the empty hall.

He turns, and for a moment, the breath catches in her throat. The bond—the mating pull that should have been their future—flares up like a dying ember kicked into life.

It hurts. It feels like a physical tugging at her navel, a silent scream from the wolf inside her that recognizes him as her own.

"Heidi," he says. His voice is flat and exhausted. He doesn’t move toward her.

"Hi," she offers, the word feeling pathetic and small.

"Hi."

An awkward, heavy silence stretches between them. They are mates. They are family. They are strangers. Amias shifts his weight, his eyes dropping to the floor.

"I was just... checking the weather. The pass should be clear."

"Right. Good."

She moves to walk past him, her heart beating against her ribs. She wants to be the "Stone Alpha." She wants to be the rigid, focused leader the Moon Goddess demanded.

But as she reaches his shoulder, the human part of her—the girl who was raised by human parents, fostered by the Castells, and broke for Grayson -- rears her head out.

She stops and turns, her eyes snapping to his. "Does it really have to be like this? Do you really have to go, Amias? We’ve lost so much. Does the pack really need to lose you, too?"

Amias stiffens. He doesn’t look at her, his jaw working as he fights for control. "I told you, Heidi. This is what’s best. For the pack. For the stability of your reign. For everyone."

"For everyone?" Heidi’s voice rises, a sharp edge of anger cutting through the grief. "Or for you? You’re standing here deciding what’s best for me, for Darien, for the people who look up to you. You’re acting like you’re all-knowing, like you’ve consulted the stars and decided that your absence is a gift. It’s not a gift, Amias. It’s a desertion."

She turns to storm off, her vision blurring with hot, angry tears.