"To be honest, Your Majesty... I can’t say for certain," he admitted. "There are too many unknowns. The potency of the Princess’s pheromones was off the charts, and there may be other variables at play. All I can suggest is that we prepare for the worst. At the very least, when it returns, we might have to let them mate."
"Are you out of your damned mind?!" the Alpha King snarled, his temper snapping. "Those n are barely holding themselves together, and when they lose control again, they’ll destroy her. She doesn’t even have her wolf back yet. Do you want her broken beyond healing?"
The Royal Alchemist bowed his head in submission, sensing the Alpha King’s fury crackling through the air like a storm. And the Alpha King had every right to be angry. Even the Alchemist knew that everything unfolding was far from ordinary—unnatural, even—and it posed a real danger to Addison.
He was deeply concerned that she might not be able to withstand the overwhelming pull of all three of her fated mates during her next heat cycle, should they attempt to bond with her all at once.
It seed they were all bound to each other in a way that defied logic; when one entered rut, the other two followed. And if Addison went into heat, all three would feel it simultaneously, reacting like wild beasts driven by an instinct to mate and nothing more. The whole situation was chaotic and dangerously unbalanced, for Addison, that is.
By morning, Addison stirred awake in bed, her body aching and drained of energy. She couldn’t recall the chaos from the night before, only vague fragnts of entering her heat cycle while in the bathroom. She thought she had passed out trying to suppress her pheromones, and everything after that was a blur. Her attendant remained quiet, hesitant to speak, especially since Addison herself hadn’t asked many questions—until now.
"Where are my children?" she asked, noticing the absence of Aiden and Kyle’s usual morning giggles and the sound of their little feet scampering across her room. She had promised to spend ti with them last night, to explain everything, but she rembered they were running fevers. It made sense they weren’t up and playing, yet the heavy silence from her attendant told her more than words could.
The truth was, the twins had still been feverish the night before. But after seeing Addison, disoriented, flushed, and speaking like soone else entirely, the boys grew increasingly distressed. Their emotional state alard the Queen, Addison’s mother, who feared that any further exposure to their mother’s condition would only worsen their fever.
So, without delay, she took them to the main palace and kept them close, sharing her bed with her mate and the twins, holding vigil over them through the night. The Alpha King had quietly told the Queen everything. And while she tried to remain strong, she, too, was deeply shaken. None of them had slept.
anwhile, Zion, Maxwell, and Levi had been returned to their rooms, completely unconscious. Royal Guards stood watch outside their doors, maintaining strict security. At the sa ti, other guards were dispatched throughout the palace, combing every corner in search of the missing Claire.
Tension hung thick in the air. The once serene halls echoed with low murmurs and hurried footsteps. The unrest was so obvious that even the guests began to sense sothing was wrong.
Still, Addison’s attendant didn’t know how to explain what had truly happened the night before. So, she kept it simple, informing Addison that the Queen had taken the twins with her. If Addison wanted to see them, she just needed to speak to her parents, who would show her the twins’ current hiding place.
It was likely the children would remain there until the upcoming territory-wide conference with the other Alphas, and until Alpha Zion returned to his own lands. As for her tangled relationship with Zion and her newly acknowledged fated mates, Addison decided to set that aside for now. She needed to take things one step at a ti, any more, and it would be too much for her.
After changing into her formal attire, Addison t her father, who looked like he, too, had endured a long, restless night. When he saw her, he could only sigh heavily, worry etched across his face. They shared a quiet breakfast together before heading to the conference.
As they entered the grand conference room, where all the Alphas from territories across the kingdom had gathered, the atmosphere shifted. Heads turned toward the entrance. Seeing Addison in her official uniform, composed, regal, and confident, as she walked closely behind her father, many of the Alphas began looking at her with newfound interest and caution. However, three particular gazes were so intense they felt like they could bore holes through her, but Addison ignored them, keeping her head high and stride steady.
The room was arranged with a massive circular table where the Alphas sat, their Betas standing behind them. Additional seating lined the periter of the room like in a courtroom, tables for departnt leaders, who were present to provide real-ti updates on crises as needed and respond to the Alpha King’s questions about processes and actions taken so far.
Once the Alpha King reached his designated seat at the far end of the circle, he sat down, his Royal Beta and Advisor positioned behind him. Addison took the seat at his right hand, a clear statent to everyone present that her first official day as heir apparent had begun, and from now on, she would attend all major etings alongside the Alpha King.
What struck many even more than the symbolism was Addison herself. She exuded calm authority, as if this weren’t her first ti standing among powerful leaders. There was no sign of nervousness or intimidation, even in the presence of Alphas from every age and background.
And then, a realization dawned on the departnt heads. Addison reminded them of the human male who used to serve as the Alpha King’s personal assistant. Though the nas were similar, and the appearance and gender different, sothing in her aura and voice was undeniably familiar. As soon as she spoke, their suspicions were confird: Addison had been among them all along, just in disguise.
"As you all know, we’ve gathered here today to address the various crises affecting our lands across the territories," the Alpha King began, his voice calm but commanding as he looked each Alpha in the eye. "This eting will allow everyone to understand the full scope of the situation and, where possible, provide assistance to neighboring packs, especially those suffering the most from the major issues. These include the drought in the South, the locust infestation in the West, and the spreading plague in the North."
Addison, seated at her father’s right hand, mirrored his composed gaze, her eyes moving from Alpha to Alpha around the room. The seating arrangent reflected the hierarchy of the packs, with the strongest seated closest to the Royal family and the weaker ones progressively farther away. As such, Zion was seated near her, and she could feel the weight of his gaze, burning with longing, regret, and a mix of emotions that stirred sothing complicated within her.
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