Chapter 63: I'm Fine - Riven's POV

My knuckles were ghost-white on the steering wheel when the vision subsided. Callista was leaning over the center console, her eyes locked with mine.

“What just happened?”

I shoved everything down hard, but the damage was done. Doubt crept in, warring with my determination to believe we could handle this. The demon ‌reminded me exactly of the position I was in.

"I'm not being reckless," I said finally, still catching my breath. "I'm trying to believe we have a chance. Because if I don't believe that, then what's the point?"

Callista stared at me. “Are you not going to explain why we’re pulled over? What did you just see?”

“No,” I said after a moment. It was too hard to think about and I knew the demon was just messing with me. None of that was real. Without hesitating, I pulled back out onto the road. “It’s nothing.

Callista didn't answer for a long moment, then she sighed. "Fine, you're right and I'm sorry. I'm scared, Riven, and seeing you act so confident makes me feel like I'm the only one who sees how dangerous this is."

"I see it," I said quietly. "I do, but I also see that we don't have a choice. So we might as well face it, believing we can survive instead of believing we can't."

She reached over and took my hand again. “Okay, just promise me you’ll be careful and that you won’t take unnecessary risks again.”

“I promise,” I whispered.”

But even as I said it, I wondered if I could keep that promise. The demon was whispering at the back of my mind, feeding on my stress, my determination, and my growing belief that I was strong enough to face whatever the Alpha King had planned.

The drive back to my house felt too short. Both sets of parents were waiting on the front porch when we pulled up, their faces tight with worry.

"Well?" My father demanded the moment we got out of the car. "What happened?"

"We accepted," I said, and I couldn't help the note of satisfaction that crept into my voice. "We negotiated better terms than he initially offered."

"Better terms?" Alpha Monroe asked. “What terms?”

"We're not living there full-time," Callista explained. "Just weekends. Friday evening through Sunday night. The rest of the week we're home."

"Weekends?" My mother's voice rose. "You're staying there on weekends?"

"It's better than living there permanently," I said, perhaps a bit defensively. "He wanted us there all the time. We got him to compromise and let us stay home. I think he finally caved because we are just sixteen.”

"That's not a compromise, Riven," my father said, his Alpha authority bleeding through. "That's him getting most of what he wanted while making you think you won something."

The words echoed what Callista had said in the car, and I felt my jaw tighten.

"We did the best we could," I said, still firm in my decision. "It was this or refuse entirely and face the consequences."

"What kind of training will you be doing?" Luna Monroe asked, her expression anguished. “What are you two going to do over the weekend with him?”

"Combat training for me, seer development for Callista, and leadership meetings.”

"That's it?" My father asked, his eyes narrowing. "Just training?"

I hesitated. We couldn't tell them about the procedures, about the real reason the Alpha King wanted me. They'd try to stop us, or worse they'd panic and do something that would get our packs destroyed.

“That’s what he said,” I replied carefully. “It’s everything I will need to be his successor.”

My father studied me for a long moment, and I could tell he didn’t believe me. His brow was knitted tightly in accusation.

"When do you start?" My mother asked.

“We start Friday at five. We’ll need to bring overnight bags with us.” I tried to sound casual about it, like this was no big deal. “And we’ll be back Sunday evening.”

“This Friday?” Luna Monroe asked, her face paling. “That’s only three days away.”

"Which means we have three days to prepare," I said, my tone firm. "To get ready, to plan, and to make sure we're as prepared as possible."

"Riven's right," my father said, though he didn't look happy about it. "If this is happening Friday, we need to use the time we have wisely. We'll prepare them the best we can and send them in. There isn’t much of a choice.”

"And we need to make sure you both understand pack politics at that level," Alpha Monroe added. "The Alpha King's court isn't like anything you've experienced before."

We spent the rest of the evening preparing, as they wanted us to. Our fathers drilled us on hierarchy, on reading the room in power dynamic situations, and on recognizing when someone was trying to manipulate us. Our mothers went over some short codes we could send over text ‌that would alert them if we needed help.

By the time we broke for a late dinner, my head was pounding with information overload.

"This is a lot," Callista murmured as we ate. “I don’t know how to remember it all.”

"It's necessary," my father said, his voice edgier than normal. "Every bit of knowledge could be the difference between safety and danger."

"Your father's right," Alpha Monroe added. "The Alpha King didn't get to his position by being straightforward. Everything he does has layers. You need to learn to see those layers."

After dinner, Sabine appeared in the doorway, her backpack over her shoulder. “So, it looks like we’re staying here through Friday.”

“I figured as much,” Callista said, her voice low.

She nodded and looked at me directly. “Can Callista and I talk?”

I nodded, unsure ‌why she was asking me. She didn’t need my permission to speak to her sister.

Callista stood and followed her sister upstairs to the guest room. I watched them go, feeling the distance through the mate bond as they climbed the stairs.

My parents and Alpha Monroe stayed in the dining room, their voices dropping to low murmurs. Discussing us, probably, and trying to figure out how to keep us safe when we'd already committed to walking into danger.

I cleared the table, needing something to do with my hands. The demon was still whispering at the back of my mind, replaying that vision over and over. Callista's dead eyes staring up at me, my hands covered in her blood.

That's your future, it hissed. That's what happens when you think you're strong enough to control me.

"Shut up," I muttered under my breath.

"Riven?" My mother appeared in the kitchen doorway. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," I said automatically. "Just tired."