The drove on through the little town.

This was a poor community, where only commoners lived. The paved streets were riddled with potholes, and the sidewalks were broken apart in places where overgrown tree roots erupted upwards through them.

Kerr did seem reasonably committed to Adan’s plan…

But Adan could still smell a trace of hesitation and fear on him.

It was enough to make him worry.

All along, Adan’s plan hinged on his partnership with Kerr.

Without Kerr acting as his right-hand man, Adan wouldn’t be ready to make his bid for the throne. Kerr was his oldest friend, best confidant, and closest ally.

But he was giving Adan just enough reason to worry if Kerr would actually come through at the critical moment.

“It’s been a long time,” Adan said, “that you and I have been on the same side.”

“Sure has,” Kerr agreed.

“We’ve seen eye to eye… just about as long as we’ve been alive.”

Kerr gave a serious nod.

“Friends since our mothers had us playing together before we were a year old. Had each other’s backs all through high school…”

Adan trailed off. He kept his eyes on the road and waited out a pause, during which he knew Kerr would start picking up on where Adan was going with this.

“Not only do we share the same vision for our world. The same passion and sense of purpose that drives us. But we’ve got that personal history behind us, too, that’s locked us together.”

Kerr was silent.

“Yeah,” Adan went on, “those were some crazy times you and I had, back when we were kids…”

“Mm-hmm…”

“We were lucky, huh? Lucky we got out of those scrapes… lucky we had my mom around to make sure we kept ourselves out of real trouble…

Kerr cleared his throat nervously.

“My beloved mother,” Adan said, feigning a tone of sadness. “May she rest in peace.”

“I’ll always be grateful to her,” Kerr said gravely. “For what she did for us.”

Adan chuckled and said, “Well, gratitude doesn’t really mean shit. Especially to the dead. What really matters is what you do afterward to repay the debt you owe.”

Kerr took a shaky breath in.

Adan slowed the car to a stop. They’d finally reached their destination.

He parked across the street from a long, single-story building that stretched from the center of the block all the way to the corner.

Adan killed the engine. He took off his seatbelt and looked at his passenger.

There would be no mistaking the look in his eyes.

He’d been subtle enough so far.

Time for a direct threat.

Kerr could handle it. And it’d help him to shut the fuck up about all the worries and what-ifs and arguments that Adan had no more patience for.

“You owe me,” Adan said. “You would’ve gone to jail for life if I didn’t convince you to let my mother help us back then. You were just gonna ditch the body in the woods for some hiker to find, remember?”

Kerr met Adan’s intense gaze and did not flinch.

He also did not reply. He waited for Adan to finish.

“You remember what you said to me the day Luna died?” Adan asked. There was sharp challenge in his voice.

“I told you I’d do anything for you,” Kerr answered. “For your family. Till the day I die.”

Adan nodded once. Slowly. Then he turned to look across the street.

“It’s unsecured,” he said. “No guards, no nothing.”

“Ever?” Kerr asked.

“Yep. No security on payroll.”

“Well,” Kerr said. “I guess they probably don’t anticipate a lot of security needs… for an orphanage.”

EVAN

“Hey. Where’s your friend?”

Yena was walking down the stairs in her pajamas, looking like she just woke up.

“She went home about an hour ago. When it stopped raining. Said she wanted to try to get something done before we go back over to the nursing home today to volunteer.”

“You’re going back again?” Evan asked.

“Well, yesterday we only checked in with them. Today we’re bringing some clothes over for the residents, and they said to come by around noon so we can catch all the old people at lunch time before they take their naps.”

Evan chuckled. “Cute. That’s sweet of you to wanna do that.”

Yena smiled. “Whatcha got there?”

“Well, it’s about half coffee and half hot chocolate, actually. Want me to make you one?”

“Yeah!” Yena shivered and pulled her robe around her tightly. She took a seat at the kitchen table.

Evan made her drink and topped it with a pile of mini marshmallows.

“Oh, thank you,” Yena said, taking the hot mug from his hands. “You’re so good to me.”

“Eh, well…” Evan turned around and pulled a dish towel out of a drawer. “You deserve it,” he said, not looking at her.

“That’s sweet. Thanks again, bro…”

“No problem, sis.”

Yena took a careful sip. A few marshmallows toppled forward into her face.

She giggled and caught them before they fell to the floor, then popped them into her mouth.

“So, what you up to later today? After the old people thing?”

“Uh, I dunno… guess I’ll be back home this evening.”

“What do you think about another movie night tonight?” Evan asked, looking excited. “We could do another one of our old childhood faves.”

Yena looked down into her cocoa.

“Hmm. I’m sorry, Evan, but I’m not sure I could really enjoy a movie. I’ve been feeling like I’ve just got… a lot on my mind. I didn’t sleep much last night and think I just kinda want to be alone and go to bed early tonight.”

“Oh, no worries,” Evan said. Maybe a little too quickly. “No problem, we’ll have lots of time ahead for movie nights.”

Yena smiled at him. Evan could see she was feeling stressed, though. Or sad about something.

“Thanks for understanding,” she said.

“Of course. No biggie.”

Evan washed his mug in the sink and left it to dry.

“I’m gonna go hit the weights,” he told Yena.

She had her mouth full of marshmallows. Evan fled the room before she could chew, swallow, and reply.

He didn’t know why – it was just a dumb movie night – but he was really disappointed that Yena told him no.

They’d been spending tons of time together. She’d been doing everything with him.

He just couldn’t help but feel… rejected.

He disappeared into the garage before she could pick up on the change in his energy.

NOLAN

“It’s about time we talk about the divorce,” the King said, cutting right to the headline.

“Yes, of course.”

The King gestured to a chair, inviting Nolan to sit down.

“Now, it’s not that divorce is ever out of the question for royals, completely… but son, it’s hard to understand. And to be honest, I thought over the past few weeks either you or Yena would come to your senses and call the whole thing off.”

Nolan sighed. “If I may speak freely… sometimes I wish she would come back, too. But her education is too important to her.”

The King’s face was very serious.

Though he was not extremely old, Nolan often thought of his father as an old man. The fact was, the King had fought in several wars in his youth, and that alone had taken a toll on him. And now, he’d been the highest ruler in this land for over four decades.

And that kind of hard living showed in the deep creases that lined the King’s face. And in the shock white color of his hair.

“A princess doesn’t need a university education,” the King said quietly. It looked like he was trying to do mental math, struggling to understand how what Nolan just said could matter at all.

“It’s what she wants, though. It’s her dream.”

“And you could not talk her out of it?”

Nolan shook his head. “I could not do that. I had to let her go.”

Again, the King looked genuinely confused.

“And why not?” he asked.

“Because I love her and I want her to be happy.” Nolan was surprised at how fast that answer rolled off his tongue. And how loudly and confidently he’d been able to say it.

It wasn’t something he could imagine his father would understand.

The King narrowed his eyes at Nolan, but said nothing.

“I’ve spoken with Mother,” Nolan said. “And it seems… regardless of my thoughts on the matter… that there will be another selection party soon, and I’ll be choosing a new princess.”

“Yes, she told me about that as well.”

“I know I’ve thrown a wrench in things. And that the situation is less than ideal. But I assure you, Father, that everything is going to work out.”

“Hmm,” the King said. “Will it?”

Nolan nodded. “I believe that it will.”

The King just said, “Hmm” again. To let Nolan know he was very doubtful of that.

Then Nolan heard another voice in his ear.

It was the voice of his inner wolf.

“It’s not too late,” Kent was saying. “It’s not too late to get her back.”