HER STOLEN CROWN

CHAPTER 3 Asher's POV

The knock on my door was ferocious enough to make me bolt upright in bed, my heart slamming against my ribs before my mind had even caught up with my body.

For a moment I didn't know where I was. Five years away from home did that to a person.

The knock came again, harder this time.

"I'm coming," I muttered, dragging a hand down my face as I swung my legs off the bed. The floor was cold beneath my feet. I grabbed a shirt from the back of a chair, pulling it on as I crossed the room, still half-convinced I was dreaming.

I opened the door to find Rowan standing there, already dressed, looking like he'd been up for hours. He probably had. Rowan never seemed to sleep, not since we were kids training together in the yard, not since he'd been named my beta.

"Rowan." I rubbed my eyes. "It's barely light out."

"Good morning to you too," he said, a faint smirk tugging at his mouth. "Sleep well, your highness?"

"Don't call me that."

"You'll have to get used to it soon enough."

I sighed, leaning against the doorframe. "What's so urgent it couldn't wait another hour?"

"The council," he said. "They want to meet before midday to go over the coronation details. Security, the guest list, the ceremony order. Your father wants everything finalized before the Blackwood envoy arrives."

That made me pause. "Blackwood is sending someone?"

"Apparently." Rowan's expression flickered, just for a second. "Your father didn't say much about it. Just that we needed to be ready."

I nodded slowly. The Blackwood pack hadn't sent anyone to Silverfang territory in years, not since the border disputes that had strained relations back when I was still a boy. My father rarely spoke of them, and when he did, it was with the kind of words and expression people used when a subject was more dangerous than it looked.

"I'll be down in a bit," I told Rowan. "Let me get dressed."

"Don't take too long. You know how the council gets when they're kept waiting."

"They've been waiting five years for me to come home," I said dryly. "I think they can manage another twenty minutes."

Rowan huffed something like a laugh and turned to head back down the hallway, his footsteps fading against the stone floor. I shut the door and stood there for a moment, staring at nothing in particular.

Five years. It didn't feel real yet, being back. I'd left Silverfang at nineteen to train with allied packs across the region, to learn how other alphas ran their territories, to grow into someone capable of leading instead of just inheriting. My father had insisted on it, said a good alpha needed more than blood to earn respect. I hadn't argued. If anything, I'd been relieved to leave, relieved to put distance between myself and a home that had never quite felt like it fit right, even before I understood why.

I got dressed quickly into a dark trousers, a fitted shirt, nothing as formal as what I'd be expected to wear later in the week for the ceremony itself. Just something presentable enough for a council meeting that would likely run long and test my patience before it was over.

The council chamber was already half full by the time I arrived, low murmurs of conversation dying down as I stepped through the doors. My father sat at the head of the long table, looking older than I remembered, though his presence still commanded the room the way it always had. He gave me a short nod as I took my seat.

"Glad you could join us," he said, not quite an insult but not far from one either.

"Wouldn't miss it," I said evenly, settling into the chair beside Rowan.

The meeting went the way it was supposed to go. Each council member dropped their ideas and views on the coronation and other matters. I listened, contributed when needed, and let my mind wander during the parts that didn't require me saying anything.

It wasn't until nearly an hour in that my father brought up Blackwood.

"They're sending a representative," he said, his tone carefully even. "Not the alpha himself. A member of his inner circle."

"Why now?" one of the council members asked, an older wolf named Halden who had served under my father for decades.

"They haven't acknowledged us in years."

"I don't know," my father admitted, and something about the way he said it made the room go quieter than it had been all morning. "But we'll receive them properly. Whatever their reasons, I want no incidents."

I watched my father carefully as he spoke, noting the way his eyes twitched, the way his fingers tightened, he was definitely hiding something.

The meeting wrapped shortly after, council members filing out in twos and threes, already murmuring amongst themselves about the unexpected news. I lingered, waiting until the room had mostly emptied, before approaching my father.

"You're worried about something," I said quietly. "It's not just a formal visit, is it?"

My father was quiet for a long moment, his eyes fixed on the wall. "There are things happening in this pack that predate your return, Asher. Things I haven't had the chance to explain yet."

"Then explain them now."

"Not here." His voice dropped lower. "Not yet. After the coronation, once things are settled, we'll talk."

"Father"

"I said not now." His tone left no room for argument, sharp in a way that reminded me of the man I remembered from childhood, the one who ruled with authority

I clenched my jaw but said nothing further, watching as he gathered his papers and left the chamber without another word.

He was definitely hiding something.