Chapter 196 CHAPTER 196
Liam Blackthorne had faced battlefields without fear.
He had stood before raging wolves, hostile councils, and creatures that belonged more to legend than reality. None of it had ever unsettled him the way a simple knock on his door did that evening.
The knock was gentle.
Two light taps.
Liam froze for half a second before hurrying across his quarters to open it.
Lisa stood in the hallway.
Her dark hair fell loosely over her shoulders, and there was a softness in her expression that made the tight knot in Liam’s chest loosen immediately.
“You look like you expected someone else,” she teased lightly.
“No,” Liam said quickly, stepping aside so she could enter. “I just—come in.”
Lisa stepped into the room, and Liam suddenly became painfully aware of every detail around him.
His quarters were neat. Everything was exactly where it belonged. His armor rested on its stand near the wall. His weapons were arranged carefully above a small wooden desk. The room smelled faintly of polished leather and clean steel.
But suddenly it all felt far too humble.
Liam cleared his throat awkwardly.
“You can sit,” he said, gesturing toward the small couch near the window.
Then, realizing what he had just done, he immediately walked over and wiped his hand across the couch cushion as if brushing away dust.
Lisa watched him for a moment.
Then she laughed.
“You’re nervous.”
“I am not.”
“You are,” she said, crossing her arms with amusement. “You just wiped imaginary dirt off a perfectly clean couch.”
Liam straightened.
“It is not imaginary. Dust exists.”
Lisa sat down anyway, smiling.
“Relax, Commander. I’m not here to inspect your furniture.”
Liam rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
“It’s just… these quarters are not exactly what you’re used to.”
Lisa blinked.
“What do you mean?”
“This place must seem rather small compared to the palace.” Liam said nervously.
Lisa tilted her head slightly.
“Liam… Have you forgotten that I just recently came to Mooncrest? This room is a palace itself compared to the attic I used to sleep in back at Silverpine.”
Liam went still.
Lisa leaned back against the couch comfortably.
“You know,” she continued casually, “back in Silverpine this place would have looked like luxury to me. I mean, there’s even a window.”
Her voice was light, but Liam’s jaw tightened.
“You should never compare your life now to what those people did to you.”
Lisa looked at him.
“If it were up to me,” Liam continued quietly, “the elders currently sitting in Mooncrest prison would spend years experiencing exactly what they forced you to endure.”
Lisa studied his face thoughtfully.
“What do you think will happen to them?”
She folded her hands loosely in her lap.
“I’ve never really seen how judgment works here. The only one I witnessed was Vaughn… and he was already dead when Ethan made the announcement.”
Liam leaned against the desk.
“Alpha Richard did break the law.”
There was a silent pause.
“When Cedric discovered a child in the forest and took you into their pack, Richard failed to report your presence to Mooncrest,” Liam explained. “All packs within the kingdom must report unknown individuals to the royal court. That law exists to prevent infiltration, kidnapping, and political manipulation.”
Lisa listened quietly.
“So Cedric violated the law by hiding me.”
“Yes and Richard knowingly helped conceal the truth,” Liam said. “So they will both be punished.”
Lisa nodded slowly.
“What about Sebastian?”
Liam’s expression darkened slightly.
“That situation is… more complicated.”
“Why?”
“Because rejecting someone is not a crime,” Liam said. “However cruel it may be.”
Lisa looked down at her hands.
“So legally he didn’t do anything wrong.”
“No.”
“But Ethan still has him imprisoned.”
“Yes.”
“Because of me.”
Liam hesitated.
“Partly. I think he is holding him responsible for the emotional pain he caused you – as a brother – not the king. Whatever happens to him will depend on how you feel about him. Do you want him punished?”
Lisa let out a small breath.
“I know Sebastian is a jerk,” she admitted.
Liam said nothing.
“It would feel wrong,” she continued slowly, “to ask my brother to punish him for something that isn’t actually illegal.”
She glanced up.
“He humiliated me, yes. He rejected me. But that doesn’t mean he deserves punishment from the king.”
Liam suddenly smiled.
Lisa blinked.
“Why are you smiling?”
“Because you remind me of the goddess.”
She frowned slightly.
“What does that mean?”
“It means you carry her kindness,” Liam said quietly.
Lisa looked confused.
“Just hearing Sebastian’s name makes my blood boil,” Liam admitted. “And yet here you are… calmly explaining that he may not deserve punishment.”
Lisa shrugged.
“Maybe the rejection was a blessing.”
Liam raised an eyebrow.
“A blessing?”
“If Sebastian hadn’t rejected me,” she said thoughtfully, “I probably would have stayed in Silverpine.”
Liam listened carefully.
“And if I hadn’t left Silverpine… I would never have found my real family.”
Her gaze lifted to meet his.
“So maybe the goddess planned it that way.”
Liam’s expression softened.
Lisa smiled faintly.
“The only thing I want now is for the bond between Sebastian and me to break completely.”
She gave him a playful look.
“So you can mark me as your own.”
Liam laughed quietly.
He stepped closer.
“You know we do not need a mark to prove how we feel about each other.”
Lisa tilted her head.
“So… you won’t mark me?”
Liam leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss against the side of her neck.
“Are you kidding?” he murmured. “I cannot wait to mark you.”
Lisa smiled.
“I’m just saying the mark does not define us,” he continued softly. “What we feel exists whether the bond exists or not.”
Lisa looked up at him.
“Is that how you feel?”
Liam didn’t answer with words.
Instead he kissed her.
Softly at first.
Lisa’s hands rested against his chest as the kiss deepened.
The quiet warmth between them began to grow stronger.
But then…
Liam’s head snapped up suddenly.
His body stiffened.
Lisa blinked.
“What’s wrong?”
A voice echoed sharply in Liam’s mind.
One of his guards.
Urgent.
Commander… can you hear me?
Liam frowned.
Speak.
We’ve finished burying Vaughn.
“Good,” Liam said through the link.
There was a pause.
Commander… we found something else.
Liam’s stomach tightened. He had a feeling it was nothing good if the guards thought of communicating through the mind link instead of waiting until they returned to the palace.
What did you find?
The guard hesitated.
Another body.
It was hanging from a tree nearby, the guard said quietly. A young boy. The body is badly deteriorated.
Lisa watched his expression carefully.
“What happened?” she whispered.
Liam calmly held up a hand for silence. And Lisa nodded realizing he was on a mind call.
Liam’s jaw tightened.
Anything else?
Another pause.
There was a note tied to the branch.
A cold feeling spread through Liam’s chest.
The guard’s voice dropped even lower.
It said the body should be returned to Silverpine.
The note was signed… Sarah.
The room went completely silent.
Lisa felt a chill crawl down her spine as she watched Liam’s expression darken.
The peaceful evening, they had shared moments earlier had vanished.