“You still haven’t changed.”
The Queen smiled at her reflection.
She carefully adjusted a strand of hair before turning her head slightly toward the man standing behind her.
“After all these years, that’s what you choose to say?”
Her husband smiled.
“What else should I say?”
He stepped closer, his eyes moving over her reflection in the mirror.
“You’re beautiful.”
The Queen laughed softly.
“You’ve told me that every day for years.”
“And I’ll continue telling you.”
He leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss against her cheek.
The Queen smiled.
“Flatterer.”
“Only when I’m speaking to my wife.”
She turned in her chair to face him.
“And you still know exactly what to say.”
“I’ve had plenty of practice.”
She laughed again.
For a moment, the powerful Queen of Blackthorn looked less like the woman who commanded respect throughout the werewolf territories and more like an ordinary woman enjoying the attention of the man she loved.
Her husband rested his hands on the back of her chair.
“You’re as beautiful as the day I met you.”
The Queen looked at him through the mirror.
“And you’re getting older.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Excuse me?”
She smiled.
“Nothing.”
“I heard that.”
“You’re imagining things.”
He chuckled.
Before he could respond, there was a knock on the door.
The Queen’s expression changed slightly.
Her husband straightened.
There was only one person who would enter their private chambers without waiting for permission.
“Come in,” The king called.
The door opened.
Zayne stepped inside.
He stopped when he saw his parents standing together.
“Dad, you called for me?”
His father nodded.
“Yes. Come in.”
Zayne walked farther into the bid luxurious room.
His eyes moved between his parents.
Then he noticed the Queen’s amused expression and his father’s arm still resting around her shoulders.
He sighed.
“Please tell me I didn’t interrupt something.”
His mother smiled.
“You’re always interrupting something.”
Zayne shook his head.
“You two have been married for years. Surely you can behave yourselves when I’m around.”
His father laughed.
His mother simply smiled.
“Jealous?”
“Of what?”
“Our love.”
Zayne stared at her.
“Mother.”
She laughed.
“You’re impossible.”
“And you’re both ridiculous.”
His father shook his head.
“You’ll understand when you’re older.”
“I’d rather not.”
The Queen laughed.
“Sit down.”
Zayne took the chair opposite them.
His father moved toward the desk.
The playful atmosphere gradually disappeared.
There was business to discuss.
“How are things in the western territory?” his father asked.
“Stable,” Zayne replied.
“There were some disputes between two families over territory, but the matter was settled.”
“Any casualties?”
“No.”
His father nodded.
“And the patrols?”
“Increased.”
“Good.”
As the Alpha of Blackthorn Pack, he understood that leadership wasn’t simply about strength.
It was about order, Protection and responsibility.
Every decision affected people beyond himself.
His father picked up a report from the desk.
“There is another matter.”
Zayne looked at him.
“Riven.”
The name immediately changed the atmosphere.
Zayne leaned back.
“What about him?”
“He’s becoming more active.”
“I’ve noticed.”
His father placed the report on the desk.
“His name is spreading through more territories. Several Alphas have reported encounters with him.”
Zayne’s expression hardened.
“Encounters?”
His father nodded.
“He continues to operate outside pack law. He decides who deserves punishment and carries it out himself.”
Zayne frowned.
“That is exactly the problem.”
The Queen remained silent, listening.
Zayne continued.
“I don’t care how strong he is. I don’t care how feared he has become. He isn’t above the law.”
His father studied him.
“You dislike him.”
Zayne shook his head.
“Not exactly.”
His father raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t hate Riven.”
That answer surprised both his parents.
Zayne continued.
“I don’t agree with how he lives. I don’t agree with the way he handles justice. But I can’t say I hate him simply because he refuses to live by pack rules.”
He paused.
“He’s dangerous because he thinks he’s entitled to decide who lives and who dies.”
The Queen’s fingers tightened slightly around the arm of her chair.
Zayne didn’t notice.
“That’s not his decision to make,” he continued.
“If someone commits a crime, there are laws for dealing with them. There are councils. There are Alphas. There are proper procedures.”
His father nodded slowly.
“And if the system fails?”
Zayne looked at him.
“Then we fix the system.”
“And if fixing it takes time?”
“Then we take the time.”
His father studied his son carefully.
There was something admirable about Zayne’s sense of responsibility but perhaps there was also something dangerous about it.
Zayne didn’t see it yet.
He believed rules existed for a reason.
He believed order prevented chaos.
He believed that even when the law was inconvenient, abandoning it created something worse.
Riven believed almost the opposite.
To Riven, a law that failed to protect the innocent was simply another obstacle.
The two men could not have been more different.
His father folded his arms.
“Suppose someone you care about breaks the law.”
Zayne frowned.
“Then they’re still accountable.”
“Even if the law is wrong?”
“Then the law should be changed.”
His father smiled faintly.
“You sound very certain.”
“I am.”
The Queen finally spoke.
“And what if following the law means losing something important?”
Zayne looked at her.
“That doesn’t change what is right.”
His mother smiled.
“Very principled.”
Zayne nodded.
“I try to be.”
His father leaned back.
“I know.”
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then the Queen reached for her husband’s hand.
He glanced at her and smiled.
Zayne immediately noticed.
“Oh, come on.”
His parents looked at him.
“What?” his father asked innocently.
“You’re doing it again.”
“That.”
He pointed between them.
“The staring. The smiling. The hand-holding.”
His mother laughed.
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing. Just… please remember that I’m sitting right here.”
His father chuckled.
“You’ll understand someday.”
Zayne groaned.
“I really hope I don’t.”
The Queen laughed again.
“You’re still young.”
“I am old enough to know when two people need to get a room.”
His father burst out laughing.
The Queen shook her head.
“You’re dismissed.”
Zayne stood.
“Gladly.”
He turned toward the door, but his father’s voice stopped him.
“Zayne.”
He looked back.
“Yes?”
“Be careful with Riven.”
The lightness disappeared from Zayne’s face.
His father continued.
“Don’t underestimate him.”
Zayne nodded.
“I won’t.”
“And don’t provoke him unnecessarily.”
“I don’t intend to.”
Zayne opened the door.
Then he paused.
“Dad?”
“Yes?”
“You don’t need to worry.”
His father looked at him.
“I know how to handle him.”
His father smiled faintly.
“I hope you do.”
Zayne left.
The door closed behind him.
Silence settled over the room.
The Queen remained seated.
Her husband walked back toward her.
“He’s becoming more like you every day,” she said.
The man smiled.
“He’s becoming his own man.”
She looked at him.
“And if he ever discovers what we’ve done?”
His smile disappeared.
The question hung between them.
For the first time since Zayne had left the room, neither of them looked playful.
His father lowered his voice.
“He won’t.”
The Queen stared at him.
“You can’t know that.”
“No.”
He looked toward the closed door.
“But I know my son.”
The Queen said nothing.
Her husband reached for her hand again.
“I did what I had to do.”
She looked down at their joined hands.
“You did it for me.”
He met her eyes.
“I love you.”
The Queen smiled faintly.
“And that’s why you’re willing to carry the consequences with me.”
He said nothing because he knew it was true.
He knew what they had done was wrong, He had known from the beginning but love had made him choose his wife over his conscience and now there was no easy way back.
Outside the chamber, Zayne continued down the palace corridor, unaware of the conversation happening behind the closed door.
His mind was already on his responsibilities.
His pack.
His territory.
The growing threat of Riven.
The law.
Order.
Duty.
He had no idea that one day, those very principles he trusted so completely would be tested in ways he could never imagine and when that day comes, following the rules would no longer be as simple as he believed.