The first person to knock me flat before my eighteenth birthday was my father. I lay there for a second, staring at the sky, before I let out a groan. "Seriously?" He lowered his practice sword and held out his hand. "You dropped your guard." "I was distracted." "You were showing off." I grabbed his hand and let him pull me up, brushing the dirt off my sleeve. "I wasn't." His eyebrow went up. I sighed. "Fine. Maybe a little." A smile tugged at his mouth. That was my father. He always saw through me. I picked my sword back up, and that's when I noticed how quiet the training yard had gone. I looked toward the balcony. A few guards were pretending not to watch us. Luca wasn't even bothering to pretend. He stood against one of the stone pillars, arms crossed, grinning like he was enjoying every second of it. "You're enjoying this," I called up to him. "Immensely." I pointed my sword at him. "Come down here." "No." "Coward." "Princess." "Luca." "Evelyn." My father cleared his throat. "Are you two finished?" "She's not," Luca said. I glared at him. He grinned wider. And I couldn't help smiling either, because that was Luca. My brother. My absolute nightmare. He'd been there for as long as I could remember. We fought, we argued, we competed over the dumbest things, and sometimes we actually acted like normal siblings. We didn't share blood. It never mattered. He was just Luca. My brother. Anyone who said otherwise would've gotten laughed at. My father sheathed his sword. "Training is over." "Finally." I tossed my practice sword aside and turned to go. "Evelyn." Something in his voice made me stop. When I turned back, the amusement was gone from his face. "Wear the white dress tonight." I frowned. "Why?" "Because I asked you to." "That isn't an answer." "It is when I'm your father." He smiled, just a little. "Go." I didn't like that answer. But I knew better than to push, so I went. --- By sunset, the palace was packed. Nobles. Warriors. Alphas from neighboring territories. Even families I hadn't seen in years suddenly remembered how much they loved the royal family. Funny how that happens. I stood in front of the mirror while Aria fought with the back of my dress. "Stop moving." "I've been standing here forever." "Five minutes." "Feels like forever." She got the last clasp in place and stepped back. The white dress fell to my ankles, clean and simple, nothing like what I wore in the training yard. I turned to face her. "How do I look?" "Like trouble." "Perfect." She laughed, but it faded fast. "Are you nervous?" I hesitated. "A little." "About tonight?" "About everything." She knew what I meant. My eighteenth birthday. My first shift. My mate. The future everyone had been talking about for months. Who would I find? A warrior? A noble? An alpha? Whoever he was, his life was about to change. So was mine. He'd become part of the royal family. One day he'd stand beside me as king. I wanted that. Just not with a stranger who happened to share my fate. I wanted to actually love him. Aria squeezed my hand. "You'll be fine." "You don't know that." "I know you." She said it like that was enough. The door opened before I could answer. Luca leaned against the frame, dressed in black. His eyes moved over my dress, and for once, no joke followed. "You look beautiful." "Careful," I said. "People might think you actually like me." "I tolerate you." "Liar." He rolled his eyes and held out his arm instead. "Come on. Father wants everyone in the great hall." I looped my arm through his, and we walked down the corridor together. Then I noticed the guards weren't standing where they usually did. There were more of them. The doors to the great hall had twice as many warriors outside as normal. "What's happening?" I asked. Luca glanced at them. "I don't know." That worried me more than anything. Luca always knew everything. We walked into the great hall, and hundreds of eyes turned toward me. My mother stood beside my father on the raised platform. The royal council was there. So were the heads of the noble families. My stomach tightened. My father stepped forward, and the hall went silent. "Tonight, my daughter turns eighteen." Applause broke out. I smiled. Then he kept talking. "And tonight, the future of this kingdom will be decided." The applause died. I looked at him. My mother was smiling. Beside me, Luca's arm slipped out of mine. My father turned to me. "Evelyn Faye. Step forward." My heart started pounding. I walked toward him, one step, then another, and it felt like the whole kingdom was watching me do it. He lifted the crown off the table beside him. "From this day forward, Evelyn Faye is the official heir to the Lycan throne." Silence. Complete silence. Then the hall broke apart. Some people cheered. Others just stood there, frozen. And somewhere behind me, someone muttered, "But she's a woman." I turned to look at Luca. He wasn't smiling anymore. I couldn't tell what he was thinking. I had just become the heir. I didn't know yet that someone would kill for that crown. And I definitely didn't know that before the night was over, I'd meet the man who was supposed to become my mate. The man who would one day stand beside me as king. The man I would lose before I ever understood how much that loss would cost me.

The celebration was still going when I realized Luca was missing. I'd seen him only a few minutes ago. Now he was nowhere. I scanned the great hall again and came up empty. "Have you seen Luca?" I asked Aria. She shook her head. "Not since the announcement." That didn't sit right with me. Luca loved parties. He loved food, music, embarrassing me in front of important people. He wouldn't just vanish. "I'll find him." I slipped away from the crowd. The balcony was empty. So was the training corridor. I finally headed for the gardens, and the second I stepped through the doors, I heard voices. I slowed down. Angelina. And Luca. I was about to call out when his voice stopped me cold. "I thought I was going to be King." Something in the way he said it made me freeze where I stood. I moved closer instead of calling out. They were standing beneath the old oak tree. Angelina had her arms wrapped around him, his face pressed into her shoulder, his shoulders shaking. He was crying. My chest tightened at the sight of it - I had never once seen my brother cry. Not when he broke his arm at twelve. Not when Father caught him sneaking into the royal stables. Not even when he failed his first combat trial. Never. Angelina ran her fingers through his hair. "You don't have to hold it in with me." "I know." His voice cracked. "I just-" He swallowed hard. "I spent my whole life believing it would be mine." She didn't interrupt him. "The throne," he whispered. "I trained for it before I even understood what it meant." His hand curled into the back of her dress. "Father taught me politics. The council taught me diplomacy. I trained with every commander in this kingdom." A shaky laugh broke out of him. "I knew every rule. Every tradition. Every expectation." Angelina held him tighter. "And I thought one day-" He stopped. His voice broke clean in half. "One day I'd stand beside Evelyn and rule with her." My eyes burned. I stayed where I was. Luca pulled back just far enough to wipe his face. "I don't blame her." Angelina looked up at him. "She didn't ask for this." "I know." "She didn't steal anything from you." "I know." His eyes filled again. "But I'm jealous of her. I hate that about myself." "You don't have to." "I do." He glanced toward the palace, his voice dropping even lower. "Everyone in there is celebrating her. And I'm standing out here wondering why it wasn't me." Angelina stepped in closer. "Luca." "I love her." "I know." "She has no idea how much." "I know that too." He let out a broken sort of laugh. "Then why do I feel like this?" "Because you're hurt." "I shouldn't be. She's happy." Angelina reached up and touched his cheek. "And you're allowed to be sad while she's happy. You don't have to choose between loving your sister and grieving what you lost." He looked at her for a long moment, then dropped his forehead against hers. "I don't deserve you." "You say that every time you get emotional." A small laugh slipped out of him. "Because it's true." "No." She kissed his forehead. "Because you're dramatic." That actually got a smile out of him, and she pulled him back into her arms. That was when I stepped forward. "Luca." They both froze. He pulled away from her fast. "Evelyn-" I walked toward him. His eyes were red, and I made a point of not staring at them. I looked at Angelina instead. "Thank you." She nodded once. Then I turned back to my brother. "You should have told me." "I didn't want to ruin your night." "You didn't." I paused. "I heard everything." His shoulders dropped. "Evelyn-" I reached for his hand. "Look at me." He did. I swallowed the lump sitting in my throat. "I promise you - I'll give you the throne." His eyes went wide. "No." "Yes." "Evelyn, don't-" "I never wanted it in the first place." "You don't mean that." "I do." I squeezed his hand. "You've spent your whole life preparing for this. You deserve it." "So do you." "No." I shook my head. "I don't. You're my brother. You were born for this." His eyes filled again. "I'll talk to Father," I said. "I'll talk to the council too. I'll convince everyone." "You can't just-" "I will." He looked over at Angelina, and she gave him a small, steady smile before turning to me. "Don't make a promise you can't keep." I met her eyes. "I'll keep it." Then I looked back at Luca. "You're going to be King." He couldn't get any words out. I pulled him into a hug instead, and he held on tight. For one moment, we were just brother and sister again, nothing else. Then I stepped back. "I need to find Father." "Evelyn." His voice was quiet now. "Thank you." "Always." I left them there under the tree, with no idea yet that this promise would become one of the most important moments of our lives. --- The great hall was even louder by the time I got back. I searched for my father near the council - not there. Beside my mother - not there either. I pushed through another cluster of nobles. "Where is he?" I turned toward the far side of the room, and then it hit me. One breath was all it took. A deep, musky scent cut straight through the perfume and wine filling the hall - warm, earthy, clean, with something wild underneath it that didn't belong to the flowers decorating the room or the hundreds of people around me. My Lycan stirred, hard. My breath caught in my chest, and my heart started pounding. I didn't know what I was looking for. I only knew I had to find it. I took a step. The scent got stronger. I took another, and my skin prickled - something inside me pulling, not gently, like an invisible thread had hooked under my ribs and was dragging me through the crowd. My Lycan pushed forward, straining toward it. "What is happening?" I barely heard my own voice. People moved past me on every side, but I couldn't focus on any of them. All I could smell was him. I followed the scent past the musicians, past the warriors, past a knot of laughing nobles. Then I saw him. He stood near the far end of the hall - tall, broad-shouldered, his dark hair a little messy, like he'd spent more time training than worrying about how he looked. He wore a plain black military uniform, none of the extra decoration most nobles liked to wear. Simple. Sharp. His hands hung at his sides, his expression calm. Until he looked at me. The second our eyes met, everything changed. His nostrils flared. His whole body went rigid. My Lycan slammed against my chest so hard it nearly knocked the breath out of me, and for one moment the world just disappeared - no music, no voices, no celebration. Only him. His scent filled my lungs. My pulse thundered in my ears. Heat rushed through me all at once. Then my Lycan said one word inside my head. *Mate.* My breath stopped completely. Across the crowded hall, his eyes went wide. He knew it too. Neither of us moved. Neither of us looked away. For the first time in my life, I understood what it meant for instinct to recognize someone before your heart even caught up. He was my mate. And I didn't even know his name.

I couldn't move. Neither could he. Garret stood across the hall, his eyes fixed on mine. My heart was still pounding from the moment our scents had collided, and my Lycan wouldn't settle - if anything, it grew more restless the longer I stood there. *Go to him.* I swallowed. Maybe I should. Maybe that was just what happened now - you found your mate, and you walked to him. So I took one step. Garret's expression shifted. Hope, quick and unguarded, gone almost as soon as I saw it. He took a step toward me too. Then another. The crowd seemed to part between us without anyone asking them to. I couldn't hear the whispers anymore. I could only see him. His scent grew stronger with every step. My chest felt strangely warm. He was almost there. Then I saw my father. He stood near the council doors, looking straight at me, and Luca's promise came rushing back. *I'll talk to Father.* I hesitated. Garret stopped where he was, his eyes searching my face. I looked from him to my father, who raised his hand slightly - waiting. I made my choice. I turned away from Garret. I didn't see his expression fall. I didn't see his hand curl slowly into a fist. I didn't see the hope drain out of his eyes. I only heard my Lycan whine as I walked toward my father instead. --- "What happened?" I asked. My father looked at me. "What do you mean?" "Luca." His expression hardened right away. "I already told you." "I know what you told me." "Then why are we having this conversation again?" "Because I won't accept it." His jaw tightened. "Evelyn." "You can't expect me to stand there and take a crown that was supposed to be his." "It was never supposed to be his." "That isn't what you told him." "I told him he was being prepared for leadership." "Because you expected him to become King." "I expected him to become whatever the kingdom needed." "That isn't fair." His eyes flashed. "Fair?" His voice dropped low. "Do you think ruling a kingdom is about what's fair?" I fell silent. He stepped closer. "You think because you love your brother, you can simply hand him the throne?" "I think because I love him, I should." "You don't understand what you're saying." "I understand perfectly." "No, you don't." His voice sharpened. "You've spent your entire life being prepared for this moment. You know the laws. You know our history. You know what happens when succession gets questioned." "I also know Luca." "And that's exactly why you're thinking with your heart instead of your head." I crossed my arms. "Maybe my heart isn't wrong." He just stared at me. For a moment, neither of us said anything. Then he sighed. "My decision is made." "Then change it." "No." "Father-" "No." His answer was final. "You are my heir." "I don't want it." "That doesn't matter." "It matters to me." "And one day you'll understand why it can't." I shook my head. "You don't get to decide what I want." "And you don't get to decide what an entire kingdom wants." His words stung. I looked away. He kept going. "You want to convince the council?" "Yes." "You want to convince the nobles?" "Yes." "You want to convince the warriors?" "Yes." He stepped aside. "Then do it." I looked at him. His expression had gone cold. "Convince every person who has a voice in this kingdom. Convince them that bloodline, tradition, and years of preparation mean nothing." I clenched my hands. "And if I do?" His eyes met mine. "My decision still won't change." I stared at him. "Then what's the point?" "You wanted to try." His voice softened just slightly. "So try." I had nothing left to say. I turned and walked away, my mind already racing - the council, the nobles, the warriors. There had to be a way through this, and I would find it. I had to. I'd promised Luca. And I never broke promises to my family. --- I stepped back into the great hall. The celebration was still going - music, laughter, everyone talking over everyone else - but I barely noticed any of it. I was already thinking about who to speak to first. Then I felt it. That scent. My body reacted before my mind caught up, and I stopped where I stood. Warm. Musky. Earthy. The same scent that had turned my entire world upside down minutes ago. I looked up slowly. Garret. He stood on the other side of the hall, and he wasn't smiling anymore. His eyes found mine immediately, and something in my chest twisted at what I saw there. Not anger. Not accusation. Hurt. I remembered it all at once - him coming toward me, and me walking away. His gaze dropped for a moment, then came back to mine. He didn't move. Neither did I. My Lycan pushed against my ribs. *Go to him.* I couldn't. Not yet. I had just promised Luca I'd fight for his future. But looking into Garret's eyes, I understood something I hadn't let myself see until now. I had already hurt my mate. And he didn't even know why.