The Lycan King's Second Chance Mate: Rise of the Traitor's Daughter-Chapter 137: At All Cost

Griffin~

Cole Lucky’s mansion was the kind of place that echoed with silence no matter how many people were inside. I leaned against the window frame, staring out at the courtyard where Natalie and Jacob stood, heads bent close together like they were plotting the downfall of empires—which, knowing what they were, they probably were.

I closed my eyes, steadied my breath, and opened the mind link. The familiar hum vibrated in the back of my skull until I found the thread I was looking for.

"Father? Grandfather? You there?"

The response came a heartbeat later, like thunder snapping across the mental plane.

"Griffin?" my father’s voice roared, slicing through the quiet like a blade. "Where the hell have you been?!"

Before I could answer, a deeper, slower voice cut in like a cloak of smoke and fire.

"Where have you been for the past five days? You were supposed to check in," my grandfather’s voice was cool and commanding as ever. "The mission—what happened? I tried everything to find you. Used my Sight. Called to the spirits. Even burned a hawk feather at midnight. Nothing. You vanished, child."

I swallowed hard. My throat felt like sandpaper. I couldn’t tell them the truth—not the part where I actually died, or how I literally woke up in the spirit realm, or the fact that a demon and the literal god of darkness were out there searching for me.

So, I lied.

"I’ve been working," I said, my voice firm despite the ache in my chest. "On Natalie. On everything we talked about. It hasn’t been easy, but I’m in. I’m with her right now."

My father and grandfather suddenly went quiet. For a second, I thought they weren’t buying it.

Then, my father let out a long breath, pride replacing the anger in his voice.

"Good. That’s good, son."

"Very good," Grandfather echoed, calmer now. "The stars shift in our favor then. This changes things. Our plans have just become... simpler."

I could hear the smugness in his tone, and for once, it didn’t bother me. My lie had worked.

"Don’t lose her, Griffin," my father said, voice like steel on stone. "Not this time. I don’t care what it takes. Win her back. Use whatever charm you’ve got left in that arrogant skull of yours. She’s key to our family’s success."

I almost laughed. If only they knew how much charm I’d wasted already.

"I won’t lose her," I promised, pressing my fingers to the glass. Outside, Natalie tossed her hair over her shoulder and laughed at something Jacob said. Goddess help me, that laugh made my knees weak.

Then came the real punch.

"You need to up your game," my father continued. "Cole Lucky is at the palace as we speak."

My heart stopped.

"Wait—what? At the palace? With the King?" I blinked, pulling away from the window like the words had slapped me. "Why the hell is he there?"

"We don’t know," Father said. And that made something crawl down my spine.

My grandfather’s voice came in low, wary. "That’s what troubles me. I should have seen it in the flames. In the water. In the bones. But there was nothing. Just static. A void."

A chill danced across my skin.

"You’re saying you—you—couldn’t see Cole Lucky’s visit coming?"

He didn’t answer right away. When he did, his voice was smaller. Still powerful. But shaken.

"I have a bad feeling about him, Griffin. A storm brews behind his smile. Something ancient. And wrong."

I clenched my jaw hard. I hated feeling powerless—like watching a match burn down to your fingers and knowing you lit it yourself. And now Cole was circling the palace like a vulture, and we had no idea what he was after.

"He’s getting close to the King," I said, my voice low. "That’s not a coincidence. You know it. I know it."

Grandfather’s voice cut in, rough with concern, the kind of fear he rarely ever showed. "The King just handed him something dangerous. We went to him with your uncle’s case, and to our complete dismay, he put Cole in charge of the investigation of princess Katrina’s death."

The words made me stubble backwards.

"What?"

"He’ll start asking questions," Grandfather continued, slower now. "Digging deep. And if he hasn’t figured it out yet... he might soon. That Natalie is Katrina’s daughter and he might connect that she’s the celestial princess."

My stomach twisted.

Damn it.

Come to think of it, all the gods were literally crashing in Cole’s house. If Natalie hadn’t already shown her true form around Cole... then she was walking a tightrope without even realizing it. And if he had put the pieces together—that would explain everything. Why he was suddenly buddy-buddy with the King. Why he was everywhere we weren’t.

But I didn’t tell them that.

Didn’t tell them I already suspected Cole knew who Natalie was. That maybe... he’d known for a while.

I kept that fear to myself.

Grandfather’s voice dropped into something heavier, more urgent. "Which is why you need to move. Fast. Win Natalie back. Before she binds herself to someone else. Before Cole makes a move we can’t undo."

A sharp pang stabbed through my chest. Natalie. Tied to him? That thought alone nearly made my wolf rip through my skin.

"I’ll do it," I swore. My voice came out lower now. Fierce. "I’ll stay by her side. I’ll show her I’ve changed. That she means everything to me. And when the time comes—she’ll choose me."

The link went quiet for a few seconds. Then my father spoke, the same tone he used when handing me a blade during training.

"Then don’t screw this up, son."

"I won’t," I said, stepping back into the light pouring through the window. "Not this time."

I cut the link, heart thundering in my chest.

Natalie was still outside with Jacob. She tossed her head back again and laughed, the sound drifting through the open pane like music made just for me. But I could see it now—the glimmer in her eyes wasn’t all mischief. There was something deeper.

Something real.

I wasn’t just fighting to undo a mistake.

I was fighting to win the heart of the celestial princess.

And I’d burn the world down before I let anyone—especially Cole Lucky—take her away from me.