THE HEIR OF BLOOD.
827 Words
The blood on Willow's palm refused to disappear.
Lucien had washed it three times.
The mark remained.
Three black lines crossed the center of her palm, forming the same symbol that had appeared on her lower back.
The royal seer stood over her with a troubled expression.
"This isn't an injury."
Willow looked at her.
"Then what is it?"
The seer hesitated.
"A seal."
Lucien's face hardened.
"A seal for what?"
"The bloodline."
Willow's fingers curled.
"You keep saying that word as though I'm supposed to understand."
The seer looked at her.
"Your mother wasn't hiding your identity because she was ashamed of it."
"Then why?"
"Because House Veyr believed that one day a daughter would be born capable of awakening the First Blood."
Willow's stomach tightened.
"And that's me?"
"Yes."
Lucien stepped closer.
"What happens when it awakens?"
The seer looked at him.
"It gives her access to something no Alpha has ever possessed."
Lucien's eyes narrowed.
"What?"
"Authority over the ancient bond."
Silence.
Willow looked down at her hand.
"I don't want it."
"I know."
"Can I get rid of it?"
The seer shook her head.
"No."
"Then what am I supposed to do?"
The answer came from Lucien.
"Learn to control it."
Willow looked at him.
He was standing beside her now.
Not as king.
Not as Alpha.
As her mate.
"I'll help you."
She gave him a bitter smile.
"You couldn't even admit you loved me for five years."
His expression tightened.
"I know."
"You can't protect me from everything."
"No."
He took her hand carefully.
"But I'll stand beside you while you learn to protect yourself."
Willow stared at him.
That promise felt different.
Not controlling.
Not possessive.
A choice.
And perhaps that frightened her more.
___________________
That night, Willow stood alone on the palace balcony.
The city stretched beneath her.
She could hear thousands of wolves moving through the streets.
The kingdom Lucien ruled.
The kingdom he had chosen over her.
She heard footsteps behind her.
She didn't turn.
"I know you're there."
Lucien stopped.
"You should be resting."
"I can't."
He came to stand beside her.
For several moments, neither spoke.
Then Willow asked,
"Do you regret that night?"
Lucien's expression changed.
"No."
"Not even knowing what would happen afterward?"
"No."
She looked at him.
"Even though you're still engaged?"
His jaw tightened.
"No."
"Even though I'm the reason your kingdom is in danger?"
"No."
"Then what do you regret?"
Lucien looked toward the city.
"Every year I stayed away from you."
Willow's eyes filled with tears.
"Why?"
"Because I thought distance would make the bond disappear."
"And did it?"
He looked at her.
"No."
A tear slipped down her cheek.
Lucien lifted his hand.
He hesitated.
Then gently wiped it away.
"I loved you when you were seventeen."
Willow's breath caught.
"I know."
"No."
His voice was quiet.
"You don't."
He looked directly into her eyes.
"I loved you before I knew how to survive loving you."
She closed her eyes.
"Then why did you reject me without rejecting me?"
"Because I was afraid that if I accepted the bond, I'd eventually choose you over everything."
"And now?"
Lucien's expression was devastatingly honest.
"I already have."
Willow opened her eyes.
"You just haven't admitted it to the kingdom."
"No."
He stepped closer.
"Not yet."
A scream tore through the palace.
Lucien's head snapped toward the doors.
Willow's hand went to her stomach.
A strange warmth spread through her.
Then,
a pulse.
She froze.
"Lucien."
He looked at her.
"What?"
She grabbed his hand and placed it against her abdomen.
"I felt something."
His entire body went still.
Neither of them spoke.
Then it happened again.
A faint pulse beneath his palm.
Lucien's eyes widened.
The Alpha King had faced armies without fear.
Yet this nearly brought him to his knees.
"Our child."
Willow smiled through her tears.
"Yes."
Lucien lowered his forehead against hers.
For one brief moment, there was no kingdom.
No engagement.
No prophecy.
No bloodlines.
Only them.
Then every candle in the palace went out.
Willow's mark ignited.
A voice whispered through the darkness.
"The first heir has awakened."
Lucien pulled Willow behind him.
The voice continued.
"And the king must choose."
The palace windows shattered simultaneously.
Lucien's wolf roared.
Guards flooded the corridor.
And from somewhere beneath the palace came the sound of ancient chains breaking.
One.
Then another.
Then another.
Lucien looked toward the floor.
Something ancient had awakened beneath his kingdom.
The seer came running into the corridor.
Her face was white.
"Your Majesty..."
"What?"
She looked at Willow.
Then at Lucien.
"The First Throne has opened."
Lucien's expression darkened.
"What is the First Throne?"
The seer whispered,
"The throne that existed before the Alpha Kings."
Willow's blood ran cold.
"And who sits on it?"
The seer looked toward the darkness beneath them.
"No one."
A pause.
"Not yet."
Then the entire palace shook.
And beneath their feet, something ancient whispered Willow's name.
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