What Do You Want?

LENA POV

By the time I reached the main hall, I had almost convinced myself that Lady Rosalind's reaction meant nothing.

Almost.

The Silvercrest woman could have been anyone. Our bloodline stretched across several branches of the pack, with dozens of unmated she-wolves among them. There was no reason to believe Lady Rosalind had been talking about me.

Sera was less willing to let it go.

'She knew your name before you introduced yourself.'

'I'm sure she knew who Ethan's mate was.'

'And the necklace?'

I touched the red stone at my neck before dropping my hand.

'Enough.'

The main hall was even more crowded than before. Grandmother sat at the center of the room while guests moved past her with gifts and birthday wishes. Julian stood beside my father near the front, surrounded by several Alphas and council representatives.

Ethan was there too. Or rather, he was trying very hard to be.

He stood close enough to Julian and the other Alphas to look like he belonged among them, but whenever the conversation continued, they barely acknowledged him, leaving him standing there like a lower-ranking wolf waiting to be noticed.

My father saw me first. "There she is."

Several faces turned to me, and I slowed down a bit.

Julian's gaze found me immediately, and Sera became alert beneath my skin.

My father gestured me closer. "His Majesty was asking about the portrait you're painting for him."

Ethan looked at me sharply.

I had told him nothing about the portrait.

"I haven't begun the final piece yet," I said as I approached. "I wanted to make sure I understood what His Majesty wanted first."

Julian's expression remained calm. "You seemed confident when you showed me your work."

"That was before I knew you would be difficult."

A few people nearby stopped talking, and my father looked at me sharply, warning me to be careful.

Julian, however, looked amused. "Difficult?"

"You rejected several painters before me. I would be foolish not to take that seriously."

"That sounds like your problem, not mine."

"It became my problem the moment you agreed to sit for me."

His mouth shifted slightly.

The exchange lasted less than a minute, but I could feel the attention around us changing. People were trying to figure out why the Supreme Lycan was talking to me about a private portrait as though we had already discussed it before.

Scanner noticed it too.

"When did this happen?" he asked.

I looked at him. "Recently."

"You never mentioned it."

"You never asked what I was painting."

His jaw tightened.

Before he could answer, Grandmother called my name from across the room, saving us from turning the middle of her birthday into an argument.

I went to her.

Grandmother lowered her voice when I approached.

"You brought me an interesting birthday gift."

"I thought you liked the bracelet."

"I'm not talking about the bracelet."

Her eyes moved toward Julian.

"I invited him. That's all."

"A powerful Lycan like Julian Locke does not enter another pack's territory for a bloodline celebration simply because someone invited him."

I shrugged. "Perhaps he likes birthday cake."

Grandmother gave me a look that ended the joke.

Before she could question me further, my mother appeared beside us and caught my arm.

"I need you for a moment."

The tone meant I had no choice.

She led me into a quieter passage beside the dining room and turned me toward the light. Her expression changed when she saw the fading mark on my cheek properly.

"Who hit you?"

"It's already been handled." I responded.

"That was not my question."

I hesitated. "Luma's Delta."

My mother went very still. "At Shadowfang?"

"Yes."

"And Ethan allowed that?" She questioned.

"He was asleep."

"What did he do when he found out?"

Nothing useful. I didn't say it, but apparently my face did.

My mother let out a slow breath. "Your father told me there were problems between you and your mate. I thought he meant the usual disagreements that happen between mated wolves."

"He knows more than he told you."

Her eyes narrowed. "What does that mean?"

I thought of the petition and almost told her everything, but footsteps sounded at the end of the passage before I could answer.

Ethan appeared. "There you are."

My mother's face immediately turned serious.

"Ethan, I was just asking Lena how she was injured."

His eyes moved to my cheek. "There was a misunderstanding with Luma."

"A misunderstanding left a handprint on my daughter's face?"

"Luma was angry, but Lena also did things to provoke her."

Sera surged so quickly that my fingers curled.

My mother stared at him for a few seconds before smiling, but there was nothing friendly about her smile.

"I see."

Ethan seemed to realize too late that he had chosen the wrong answer.

Before my mother could say anything else, a pack servant approached and informed us that Grandmother wanted everyone from the Somers bloodline gathered for photographs.

My mother stepped aside. "Go. We'll continue this later."

I knew what that tone meant, but Ethan clearly didn't.

He held out his arm for me as though nothing had happened, but I ignored him and walked past.

---

The pack photographs took almost half an hour, and Madam Wynne seized every opportunity to boast to the gathered wolves that Ethan had personally invited Julian Locke, the Supreme Lycan.

By the time dinner was announced, I needed air.

I quietly stepped through a side door onto the covered terrace behind the hall. The evening air was cold, and the wind carried the scent of pine trees and smoke from a distant fire.

I had barely reached the steps when Sera stirred. 'Don't turn around.'

I stopped. 'Why?'

'Because you already know.'

Julian's scent reached me a second later.

Warm cedar, winter air and something darker that made Sera go quiet again.

"You keep disappearing from rooms I'm in."

I turned.

Julian stood near the doorway with one hand in his pocket.

"I didn't realize I needed permission to breathe."

"You don't." He came closer, stopping beside me rather than blocking my path.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then his gaze moved to my cheek. "Your mother knows."

I frowned. "Were you listening?"

"I didn't need to. She looked at Ethan as though she was deciding where to bury him."

A laugh escaped me before I could stop it.

Julian looked at me, and something about his expression made the laugh die slowly rather than abruptly.

"You laugh more here," he said.

I wasn't sure what to do with that observation.

Instead, I asked, "Why did you request me in the hall?"

"To see whether you would come."

I scoffed. "That's a terrible reason."

"It worked."

I looked away, but his next question brought my attention back.

"What do you want, Lena?"

The words were too close to the question I had been avoiding since our bargain began.

"You already know."

"I know Ethan filed a petition. I know you want enough time to stop him from casting you out. That isn't what I asked."

Julian stepped closer, his voice remaining quiet.

"You invited me here knowing what my presence would do to this room. You wore my gift where Ethan could see it, and you made sure I saw what Luma did to you. None of those choices were accidental."

Heat climbed into my face, but I refused to look away.

"So what do you want?"

I thought about choosing my words carefully, perhaps telling him I wanted to survive without my mate's protection, stay safe from the pack, or even ask about the portrait.

Instead, I thought of Ethan standing beside Luma, my father ordering me to kneel, and Madam Wynne asking whether I was still Luna.

"I want Ethan to regret believing I was disposable."

The look in Julian's eyes changed. He didn't seem surprised. Instead, he looked interested.

I continued before I lost my nerve.

"I want the petition stopped, but I refuse to return to a mating bond where everyone knows my mate tried to cast me aside. If Shadowfang Pack only accepts me because you ordered them to, then the moment your protection is gone, I'll be at their mercy again."

For several seconds, Julian said nothing.

Sera was completely silent too.

Then he asked, "And what do you intend to do about that?"

"I haven't figured out all of it yet."

He smirked. "At least that answer is honest."

I folded my arms. "You asked."

"I did."

His gaze remained on me long enough to make my pulse uncomfortable.

Then he said, "Ethan wants a seat on the Northern Pack Development Council."

I blinked. "What?"

"He asked one of my advisers about it this afternoon."

Of course he had.

A position on that council would give Ethan access to stronger packs, trade decisions and council influence far beyond Shadowfang's current reach.

"And?"

"And he isn't qualified."

I almost smiled. "You sound very certain."

"I appointed the council."

That erased the smile.

Julian leaned slightly closer. "If you want Ethan to learn what it means to underestimate you, stop asking me merely to protect you."

My heartbeat quickened. "What should I ask for instead?"

His golden eyes held mine. "Something worth the price."

The dinner bell rang inside the house.

Neither of us moved.

I should have asked what price he meant.

Instead, I found myself remembering the kiss on the terrace, the warmth that had moved through Sera beneath the pain of my ceremonial bond, and Lady Rosalind's strange look when she saw the necklace around my throat.

Julian straightened. "Think about it."

He turned toward the door. "Julian."

He stopped.

It was the first time I had used his name without a title.

Slowly, he looked back.

I swallowed. "Did you know a she-wolf from the Silvercrest bloodline before I became Ethan's mate?"

For the first time that evening, I caught him completely still.

And that answer was enough to make my stomach drop.