Madam bowed deeply the moment she stepped into King Elijah’s private chamber.

The heavy doors shut behind her with a low sound that echoed softly through the room.

King Elijah sat near the fire with one arm resting against the carved arm of his chair. The exhaustion in his face had deepened over the past few days, carving shadows beneath his eyes that no sleep could erase unless his abilities.

Beside him the healer stood.

The woman’s pale robes brushed lightly against the floor as she sorted through several glass vials arranged carefully on the table nearby. The faint scent of herbs and silverroot lingered around her as she prepared whatever she had preparing for King Elijah.

The room was quiet enough that the crackling fire sounded unnaturally loud.

King Elijah lifted his gaze toward Madam slowly. "You asked for urgency," he said calmly.

Madam straightened carefully. "Yes, my king." She agreed.

The healer barely looked up at first. "Has her condition worsened again?" she asked, still focused on what she was doing.

Madam hesitated.

That hesitation alone made King Elijah’s posture shift faintly. "What is it?" he asked sharply.

Madam swallowed once. "Aire and Nate mated last night."

Silence filled the place. Complete silence.

The fire cracked sharply.

The healer’s hands froze over the table.

King Elijah didn’t move at first. His expression remained unreadable, and almost too still.

"What?" The healer mumured, her voice barely above a whisper, ad her fingers slightly trembled.

Madam lowered her eyes briefly. "The mating bond has been completed."

The healer stepped backward so abruptly one of the glass vials nearly tipped from the table. "No..." she whispered immediately.

Her face had drained of color.

King Elijah rose slowly from his chair.

"When?" the healer asked quietly.

"Last night." Madam replied. "Immediately after the great hall meeting."

The healer stared at Madam in visible horror now. "A tribird and a wolf?" she breathed.

Madam looked toward her carefully.

The healer shook her head immediately. She was physically rejecting the reality of the words.

"No," she whispered again. "No, that should not be possible. I gave portions to give to her. Where are they?"

King Elijah’s jaw tightened faintly.

Madam looked between both of them carefully before speaking again. "The bond has been sealed fully."

The healer turned sharply toward King Elijah now. "My king, if this is true—"

"It is true," Madam interrupted quietly. "I saw it myself this morning. I changed her sheets."

The healer’s breathing changed.

King Elijah noticed immediately. His eyes narrowed slightly. "Explain."

The healer looked at him for one long second before looking away.

For the first time since entering the room, Madam noticed genuine fear in the woman’s expression.

King Elijah stepped forward slowly. "What happens if a fae mates a wolf?"

"You both should have given her the portions without stopping." The healer swallowed hard, then continued. "That knowledge of even a tiny fae blood, and a wolf, was forbidden centuries ago." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

King Elijah’s gaze sharpened instantly. "Forbidden by who?" he questioned coldly. Aire was his sons mate for goodness sake. What could the moon goddess be playing at?

The healer hesitated.

Madam watched her carefully now.

The woman’s fingers curled tightly into the sleeves of her robe before she finally answered.

"By the seers before the witches were taken captives, or flee."

A strange silence settled over the chamber afterward.

King Elijah frowned faintly. "The seers?" he repeated. He had no knowledge of that.

The healer nodded once slowly. "In ancient records... before the kingdoms divided fully... There were warnings regarding fae bloodlines binding themselves to wolves. Its almost never supposed to happen."

Madam’s eyes narrowed slightly.

King Elijah’s voice lowered dangerously. "If so, why would the moon goddess mate my sons with a fae?"

The healer looked visibly reluctant to answer. "I don’t know, but as they had said, such bonds altered prophecy itself."

The fire crackled again.

Madam felt her stomach tighten slightly.

King Elijah stared at the woman sharply now. "Speak clearly."

The healer inhaled slowly. "A bonded fae does not simply join with a wolf," she said quietly. "The bond amplifies both bloodlines."

Madam’s expression shifted slightly.

King Elijah’s gaze darkened, visibly furious. Why was everything so complicated lately?

The healer continued carefully now, as though every word itself carried danger. "Fae magic was never meant to mix with wolf instincts permanently. One side always overwhelms the other eventually."

"And which side wins?" King Elijah asked, tone clipped.

The healer looked at him. "We do not know."

Silence followed instantly afterward.

King Elijah moved toward the window slowly.

Outside, thunder rolled faintly across the distant skies again.

The kingdom had barely stabilized after Aire’s imprisonment and release. Wolves still whispered through halls and villages alike.

Fear had already poisoned reason, and now this.

A completed mating bond between a fae and an Alpha heir.

The healer’s voice lowered further. "If the wolves discover this now..."

"They will panic worse," Madam finished quietly.

The healer nodded immediately.

King Elijah remained silent near the window.

Madam studied him carefully.

"They are mates," King Elijah began. "Surely, the wolves wouldn’t expect them to live their days out without bonding."

The healer hesitated again. "I do not believe anyone fully understands what it means."

King Elijah turned back toward her sharply. "That is not an answer."

The healer lowered her eyes briefly. "No. I do not think he understands the danger yet."

Madam frowned faintly. "Danger to who?" she asked quietly.

The healer looked toward her slowly. "To everyone." She said, panicking at the edge of her voice. "That was why I instructed the portions to be administered until I get a reply from the moon goddess about what we should do about this."

The words settled heavily into the room.

King Elijah’s expression darkened immediately afterward.

Madam’s chest tightened faintly. Something about the healer’s reaction suddenly felt wrong and personal.

Madam noticed it instantly. "You already knew this could happen," Madam said quietly.

The healer froze.

King Elijah’s eyes snapped toward her instantly.

The healer recovered too slowly.

Madam stepped forward carefully now. "The potions you gave Aire..." she said slowly. "The ones meant to dull her powers."

The healer remained silent.

Madam’s eyes sharpened. "You weren’t only suppressing her abilities."

King Elijah’s gaze darkened fully now, and he turned sharply.

The healer took one step backward instinctively.

"My king—"

"What else were you suppressing?" King Elijah asked quietly.

The healer’s breathing turned uneven.

The pressure inside the room shifted violently.

Madam noticed the exact moment King Elijah’s wolf moved closer to the surface.

The windows trembled faintly.

"I asked you a question."

The healer lowered her gaze immediately.

"The mating instincts as we know, and portions on them, to turn their hearts against her." she admitted softly. "It isn’t working."

Madam stared at her.

King Elijah’s expression became terrifyingly still.

The healer continued quickly now. "The attraction between them was progressing too rapidly. I feared what would happen if the bond sealed before we understood Aire’s nature." She let out an exhale. "So I turned the wolf’s heart instead with the mark."

King Elijah took one slow step toward her.

The healer’s face paled immediately. "I did it to protect the kingdom."

"Without my permission."

The healer swallowed hard.

Madam watched carefully as fury slowly entered King Elijah’s face.

The healer hurried to continue. "The suppression was weakening already. Their proximity increased resistance to the mixtures."

King Elijah stopped directly before her now.

"And you decided this yourself?"

The healer’s breathing shook slightly. "Yes."

The single word nearly shattered the room.

King Elijah’s claws extended instantly.

Madam inhaled sharply.

The healer stepped backward again immediately. "My king, listen to me carefully. If their bond fully stabilizes before we understand the consequences—"

A violent crack split through the room.

The healer gasped as King Elijah grabbed her throat instantly and slammed her against the nearest pillar.

Glass shattered nearby.

"You dared," King Elijah said quietly, "to interfere with the wolves inside my kingdom?"

The healer clawed weakly at his wrist. "My king—"

"You manipulated my people, and made them more unreasonable."

The pressure inside the chamber intensified violently now.

Madam remained still.

King Elijah’s eyes glowed faintly beneath the dim firelight. "You kept information from me while this kingdom tears itself apart."

The healer struggled for breath. "It was necessary—"

King Elijah tightened his grip slightly. "There is nothing necessary about treachery."

The healer’s eyes widened in panic. "My king... if the wolves discover what Aire truly is now..."

King Elijah’s grip paused slightly. "They already know." He growled at her face. "And they must accept her."

The healer breathed shakily. "She is not only fae."

Silence crashed into the room.

Madam frowned instantly.

King Elijah’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

The healer swallowed painfully before whispering. "She carries royal blood."

The room went still.

King Elijah slowly loosened his grip just enough for her to breathe. "What did you say?"

The healer coughed once violently. Then she finally looked directly at him. "Aire is descended from the last fae royal bloodline, and she’s a descendant of the last pure blooded witches."

Madam’s breath caught sharply.

King Elijah stared at the woman, genuinely shaken.

"The portions were necessary." The healer cleared her throat. "Why did you stop it?"