Chapter 23 THE KING AND HIS GIRL.

Chapter 23 THE KING AND HIS GIRL.
Seren's POV.

After the night I’d had—the growls, the shaking, the feeling of my own soul trying to tear itself apart—I expected to feel like a wreck. But as Draven led me through the palace’s  corridors, I felt surprisingly light.

He hadn't let go of my hand once. His grip was a constant, warm reminder that I wasn't drifting away into the fog.

"Where are we going?" I asked. I was wearing a thick, cream-colored coat over a simple  dress. 

Draven was in a heavy black wool coat, looking like incredibly hot.

"A place I haven't shown anyone," he said. 

We reached a heavy stone door at the very back of the East Wing. It was hidden behind a massive picture of a wolf chasing the moon. 

Draven pressed a hidden latch, and the door groaned open.

I stepped through and stopped.

I expected a garden. I didn't expect a sanctuary.

We were in a sunken courtyard, shielded from the wind by high stone walls. But the walls weren't bare. They were covered in climbing ivy that stayed green even in winter. 

In the center was a small, bubbling spring that sent steam into the cold air.

But it was the flowers that made my breath hitch.

They weren't roses or lilies. They were small, bright wildflowers—yellow, blue, and purple. 

They were the kind of flowers that grew in the cracks of the cobblestones in the Wards. The kind of flowers I used to pick when I was a little girl with nothing but a dream of a full stomach.

"You grew these here?" I whispered, walking toward a patch of yellow daisies.

"I had the soil brought up from the lower districts," Draven said, stepping up behind me. He looked around the garden, his expression softer than I’d ever seen it. "I knew you hated the formal gardens. You called them 'stiff.' You said flowers shouldn't have to follow rules."

I felt a  prick at the back of my eyes. I didn't remember saying that, but it sounded so much like me that it hurt.

"You remembered a tiny comment like that?"

"I remember everything you’ve ever said to me, Seren." He turned me around to face him, his hands resting on my waist. "When you were taken, I came here every night. I made sure the water stayed warm. I made sure nothing died. I told myself that as long as these flowers were alive, you were, too."

He was so intense. Most men gave jewelry or titles. Draven gave life. He gave me back the pieces of myself that I didn't even know were missing.

"I feel like I'm falling in love with a stranger," I admitted, my voice trembling. "Every day, you show me a version of you that the world doesn't see."

"Good," Draven rasped. He leaned down, his nose brushing mine. "Because the version the world sees is a monster and I only want to be a man for you."

He led me to a small stone bench near the spring. 

We sat in silence for a while, just listening to the water. It was peaceful. It was the first time I felt like I could breathe without my wolf pressing down on me.

"Draven?"

"Hm?"

"Tell me about the girl I was. The one who liked these flowers."

He leaned back, his arm draped over the back of the bench behind my head. "She was a headache," he said, a smirk pulling at his lips. "She was stubborn. She was fierce.  She didn't care that I was a King. She only cared if I was a good man."

I smiled. "She sounds exhausting."

"She was perfect," he corrected. He reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear. "She was the only person who saw me, Seren. Not the Alpha. Not the crown. Just Draven."

I looked at the wildflowers. 

I felt the wolf inside me stir, but it wasn't a growl this time. It was a soft, curious hum. She liked the smell of the damp earth. She liked the warmth of the spring.

"I want to be her again," I said. "I want to be the girl who makes you laugh."

"You already are," Draven said. He stood up and pulled me with him. "Come here. I have one more thing to show you."

He led me to a small wooden shed at the edge of the garden. Inside, it was filled with tools and bags of seeds. But on the workbench, there was a small, hand-carved wooden wolf. It was rough, not perfect, but i could tell that it was made with care.

"I made this for you while you were in the spire," he said, looking almost embarrassed. "I'm not a carpenter, but... I needed to do something with my hands that wasn't killing."

I picked up the wooden wolf. It was smooth from being held. I could feel the energy in it—the love, the desperation, the hope.

I looked at him—this big, terrifying man who stayed up at night carving toys and tending to wildflowers. 

The man who held me while I growled. The man who looked at me like I was his entire universe.

The  realization hit me. He didn't just love me. He worshipped me. And I was beginning to worship him back.

"I don't need my memories," I whispered, stepping into his space. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him down. "I don't need to know who I was. Because I know who I am when I'm with you."

Draven’s arms wrapped around me, pulling me so tight I could barely breathe. He buried his face in my neck, let out a shaky breath. "And who is that, little bird?"

"Yours," I said. "I'm yours."

He kissed me then. It wasn't a slow exploration. It was  deep, a kiss of a hungry man. 

It was the kiss of a man who had finally found what he was looking for. 

We stayed in the secret garden for hours, hiding from the world, playing among the wildflowers like he didn't have a kingdom to rule.

We threw snowballs at each other. We raced to the walls and back. We laughed until our lungs burned in the cold air. For a few hours, the palace disappeared. Everything disappeared.

It was just Draven and Seren. The King and his girl.

As we walked back toward the palace, the sun beginning to set, I felt a strange sense of peace. My past was still a blank page, but my present was written in gold.

But as we reached the door, a guard was waiting. He looked pale, his eyes wide with fear.

"My king," the guard said, bowing low. "A messenger has arrived from the South. It’s... it’s about the Queen’s father."

Draven’s grip on my hand tightened.

"What about him?" Draven growled.

"He’s escaped his cell, Alpha. And he didn't go alone. He took the high priestess of the Mages with him."

The peace shattered. 

Draven turned to me, his eyes turning lethal. The garden, the flowers, the wooden wolf—it all felt a million miles away.

"Go to our room, Seren," he commanded. "Lock the door. Don't let anyone in but me."

It feels like I have heard these exact same words but everything is a haze.

"Draven—"

"Go," he said.

I watched him walk away, his shoulders tense, the monster rising back to the surface. I looked down at the wooden wolf still in my hand.

The honeymoon was over.