Page 26 of Once You Go Pack
She didn’t belong to this cold world. But somehow, she was the only warmth left in it.
Cade pressed his forehead against the cool glass, his wolf howling with desperate need while his rational mind calculated risks and consequences. Caught between love and fear, he felt more alone than ever before.
I can’t afford to love her. But I can’t afford not to.
For the first time, duty didn’t feel like enough.
NINE
MILA
The bitter wind whipped across the castle courtyard, making Mila grateful for the luxurious cashmere sweater Cade had provided. The deep blue fabric hugged her curves perfectly, and paired with the black leggings and heavy winter coat, she felt both warm and oddly elegant.
“This is where Cade learned to fight,” Lyra announced, gesturing toward a large training ground bordered by weapon racks and practice targets. “Father started him with wooden swords when he was five. By ten, he could take down wolves twice his size.”
Mila studied the scarred earth, imagining a young Cade learning the deadly arts that would shape his future. The expectations that must have been placed on him from such an early age made her chest tighten with sympathy.
“That seems... intense for a child.”
“Everything about our family is intense,” Lyra said with a rueful laugh. “We don’t really do casual or relaxed. It’s all duty and honor and preparation for the crown.”
As they walked the castle grounds, Mila found herself quietly analyzing the intricate web of relationships she’d observed since arriving last night. At breakfast, she’d watched thecareful dynamic between Cade and his father—love tempered by formality, respect shadowed by unspoken pressures. King Drake commanded attention effortlessly, even weakened by illness, but there was something in his eyes when he looked at Cade. Pride, yes, but also a desperate urgency that spoke of time running out.
He’s trying to prepare his son for a crown that’s coming too soon.
And Cade... Mila’s heart clenched as she remembered the tension in his shoulders. The man carried the weight of an entire kingdom on his back, and it showed in every carefully controlled gesture.
“Your brother seems to take his responsibilities very seriously,” she said carefully.
Lyra snorted. “That’s the understatement of the century. Cade takes everything seriously. Sometimes I think he forgot how to laugh freely.”
The affection in Lyra’s voice was unmistakable, but so was the frustration. She clearly loved her brother fiercely, but she also saw what the burden of future kingship was doing to him.
“He wasn’t always like this,” Lyra continued, her voice softening. “When we were children, before Mother died, he used to laugh all the time. Really laugh, not those polite chuckles he gives. He used to sneak out to explore the mountain paths, collect interesting rocks, and tell me stories about the places we’d visit someday.”
The image of a carefree young Cade made something twist in Mila’s chest. She could almost see him—still serious because that seemed fundamental to his nature, but lighter somehow. Unburdened by the crushing weight of expectations.
“What changed?” she asked, though she suspected she already knew.
“Mother’s death broke something in Father. He became... harder. More focused on legacy and duty than on actually living.And Cade absorbed all of it like a sponge.” Lyra’s green eyes, so like her brother’s, flashed with old pain.
They paused near a fountain carved from white stone, its water somehow unfrozen despite the frigid air. Mila watched the crystalline streams cascade, thinking about the profound differences between her family and Cade’s.
At least here, they actually talk to each other.
Her father and Riley showed love through work, through providing, and through achieving. Emotions were practical things to be managed and set aside when they interfered with productivity. But here, even with all the formality and duty, she could see genuine care flowing between family members.
This is what family should look like.
The thought came unbidden, followed by a sharp pang of longing.
What would it have been like to grow up in a household where people actually listened to each other? Where intelligence and compassion were valued alongside ambition?
“Mila?”
She looked up to find Lyra watching her with curious eyes.
“Sorry, I was just... processing everything. Your family dynamic is so different from what I’m used to.”
