Chapter 181 Chapter 181

Chapter 181 Chapter 181
Merrick
The morning air is still brutal, cutting through the courtyard like cold steel. 
I hope it warms up before Hope arrives. My daughter should be born on a beautiful spring day, with blossoms waiting to greet her.
I smile at the image I conjure up. Jo on our bed, Hope in her arms, the perfect copy of her beautiful mother.
The frost hasn't thawed off the stone paving, but Gary’s human technicians are already up on scaffolding, securing the last reinforced acrylic panels over the high arched windows of the grand hall. 
Below them, Nathaniel stands with his hands tucked into his coat pockets, watching the installation with those sharp, analytical blue eyes of his.
"The structural integrity is holding," Nathaniel says as I step up beside him, my breath pluming thick in the freezing air. "The elementals reinforced the foundation beams under the eastern wing. The palace won't collapse, even if Lysander throws another seismic ward at the aqueduct."
"Good," I say, looking up at the high stone battlements. "Because my mate is not giving birth in a drafty tent, and I'm not moving her again."
Nathaniel slants a glance sideways at me, a dark eyebrow rising slightly. "Alpha pup, yeah? Six weeks to go?"
"Six is optimistic. I’d put it closer to four," I correct him, my jaw tightening as the reality of that timeline presses heavy against my ribs. "Her energy is surging. The pup is an Ultima hybrid, Nathaniel. She's developing faster than an Alpha."
"Then we don't have time for a prolonged siege," Nathaniel notes quietly. "A pregnant Queen in her final weeks needs stability, clean air, and zero stress."
Before I can answer, Oliver's heavy boots crunch rapidly across the frosted gravel. He’s holding a thick stack of printed radio transcripts, his expression grim.
"Sire," Oliver says, stopping in front of us. "The Cabal just escalated. They… uh… stopped the flow of information to-" he flips through his stack of papers, then gives up -“something about controlling misinformation.”
I narrow my eyes at him. "They killed the internet?"
"Completely," Oliver nods. "No social media feeds, no human news streams, no public forums. The Cabal’s human enforcers have instituted a total information blackout. Radio and television broadcasts are still going, but the news is heavily…curated."
"It's a classic containment strategy," Nathaniel says, his tone cold and detached. "Control the narrative by eliminating the narrative. If the humans can't communicate with each other, panic sets in, and fear keeps them in their houses under curfew."
“Yes,” I agree. “But this could also backfire. Oppression only works up to a point.”
I stare out toward the massive iron gates of the courtyard.
If we sit up here on our high mountain peak, surrounded by spatial wards, reading radio transcripts and guessing what the human world is doing I won’t be able to protect Jo when she goes into labor.
"Where is the nearest Cabal enforcement post?" I ask, my voice dropping into a low, dangerous frequency.
"Haven's Crest," Oliver answers immediately. "They set up there after they left the palace."
“That close?”
Oliver just cocks his head at me.
"Then I suppose we're going to Haven's Crest," I declare. "I want a clear picture of what those bastards are doing to the humans at my front door. I want to feel the temperature in that town myself."
“Most of them are here,” Oliver reminds me.
“Sure,” I agree, “but the Cabal will keep their communication channels open.”
"You can't walk into Haven's Crest with fifty Lycan warriors, Merrick," Nathaniel warns smoothly. "You'll start a full-scale battle in the middle of a civilian township."
"I don't need fifty wolves," a silk-smooth drawl purrs from the shadows of the arched doorway.
Julian glides out into the pale morning light, adjusting the lace cuffs of his dark velvet coat. He looks entirely unbothered by the freezing temperature, his crimson eyes gleaming with a sharp, hungry delight.
"I believe the King requires a companion with... subtle talents," Julian says, stepping up to my side. "Besides, I’ve been stuck in this cold stone box for days eating salted meat. My palate is screaming for fresh, vintage vein-wine. I hear the mayor of Haven's Crest keeps a particularly delightful cellar."
I look from Julian’s predatory smirk back toward the high, dark ridges leading down into the valley.
"Oliver, keep the perimeter locked," I command. "Nathaniel, you stay at the palace gate. Your life is tied to Jo's protection until I get back."
"Of course it is," Nathaniel agrees grimly.
"Julian," I turn to the vampire, my aura flaring into a low, warning wave of scorched-earth heat. "Are you going for wine or blood?”
“I can’t have both?”
I shake my head and try not to smack the vampire. “You feed on Cabal enforcers only. Touch an innocent human in that town, and I will stake you where you stand."
Julian places a pale hand over his heart with deep, theatrical reverence. "My Lord King, you wound me. I am a creature of refined taste, not a savage."
“And a Cabal enforces will suit your… refined palate?” I ask with a smirk. “You don’t want someone higher up the chain of command?”
“The High Master would certainly taste sour, given his advanced age,” Julian remarks dryly. “But I’ll suck him dry if that will end this damned war.”
“You know what,” I say with a little chuckle. “If we can find the fucker, I’ll hold him down for you.”
Julian nods curtly. “Don’t threaten me with a fun time, Your Majesty.”
“Don’t tell anyone where we’re going,” I say to Nathaniel and Oliver. “Not even Jo or Lexington. We need to do this as quietly as we possibly can.”
“So… are we travelling through the shadows?” Julian asks. 
“No. Lysander surely corrupted any path out of the palace before he left.”
“Well, not every path,” Julian says cryptically. “But enough of them for me to be concerned. We are clearing the way.”
“Good,” I say and look from Nathaniel to Oliver, then at Julian.
“Shall we?” the vampire asks.
Ten minutes later, under the cover of the low gray clouds rolling off the peaks, Julian and I slip past our own wolves, bypass our own protective wards, and head down the steep, frozen paths toward Haven's Crest.