☆ hour later ☆
The infirmary was draped in the soft, golden haze of late morning. The heavy scent of antiseptic and herbs had begun to fade, replaced by the natural, grounding aromas of the Triple Crown children. On the oversized recovery bed, the sheets were a tangled mess of silk and fur.
Kenzo was the first to open his eyes. His shoulder throbbed with a dull, rhythmic heat—a physical reminder of the mana poisoning he had endured. He felt heavy, his muscles sluggish from the sedative the doctor had administered, but his mind was clear.
Beside him, Calix was already awake, sitting cross legged on the edge of the mattress. His amber eyes were red rimmed, his face pale. The moment he saw Kenzo blink, the apologies started pouring out like a broken dam.
"Kenzo, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bite you. I didn't mean to make you faint. I'm a disaster, Kenzo. I'm a monster, just like she said—"
Kenzo rolled his eyes, a weak but characteristic groan escaping his lips. "Calix... stop it. You're giving me a headache. I'm fine. See? I'm breathing."
"But I injected mana into you! The doctor said it was a P-Pseudo Marking'!" Calix's voice rose in a frantic pitch. "I almost broke your Alpha system! I'm so sorry, I'll never do it again, I'll stay away from you if I have to—"
"Will you shut up?" Kenzo interrupted, his voice raspy. He reached out with his good arm and tugged on Calix's sleeve. "Stop apologizing. It's annoying. You were scared. I was there. That's what we do."
Despite Kenzo's dismissal, the guilt in Calix's chest was a physical weight. He felt a desperate, instinctual need to fix what he had broken. His mana, still frayed and sensitive, reacted to his desire for atonement.
With a soft whoosh of air and a shimmer of light, Calix's human form vanished. In his place stood the small tiger chimera. Her white and gold fur was ruffled, and her long, serpent tipped tail flicked nervously against the blankets.
Before Kenzo could protest, the small tiger climbed onto his chest. She moved with a delicate precision, avoiding his injured shoulder at first, before leaning in. The tiger began to lick the bandages over Kenzo's bite mark.
A tiger's tongue is like sandpaper, designed to clean and stimulate blood flow, but Calix's lick was infused with a soothing, cooling mana.
Kenzo's face turned a vivid, blazing red. He felt incredibly flustered—this was a deeply intimate, primal act of grooming usually reserved for mates or parent cubs. The rough texture of the tongue against his skin through the thin gauze sent a jolt of heat through his system, mixing with the lingering burn of the bite.
"Calix...cut it out," Kenzo muttered, though he didn't push the tiger away. His hands came up to rest on the tiger's soft sides. "This is weird…,you…You're being weird."
The tiger ignored him, letting out a deep, vibrating purr that resonated through Kenzo's chest, slowly numbing the pain in his shoulder.
A soft knock at the door broke the silence.
Celine stood in the doorway, looking smaller than she ever had. She wasn't wearing her usual crown or her stiff royal silks. she was in a simple cotton dress, clutching a small woven food basket.
She stayed at the threshold, her eyes fixed on her boots. The memory of her jealousy in the library and the way she had sent Calix into the danger zone with Lily was eating her alive. She was certain her brothers would hate her. She was certain she was no longer their Alpha.
"Can I...can I come in?" Celine whispered, her voice trembling. "I brought some honey cakes and some Northern berries. I thought... maybe you'd be hungry."
The tiger stopped licking and looked at her, its snake pupils widening. Kenzo looked over Calix's furry head and offered a small, tired nod.
"You're always welcome here, Line," Kenzo said. "Get over here. The tiger is being annoying and I need someone to help me make him stop."
Celine's face lit up with a mix of relief and fresh tears. She scurried over to the bed, setting the basket down and throwing herself into a careful hug with both of them. For a long moment, the Triad was silent, the bond mending in the quiet of the infirmary.
" I'm sorry guys I'm really sorry." She whispered quietly.
While the younger ones found peace, the elders were trapped in their own growing pains.
In the Southern Wing, Lorcan was trapped in a restless sleep. His heat had subsided, but his subconscious was a battlefield. He was dreaming—a vivid, humid dream of the library alcove. In the dream, Aiden wasn't just touching his waist,Aiden was leaning in, his scent of mountain pine overwhelming the smell of old books. Lorcan woke up with a gasp, his skin damp and his heart hammering. He sat up, his face buried in his hands.
I have to wait, Lorcan told himself, a fierce determination hardening his gaze. He's only ten. He doesn't know. I'll wait until he's twelve... until he's fourteen... until he's ready to see me.
Across the palace, Aiden was hunched over a heavy oak desk in his private study. He was surrounded by maps of the Northern fortifications and advanced tactical manuals. He was ten, but his goal was set. he would enter the Military Academy by twelve, skipping two years of preparatory training.
Suddenly, Aiden stopped writing. He reached up and scratched his left ear.
"Ugh, what is that?" he muttered. His ear felt itchy and hot, as if someone were talking about him—or dreaming about him. He shook his head, dismissing the strange sensation as a symptom of reading too much by candlelight. He didn't realize that in the North, an itchy ear meant an Omega was calling your soul. He just went back to his tactics, utterly oblivious to the Southern boy's heart.
The most dangerous conversation of the day was happening in the Sunken Tea Garden. The air was fragrant with blooming jasmine and rose , a sharp contrast to the cold words being exchanged.
Arion sat across from his sister, Lily. His expression was hard, his eyes never leaving hers.
"Calix was hysterical, Lily," Arion said, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. "He said you told him he was a beast. He said you told him he was a weapon. Explain yourself."
Lily didn't flinch. She took a slow, elegant sip of her tea, her expression a perfect mask of wounded innocence.
"Oh, Arion," she sighed, shaking her head. "You know how sensitive that boy is. He's a dreamer, Arion. He wasn't focusing on his letters. I was merely trying to explain that without discipline and manners, a Prince is no better than a wild animal. I was speaking metaphorically about his behavior, not his nature."
She leaned forward, her eyes softening into a look of concern. "He's a shifter, brother. Their minds are prone to exaggeration when they're overwhelmed. I never called him a weapon. I told him he had the power to be a protector, but only if he learned to control himself. He took it the wrong way. He's so fragile, Arion... it's almost a liability."
Lily spent the next hour weaving a web of lies. She spoke of Calix's potential, of her desire to see the family legacy strengthened, and of her own heartbreak that her nephew feared her. She was a master of the Serpent's tongue, even if she lacked the Serpent's blood.
Arion, wanting so desperately to believe his sister wasn't a monster, let out a long sigh. He didn't see the cold, predatory glint in Lily's eyes.
"I will allow the lessons to continue," Arion said finally, though his hand gripped his tea cup so hard the porcelain creaked. "But I am forbidding you from ever raising your voice to him again. You will not scare him. You will not touch him. If I hear one more word about him crying in your presence, I will exile you to the Frost Tundra. Do you understand?"
Lily smiled,a sweet, hollow smile that didn't reach her eyes. She bowed her head innocently. "Of course, brother. I only want what's best for the child."
As Arion stood up and walked away, Lily watched him go. She wasn't deterred. She had been given permission to stay, and to a predator, that was all she needed. She didn't need to scare him anymore,she just needed to wait for the next shift.