Chapter 19: The Letter in the Mirror
The court was still buzzing the next morning.
Bryant had shamed Lilian.
For a girl without a title.
Without a pack.
Without a collar.
But with a name the wolves were starting to remember: Nyra.
—
Far beneath the palace, in a chamber lit with cold fire—
The Council gathered.
They spoke low, but the walls remembered every word.
"She's dangerous."
"She's smart."
"She's a Smith."
"And now she has him."
One slammed a fist into the table. "If the bloodline rises again, we're all finished."
"We must act."
"Yes. But not yet."
"Wait for the Alpha King to move. Damon has plans."
Nyra stared at the letter in her hands.
It had arrived before dawn, slipped beneath her door without sound or scent.
No seal this time.
Just a name scrawled across the front in ink faded with age:
To my daughter.
The handwriting— Her mother's.
She opened it with trembling fingers.
There were only two lines.
If you're reading this, they didn't kill you. But they will when they find out what you are.
Her heartbeat stuttered.
What I am?
She read it again. Again.
And then noticed— A second paper was tucked behind the first.
Older.
Yellowed.
Barely intact.
It was a family record.
Her bloodline.
And at the bottom of the page, under "Betrothal Decrees," was a name paired with hers.
She read it once.
Twice.
And then froze.
Because that name— That man— That wolf—
Was someone still very much alive.
And someone Bryant hates more than Damon.
The name was circled in red ink.
Lucien Kings.
[End of Chapter 19] 📍