Lady Sera was sharpening her dagger when Lord Vesper found her.

The eastern delegation’s quarters were modest compared to the nobles’ wing, but Sera had requested them specifically. She preferred the quiet. Fewer shadows for enemies to hide in.

Vesper entered without knocking. His silver hair was immaculate, his robes expensive, his smile practiced. "Lady Sera. I hope I’m not interrupting."

"You are." Sera didn’t look up from her blade. "But you’re here anyway. Speak."

Vesper settled into a chair across from her, crossing his legs with deliberate ease. "I’ve come to discuss the upcoming vote on the Human Rights Charter. I believe you and I share certain... concerns."

Sera ran the whetstone along the blade’s edge. The scrape was loud in the quiet room. "Do we?"

"Surely you cannot be pleased with the direction the triplets are taking. A human queen. Human soldiers training beside wolves. Now this charter; giving property rights, council seats, legal protections to creatures who were scrubbing our floors last year."

Sera’s hand paused on the blade. "Creatures."

"You know what I mean." Vesper waved a hand. "They are not like us. They do not think like us. They do not feel pack bonds, cannot shift, cannot hunt. Granting them rights is like granting rights to horses or dogs. Benevolent, perhaps, but ultimately absurd."

Sera set down the dagger. Her eyes were cold enough to freeze fire. "You compared humans to horses."

"I compared their *status* to horses. There is a difference."

"Is there?" Sera leaned back in her chair. "Because from where I’m sitting, you sound exactly like every other noble who has never bled for anything except his own ego."

Vesper’s smile tightened. "I have bled for this kingdom."

"When? During the last war? I don’t remember seeing you on the battlefield." Sera picked up the dagger again, turning it so the light caught the edge. "I remember you in the capital, safe behind stone walls, while my eastern wolves died in the mud."

"You oversimplify..."

"You overestimate your importance." Sera’s voice was flat. "What do you want, Vesper? I don’t have patience for dancing."

"I want you to join our formal protest. Sign your name to the document. Stand with the conservative lords who believe in species hierarchy." He pulled a parchment from his sleeve. "With your eastern pack behind us, the triplets would have to listen."

Sera took the parchment. Read it slowly. Her expression did not change.

Then she set it on the table between them.

"No."

Vesper’s smile faltered. "No?"

"I said no." Sera picked up her dagger again. "I don’t sign documents written by men who hide behind quills while others bleed."

"Lady Sera..."

"You want me to oppose the charter. To stand against the queen. To pretend that I didn’t watch her pull wounded humans from the battlefield while wolf nobles stood on the hill and *watched*." Sera’s voice was flat, dangerous. "I was there, Vesper. Were you?"

He shifted in his chair. "I was managing the capital’s defences."

"You were *hiding*. Like every other lord who talks about hierarchy but never lifts a sword." She stood. "I fought beside Seren. I watched her kill Magnus. Not through trickery or the bond; through *courage*. She earned my respect. She earned my pack’s loyalty. And I will not betray that because you’re afraid of losing your place at the table."

Vesper rose slowly. His face had hardened. "You’re making a mistake. The conservatives won’t forget this. When the charter fails, and it *will* fail, then you’ll find yourself without allies."

Sera stepped close to him. Close enough that he could see the scar across her throat, the reminder of a battle he had only heard about.

"I regret nothing," she said softly. "Including my choice to fight beside her yesterday. Now leave before I forget you’re a lord."

Vesper’s jaw tightened. For a moment, Sera thought he might argue. Then he turned and walked out, his robes swishing against the stone floor.

The door closed behind him.

Sera stood still for a long moment. Then she sat down and resumed sharpening her dagger.

.

.

.

An hour later, Seren found her in the same position.

"I heard Vesper visited you," Seren said from the doorway.

Sera didn’t look up. "News travels fast." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"Lysa saw him leaving. She thought you might have killed him."

"I considered it." Sera tested the blade’s edge against her thumb. A line of red appeared. "But he’s not worth the paperwork."

Seren stepped inside and closed the door. "May I sit?"

"It’s your palace."

Seren sat across from her. "Vesper wanted you to join his protest."

"He wanted me to sign his parchment. To stand against the charter. To pretend that the past year didn’t happen." Sera set down the dagger. "I refused."

"Why?"

Sera finally looked at her. Really looked. "You want the truth?"

"I always want the truth."

"My father taught me that wolves are superior. That humans are beneath us. That hierarchy is nature’s law." Sera’s voice was quiet. "He beat that into me. Literally. I have scars on my back from disagreeing."

Seren said nothing.

"When I came to court, I hated you on principle. You were human. You had no right to stand beside alphas. No right to the bond. No right to anything except the dirt under our feet." Sera paused. "Then I watched you fight. I watched you bleed. I watched you pull wounded soldiers from the field while wearing a crown."

She picked up the dagger again, turned it over in her hands.

"My father was wrong. About a lot of things." She met Seren’s eyes. "I don’t know if I believe in equality. I don’t know if I’ll ever fully trust humans the way I trust wolves. But I know that you’re not an exception to be dismissed. You’re a leader to be followed."

Seren’s throat tightened. "That’s... more than I expected."

"I’m not saying it to be kind." Sera’s voice hardened again. "I’m saying it because Vesper is a coward. He wants to roll back time, pretend the war didn’t happen, pretend humans didn’t save our flank at Eastmere. Pretend *you* didn’t save my life when Magnus’s wolf broke through our lines."

She stood.

"I will not stand with cowards. Not again. My pack fought beside yours. My wolves bled beside yours. And if Vesper wants to fight the charter, he can fight *me*."

Seren stood as well. "You know he won’t stop. He’ll find other allies. He’ll twist the vote. He’ll—"

"Let him." Sera sheathed her dagger. "I’ve survived worse enemies than Lord Vesper. So have you."

The two women stood facing each other. Former enemies. Reluctant allies. Perhaps something more, in time.

"Thank you," Seren said. "For choosing the right side."

Sera shrugged. "Don’t thank me yet. The vote hasn’t happened. And if you fail—"

"I won’t fail."

"Confidence." Sera almost smiled. "I remember when you couldn’t look me in the eye."

"I remember when you threatened to have me whipped."

"You were annoying."

"You were cruel."

They stared at each other. Then Sera laughed—a short, sharp sound that seemed to surprise even her.

"We’re a strange pair," she admitted.

"The strangest," Seren agreed. "But I think we’ll manage."

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.

.

That night, Seren told the triplets about her conversation.

Kael was sceptical. "She refused Vesper? Just like that?"

"Just like that." Seren sat on the edge of their bed. "She said she won’t stand with cowards."

Theron paced by the window. "Sera is many things, but she’s not a liar. If she says she’ll fight beside us, she means it."

"For now," Aeron said quietly. "Until it stops benefiting her."

"Maybe." Seren thought about Sera’s words, her scars, her father. "Or maybe she’s actually changing. People can change, Aeron. I did."

Aeron was silent for a long moment. Then he nodded. "We’ll watch her. But we won’t push her away. Not when we need every ally we can get."

Kael snorted. "Since when do we need *Sera’s* help?"

"Since Vesper started gathering an army of signatures." Theron pulled a parchment from his coat. "I’ve been tracking the protest. He has forty-seven nobles so far. Most are minor lords, but a few are powerful. If Sera had joined him, that number would have jumped to sixty."

Seren looked at the list. "She saved us."

"Maybe." Aeron took the parchment from Theron. "Or maybe she’s playing a longer game. We’ll find out."