Chapter 195 CHAPTER 195
Isabel had always believed that ice cream could fix almost anything.
It was a simple belief, one she had carried since childhood. Bad day? Ice cream. Broken heart? Ice cream. In her opinion, the world would be a far kinder place if people simply sat down and shared a bowl of something sweet.
Which was exactly why she now sat cross-legged on the thick carpet of King Ethan Ashvale’s bedroom floor, holding a spoon and looking very satisfied with herself.
Across from her, Ethan leaned back against the edge of his bed with a bowl balanced in his hand. The king of the Lycans - ruler of Mooncrest, feared by warriors and council elders alike - was currently eating vanilla ice cream with slow, reluctant bites.
Isabel pointed her spoon at him triumphantly.
“See? I told you. Ice cream on a bad day works every time.”
Ethan gave her a long, resigned look before taking another spoonful.
“I will admit,” he said slowly, “that your theory has proven… annoyingly effective.”
Isabel grinned. “Annoyingly effective still means effective.”
Ethan shook his head faintly. The heaviness that had clung to him all day - the council meeting, Vaughn’s betrayal, the weight of the crown - had softened slightly in the quiet of the room.
“I have learned something important over the past few weeks,” Ethan said thoughtfully.
“Oh?” Isabel asked.
“Yes.” He sighed. “I have learned that when you storm into my life with some ridiculous plan, resisting you only delays the inevitable.”
Isabel burst into laughter.
“That’s because my plans work!”
“They involve breaking palace rules, sneaking into private chambers, and forcing the me – the king - to eat dessert like a child.”
“And yet,” she said proudly, waving her spoon, “here you are.”
Ethan gave a quiet huff of amusement. For a moment the tension around his eyes eased completely.
Isabel watched him with a small satisfied nod.
“See? You’re already less grumpy.”
“I was not grumpy.”
“You were absolutely grumpy.”
“I was… concerned.”
“You were brooding.”
Ethan paused.
Then he sighed again, this time with reluctant surrender.
“…Perhaps I was brooding.”
“Exactly.”
She scooped another bite of ice cream and leaned back against the side of the bed, clearly pleased with herself.
After a moment of quiet eating, Isabel spoke again, her tone lighter.
“You know something funny?”
“What is that?”
“Everyone else tries so hard to make you feel better,” she said. “But none of them actually do anything about it.”
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
“And why do you think that is?”
“Because they’re all terrified of you.”
Ethan blinked.
“Terrified?”
“Yes.”
He frowned slightly. “I do not believe that is accurate.”
Isabel snorted softly.
“Ethan, have you ever walked into the kitchen unannounced?”
“…Yes.”
“Did you notice how everyone suddenly becomes very busy?”
He thought about it.
The cooks straightening their backs.
The servants stepping aside quickly.
The sudden silence.
Ethan shifted slightly.
“…I assumed they were simply being respectful.”
“Respectful and terrified are cousins,” Isabel said cheerfully. “The servants are all convinced if they spill soup near you they’ll be fired immediately.”
“I have never fired someone for spilling soup.” He laughed.
“They don’t know that.”
Ethan stared down at the bowl.
“…I had not considered that. I thought I was easy going and everything.”
Isabel tilted her head at him.
“That’s because you’re the king. People act different around kings.”
“Apparently.”
She shrugged casually.
“That’s why I’m useful.”
“Oh. You are?”
“I’m not afraid of you.”
Isabel waved a dismissive hand,” You’re just Ethan.”
He blinked again.
“Just Ethan?”
“Yeah,” she said simply. “When I look at you, I don’t see the king. I just see… you.”
The room grew quieter.
Outside the tall windows, the palace gardens lay dark under the moonlight.
Ethan watched her carefully.
“And that does not intimidate you?”
Isabel shrugged.
“I mean, technically it should.” She said lightly, counting on her fingers, “you’re the most powerful wolf in the kingdom. You’re the king. You command armies. You could probably throw me across the room without trying.”
“That last part is unlikely.”
“Still,” she continued, “I’m just human. I don’t even have a wolf.”
She leaned back on her hands and looked at him thoughtfully.
“So logically I should be the most intimidated person here.”
“And yet?”
She shrugged again.
“I don’t know.”
Ethan studied her face.
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
“I just… don’t feel scared around you,” she said simply. “When you’re upset or angry or sad, I just feel like… I should fix it.”
Ethan felt something shift in his chest.
Isabel continued talking, still light and casual.
“It’s weird. When I see you like that, something in my head just goes, ‘Well, this will not do. Ethan is miserable. I must do something about it immediately.’”
Ethan let out a quiet laugh despite himself.
But the feeling inside him was growing stronger.
Isabel shrugged again.
“I don’t know why. It’s just something I feel.”
She scooped another bite of ice cream.
“Like when you look like the world is about to collapse, my brain just says, ‘Nope. We’re fixing that.’”
Ethan stared at her.
The urge came suddenly.
Strong.
Overwhelming.
His wolf stirred restlessly beneath the surface of his skin.
Rex’s voice rumbled in the back of his mind.
She cares about us.
Ethan swallowed.
Do not start.
But the feeling didn’t fade.
If anything, it intensified.
Isabel kept talking casually, unaware.
“I mean, it’s not a big deal,” she said with a small laugh. “I just like being around you.”
Something inside Ethan tightened.
His eyes drifted to her lips, and for a moment the words she was saying blurred into the background. They moved easily as she spoke, soft and animated, curling into half-smiles whenever she teased him.
A small streak of melted ice cream had touched the corner of her mouth earlier, and she had wiped it away with the back of her hand without noticing. A loose strand of her dark hair had fallen across her cheek, and she kept pushing it back absentmindedly as she talked.
Ethan found himself watching the small details - the warmth in her eyes, the light in her expression, the way her entire face seemed to come alive when she laughed.
The thought came suddenly and unwelcome: how easy it would be to close the distance between them, to pull her gently into his arms and silence those restless lips with a kiss.
The image struck him with such force that his breath caught. The room suddenly felt too small.
Too quiet.
Too warm.
Ethan’s fingers tightened around the bowl.
No.
She wants to be near me.
She is human.
She trusts me.
The thought made Ethan’s chest ache.
Isabel kept chatting lightly, completely unaware of the storm rising inside him.
“And honestly,” she continued, “I think you need someone who isn’t afraid to tell you when you’re being ridiculous….”
“Isabel.”
His voice came out sharper than intended.
She blinked.
“Yes?”
“You should leave.”
She frowned slightly.
“Leave?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Ethan stood abruptly.
“Because it is late.”
“It’s not that late.”
“You should still leave.”
Isabel stared at him, confused.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“No.”
“You look like I insulted you.”
“You did not.”
“Then why are you kicking me out?”
Ethan turned away from her.
“Please go.”
Isabel set her bowl down slowly.
“You don’t have to take what I said seriously,” she said awkwardly. “I was just joking around.”
His wolf growled faintly beneath his skin. Ethan could feel Rex’s excitement too.
Ethan clenched his jaw.
“I am serious, Isabel. You need to leave.”
She crossed her arms stubbornly.
“I’m not leaving until you tell me what I did.”
“You did nothing.”
“Then why are you acting like this?”
“Because…”
He stopped himself.
Because if she stayed another minute he might do something he could never undo.
“Isabel,” he said quietly, “go.”
“No.”
Her stubbornness snapped the final thread of control.
The shift came fast.
Bones twisted.
Muscles expanded.
Dark fur burst across his skin as the king’s body transformed into the towering lycan form.
The massive wolf-like creature stood between her and the door, eyes glowing faintly in the dim light.
Isabel gasped.
Fear flashed across her face.
She stumbled backward.
“Ethan—”
The lycan growled low in his throat.
“Leave…”
That was enough.
Isabel bolted for the door.
She rushed out of the room so quickly she nearly left the door swinging off its hinges.
The bowl of ice cream remained on the floor.
Half melted.
Silence fell over the chamber.
A moment later, Ethan stepped into the bathroom.
The lycan form stared back at him from the mirror.
Slowly, painfully, the transformation reversed.
Fur receded.
Bones shifted back.
Human skin returned.
Ethan gripped the edge of the sink and leaned forward.
Cold water splashed against his face.
Behind his thoughts, Rex spoke quietly.
“Why did you do that?”
Ethan breathed slowly.
“It was the only way to make her leave.”
“She is afraid of you now.”
“I know.”
She will hate us.
Ethan closed his eyes.
“Perhaps.”
Rex was silent for a moment.
Ethan stared at his reflection.
“I do not trust myself around her.”
The wolf inside him shifted uneasily.
“You would not hurt her.”
Ethan’s voice was quiet.
“Not in the way you’re thinking. There are some things we can do with good intentions but still end up hurting the people we love.”
Ethan dried his face slowly with a towel.
His gaze returned to the mirror.
“What I did tonight can be explained one day.”
He paused.
“What I almost did… cannot.”