After the abrupt ending of breakfast, King Elijah led his sons into his study room, furious with everything that had just happened.

King Elijah did not sit.

The door had barely closed behind them before he turned.

His gaze locked on Nate first. "Explain yourself."

Nate did not hesitate. He parted his lips, and spoke immediately. "I had the right to." There was no apology in his voice, no hesitation, and no second thought.

His posture remained relaxed, almost careless, but his eyes held something sharp beneath it.

"I wasn’t going to sit there," Nate continued, "and watch him insult my mate."

King Elijah’s jaw tightened.

"Your mate?" he repeated slowly. "And that gives you the right to dismiss a man who funds half this court?"

"It gives me the right to decide what I tolerate," Nate replied flatly.

The air thickened.

Alaric shifted slightly, his gaze flickering between them.

Xanden didn’t move. He simply watched them.

King Elijah stepped forward. "Do you understand what you’ve done?" His voice dropped. "Do you understand the consequence of removing Rowanfall from this court? I only supported you not to embarrass you before everyone."

Nate leaned forward towards his father. "I understand exactly what I did." he didn’t look away. "And I would do it again."

The air between them became sharp. Both had their wolves growling at the edges and refusing to back down.

Before either of them would snap, Xanden broke the tension. "Reports came in last night." His voice cut through the room cleanly.

All attention shifted to him.

He didn’t wait for permission.

"Torak intercepted information from the outer territories," he continued. "Humans have gotten their hands on substances... compounds that interfere with our physiology of healing, or transforming."

King Elijah’s gaze hardened. He stepped away from Nate, and turned to Xanden. "Explain."

"They can prevent healing," Xanden said. "And in some cases... block shifting entirely."

Alaric’s posture straightened.

Nate blinked once. For the first time, he looked unsettled as he had never predicted this.

"They’re planning something," Xanden added. "This isn’t accidental. It’s been coordinated for years now."

"They’ve been aware of our existence for years," Alaric said, stepping in. "We only kept them forgetful. The veil didn’t hide us completely. It simply blurred us and now with it gone, there might be a war with humans as they would hate us in the same realm with them." His gaze darkened.

Nate exhaled slowly. "This is bad."

The understatement hung in the air.

King Elijah took two steps back. His gaze dropped to the floor, thinking, and calculating.

"And you just banished Alpha Rowanfall," he said quietly. "Choosing Aire caused the veil to drop," he continued, almost to himself. "And now... we’ve lost one of the strongest financial pillars of this court."

His eyes lifted again, sharply towards his sons.

"How do you expect us to fund a war," he asked, "if it comes... without his backing?"

No one answered immediately. There was no easy answer.

Alaric swallowed. The sound was quiet, but noticeable. He stepped forward slightly.

"There’s something we haven’t told you."

That pulled King Elijah’s full attention. His gaze sharpened instantly. "Speak."

Alaric hesitated for half a second. Then looked at his brothers. Nate gave a small nod. Xanden didn’t move, but he didn’t stop him either.

Alaric exhaled slowly.

"We didn’t choose Aire just to spite the council elders."

King Elijah’s expression didn’t change. "Then explain what you did."

Alaric’s gaze dropped briefly, then lifted again. "We chose her," he said, "because she was the safest option."

King Elijah frowned.

"The weakest," Alaric clarified. "Wolfless with no house and no political weight."

Xanden folded his arms.

"We thought it would stabilize things," he added. "No alliances. No power struggles. No house gaining advantage over another."

King Elijah let out a quiet, humorless breath. "You’re saying nonsense." His tone sharpened. "Choosing from the royal houses each would have secured loyalty, strength and structure."

Nate shook his head. "You’re still thinking like this was a political decision." He said with humor.

King Elijah’s gaze snapped to him. "It was."

"No," Nate said calmly. "It stopped being one the moment we got out of that car."

"Aire is our mate. We felt it immediately," Nate continued. "The bond and the pull." His jaw tightened slightly. "We wanted to bully her into rejecting us, since we couldn’t reject her, as future leaders of the realm. However, we couldn’t. Our wolves refused gravely. You know what that means."

King Elijah didn’t respond. His eyes simply darkened.

"You also know," Nate added, "we cannot reject a true mate. Not with what we are. Not without consequences."

Alaric stepped in quietly.

"We tried."

That made King Elijah still.

"Tried?" he repeated.

Nate let out a slow breath. "We stayed in the car longer than necessary," he said. "You noticed it."

King Elijah’s eyes narrowed. He had.

"You thought we were delaying for effect," Nate continued. "We weren’t."

His voice dropped. "We were trying to break it."

The room went still.

Xanden finally moved. Just slightly, as he had remembered something. "We pushed it down," he said quietly. "Forced it back."

Alaric’s throat tightened. "It didn’t hold."

King Elijah’s gaze moved between them. "Explain yourselves properly. Damn it."

Nate’s eyes darkened. "We couldn’t breathe. I guess the Moon goddess planned to kill us if we refused in any way."

His fingers curled slightly at his sides. "The closer we got to walking away from her... the worse it became."

Alaric’s voice came quieter. "It felt like something was... correcting us."

King Elijah stilled.

Xanden nodded once. "It wasn’t just the bond," he said. "It was the realm."

King Elijah’s posture shifted. "What do you mean?"

Nate stepped forward slightly. "The realm needs her. Now that we know that she’s a tribrid, that would mean more than just her being cursed. Being Luna is enough political power for her to protect the realm of she can."

King Elijah didn’t answer.

King Elijah’s mind moved. "The Moon Goddess," he said quietly.

Xanden shook his head. "Not entirely."

That made Elijah look at him again.

"The bond wasn’t reacting like a blessing," Xanden continued. "We are cursed with her. Remember the prophecy you told us you got when we were four? We fear that she’s the fulfillment of it."

Alaric didn’t look away. "If we didn’t choose her..." He paused. "...the bond wouldn’t just reject us. It would have killed her."

Nate’s voice followed. "That we were sure of. It was inevitable."

King Elijah took a slow step back.

His mind rearranged everything.

"Are you saying..." he began carefully, "...that she wasn’t chosen that night?"

Nate shook his head. "She was chosen long before that. You would have known this if you weren’t so busy being political."

The implication settled.

Alaric spoke again. "And when we accepted her..." His gaze flickered slightly between his brothers. "The veil broke. Because of what she is."

King Elijah’s hand moved slowly to the edge of the table. He steadied himself.

King Elijah exhaled slowly. Then finally, he spoke in light grief. "What have you brought into this realm?"

It was a rhetorical question.