The words hung in the hall like smoke after a fire. No one cheered. The beta who'd spoken looked at the floor, jaw tight. A few others shifted their weight, eyes sliding away from me. The crack I'd felt in the bond was spreading through the pack now, quiet and ugly.
Darius's hand stayed heavy on my shoulder. Kane stood like stone on my right, knife still half-drawn. Rylan's axe rested on his shoulder, but his grin was gone. The bond pushed their rage and fear straight into my chest, mixed with something sharper: the need to protect the small life kicking in my belly.
I stepped forward before any of them could speak. My boots left bloody prints on the stone. "You want to hand me over?" I asked the hall. My voice carried, raw from vomiting and exhaustion. "Open the gates. Tell my father I'm waiting. But when he puts those silver chains on me and takes the child, remember this moment. Because the witch won't stop at me. She'll come for your mate. Your pups. Your sisters. And when she does, you'll wish you'd stood with the 'human-tainted girl' instead of whispering behind her back."
*Silence.*
Then the old wolf near the back thumped his spear once. Another joined. Then another. The sound rolled across the stones, slow at first, then stronger. Not everyone, but enough. The beta who'd questioned me finally looked up and gave a short nod.
Darius spoke loud enough for the whole hall. "Anyone who wants to run to Shadowpine can leave now. The rest of you fight for your queen or get the fuck out of my sight."
No one moved.
We left the hall in silence. My stomach rolled again as we climbed the stairs, but I swallowed it down. The flutter in my belly kicked hard, like the kid was reminding me it was listening.
Inside the chambers the door shut heavy. I dropped onto the edge of the bed and pressed both hands to my belly. The mark on my chest burned steady now, a low throb that matched the bond's pulse.
Darius knelt in front of me. His ice-blue eyes searched my face. "You didn't have to do that."
"I did." My voice cracked. "They're starting to wonder if I'm worth the blood. If the kid is worth it. I had to remind them what my father really is."
Kane poured water and handed me the cup. His scarred fingers brushed mine. "The curse is pushing harder because of the pregnancy. The pack feels it too. They're scared."
Rylan dropped onto the bench by the fire, axe across his knees. "Then we give them something to be scared of that isn't us. We hit your father again tonight. Harder. Make him bleed so bad he crawls south and stays there."
I drank the water slowly. The nausea eased a little. The flutter settled. "No. Not tonight. We wait one more day. Let him think we're tired. Let him get sloppy. Then we go for him when he doesn't expect it."
Darius's hand settled low on my belly beside mine. The bond hummed warmer, the three of them feeding me their agreement and that new, fierce protectiveness that had grown teeth since the witch's mark. "One day. Then we end this."
The rest of the afternoon passed in quiet preparation. I trained in the small yard behind the keep with a new sword while the brothers watched. My swings came slower because of the sickness, but the latent alpha blood made them heavier. I disarmed one of the younger wolves twice. When I finally lowered the blade, sweat stinging the claw marks on my shoulder, Darius caught me by the waist and kissed me right there in front of the guards. Hard. Possessive. The pack watching from the walls cheered low.
That night the four of us returned to the chambers earlier than usual. No long talks. No court. Just hands and mouths and the bond pulling tight.
Darius took me first against the wall, slow and deep, eyes locked on mine the whole time like he was memorizing me.
Kane joined from behind, teeth on my neck, whispering the only thing he ever really said in moments like this: "Stay with us."
Rylan moved in last, turning it into all three of them moving together until I couldn't tell whose hands were where. The knot swelled inside me, locking me to Darius while the others marked fresh bruises on my skin. I came with a broken sound, my nails digging into their shoulders, the pleasure edged with the knowledge that the full moon was coming fast.
Afterward we lay tangled in the furs. I traced the fresh bite mark on Darius's shoulder with my fingertip. "The mark the witch put on me is spreading. I can feel it reaching for the child."
Kane's hand joined mine on my belly. "Then we break it before the full moon."
Rylan's voice came from the other side of the bed, quieter than usual. "And if we can't?"
I swallowed. The bond hummed heavy with shared weight. "Then I make sure she never gets what she wants. Even if it costs me."
Darius pulled me closer. His palm rested low on my belly, warm and steady. "It won't come to that."
Sleep came slow. I dreamed of red snow and tiny claws and the witch laughing while three wolves tore each other apart trying to reach me. I woke before dawn with the bond buzzing under my skin like a warning and the flutter in my belly kicking hard.
The scout was already waiting outside the chamber door when we opened it. His face was pale. "My kings. Message from the southern border. Gamma Voss has silver collars for the pups. He says if you don't send Elena out by tomorrow night, he'll start with the children."
My stomach dropped. The mark on my chest flared so hot I gasped.
Five days had become four.
And my father had just made it personal.