Killian didn't move. He kept Faith tucked against his chest, his hands shaking ,not from fear, but from the sheer effort of holding back his wolf. His golden eyes were fixed on the woman with the silver-braided crown.
"Commander Vesper," Killian spat, his voice a crooked rasp. "The King's lapdog. I should have known the Crown would come to scavenge the remains."
The King doesn't scavenge, Alpha Nightshade. He reclaims, Vesper said, her voice like ice cutting through the wind. She looked at Faith, whose skin was still humming with that strange, fading silver glow. And what he reclaims today is the Catalyst.
Faith looked up at Killian, her heart still racing at an impossible speed. "What does she mean, Killian? What debt did your father owe?"
Killian's jaw tightened so hard it looked like it might snap. He didn't answer. He couldn't.
"Your father was a brilliant businessman, Killian," Sarah said, as she stood up from the mud. She looked at Vesper with a drained recognition. But he was a terrible father. Twenty years ago, when the Lunar Grid was first theorized, the King funded the Nightshades to build it. When my husband and I refused to turn it into a weapon, your father made a deal to save his company. He promised the King that the first 'Success' of the lineage would belong to the Crown. He sold his future son's mate before she was even born."
Faith felt the air leave her lungs. The sapphire ring she had thrown away earlier…. it wasn't just a sign of Killian's possession. It was a brand for a debt she never knew she carried.
"He didn't know it was you, Faith," Killian whispered, his forehead pressing against hers. I didn't know until the background check. I swear….I was trying to hide you from him.
Enough!, Vesper commanded. She raised her hand, and the Guardians stepped forward, their rifles making a buzzing sound as they powered up. "The King is waiting. Alpha Nightshade, you are to be stripped of your titles and your assets. Your pack is being dissolved into the Royal Guard as we speak. You are a commoner now."
Killian let out a low, vibrating growl. "I don't care about the money. I don't care about the Pack. You aren't taking her."
We aren't asking, Vesper said.
The transport to the Royal City was silent and cold. Faith sat in a reinforced glass cell, her mother on one side and Killian on the other, separated by energy bars.
Faith looked at her hands. The silver talons were gone, but her pulse still felt heavy, like liquid metal. She looked at Killian. He looked smaller without his suit, covered in the grime of battle, but his eyes never left hers. Even as a 'commoner,' he looked like he was ready to kill the world for her.
"Killian," she whispered through the bars.
I'm here,he said instantly.
"The Grid…. it's inside me, isn't it? That's why I'm not a Dud. My body was just….waiting."
It's more than that, Faith, Sarah interrupted from her corner. The Grid isn't just code. It's a biological frequency. You are the only person who can bridge the gap between human and Alpha without the violence of the moon. You are the key to a new world. That's why the King wants you. He doesn't want a Queen, he wants a battery.
The transport landed in the heart of the Royal Palace, a sprawling, white marble fortress that sat atop the highest peak in the North.
They were marched through the Great Hall, past rows of bowing nobles who whispered as the 'Disgraced Alpha' passed by. At the end of the hall, sitting on a throne of woven silver wood, was King Valerius.
He looked younger than Faith expected, with dark hair and eyes that seemed to hold a thousand years of secrets. He didn't look like a tyrant, he looked like a bored predator.
"Alpha Nightshade," the King said, his voice smooth and melodic. I see you've brought me my prize. Though I hear you tried to keep her for yourself.
Killian stepped forward, the energy shackles on his wrists glowing red as he strained against them. "She is not a prize, Valerius. She is a person. And she is my Mate."
The court broke out in shocked gasps. A 'Dud' as a Mate to a High Alpha was one thing, but claiming a Mate in front of the King was a challenge to the Crown.
The King smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "A Mate? How poetic. But a Mate is only a Mate if the bond is completed. And as of this moment, I am exercising the Nightshade Debt. The girl belongs to the Crown. She will be initiated into the Royal Research Division tonight."
He looked at Faith, his gaze sharpening. "And as for you, Faith…. I hear you're a genius. Let's see if you can solve the puzzle of your own blood before the sun rises. If you don't….your Alpha will die".
Faith was dragged toward the laboratory wing, her screams for Killian echoing through the hall. But as the heavy steel doors slammed shut, the silver light in her eyes didn't just flicker, it ignited.
The monitors in the hallway exploded. The lights flashed and died.
In the sudden darkness, Faith felt a presence behind her. A hand covered her mouth, smelling of sandalwood and something ancient.
"Don't scream," a voice whispered. It wasn't Killian. It wasn't Silas. It was Leo, the Beta boy from the Academy. But his eyes weren't brown anymore. They were a piercing, royal violet.Leo? what are you doing here? Faith whispered.
"I'm the King's son, Faith. And I am going to get you out of here before my father realizes you've already started the shift."