CHAPTER 205: _ A JOYOUS DAY, INDEED

"Enough," Tobias rumbles, nodding approvingly like he’s enjoying watching everyone bark at each other. "Lira is an excellent choice. A Luna candidate worthy of her lineage. I, for one, am proud of Amias’s decision."

The silence that follows is deafening.

Darien blinks. Tobias never interrupts Ines. Ever. Even wolves have the sense not to bite the hand that raises their heir. Not to mention he did it to praise Amias.

Hold up... did the man just say he’s proud of Amias?

Ines’s jaw tightens. She doesn’t speak, but Darien can see the muscles flex in her neck, the faint tremor in her fingers as she sets her cup down.

Clarissa smiles, victorious. "You see, Ines? The Alpha agrees."

Kairos mutters in Darien’s head, "And the fool thinks he’s scored a victory. This is going to explode."

Amias, the supposed victor, looks anything but triumphant. He sits perfectly still, eyes unfocused, as though he’s only half-hearing the conversation around him.

Darien watches him closely. That vacant stare—it isn’t calm. It’s a resignation.

He remembers overhearing Amias and Lira once in the courtyard, the Beta’s daughter speaking in a tone far too sweet to be honest. "You know what you’ll lose if you walk away, Amias. Think carefully before you do something stupid."

Darien hadn’t meant to eavesdrop; they were standing right by his car. But the image of Amias’s expression; trapped, cornered, and furious... never left him.

And now this? A proposal?

Kairos’s growl bubbles through his mind. "Let him dig his own pit. He’s made his choice."

Darien clenches his fists under the table. "He’s not choosing. He’s being pushed."

"And did he care when he punched you that day for overhearing?" Kairos snaps. "Let him burn. That’s one less rival to battle for our mate."

Darien swallows hard, forcing down the spark of possessive rage that flares whenever Heidi crosses his mind. He can’t afford it now. Not here. Not surrounded by wolves ready to devour weakness.

Clarissa reaches over and touches Amias’s hand, smiling so tenderly that it makes Darien’s stomach twist. "You’ve made me so proud, darling. After everything, this family can finally see your worth."

Amias’s fingers twitch under hers, but he doesn’t pull away.

Rayne sighs happily. "It’s so wonderful to see peace at this table for once."

Ines’s laugh is dry as dust. "Peace is often mistaken for surrender."

Tobias shoots her a warning look, but she doesn’t flinch. She never does.

The air is thick enough to drown in. Servants move like ghosts, refilling glasses, clearing plates, pretending not to notice the war zone of egos sitting inches apart.

Darien’s head pounds. The smell of roasted meat has turned nauseating. Honey lingers too sweet in the air. Even the fire crackling in the hearth feels mocking, feeding on tension instead of logs.

He looks at Amias again... his brother’s shoulders are rigid, his eyes are unfocused, his wolf buried somewhere deep and silent.

What are you doing, Amias? He internally wonders.

But Amias doesn’t look at him. He just nods politely at something Tobias says about legacy and duty, as though reciting from a script.

Clarissa laughs again, her bracelets chiming like bells. "Such a fine group of sons, Tobias. Truly, the Goddess has blessed this family."

Ines’s smile is knife-thin. "Blessings, yes. Though some blessings require discernment to keep from becoming curses."

Clarissa’s head tilts. "Are you implying something, Ines?"

"I’m saying," Ines replies, still smiling, "that wolves who rush to claim trophies often end up choking on them."

A collective inhale travels across the table.

Darien presses his fingers to his temple. Someone please end this breakfast before someone dies.

Morgan breaks the silence with a laugh. "Mother, that’s harsh. You make it sound like we’re cursed."

"You might be," Isolde mutters.

Grayson leans back in his chair. "I, for one, find this all fascinating. Three brothers, three mates—what could go wrong?"

Really? ’Three mates’? Is Grayson serious right now, knowing very well that it’s four brothers, one mate?

Darien glares at him. "You really want an answer?"

Grayson grins wider. "Not particularly."

Kairos snorts in Darien’s head. "You could strangle them both and no one would notice for at least five minutes."

"Tempting," Darien mutters.

Rayne, ever the peacemaker, claps her hands. "Enough tension, everyone! This is a joyous day! Let’s toast to new unions and..."

The door bursts open.

A servant stumbles in, pale and sweating, clutching a silver tray. "Apologies, Alpha. It’s... an urgent message from the council!"

Tobias frowns. "Now?"

"Yes, sir. They request your immediate presence. Something about... THE Moon Blessed."

The room freezes again. Darien’s heartbeat spikes, and Kairos goes utterly still. ’The Moon Blessed’? Which of them? Heidi? Could it be Heidi? It must be Heidi. The emphasis on ’the’ already tells him enough—Darien’s thoughts run in quick succession.

Darien’s canines threaten to lengthen as Tobias speaks to the servant, the wolf’s instinct to silence him rising unbidden. He forces his molars shut until his jaw aches. The last thing this table needs is blood before the cursed breakfast ends.

It’s high time he had that discussion with his brothers.

Ines’s eyes narrow. Clarissa’s smile fades. Even Tobias’s confidence falters for half a second and Darien notices it all.

What could it be? Do the mothers also know about this? About Heidi? Or are they just disappointed that the Alpha they are all in each other’s necks trying to please is leaving? He wonders.

"Oh, Goddess. Let it be the latter." Even Kairos shudders.

Darien doesn’t move or breathe. He just listens to the pounding of his heart and the whisper of Kairos’s voice in his skull.

"The storm’s begun."

And Darien knows that this breakfast, this family, this fragile illusion of civility was never peace. It was just the quiet before everything burns.

Darien doesn’t breathe until Tobias is gone.

The Alpha rises with that heavy authority that turns the whole room into an audience. Even his chair scrape sounds like a declaration. "We’ll continue later," he announces, already halfway to the door, the servant at his heel.

His tone is calm, but there’s a faint crack in it. It’s a flake of unease that only Darien seems to catch.

Clarissa stands too quickly. "Tobias, perhaps I should tag along. We can announce Amias and Lira’s..."

He waves her off. "No. Stay. Not now."

The door shuts behind him with the finality of a slammed coffin lid.

And that’s when the air breaks.