Chapter 17
(King’s POV)
Watching Evelyn ride out from the palace gates, her spine straight, her eyes clear, I feel the kind of pride that aches. Like something too big for the chest, swelling beneath the ribs. And yet—beneath that pride, a father’s fear simmers quietly.
I know what she’s walking into.
A den of wolves with sharp teeth and sharper opinions.
I almost called her back.
Almost told her she didn’t have to prove anything. That it wasn’t her job to clean up a mess caused by complacency and ego. I had hesitated for a long moment before she left, speaking through the mindlink we share.
“You don’t have to go, Evelyn. If facing Logan will wound you again, you can say no.”
She hadn’t even blinked. Her voice came back to me with a quiet peace that felt older than her years.
Perhaps older than even me.
“The kingdom’s military is more important than all of this.”
And that was it. Not a flicker more of hesitation.
She reminded me so much of her mother in that moment. Strong. Straightforward. Sharp as a blade and just as beautiful.
So I let her go, even as worry coiled itself like a serpent around my heart.
I hear from her brother later that evening. He accompanied her to the military camp and left her at the hospital gates.
“How was she received?”
“Father,” he sighs, I can read his heart. He is uncomfortable, far from envious of the plight his sister carries on her shoulders. “I have not seen such power, such composure in my life.”
The words relieve me, but still my heart aches for her. My princess, my legacy, inheriting a task greater than she, than I, than all of us. The weight of the kingdom truly rested on her shoulders, and she did not falter in her steps, not once.
“Did you enter alongside?”
“No, Evelyn would not allow it, despite my protests. But I am happy to report that her chin was high, and her cloak fluttered behind her like a banner of silent war. She is unmatched.”
“There is hesitation in your voice, young prince. What are you withholding?”
“They… didn’t make it easy for her Father.”
“Explain.”
In that moment, my heart sank. Regret clawed its feverish claws up my throat once more. Had I made a horrid mistake?
“Though I hung back, I heard the soldiers of Logan's camp when she reached the main conference room, their voices carried out into the hallway—angry, bitter voices.”
“What of it, son? What bitterness?”
“They say things like ‘she’s just here because she’s the King’s healer, the favorite. Or that she is no more than a …”
“A political pawn?”
He remains silent, but that is enough to affirm my curiosity. I clench my fists as I hear the report. My daughter—my fierce, capable, brilliant daughter—reduced to nothing more than rumor and innuendo.
But I also hear what she did next.
“She did not allow it to crush her spirit. Father, you would be most impressed. As I decided to follow, she opened the door. Just like that. No knocking. No flinching.”
“What did they say?” I demanded, the fury now rolling in my belly so deep, so profound that, should I have had the strength, I’d have made the journey to her rescue myself.
“She demanded to know who spoke ill of her, and a room full of cowards fell into silence. No one moved. No one breathed. They hadn’t expected her to be sharp. To be direct. To stare down grown warriors like they were foolish boys caught gossiping behind the schoolhouse.”
But she didn’t dwell on the drama. And yes, for that I was most proud.
She didn’t rage. Didn’t crumble.
Every word was scalpel-sharp.
“And would you believe it, one of them—them-a broad-shouldered male wolf with the air of someone used to power stood up. He confessed, he had been. The one to reduce her work to palace privilege, to insult her good nature and righteousness.”
“He apologized?”
“Yes. And she did not let up. Though she smiled, she made it quite clear that his apology was accepted, but she was not someone’s wife. She was the boss.”
That’s my girl.
The night had been unkind to my bones and even crueller to my heart. Though I knew Evelyn was capable and was standing firm, I couldn't shake the curiosities that plagued me. I could not shake the worry.
“Evelyn, how…how are things?”
The mindlink may not be appropriate, but I hope that she can forgive an old wolf’s insecurities.
“The hospital is in shambles. I knew it was understaffed. Underfunded. But I didn’t realize it had become corrupt.”
Evelyn wastes no time.
“I have started assessing the staff individually, one by one. I watch them perform, test their knowledge, their healing speed, and their diagnosis accuracy.”
She doesn’t judge with emotion—only results. The way I taught her. The way her mother lived.
“Father, it has been only one night, and I have uncovered the rot at the core.”
“Whatever do you mean?”
“The head healer—an older wolf who has held the post for years—is practically useless. He has contributed nothing but bloated reports and bureaucratic excuses. Worse, I found the record of a gamma warrior who died due to delayed treatment on his watch.”
“And what was your decision on the matter?”
“When I confront the staff about it, they stammer, shift, glance away.”
“Cowards. Every one of them. It’s a good job that you’re there.”
She doesn’t yell. Doesn’t cry.
She simply says, “We do not let wolves die because someone’s too lazy to do their job. I am documenting everything, Father.”
She wants him gone—but she’ll do it by the book.
She’ll gather evidence, submit it through the official channels.
She won’t let this become a scandal. Not because she’s afraid of confrontation, but because she wants the next leader to know that she didn’t rule with favoritism or emotion.
She rules with standards.
“And tonight?”
“ Tonight I will stay late after the shift change, sitting in the office. I will review the hospital’s financial records. Page after page of numbers and ink.”
“What is it you seek?”
“Inconsistencies. Missing supply funds. Equipment marked as “replaced” but never purchased. Payment to vendors who don’t exist. In passing, I have seen these things, and tonight I will be getting to the very bottom of it.”
She doesn’t panic.
“I have had a brief meeting with the financial officer.”
Marlo, A tall, sneering man, apparently, with a condescending glint in his eye. Probably thought he could brush her off like the last dozen administrators who looked the other way.
“I pointed out the numbers because even these accounts do not match. And this man—this fool—laughs. Can you believe him? He actually laughs.”
‘What did he say? How did he explain himself?”
“Maybe you should go home and spend time with the prince, or the King, he said. The accounts are a little complicated for someone like me.”
That’s when my daughter showed her teeth.
“ I walked around the desk and looked this wolf square in the eye. Then I informed him that if he doesn’t hand over every receipt and ledger by dawn, I’ll report him for obstruction of royal military affairs. And if that doesn’t scare you, let me make it clearer: I’m not just the new boss. I’m the daughter of the Alpha King. Try me again.”
He shut up after that.
I sit in my study now, rereading the report, every line annotated in her steady handwriting.
The storm that lives in her—she wields it now with control. With purpose.
She’s not the heartbroken woman who once waited by the palace steps for a letter that never came. She’s not the healer who smiles quietly and lets others take the credit.
She’s becoming a queen in everything but name.
And yet, I know the scars inside her haven’t fully healed.
The pain Logan caused still shadows her decisions, even if she never speaks of it. She’s built armor around it.
The work, duty, discipline—but I can still see the outline of the wound underneath.
I worry she’s walking a razor-thin line. Too much hardness, and she’ll lose her light. Too much softness, and they’ll eat her alive.
I can’t protect her anymore. Not like I used to.
But I will not let the world crush my daughter for her brilliance.
Not when she’s finally becoming the Luna this kingdom so desperately needs.
