<i>Zephyrine </i>


    :..


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    I arrived at Luna Tahlia’s abode that bright morning to stop. I had taken my bath, changed my clothes, and tried to rx, but I felt nothing like peace.


    I knocked at the door, and as though she had been waiting for me, it flew open and she appeared in the doorway, horror written across her face.


    Our gazes met for a moment before I looked past her to the maid carrying young ck. I bypassed Luna Tahlia and took the baby gently from the maid.


    The little hand tangled in my hair as he always did; his soft coos soothed my chest in a strange, immediate way, and I smiled, softly.


    Then the old verdict surfaced in my mind. The moon goddess’s curse that I could not bear children until I found my second mate.


    I sighed now, wondering about the talk of prophecy. The council members had murmured it once and I’d called it bluff. My aunt had repeated it and I would call it bluff too. Yet the doubt still pricked.


    I handed the maid young ck carefully; she epted him and excused herself from the small, cozy living room. Slowly I turned to see the true Luna of ckbridge pack standing there, staring at me awed, wondering, in utter disbelief.


    “Your brother is the wounded warrior Ka sold to ckwater?” she asked, and I swallowed. “My gods, Varyn Ashmere… is the one she sold?” <fn7575> Readplete version only at find{n}ovel</fn7575>


    She could not believe it even as she spoke. She stepped closer to me.


    “I’m sure Ka never knew who he truly was. I… I am so sorry, Alpha Zephyrine.” Her words washed over me, but I hade for another reason.


    “You know Warrior June?” I asked.


    Her brow creased in surprise.


    “He’s themander of the ckbridge army”


    “He is going to be executed tomorrow morning at the market square. His offense is he refused to lead a battle to ughter the Lycan King and me, because he would not repay me for standing up for Luna Tahlia by dueling a rogue to the death.”


    1 paused to watch her reaction. She paled.


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    “Now I know you won’t be able to do anything but watch him die. I can’t save him. An Alpha has limits when ites to another pack’s affairs but you are the true Luna of ckbridge. Your presence alone can not only save him but restore your right. He will be hanged tomorrow. I came to warn you that his blood could be on your hands, not mine.”


    She reddened with grief, but I did not wait for her tears. I turned to leave, but her voice caught <ol><li>me. </li></ol>


    “Everyone believes I left ckbridge the moment I caught my husband in bed with a woman. No. I stayed and watched it all. I had to endure it for my son.” Her shoulders sagged under the grief she had kept hidden. “Ka returned from her so–called mission and walked into my husband’s bed. I had to swallow that humiliation while newly delivered. She only came to host the party for Young ck’s naming ceremony, but she crawled into ck’s life in disguise.”


    Bitterness etched her words; tears shimmered in her eyes.


    “I know ck is manipted. I know Ka is evil. I know her father plots and her mother is colder than ice. Destruction follows them. Little by little she began to issue orders and act in my ce. I tried to save my marriage. I went to the council but no one stepped forward. Instead, they gave Ka more power, and the next day she threatened me if I tried to block her, she’d exile my son to the worst reaches of this shifter empire. I have no one but my old mother. I had to flee for my life. For my son’s life.”


    She stepped closer and asked, voice trembling,


    “I was betrothed to ck since childhood. We are not mated. My father and my father–inw were best friends. I was trained in the etiquette and the ways to lead my people,” she swallowed and shook her head. “But I was never taught how to endure the threat to my child’s life. For Young ck… I will not fight.”


    Goosebumps rose along my skin. I could not share her exact fear for a son, but I understood the bone–deep terror. She had one child; she had resigned herself to the loneliness of a widow and single mother.


    I searched her eyes and felt the need to offer a solid backup. What solid backup did she need more than me? No. What did she and I need more than the Lycan Kingdom?


    I took her hand; my chest heaved as I spoke.


    “I know a man who answers threats with death. He answers disorder with order. He is a king, and he is merciful when he chooses to be.” I squeezed her hand, firm. “What if I promise you that I and this king will stand behind you? What will you do?”


    17:18 Thu, Sep 18 <b>d</b>.


    :


    It was as though she had been waiting for that question all her life.


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    “Then I’ll take the next carriage and appear at the market square tomorrow morning to save Warrior June, who is still my ally, and to save the pack that belongs to my son.”


    My heart swelled at the fire in her eyes. I stepped back toward the door, calling over my shoulder.


    “A carriage will be ready for you tomorrow. ckbridge is yours, Luna Tahlia. Young ck’s birthright. Gone are the days when we were soft enough to let Ka steal what was ours. Not anymore.”


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