Page 47 of Once You Go Pack
The twin moons had risen high outside his windows when his communicator buzzed insistently on the nightstand. Cade groaned, wanting to ignore it, but Martin’s voice crackled through with urgent authority.
“Your Majesty, I’m sorry to interrupt your mourning, but we have a situation.”
Cade sat up reluctantly, Mila’s concerned gaze meeting his as he activated the device. “What is it, Martin?”
“King Zarik has issued a formal challenge to your High Sovereign position. The duel is set for tomorrow afternoon.”
His words hit Cade like a bullet to the heart. His wolf stirred angrily beneath his skin, recognizing the threat for what it was—a direct assault on everything his father had built.
Today of all days. The bastard couldn’t even wait until Father was cold in the ground.
“There’s more,” Martin continued, his voice tight with anger. “In his formal challenge, Zarik made some... pointed comments about your choice of mate. He questioned whether the Ice Mountains needed ‘a strong wolf shifter queen, not a human who doesn’t understand our ways.’”
Mila stiffened beside him, hurt flashing across her face before being replaced by fierce determination. “He thinks I’m weak because I’m human?”
Cade’s protective instincts roared to life, his wolf snarling at the insult to his mate. He pulled Mila closer, his voice dropping to a dangerous growl. “Zarik can question my leadership all he wants, but he has no right to speak about you that way.”
“I’m not weak,” Mila said, her blue eyes blazing with newfound fire. “And I won’t let him use me as ammunition against you.”
The mate mark on her delicate neck seemed to pulse with silver light, responding to her surge of protective anger. Cade traced it with his thumb, marveling at how perfectly she fit against him even in moments of crisis.
“I know you’re not weak,” he murmured, pressing his forehead against hers. “You’re the strongest person I know. You held me together today when I was falling apart.”
She’s everything Zarik could never understand—strength wrapped in compassion, power tempered by love.
“What do we do about the challenge?” Mila asked, her practical mind already moving beyond hurt feelings to strategic thinking.
Cade’s jaw tightened as he considered their options. Traditional law was clear—when a king’s authority was formally challenged, the dispute could only be settled through combat. Refusing would mean forfeiting his crown and his father’s legacy.
“I accept the duel,” he said firmly. “Zarik wants to test my strength? Fine. But he’s about to learn that having you by my side doesn’t make me weaker—it makes me unstoppable.”
His wolf pushed closer to the surface, eager for the fight, hungry to prove their completed mate bond only strengthened his power. Tomorrow, he would show Zarik and everyone watching that a king who fought for love was infinitely more dangerous than one who fought for dominance alone.
SEVENTEEN
MILA
Mila stirred against Cade’s chest as the morning light streamed through the large windows of his bedroom, her body aching from a restless night spent tossing and turning despite the warmth of his arms around her. Every time she’d closed her eyes, Zarik’s words echoed in her mind like poisoned arrows.
The mate mark on her neck pulsed faintly, responding to the turmoil of her emotions as she replayed his insult over and over. Sure, she wasn’t a wolf shifter—she couldn’t shift into a massive beast or howl at the twin moons or command a pack with primal authority. But her ancestors had walked alongside wolves, and had been protectors and guardians to shifters long before the worlds separated. That same strength flowed through her veins, even if she hadn’t had proper training in Ice Mountain politics or combat techniques.
I’m not weak,she thought fiercely, her fingers curling against Cade’s bare chest.I may be human, but I carry wolf guardian blood. I’ll train harder than any shifter has ever trained, and I’ll prove that bastard wrong.
Cade’s green eyes opened slowly, immediately focusing on her face with the intense attention that never failed to makeher pulse quicken. “Good morning, beautiful,” he murmured, his voice rough with sleep. “Though judging by those emotions surging through our bond, you didn’t sleep much better than I did.”
She pressed her hand against his muscular chest, feeling the strong rhythm of his heart that had become her anchor in this chaotic new world. “I keep thinking about what Zarik said. About me being weak because I’m human.”
His jaw tightened instantly, and she felt his wolf stir beneath the surface—a dangerous, protective energy that made the air around them crackle with electricity. “Zarik is a fool who mistakes brutality for strength. He has no idea what real power looks like.”
“But what if the council agrees with him? What if they take one look at me and decide I’m not worthy to be a queen?”
Cade shifted to face her fully, his hands framing her face with gentle authority. “Then they’ll learn exactly why my father’s bloodline led the council for generations.”
His fierce conviction sent warmth rushing through their bond, but anxiety still knotted her stomach.
“Speaking of the council,” Cade said, his tone shifting to the commanding register she’d learned meant royal business, “you need to be formally introduced to them this morning. Since we’ve completed the mate bond and I’m the new High Sovereign—assuming I don’t lose the duel later—they need to meet their future queen.”
Future queen.The title still felt surreal, like trying on clothes that were too big and hoping to grow into them. “Even if you lose the duel, I’d still be queen of the Ice Moon pack, right?”
