Snow Crest, Alistar and Flora’s Cottage.

The night was completely still over Snow Crest.

The sky above the little cottage was clear and dark, scattered with stars and illuminated by a crescent moon.

Flora had fallen asleep easily that evening, the deep sleep of an old woman who had spent the day on her feet, and she had expected to stay that way until morning.

Until she heard a sound.

She stirred in her bed, eyelids fluttering open at the sound of soft, broken sobbing coming from down the hall.

She lay still for a moment, heart already tightening, then pushed the covers aside and slipped her feet into her worn slippers.

The crying grew louder as she walked slowly toward Maya’s room.

When she reached the doorway, she pushed it open and saw her granddaughter, Maya, huddled in the centre of her bed.

The young girl’s small shoulders were shaking as she stared out the window.

Flora’s chest ached at the sight.

"Maya, sweetheart, what is it?" Flora whispered, rushing to the bedside.

She gathered the girl into her arms, pulling the small, trembling body against her chest. Maya was cold to the touch, despite the warmth of the room.

"It is alright. You had a nightmare, that is all. It was just a dream, my little bird."

"Shh, my love, it’s alright," Flora whispered, stroking Maya’s tangled hair. "It’s just a nightmare. It’s gone now. You’re safe."

But Maya shook her head frantically against Flora’s shoulder, her sobs growing sharper, and more desperate.

She pushed back a little, eyes wide and shining with fear that went far deeper than any dream.

Flora frowned, brushing tears from the girl’s cheeks with her thumbs. "What is it, sweetheart? Tell Nana what’s wrong."

Maya pointed to the tablet on the bedside table. Flora fetched it quickly and placed it in her granddaughter’s lap. The girl’s small fingers moved across the screen, trembling.

When Maya turned the tablet around, the message read:

I’m scared of the storm. Take me to the queen.

Flora glanced toward the window. The night was perfectly still. No clouds, no wind, just a calm star-filled sky. She looked back at Maya, confusion knotting her brow.

"There’s no storm, darling. Look, the sky is clear."

Maya only shook her head harder, fresh tears spilling over. Her small hand clutched Flora’s nightdress, gripping tight as if the storm she talked about was already here.

***

Inside the narrow confines of the bathroom stall at Aethelwulf Centralis University, Kira sat on the closed lid of the toilet, her phone glowing brightly on her lap.

She pressed her palms to her cheeks, forcing herself to breathe slowly, in and out, the way she had learned to do when the world felt too heavy.

After a while, she opened her message with Derek and typed:

Where are you?

The auction is starting. People are looking out for you.

Derek, please. You promised.

She hit send on all three messages, but the little status icons stayed grey, showing they weren’t delivered.

Kira stared at the messages until her eyes blurred. Just as she was about to tuck the phone away and try to pull herself together, the outer door of the bathroom swung open.

The click of heels echoed across the marble floor.

Kira instinctively pulled her feet up onto the seat, knees tucked against her chest. She didn’t want anyone, especially not strangers, to see the Queen of the Western Packs hiding in a toilet stall like a frightened child.

"Can you believe this?" a high-pitched voice snapped.

The girl sounded young, likely a Lycan student at the university.

"What a total waste of a Friday night," another girl added. "I could be at the club, but instead, I am standing here because of a lie."

"I knew it was a scam," the first one continued. "That so-called Queen actually thinks she can trick the entire Lycan elite into coming to this pathetic fundraiser by dangling the King’s name like bait."

Kira’s heart hammered against her ribs so hard she was sure they could hear it.

A cold shiver ran down her spine. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to shut out the words, but they still pierced through her.

"Do you think he’ll actually come?" a third voice asked.

"Obviously not," the second replied with a cruel little laugh.

"It’s only someone who doesn’t know the King that would believe he would actually come to this. Look at the royal row, it’s empty."

"If King Derek Wolfe wanted to be here, he would be here. He’s not here. That tells you everything. She probably lied about him coming just to pump up her numbers and get people through the door."

"It’s like having the King in name, but never his heart," the first girl said. "That girl has some balls, I’ll give her that. But how can we trust a liar like her to rule us?"

"I really wonder what the King was thinking, marrying a wolfless runt. An unsophisticated student for that matter."

"Ruby Veyle was a better fit. She looks so good with the King."

"I’m sure whatever is going on between her and the King will come to an end soon. So, he can finally settle with someone we can relate with. Not some werewolf girl who grabs opportunities like a thief." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

The other girls laughed. The sound bounced off the tiles and filled the small space completely.

"I’m leaving," the first one said. "I am not spending another minute of my Friday night watching her pretend to be important. This whole thing is embarrassing."

Kira sat perfectly still, keeping her eyes open because blinking them made it worse.

One tear slipped out anyway.

She pressed the back of her hand against it quickly and caught the next one before it could follow, but her eyes were burning now and her throat had gone tight in that particular way it did when something had landed somewhere deep and real.

Wolfless runt. Liar. Opportunist.

They were not just insults; they were the echoes of her own deepest insecurities.

She had tried so hard to build something, to prove she was worthy of the crown she wore, and in one night, it was all crumbling into the dust.

Then, without warning, a sudden, overwhelming wave of nausea rolled through her.

Her stomach lurched, and she clamped her hand over her mouth, her other arm pressing against her middle, and sat very still until it receded enough to breathe again.

But a strange, terrifying sensation began to spread through her limbs.

It felt as though her veins were suddenly filled with liquid fire. The heat was white-hot, searing through her blood vessels and making her skin feel three sizes too small.

She gasped into her palm, her eyes wide with a new kind of panic. She waited, trembling, until the sound of the clicking heels finally faded and the main door creaked shut.

Only then did Kira let out the trembling breath she had been holding. She lowered her hand, staring at the floor through blurred eyes.

The hurt sat heavy in her chest, but underneath it something else stirred, a slow, burning anger mixed with that strange fire in her blood.

She usually didn’t get angry at those words.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed in her hand, the vibration startling her so much that she nearly dropped it.

It was a text from Jessica.

Kira, where are you? People are heading for the exits! Some of the students are already deleting their names from the membership list. You need to get out here!