Chapter 193 CHAPTER 193
Ethan sat alone in his bedroom long after the palace had grown quiet.
The large chamber was dimly lit by a single lamp near the writing desk, its soft golden glow stretching across the polished floor and the heavy curtains that framed the tall windows. Beyond those windows the kingdom of Mooncrest slept peacefully, the distant lights of the city flickering gently beneath the night sky.
To anyone looking at the palace from outside, everything would seem calm.
The king had spoken to his people earlier that day. The traitor had been exposed. Order had been restored.
Mooncrest was safe.
At least that was what the kingdom believed.
Ethan leaned back slightly in the chair near the window and rubbed his hand slowly across his face. He had tried to sleep earlier, but his mind refused to quiet itself. Every time he closed his eyes, another thought surfaced, another memory, another worry.
Being king had never felt this heavy before.
His gaze drifted toward the city below.
For years he had dreamed of the day when Lisa would return. Every decision he had made as king had been shaped by that hope. Every search party he sent out, every rumor he investigated, every sleepless night he spent wondering if she was still alive.
He had told himself that when she finally came back, everything would become easier.
The kingdom would feel whole again.
But now that she was here, everything seemed more complicated than ever.
Ethan let out a slow breath.
Mooncrest had always been peaceful.
At least that was what he had believed growing up. The kingdom had been strong, the council united, the people loyal. His father had ruled with steady authority, and the elders had always spoken about honor and unity.
Now that image felt like something fragile that had shattered in his hands.
The people he had trusted all his life had begun revealing secrets he never imagined.
One elder had betrayed the kingdom.
Others had hidden truths for years.
Even the story of his parents was no longer the simple memory he had held onto since childhood.
Ethan lowered his gaze to his hands.
Lisa’s return had uncovered more than just the past.
It had unearthed buried secrets that had been sleeping beneath Mooncrest for years.
For a brief moment a small, tired smile crossed his face.
If someone had offered him the chance to undo the last few days… to return the kingdom to the quiet ignorance it once lived in… he knew exactly what his answer would be.
He would refuse.
Because finding Lisa again was worth every complication that followed.
Even if the kingdom felt like a storm now.
Even if the crown felt heavier than ever before.
She was his sister.
And bringing her home had been the greatest joy of his life.
Ethan leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes briefly, trying to slow the restless thoughts circling his mind.
Ethan leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes briefly, trying to slow the restless thoughts circling his mind. The silence of the room did little to calm him. His mind refused to rest, moving from one worry to another, from the weight of the crown to the endless responsibilities waiting for him the next day.
Then, almost unexpectedly, his thoughts drifted somewhere else.
Suddenly his mind wandered to Isabel.
The memory of her arrival at the palace rose clearly in his mind. She had first appeared beside Lisa when his sister returned, and at the time Ethan had not known what to think of the human girl who followed her so loyally. The palace had never been a place for humans.
And yet there she had been, standing quietly beside his sister as if she belonged there.
At first Ethan had been certain it was a mistake.
A human living among wolves inside the Lycans’ royal court seemed like something that would only cause trouble. More than once he had searched for a polite excuse to send her away, but every time he considered it he saw the way Lisa treated her. His sister had insisted that Isabel stay, and Ethan had not wanted to take that comfort away from her after everything she had endured.
So the human girl had remained.
In those first days she had seemed almost misplaced in the palace, like someone who had wandered into the wrong world by accident.
Yet somehow, little by little, Isabel had found her place among them.
And strangely enough, it had not taken long.
She brought laughter into rooms that had grown too serious. She spoke honestly when everyone else hid behind titles and formality. And when the weight of the kingdom began pressing down on him, she was often the one person who managed to pull him out of the dark thoughts circling his mind.
More than once she had sat beside him and Lisa when they needed someone to remind them that the world was not entirely made of duty and responsibility.
In ways Ethan did not fully understand, Isabel had become a quiet pillar of emotional support in the palace.
Especially for him.
Thinking about her now, Ethan realized something that had never occurred to him before.
Maybe she had not arrived in Mooncrest by accident.
Maybe Lisa meeting Isabel had never been coincidence at all.
Perhaps it had always been meant to happen.
The thought was strange, but it felt oddly right.
The goddess often moved in ways no one understood until much later. If chaos truly was coming to Mooncrest, perhaps the goddess had already placed someone in the palace who could bring balance when the storm arrived.
A human girl who had somehow managed to bring warmth into the heart of a kingdom built on strength and power.
Ethan could almost picture her now, smiling the way she always did when she was trying to cheer him up, laughing even when the world around them felt heavy.
Without realizing it, a small smile slowly appeared on his face.
“You’re thinking about her.”
The voice echoed clearly inside his mind.
Ethan’s eyes opened immediately.
“Rex,” he said under his breath.
His wolf’s presence stirred calmly within him.
“You’re thinking about Isabel,” Rex continued, his tone carrying unmistakable amusement.
Ethan frowned slightly.
“How did you know?”
Rex chuckled softly inside his mind.
“For someone who claims to be the king of Mooncrest,” he said, “you are remarkably easy to read.”
Ethan leaned his head back against the chair.
“I’m serious,” he said. “How do you know?”
Rex answered without hesitation.
“When Lisa returned, you were happy,” Rex said. “But lately there is someone else who keeps making you smile like that.”
Ethan’s expression shifted slightly.
He couldn’t deny it.
“I don’t understand it myself,” he admitted quietly.
The words felt strange even as he spoke them.
“She’s young,” Ethan continued thoughtfully. “And yet somehow… lately I find myself relying on her more than I should.”
Rex listened patiently.
Ethan stared toward the ceiling.
“She says things that make the weight of the crown feel lighter,” he said slowly. “And sometimes she understands what I’m thinking before I even say it.”
Rex remained silent for a moment before speaking again.
“You do realize she will be turning eighteen soon.”
Ethan blinked.
“What exactly is that supposed to mean?”
Rex’s voice carried a hint of playful curiosity.
“I’m just saying,” he replied, “you may not see it yet, but I know you.”
Ethan shook his head slightly.
“She’s still in high school.”
“And?”
Ethan exhaled slowly.
“We’re twenty-seven years old.”
Rex didn’t seem impressed by that argument.
“There is nothing wrong with having a younger mate.”
Ethan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“You’re assuming far too much.”
Rex ignored the protest.
“Maybe the goddess has been waiting,” he said calmly, “For her to come of age.”
Ethan sat up straighter in the chair.
“That’s ridiculous.”
Rex chuckled.
“Is it?”
Ethan crossed his arms.
“First of all,” he said, “Isabel is human.”
Rex remained quiet.
“And second,” Ethan continued firmly, “Mooncrest requires a Lycan queen.”
Rex sighed dramatically.
“Listen to yourself.”
Ethan frowned.
“You sound exactly like Sebastian when he rejected Lisa. He thought he knew better than the goddess.”
That comparison made Ethan grimace.
“That’s not the same situation.”
Rex spoke more seriously now.
“The goddess does not make mistakes.”
Ethan said nothing.
Rex continued.
“That human girl you’re talking about… she has done more for you in the short time she’s been here than many Lycans have done in years.”
Ethan thought about that.
He couldn’t deny it.
Rex’s voice softened slightly.
“If the goddess decided she was meant to be our mate one day,” he said, “I would not be surprised.”
Ethan let out a small laugh.
“I never thought I would see the day when my wolf considered having his cubs carried by a human.”
Rex answered without hesitation.
“If that human gives us the kind of bond Liam has with Lisa… then I will gladly accept it.”
Ethan fell quiet.
For a moment he didn’t know how to respond to that.
The truth was he didn’t fully understand what he felt when Isabel was around.
It wasn’t simply friendship.
But it wasn’t something he could easily name either.
Before he could continue the argument, a knock sounded at the door.
Ethan turned his head toward it.
Rex’s voice appeared immediately.
“Go on,” the wolf said with unmistakable satisfaction.
Ethan stood up and walked across the room toward the door and turned the handle.
Standing in the hallway was Isabel.
She held a large bowl of ice-cream in both hands.
For a moment Ethan simply stared at her.
Isabel smiled sheepishly.
“I wasn’t sure if you were still awake,” she said. “But I thought you might need this.”
Ethan looked down at the bowl.
Then back at her.
“You brought me ice cream?”
“Well,” Isabel said with a small shrug, “I figured kings have bad days too.”
Inside Ethan’s mind Rex laughed triumphantly.
“See?” the wolf said before retreating deeper into Ethan’s consciousness.
“I told you.”