Extra Chapter 1

Extra Chapter 1
ALICE

Laughter echoed through the castle’s kitchen, a sound so sweet and rare it seemed to brighten the cold stone walls. The warm scent of fresh–baked bread and honey drifted in the air as Aeliana and Amarantha’s clumsy little races filled the room with life. I chased after them, deliberately letting them escape just so I could see their eyes sparkle and hear those shrieks of pure joy spill from their lips.

“You two are way too fast for me!” I exclaimed theatrically, planting my hands on my hips as their giggles rang out like tiny bells.

Aeliana, with the same deep, determined gaze as Alaester, hid behind a chair, clutching a piece of apple in her sticky little hands. Amarantha, as stubborn as Aemon, bolted straight into her father’s arms. He lifted her effortlessly, spinning her high into the air. Her laughter burst across the hall, and my heart clenched with a love so fierce it almost hurt.

“My little warrior, you always know exactly where to find your father,” Aemon murmured, kissing her rosy cheek with a devotion that made my chest burn with warmth.

Across the kitchen, Alaester crouched low, and Aeliana launched herself into his arms with a triumphant squeal. The resemblance between them was undeniable, the same piercing stare, as if she already knew the world belonged to her father, and the way he held her like she was his most treasured possession.

I watched them, my heart overflowing with an almost unbearable heat. Superfecundation. Matt had predicted it, and against every odd, I had given both kings daughters of their blood. Two children, two souls, each carrying the lineage of an Alpha, through me. They were my miracle, my unshakable strength.

“Careful not to turn the whole kitchen upside down!” Berta, the head cook, scolded from the corner, though the smile tugging at her lips betrayed her tone. Ever since the girls were born, the castle had carried a lightness I never thought possible.

“We’ll take them out of your way, Berta,” I said, guiding my mates toward the adjoining breakfast room where the table was already set.

We were wrapped in that small, perfect slice of domestic paradise when heavy footsteps echoed down the corridor. A messenger appeared in the doorway, sweat beading on his brow, his eyes restless. He held a box wrapped in crimson cloth, sealed with a sigil that made my stomach twist. The third such box in the last eight months.

“Your Majesty…” he said, his voice trembling. “A gift for the little princesses… sent by Elora.”

Silence fell like a blade. Aeliana and Amarantha kept playing, oblivious in their fathers’ arms, but I saw the way Aemon’s and Alaester’s shoulders tightened instantly.

Their mother. The woman who had tried to destroy everything we built was still reaching from exile, her shadow clawing for our daughters. Alaester snatched the box from the messenger’s hands, his face a mask of calm, but his blue eyes burned with barely contained fury.

“She dares send something for my daughters?” His voice was a low growl, heavy with contempt.

“Our daughters,” Aemon corrected, his tone grave, his arm tightening instinctively around Amarantha’s waist as if sheer strength could shield her from any harm.

I drew in a steady breath, summoning the calm I’d learned to master over the past two years. I was no longer just a huntress. I was a queen, a strategist, a force shaped by Myrwen’s lessons. Fear only fed the enemy, and I would not give Elora that satisfaction.

“Don’t open it in front of them,” I ordered, my voice sharp, unyielding. “Take the box to the war room. If it’s a trick, I won’t allow her poison anywhere near our girls.”

Alaester held my gaze for a long moment, his eyes weighing my resolve. Then, with a curt nod, he handed Aeliana into my arms and carried the box away, his footsteps echoing with purpose.

Aemon leaned close, pressing a kiss to the crown of my head, his lips warm against my hair. “You think too quickly, Alice. Sometimes I wonder what we’d do without you.”

I smiled, though my chest felt heavy. “Dead, probably.”

He laughed, that deep sound that always rekindled my courage. Behind us, the girls tugged at my skirt, giggling and demanding more attention. But my eyes were fixed on the door where Alaester had disappeared with the box. Elora’s presence, even from thousands of miles away, hovered like a dark cloud, trying to steal the light from this moment.

Aemon noticed the shift in me. He always did. His warm blue eyes locked on mine, and he placed a firm hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t let her into your head, little devil,” he said, his voice low but brimming with certainty. “Not today.”

I nodded, forcing a smile for the girls, who were now trying to climb up my legs. “Alright, little beasts, let’s eat something before Berta throws us out for good.”

Aeliana laughed, flashing the crooked little teeth that melted me every time, while Amarantha clapped her hands, demanding attention. I set them into their high chairs at the table, handing them pieces of bread with honey to keep them occupied.

Minutes later, Alaester returned. His face was tight.
“Well?” I asked, keeping my voice steady even though my heart was racing.

Alaester sat down beside me, the scroll still closed in his hands. His eyes flicked to Aeliana, smearing honey all over her cheeks, then to Amarantha, trying to copy her sister, before answering.
“It’s a letter. And a pendant.” His voice was controlled, but venom dripped from every word. “She says it’s a gift for the girls, to ‘protect’ them.”

Aemon snorted, folding his arms. “Protect? Does she think we’re idiots?”

“We haven’t opened the pendant,” Alaester went on, ignoring Aemon’s remark. “It’s sealed with a spell. Myrwen is analyzing it now. If I’m right, it’s just another one of her manipulations.”

A shiver ran down my spine. Elora never did anything without a purpose. Every move, every word, was part of her twisted game of power. For years, she tried to tear the Pack apart, to break the trust between the Alphas, and now, even in exile, she still found ways to reach us.

“What did the letter say?” I asked, my voice sharper than I intended.

Alaester unfolded the scroll and read aloud:
“To my granddaughters, Aeliana and Amarantha, I send this gift as a symbol of my eternal love. May it guard you from dangers your parents cannot foresee. May you grow knowing that your grandmother is always watching over you.”

The silence that followed was heavy, suffocating. Aemon broke it, his bitter laugh echoing through the room.
“Eternal love? She’s never even seen these girls. Never touched them. And now she wants to play the doting grandmother?”

“It’s a provocation,” I said, fighting to keep my calm. “She wants to shake us. To make us doubt their safety.”

Alaester nodded, his eyes locked on the scroll as if he could burn it to ash with a glance. “Myrwen will neutralize the spell, if there is one. But we’re not taking chances. From now on, no messenger enters the castle without being searched.”

I agreed, but my mind was already moving elsewhere. Elora was exiled, yes, but she still had allies. People who believed in her warped vision of power. If she was sending gifts, it was because she knew we were vulnerable, or because she wanted us to believe we were.

“We need to find out who’s carrying these messages,” I said, keeping my voice low so as not to frighten the girls. “Someone is helping her. Here, inside our territory.”

Aemon and Alaester exchanged a look, that silent communication only two Alphas sharing the same burden could have.

“I’ll speak to the guards,” Aemon said, already rising to his feet. “If there’s a traitor, he won’t live to see dawn.”

Alaester stayed quiet for a moment, then leaned toward me, his hand finding mine beneath the table. “She won’t lay a finger on our daughters. Not while I breathe.”

I squeezed his hand, his strength bleeding into mine. “Not while we breathe.”