The gardens of the Lycanthria palace were wide and carefully maintained. Somewhere in the area, a large patch of grass had been cleared for their usual gathering. A blanket was spread neatly on the ground. Baskets filled with bread, meat, cheese, grapes, sliced cake, and a jug of watered wine were placed on one side. Plates, cups, and a small knife for slicing fruit were arranged beside them.

Serene sat on the large wool blanket, with her legs folded to the side. Evander sat across from her, leaning back slightly on one arm. Seraphina lay on her stomach, her chin propped on her hands, kicking her feet slowly behind her.

They had been waiting. They had set the picnic an hour ago.

Serene exhaled. "Aveloria said she would come this time." She said.

Evander reached for a piece of cheese from the basket. "She always says that." He swallowed the cheese and brushed the crumbs from his fingers.

"She will come," Seraphina replied, though her tone lacked certainty.

Serene let out another long sigh. It was loud enough to draw both their attention.

Evander looked at her. "Why do you look like that?" he asked.

"Like what?" She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her hands around them.

"Gloomy. You have been quiet since we got here." He answered.

Serene didn’t answer immediately. She stared at a patch of grass near the edge of the blanket.

Seraphina turned her head to look at her sister. She popped a grape into her mouth and chewed before speaking. "Evander is right. You have been sighing every few minutes since we sat down. You are not eating either. You poked that bread twice and then left it."

Serene let go of her knees and leaned back on her hands. She looked up at the sky. "I have not been sleeping properly. Not since the execution."

Evander stopped reaching for another piece of cheese. "Really?"

"Why?" Seraphina sat up properly.

Serene continued. "I keep seeing it. Every time I close my eyes, I see it. The blood. The sound of the sword cutting through flesh. Their screams. I know they were traitors. I know they worked with the wanderers. I know they deserved how they died by law. But I cannot stop the images from playing in my head. I wake up at night with my heart pounding. Last night I got maybe two hours of sleep. The nights before, less." Her voice was calm, but there was a strain in it.

"Still, your mouth shouldn’t be rejecting food," Seraphina said, reaching out to pick a single grape from the bunch. She held it up toward Serena’s mouth. "Open."

Serene hesitated. She looked at the grape and then opened her mouth. Seraphina placed the grape inside her mouth, and she chewed it.

Seraphina smiled. "That’s something."

Serene nodded.

Evander shifted his position. "I still can’t believe Scylles is dead," he said.

Seraphina and Serene exchanged a glance.

"Are you feeling bad about it?" Serene asked.

Evander did not answer. He picked up a slice of apple.

Seraphina snorted. "You should not feel bad. He would never feel the same if the roles were reversed. You know that." She reached for the Apple Evander was holding and ate it. "Since we were kids, scale face never liked you. He never liked any of us."

Evander let out a short breath. "I know. I know all of that."

Serene sighed. "Still, we shouldn’t—"

Seraphina cut Serene’s words off. "Oh, please, dear sister. No lectures." She rolled her eyes.

Evander’s sad expression changed. He snapped his fingers just as he remembered something.

"What is it?" Seraphina asked.

"Orinthal told me something a day after the execution." He replied.

Serene and Seraphina both leaned closer.

"What?"

"He said Scylles and Vael got into a fight at Gilded Boar’s Inn," he began.

Seraphina raised her brows. "The Gilded Boar? That is in the lower market."

"Yes. They were having the usual gatherings."

"And they didn’t invite you?" Serene asked.

Evander shrugged. "Scylles had organized it and didn’t invite me."

"Typical of him." Seraphina scoffed.

"Orinthal said Scylles started talking about how he hated me. He insulted the Royal house and called us weak."

"He said all of that?" Serene gasped.

Seraphina’s jaw tightened. "That bastard."

Evander continued. "And Vael told him to stop. He told him not to speak like that in public, that the walls have ears."

Seraphina nodded. "That sounds like Vael."

"But Scylles didn’t like that. You know he doesn’t like being told what to do." Evander said.

"Scylles’ ego must have been bruised." Seraphina laughed.

"He was embarrassed. So he said something worse. He called Vael’s mother a whore."

Seraphina’s eyes widened. "He didn’t."

"He did," Evander said.

Serene’s expression tightened. "What happened next?" she asked with keen interest.

Evander leaned forward slightly, more engaged now. "Vael lunged at him. He grabbed Scylles by the collar, and then he said, Scylles’ mother slept with her brother."

"Oh no!"

"He didn’t say that to him!"

Serene and Seraphina’s hands covered their mouths.

Evander nodded. "That’s what Orinthal said," he replied.

"I can picture how Scylles’ face would have been." Seraphina tried to mimic his expression.

Evander continued speaking as if he were present at the scene. "People tried to separate them, but they kept going."

Serene’s nose twitched. She ignored it at first. Evander was still talking, describing how Vael and Scylles fought.

She sniffed lightly. Her wolf stirred inside her, waking up slowly. Her senses heightened, one she recognized since her first shift a few months ago.

There was a smell in the air. So sweet. It was not the sweetness of the flowers around her, but something she had never smelled before, and her wolf recognized it immediately.

"Do you smell that?" She asked, cutting Evander off mid-sentence.

Evander stopped. "Smell what?"

Seraphina pointed toward the palace kitchen. "The bread. They are probably just baking a new batch. That is what you are smelling."

Serene shook her head. "No. Not the bread." Her eyes shifted slightly, scanning the garden.

Evander kept talking. "Vael had him pinned down at one point. He—" His voice trailed off again when Serene stood up so suddenly.

Serene inhaled again. The scent had gotten stronger. She started walking away.

"Serene?" Evander called after her.

She did not respond. The scent was pulling her. Her wolf was fully awake now pacing inside her chest and urging her forward.

Seraphina got to her feet and followed immediately. "Serene, where are you going?"

Evander sighed. He grabbed a slice of cake from the basket and jogged after them.

Serene moved around the garden, her steps becoming faster as the scent grew stronger. She entered a small section of the garden. There was a running fountain in the center.

Then she stopped walking. A man stood near the fountain, looking down into the water.

He seemed focused on his reflection in the water. He raised his hands to about chest height and stared at them. Then he turned them over and looked at his palms.

Her wolf surged inside her, commanding a shift and urging her to go to him.

Seraphina and Evander stopped a few steps behind her. They exchanged confused looks.

"What is it, Serene?" Seraphina whispered.

Serene didn’t answer.

The figure heard their footsteps. He turned around sharply, looking almost scared. The moment his eyes met hers, everything settled into place. Recognition hit his face. He noted the fine fabric of her dress and the people behind her.

Serene’s heart was beating so hard. "Mate." The words came out of her mouth before she could stop them.

Seraphina’s jaw dropped completely. Evander dropped the slice of cake in his fingers.

"Did she just say, mate?" Seraphina let out a high-pitched sound.

Serene stood frozen.

"Yes! She just said mate!" Evander replied.

The figure turned around, then ran.

"What? He is running away!" Seraphina rushed forward and grabbed her sister’s arm. "Why did he run? Go after him, serene!"

Serene didn’t say anything. Her mouth was just opened.

"I will go find him. He’s a coward for running from his mate!"

Evander grabbed Seraphina’s shoulder to begin. "Stop. Let him go."

Seraphina twisted out of his grip. "We do not even know his name! She just found her mate, and he ran like she was a plague."

Evander looked at the serene. Tears had already gathered in her eyes.

"I know who he is." He said.

"You do? Who is he?" Seraphina demanded.

Evander looked in the direction the man had run. "His name is Astrid. He is the only survivor from the Emberspire pack." He answered.

Anger drained out of Seraphina’s face, replaced by a softer expression. She turned to look at her sister. "Serene."

Serene blinked, and a single tear ran down her cheek. "Maybe he didn’t like what he saw." She mumbled.

Evander shook his head. "No. It’s more than that," he said.

Serene looked at him. "Then what?"

"He hasn’t been open to anyone since he came into the palace," Evander replied.

Serene’s chest tightened. Her hands clenched slightly at her sides.

Seraphina reached out and held her arm. "It’s not you, serene."

Serene didn’t respond. Her wolf was still stirring inside her. Her eyes stayed in that direction.