CHAPTER 146: CHAPTER 146: IT’S MY FIGHT TOO

Lorraine’s POV

I blinked, barely breathing.

He agreed to it....

Kieran actually agreed to bring his mother into this.

The Ghosthound Queen.

The very thought of her had always been shrouded in mystery and hushed fear. Whispers in the Academy halls had painted her as both a legend and a warning

But Kieran.... he was serious. Dead serious. And if anyone knew the danger of what he was about to do, it was him.

The silence was tihht. Cyrin stood tall, his face lined with years of experience and caution, but even that couldn’t mask the concern simmering in his voice.

"My King... I must protest." His voice was low but firm, a warning threaded in every word. "Your mother might be our strongest weapon, yes, but she is also our greatest risk. If we wake her, if we let her fight, there is no telling if she will be able to control herself. Ghosthounds, in their purest form, are cursed with bloodlust. She could turn on us."

My eyes flicked to Kieran.

He stood in the center of the room like he belonged there, dark, regal, in control. But behind that cool exterior, I knew the war he was fighting wasn’t just with the kingdom.

It was with himself.

"I’ve considered every outcome," Kieran said coldly. "Every risk. Every possibility." He turned his eyes to Cyrin. "I’m not throwing my mother into this without a plan. That fight took my father. I know what it can do."

Cyrin nodded slowly, reluctant but obedient.

"You’ll find a way," Kieran added. "To keep her sane. Even for a short while." He looked to Varya. "You’ll work with him. If there’s anyone who understands her strengths and can devise a means to keep her sane, its you two"

Varya gave a sharp nod. "Yes, my King."

Then Kieran turned to Astrid and Magnus.

"I want everyone trained, armed, and ready for battle. You’ll both handle the weapons and the drills. We don’t have the numbers, so we’ll need precision. Strategy. Hit fast, hard, and clean."

Astrid smirked. "Just how I like it."

Kieran didn’t smile back. His jaw was set.

"I’ll go with a few royal guards," he continued. "This is a covert operation. We’ll sneak into the palace and retrieve my mother from the sealed chamber. No one outside this room is to know."

There was a moment of collective stillness. A breath of silence where everyone took in what was being said. What was being commanded.

And through it all, I waited.

Waited for him to say my name. To tell me where I fit in all this. What I could do. What he wanted from me.

But he didn’t.

Not once did his gaze flicker toward me. Not once did he assign me a task.

I stood there, invisible in a room that had once felt like war council and now felt like a kingdom I no longer belonged to.

A part of me understood, maybe this was his way of keeping me safe. Or maybe.... maybe what he said earlier really was true. Maybe I wasn’t worthy enough now.

But no matter the reason, the sting was sharp.

My fists clenched at my sides, but I kept my head high. I didn’t want to crumble in front of him, I didn’t want to show that I was affected by him.

But godess, it hurt.

Kieran left the room without a backward glance. He walked like a king now, shoulders firm, head high, emotions locked behind an impenetrable wall of duty. I watched the door close behind him, and just like that, everyone dispersed.

Astrid and Magnus moved toward the weapons vault to begin drills. Varya and Cyrin discussed protocols in hushed, urgent tones. The room that had felt so full of fire and power suddenly felt so... cold.

I stood there, still trying to keep my spine straight even when my chest was caving in.

"Are you alright?"

I turned. Felix. His dark eyes watched me with quiet concern as he walked up to me, his limp from the recent injury more noticeable than ever.

I nodded. "Yeah. I’m fine."

He squinted, not buying it. "Is everything okay with you and Kieran?"

I paused. That question shouldn’t have hurt. But it did. It cracked something inside me, something I’d been forcing myself not to think about.

"Is it that obvious?" I asked softly.

Felix gave a single nod. "You’ve barely looked at each other since he got back. And during the whole meeting.... he didn’t even acknowledge you."

I felt the pressure build in my throat, but I shoved it back down.

"Don’t tell me he wants to discard you now that he’s king and has all the power," Felix said bitterly, crossing his arms.

"No, Felix. It’s not...."

"He’s discarded you," Felix snapped, cutting me off. "I knew it."

I flinched.

"They’re all the same, Lorraine. The whole Lycan lot of them." His voice was rising, his anger shaking in every word. "No one cares about a feral except another feral. Everything was a damn performance. Too good to be true from the beginning. How could a Lycan prince, the Lycan prince, actually love a feral? It was fake, Lorraine. It was all fake. He used you. That’s what they all do. Use us. Bleed us. Break us. And toss us aside when we’re no longer convenient."

"Felix...." I whispered, but he was already turning away.

He limped off, shoulders tense and fists clenched, leaving a gaping silence behind him.

And I stood there.

Alone.

I wanted to scream after him, He’s wrong! I wanted to chase him and yell that Kieran is different.

That he’s not like the others.

That he loved me.

That he still does...

But the words never left my mouth. Because what if I didn’t know him anymore?

What if Felix was right?

What if all those nights, all those touches, all the things Kieran whispered in the quiet, what if it was all just smoke?

What if the man I’ve come to love with all my heart... had never really been mine at all?

I stood near the edge of the underground hall, watching Kieran move around with purpose. He was surrounded by the royal guards now, seven of them, cloaked in dark armor laced with silver, their spears strapped across their backs, eyes alert and deadly. Kieran walked ahead of them, tall and unreadable, his long coat sweeping behind him like a shadow, his silver-streaked hair catching the dim light with an ethereal glint.

He was preparing to leave. Again.

To sneak into the royal castle. To retrieve his mother, the Ghosthound Queen.

Without me.

I swallowed hard, fists clenched at my sides.

No.

I wasn’t going to just stand here. Not anymore.

I wasn’t some girl to be pushed to the sidelines, silenced, cast out. I was part of this war as much as any of them, more than most. I had bled. I had lost. Elise.... She wad like my sister, and I had lost her to this fight too.

My jaw clenched at the sight of her lifeless body, sprawled on the ground, her bones broken

This fight had taken too much from me already.

So no, whether Kieran wanted me or not, I was going to fight.

Before I even realized it, I had already begun walking, storming, really, toward the stone stairs that led out of the underground. Kieran and the guards were moving toward it too, heading up and out into the open

But before I could get close enough....

"Stop."

The icy press of a blade landed against my neck.

The steel kissed my skin so sharply I froze. Three of Kieran’s guards had stepped between us, weapons raised in fluid, lethal formation. Their gazes were blank, ruthless. Trained killers.

"Stand down," Kieran’s voice rang out, calm but firm. "Let her pass."

The blade retreated, but their glares didn’t. I walked past them without flinching.

I stood in front of him now.

Kieran stared at me, his expression unreadable.

"I’m going with you," I said.

His eyes narrowed. "What?"

"You heard me." I took a deep breath. "Everyone here may kneel and call you their King, but you’re not mine yet, not until you earn it."

His jaw twitched.

"This is not about us, Kieran. This isn’t about whatever you think of me right now. This is about Elise. This is about vengeance. She was tortured. Brutalized. Left to rot in a way that still haunts me in my sleep. And I won’t let you, you of all people, push me out of the only chance I have to make them pay."

Kieran said nothing, he only stared as I continued to speak

"I don’t care what you say," I pressed on, my voice rising, heart pounding. "I am going with you to the royal castle. To get your mother. To be a part of this fight. And you’re not going to stop me."

I stepped closer, eyes locked on his. "I don’t need your permission, Kieran. Not anymore."

The silence that followed was thick and electric. He didn’t blink. His dark crimson eyes stared into mine, and though they were colder than I’d ever seen, there was something beneath them that cracked, just slightly.

He wasn’t expecting this.

But I meant every word.

I don’t care if he continues to push me away, but no matter what he does, I am not going anywhere.