Liam's POV
The pack house had never felt smaller.
Liam had spent an entire month inside these walls pretending to be nothing more than a visiting king observing another territory. He had watched their routines, their training, their hierarchy.
And most importantly…
He had watched Katie.
At first, it had only been curiosity. A strange pull he couldn't explain. An omega who carried herself with quiet strength despite the way the others treated her.
But the moment Kael had recognized her scent…
Everything changed.
Now there was no doubt.
Katie was his mate.
And after last night, everything had accelerated.
Her first shift should have happened in safety. Surrounded by guidance, elders, and wolves who would protect her while her body learned what it meant to become something stronger.
Instead, she had been forced to face it alone in the forest.
The thought still made Kael snarl inside him.
She should already be in our territory.
Liam agreed.
And that was exactly what he intended to fix.
He walked through the halls of the pack house with steady steps. Wolves moved aside immediately when they saw him coming.
Some lowered their heads.
Others simply froze.
Respect. Fear. Curiosity.
Being the Lycan King came with all three.
At the end of the hall stood the council room.
Two guards opened the doors the moment they saw him approach.
Inside, Alpha Kingston sat at the head of the long table.
His Betas and advisors filled the seats beside him.
They all rose immediately.
"Your Majesty," Kingston greeted.
Liam gave a short nod before stepping further into the room.
"I came to discuss a member of your pack."
Kingston leaned back in his chair, folding his arms.
"And who would that be?"
"Katie."
The reaction was immediate.
Confusion crossed several faces.
Kingston blinked.
Then he laughed.
"Oh," he said dismissively. "You mean the little omega."
A couple of wolves chuckled quietly.
Liam's expression didn't change.
But the air in the room suddenly felt heavier.
"Her name," he said calmly, "is Katie."
The laughter died instantly.
Kingston shrugged.
"Very well. Katie then. What about her?"
"She shifted last night."
Silence dropped over the room.
One of the Betas frowned.
"That's not possible."
Another wolf leaned forward.
"That omega still doesn't have a wolf."
Liam met Kingston's eyes.
"She does now."
The words rippled through the council table.
Kingston scoffed.
"You're mistaken."
"I'm not."
"And how exactly would you know that?"
Because I was there.
Because she ran into my arms afterward.
Because my wolf recognized her as ours.
But Liam didn't say any of that.
Instead he stepped closer to the table.
"She isn't safe in this pack."
Kingston's eyes narrowed.
"She's an omega," he said flatly. "They're not meant to be safe."
Kael's growl rumbled deep in Liam's chest.
The sound made several wolves shift nervously in their chairs.
Liam's voice turned cold.
"That mindset is exactly the problem."
Kingston's lip curled slightly.
"So what are you suggesting, Your Majesty?"
Liam didn't hesitate.
"I'm taking her with me."
The words slammed into the room like thunder.
Kingston shot to his feet.
"You're what?"
"He sighs, I don't like repeating myself.... I'm taking Katie to the Lycandom."
"You can't just take a member of my pack!"
Liam tilted his head slightly.
"I can."
"And why would the Lycan King concern himself with some useless omega?"
The room went very still.
Liam looked directly at him.
Then he spoke the truth that shattered everything.
"Because she is my mate."
Gasps broke out immediately.
"That's impossible—"
"An omega?"
"No way—"
Kingston stared at him in disbelief.
"You're serious."
Liam's eyes flashed gold.
"She is my mate."
Then he added the words that sealed it.
"And your future queen."
"FUTURE QUEEN!!????"
Chaos erupted.
But Liam was already turning toward the door.
The conversation was over.
Katie was leaving with him.
Whether this pack liked it or not.
---
Lucian's POV
Night had fully fallen by the time Liam reached the forest.
The moon hung low between the branches, casting silver light across the quiet clearing.
He could still smell her here.
Vanilla and roses.
Stronger now.
Alive.
Kael stirred restlessly.
She was here.
Liam nodded slightly.
"I know."
But Katie wasn't the only presence lingering in the air.
There was something else.
Something ancient.
Something cold.
The scent wasn't wolf.
And it definitely wasn't human.
A voice echoed softly from the darkness.
"So…"
The word drifted through the trees like silk.
"The Lycan King finally makes his move."
Liam turned slowly.
A figure stepped from the shadows.
Tall.
Dark hair.
Crimson eyes that gleamed faintly in the moonlight.
Lucian.
Even before the name formed in his mind, Kael had already recognized what stood before them.
Vampire.
Not just any vampire.
Cold.
Dangerous.
Lucian studied Liam with mild amusement.
"I've heard quite a lot about you."
Liam didn't move.
"And I've felt quite a lot about you."
Lucian's smile widened slightly.
"Oh?"
Liam's voice remained calm.
"You've been near my mate."
The words carried a clear warning.
Lucian chuckled softly.
"Your mate, is she?"
"Yes."
The vampire tilted his head, studying him more carefully now.
"Interesting."
"Stay away from her."
Lucian laughed again, though this time there was a sharper edge beneath the sound.
"That may be difficult."
Kael bristled.
Liam's eyes darkened.
"Explain."
Lucian took a slow step forward.
The moonlight revealed something unsettling in his expression.
Not hostility.
Not fear.
Something far more complicated.
"Because," he said lightly, "your mate already found me."
Liam's muscles tensed.
"When."
Lucian's gaze drifted upward toward the moon.
"A few nights ago."
Katie's "dream".
The strange shift in her scent afterward.
The faint trace of something unfamiliar on her skin.
Pieces clicked together.
Liam's jaw tightened.
"What did you do to her?"
Lucian's expression sharpened instantly.
"Careful, King."
For the first time, a flash of real power rolled off the vampire.
"I did nothing she did not choose."
Silence stretched between them.
Then Lucian sighed softly.
"She drank my blood."
Kael roared inside Liam's mind.
Liam took one step forward.
Lucian raised a hand calmly.
"Relax."
His crimson eyes flickered with amusement.
"She seemed to enjoy it."
Liam's voice dropped dangerously low.
"Why."
Lucian watched him carefully now.
"Because our mate is far more complicated than either of us expected."
He tapped a finger against his chest thoughtfully.
"Her wolf has awakened."
"Yes."
Lucian smiled slowly.
"But something else is waking too."
Liam didn't respond.
But he already knew the answer.
Lucian leaned closer.
"The vampire inside her."
The forest went silent.
Even the wind seemed to pause.
Liam studied the vampire standing before him.
"You're connected to that."
Lucian's smile returned.
"Oh, very much so."
Kael growled.
He is dangerous.
"Yes."
But Liam didn't attack.
Because despite everything…
Lucian had not harmed Katie.
And more importantly—
Katie trusted him.
Lucian glanced toward the trees where Katie had shifted the night before.
"She's going to change the world, you know."
Liam's voice was steady.
"I know."
Lucian chuckled softly.
"Good."
Then his crimson eyes met Liam's gold ones.
"Because protecting her is going to require more than just a wolf."
The tension between them sharpened.
Not enemies.
Not allies.
Something in between.
Lucian turned back toward the darkness.
"We'll meet again soon, King."
He paused before disappearing into the shadows.
"Oh… and Liam?"
Liam didn't answer.
Lucian's voice drifted back through the trees.
"She's my mate as well as yours so you better keep her safe or it's your head."
And then he was gone.