The atmosphere in the Lycan Palace was no longer a stoic fortress; it had become a hive of frantic, high-stakes preparation. From his vantage point on the second-floor mezzanine, Jax watched the chaos with a detached, restless energy. Maids scurried across the marble floors with armfuls of silk banners, and the scent of floor wax and heavy lilies rose to meet him.
But beneath the surface of the physical movement, Jax felt the psychic static of his own Lycan, Jude.
Jude hadn't been quiet for months. Ever since Megan had marked Julian, the Lycan inside Jax had been a pacing, snarling presence in the back of his mind. He was a creature of the deep water, usually calm and calculating, but the proximity of so many completed bonds- the scent of marking and the hum of mated power, had turned Jude into a caged beast.
Empty. We are empty, Jude would growl, his phantom claws scraping against the walls of Jax's consciousness. The earth-shaker is marked. The fire-wielder is claimed. Even the ghost has a light. We are just salt and shadow.
"Shut up, Jude," Jax muttered under his breath, leaning his elbows on the cold stone railing.
He felt a presence to his left- a flicker of movement that didn't need a name. Drew was there, his youngest brother-in-arms, looking just as frayed. Drew's hands were never still; he was constantly flipping a coin or adjusting his sleeves. He looked like a wire pulled so tight it was vibrating on the edge of snapping.
"The Mating Ball," Drew said, his voice a low, jagged rasp. "A week away. Selene's gone mad with it. Did you hear? She's invited the Northern clans, the Southern covens, and even the Siren delegates from the Isles."
Jax let out a short, cynical laugh. "A room full of ancient enemies, fueled by spirits and the Moon's pheromones. What could possibly go wrong? We'll be lucky if we don't end the night drowning in a bloodbath."
"At least a bloodbath would be a distraction," Drew muttered. He looked down at the ballroom floor where workers were polishing the obsidian tiles. "I'm tired of waiting, Jax. Selene says they're coming, but the air feels dead. I feel like a soldier with no war and a mate with no face."
Jax understood. The jealousy was a physical weight in his chest. Every time he saw Christian look at Madeline with that soul-deep possessiveness, or heard Leah's rare, melodic laugh as she talked to Carys, it was like a drop of acid on his heart. He was happy for them- truly, he was, but the contrast made his own loneliness feel like a cavern.
He wanted his mate. He wanted to feel the spark of the mark. He wanted the heavy, primal satisfaction of knowing his bloodline was secured, not by a decree, but by fate.
Suddenly, the air in the palace changed.
It wasn't a subtle shift. It was a roar- a sound so massive and ancient it made the glass in the chandeliers chime. It wasn't the roar of a King going to war, and it wasn't the snarl of a predator defending its kill. It was a sound of pure, unadulterated, earth-shaking joy.
Jax and Drew shared a startled look. Without a word, they vaulted over the mezzanine railing, their Lycan agility allowing them to drop twenty feet to the floor with silent grace. They sprinted toward the Grand Ballroom, their heavy boots thudding against the marble.
As they burst through the double oak doors, the rest of the Seven were already arriving. Megan and Julian were coming from the gardens, Leah and Carys from the library, and Mack and Violet were appearing like shadows from the side hallway.
In the center of the vast, empty ballroom, King Leo was spinning Queen Selene.
It was a sight that bordered on the divine. Leo, the Golden King, had his massive arms wrapped around his Queen, lifting her off her feet as he spun in a dizzying circle. His head was thrown back, his black hair wild, and a giant, toothy smile split his face- a look of such raw happiness that it seemed to illuminate the dark corners of the room.
Selene was laughing, her white hair swirling around them like a cloud of stardust. Her purple-and-white eyes were glowing with a soft, ethereal light, and she was clutching Leo's shoulders as if he were the only solid thing in the universe.
"What's going on?" Violet asked, stepping forward from Mack's side, her white ears twitching with curiosity. "Is the Palace under attack? Why is he yelling?"
Leo stopped spinning, though he didn't let Selene go. He turned to the Seven, his chest heaving, his eyes bright with a light that made him look like a young pup again.
"The Queen is pregnant!" Leo roared again, the sound vibrating through the stone walls and making the dust motes dance. "I'm going to be a father! A King is coming!"
The silence that followed lasted only a heartbeat before the ballroom erupted.
Megan let out a literal shriek of joy, charging forward to throw her arms around both of them. "Oh my Goddess! Selene! A baby! A tiny, little white pup!"
Christian slapped Leo on the back with enough force to shatter a boulder, his own grin wide. "About time, Leo! I thought you were getting rusty!"
Leah stepped forward, her charred skin shimmering under the ballroom lights. She gave a regal, respectful bow, but her eyes held a warmth that Jax rarely saw. "Congratulations, my Queen. The Palace will finally have the song it has been waiting for."
Jax stood on the periphery, his hands tucked into his pockets. He joined in the congratulations, offering a playful wink to Selene and a hearty handshake to Leo. "A Prince or a Princess to keep us on our toes? We'll have to start baby-proofing the dungeons, Leo."
"We'll reveal the news officially at the Mating Ball," Selene said, her voice a soft, melodic chime that cut through the excitement. She looked at her family with a gaze that was both proud and protective. "A celebration of new life to match the celebration of new unions."
But as the laughter continued, Jax felt the familiar, bitter sting of the "leftover" status.
He watched Leo press his forehead against Selene's, his hand coming to rest over her stomach with a tenderness that was almost painful to witness. Leo was a King, a warrior, a legend- and now, he was a man who had everything. He had the crown, the mate, and the future.
Jax felt Jude start to pace again, the wolf's growl echoing in his skull. Ours. We should have ours. We should be protecting our own young. We should be smelling the scent of our blood in the air.
Jax caught Drew's eye across the room. The younger Lycan looked like he wanted to bolt. His jaw was set so tight it looked like it might crack. They were the outliers now. The Seven were becoming a circle of pairs, and Jax and Drew were the gaps in the ring.
"I can't be in here," Drew whispered, the thought bleeding through the mental link they all shared.
"I know," Jax thought back, his own restlessness reaching a boiling point.
The joy in the room was beautiful, but it was also a mirror reflecting back everything Jax didn't have. He felt a surge of irrational, hot anger- at the Moon, at the Fates, and at the world that kept turning for everyone else while he stayed stagnant, a master of water with no shore to reach.
He wanted his mate. He didn't want a "chosen" lady or a political alliance. He wanted the woman whose soul was meant to fit into the jagged spaces of his own. He wanted to mark her so deeply the world would know she was his. He wanted to see her belly grow with his pups, to feel the kick of his legacy beneath her skin.
He felt the water in the nearby ornamental vases begin to vibrate, responding to his internal turmoil. A small sphere of water rose from a lily bowl, spinning faster and faster until it was a blur of silver.
"Jax?"
He looked up to see Selene watching him. The Queen's eyes were soft, filled with that terrifyingly accurate intuition of hers. She stepped away from Leo and walked toward him, her silken skirts whispering against the obsidian floor.
"It will happen, Jax," she said, her voice for his ears only. "The water does not stay still forever. The tide is coming in, and it is bringing exactly what you need."
"With all due respect, Selene," Jax said, his voice a low, strained rasp. "I've been standing on the beach for four hundred years. I'm starting to think the ocean is empty."
"The ocean is never empty," Selene replied, reaching out to touch his arm. Her touch was cool, like a spring breeze. "It is merely deep. Prepare yourself for the Ball. The Fates have heard your roar, even if you haven't let it out yet."
Jax gave a stiff nod, but as he turned to leave the ballroom, the jealousy followed him like a shadow. He walked back toward the balcony, his boots echoing in the hallway.
A week. Seven days until the Palace was flooded with every creature in the known world. Seven days of watching his friends dance with their mates while he stood guard in the corners.
We will find her, Jude snarled, the wolf's golden eyes flashing in Jax's mind. And when we do, we will never let her go. We will drown the world to keep her.
"I know, Jude," Jax whispered, his hand tightening on the stone railing until the rock began to crumble. "I know."
As the sounds of celebration continued behind him, Jax looked out toward the horizon, where the sun was beginning to set. The world was changing. A new generation was coming. And Jax, the strength of the Water, was tired of being the only one still waiting for the rain.