Blackwood Castle smelled different after war.

Not cleaner.

Just quieter.

The long stone corridors no longer echoed with council arguments or servants rushing between political meetings at midnight. Too many rooms sat empty now. Too many wolves buried beneath the southern forests for the castle to fully feel alive again.

Rain tapped softly against the gothic windows lining the upper halls while reconstruction crews worked through the lower courtyards beneath torchlight outside.

The kingdom survived.

Barely.

And somehow that felt enough.

Killian stood outside the grand master suite with one hand resting loosely against the silver wolf sword hanging at his side while exhaustion dragged heavily across every inch of his body.

Three days.

That was how long he’d gone without proper sleep.

Marcus stopped trying to force him after the second.

The Alpha—former Alpha, technically—had become impossible to argue with lately.

Not aggressive.

Worse.

Calm.

The kind of calm exhausted men reached after surviving the thing they feared most.

A pair of castle servants approached nervously carrying folded velvet linens and fresh candles for the upper chambers.

They slowed immediately seeing Killian standing outside Eva’s doors.

Still difficult getting used to that sight.

The legendary Blackwood king reduced to silent guard dog outside someone else’s room.

One servant lowered her head carefully.

“My Lord.”

Killian looked at her once.

“Wrong title.”

The girl flushed instantly.

“S-sorry.”

Killian stepped aside slightly so they could enter the suite without forcing them too close to him. Smart wolves still kept distance now whenever possible.

Not because they feared him.

Because they feared what he belonged to.

The servants disappeared inside quickly.

Killian remained outside.

Exactly where he’d been most of the night.

Marcus eventually found him there around midnight leaning silently against the stone wall near the suite entrance while moonlight filtered pale silver through the nearby windows.

The Beta stopped several feet away.

“You’re still here.”

Killian glanced toward him briefly.

“Yeah.”

Marcus rubbed tiredly at the back of his neck.

“You know she has death guards stationed across the entire upper floor now.”

Killian said nothing.

“Literally nobody can reach her without being ripped apart first.”

Still nothing.

Marcus stared at him for a long second.

Then sighed.

“You’re impossible.”

Killian almost smiled at that.

Almost.

The silence stretched comfortably afterward while distant thunder rolled beyond the mountains outside Blackwood.

Marcus eventually leaned beside him against the opposite wall.

“She notice yet?”

Killian frowned slightly.

“What?”

“The fact you haven’t left her door once.”

Killian looked away.

Interesting answer.

Marcus laughed quietly beneath his breath.

“Oh my God.”

“Shut up.”

“You’re actually standing guard.”

Killian’s jaw tightened faintly.

“She just took control of the entire continent. There’ll be retaliation attempts.”

“There are forty vampire death guards downstairs.”

“Not enough.”

Marcus stared at him.

Then laughed harder.

“Jesus Christ, you really are gone.”

Killian looked toward the closed suite doors again.

Gone.

Maybe.

But strangely—

Not lost.

The realization still sat oddly in his chest whenever he thought too hard about it.

Marcus studied him more carefully now beneath the corridor light.

The silver scars across Killian’s throat had healed into pale marks beneath the restored Mate Bond, though exhaustion still hung visibly from his face after the summit and the war.

But something else had changed too.

The constant tension was gone.

That old brutal pressure he carried for years ruling Blackwood alone had finally disappeared.

Marcus noticed.

“Happy looks weird on you.”

Killian actually laughed softly once.

“Tired. Not happy.”

“Bullshit.”

The former Alpha didn’t answer.

Because honestly—

He didn’t fully know anymore.

The suite doors opened suddenly behind them.

Both wolves looked up immediately.

A vampire servant stepped out carrying an empty silver tray before freezing slightly seeing Killian still standing there.

“Oh.”

Killian frowned.

“What?”

The servant hesitated carefully.

“Her Majesty assumed you had already retired for the evening.”

Marcus visibly bit down a grin.

Killian ignored him.

“She needs anything?”

The servant blinked.

“No…”

“Any suspicious movement?”

“...No.”

“Did she eat?”

Marcus turned away entirely after that trying not to laugh directly in his face.

The servant looked increasingly terrified answering questions that sounded disturbingly close to concerned husband behavior.

“Yes.”

“What?”

“Soup.”

Killian nodded once.

Good.

The servant escaped immediately afterward.

Marcus lost the fight against laughter the second the corridor fell quiet again.

“Soup?” he wheezed. “You asked if she ate?”

Killian looked genuinely annoyed now.

“She forgets sometimes.”

“Oh, this is pathetic.”

“She spent centuries surviving off blood and war.”

Marcus laughed harder.

“And now you’re worried she skipped dinner?”

Killian crossed his arms.

“She likes the rosemary soup.”

That completely destroyed whatever composure Marcus still had left.

The Beta physically leaned against the wall laughing while Killian stared at him with the expression of a man deeply reconsidering homicide.

“She turned you into a housewife.”

“Leave.”

Marcus wiped at his face.

“No, seriously, this is unbelievable. The same Killian who once threatened to rip out my throat because I interrupted a war meeting is now standing outside a vampire queen’s bedroom making sure she ate soup.”

Killian’s mouth twitched despite himself.

“Rosemary soup.”

“Oh, fuck off.”

The suite doors opened again.

This time both wolves went silent instantly.

Eva stepped into the corridor wearing a long black silk robe loosely tied at the waist while damp dark curls spilled over one shoulder against pale skin still faintly marked from the summit’s crimson magic.

The entire hallway changed around her immediately.

Not through force.

Presence.

Marcus straightened automatically.

Killian didn’t move at all.

That part interested Eva most.

Everyone else adjusted themselves around her power now.

Killian simply existed beside it.

Her crimson eyes moved briefly toward Marcus first.

“You’re loud.”

The Beta coughed once.

“My apologies, Your Majesty.”

Eva’s gaze shifted toward Killian.

He still stood exactly where she left him hours earlier.

Sword at his side.

Shoulders exhausted.

Eyes fixed quietly on her like he’d been listening for movement through the door the entire night.

Something strange flickered behind her expression.

Tiny thing.

Gone quickly.

“You’re still here.”

Killian shrugged slightly.

“Yeah.”

Simple answer.

No excuse.

No shame.

Marcus watched the interaction carefully.

Fascinating.

Because Eva clearly noticed the same thing he had.

Killian no longer seemed conflicted about any of this.

The surrender at the summit didn’t break him.

It settled him.

Eva leaned lightly against the doorway studying him beneath the corridor light.

Then her eyes drifted lower.

Toward the silver hairpin still tucked near his chest harness beneath the black coat.

Her expression shifted slightly.

The old hairpin.

Small silver moon design.

Cheap thing.

Worthless materially.

Killian had carried it for years.

Ever since the winter festival where sixteen-year-old Eva froze half-dead in the snow clutching his coat while everyone else looked away.

Marcus noticed Eva staring at it too.

Interesting.

The former Alpha unconsciously touched the pin the second her eyes landed there.

Protective instinct.

The movement softened something dangerous in the atmosphere immediately.

Eva looked at him quietly for a moment longer.

“You still kept it.”

Killian’s hand lowered slowly.

“Yeah.”

Again—

No explanation.

None needed.

The corridor fell silent beneath the rain outside.

Marcus looked between them once.

Then immediately decided he valued survival too much to stay in the middle of whatever this was becoming.

“Well,” he muttered awkwardly, stepping backward already, “I suddenly remembered several things I need to do elsewhere.”

Neither of them looked at him.

“Coward,” Killian murmured.

“Alive coward.”

Marcus disappeared down the hallway instantly.

Smart man.

Eva remained near the doorway while candlelight from inside the suite flickered softly behind her across dark velvet furniture and massive gothic windows overlooking Blackwood below.

Killian stayed where he was.

Waiting.

Not demanding entry.

Not expecting anything.

Just there.

Like a shadow that chose her willingly.

Eva noticed that too.

The terrifying Alpha king who once ruled half the continent through brute force now looked more peaceful standing guard outside her door than he ever had sitting on a throne.

Dangerous realization.

Her gaze moved slowly across the exhaustion carved into his face.

The healing wounds.

The posture still subtly alert despite obvious fatigue.

He really hadn’t slept.

Idiot wolf.

“You’re exhausted,” she said quietly.

Killian shrugged once.

“I’m fine.”

Lie.

Terrible one.

Eva watched him another second beneath the soft corridor light.

Then finally stepped fully aside from the doorway.

The movement caught Killian’s attention immediately.

“Inside,” she said.

Killian blinked once.

Rare thing.

Almost funny.

Eva crossed her arms loosely against the silk robe.

“That wasn’t a request.”

The bond pulsed warmly beneath his ribs instantly.

Killian stared at her for one suspended second longer before finally pushing himself off the wall and walking slowly toward the open suite doors.

Past her.

Close enough to catch the scent of rainwater and dark roses against warm skin again.

His wolf practically collapsed in relief.

Eva watched the exhausted wolf enter her chambers quietly beneath the moonlight.

And for the first time in centuries—

The grand master suite no longer felt empty.