Chapter 135: Pack Your Shit, Princess

"None of that is true," Landon stated.

"Of course, Alpha. Take your time," one replied. "We’re right outside if you need anything. Water. Towels. The High Luna said to offer towels."

Alpha Thunderfang stood in the center of his chambers, fully clothed, fully awake, and fully aware that his grandmother was trying to seal him in a room with Celeste Starborne to produce grand-pups for herself using a combination of guard orders, sensitivity training, and towel logistics.

"So," Celeste said from the bed, patting the space beside her. "Where were we?"

"LEAVE."

Full Alpha command.

???

THIRTY MINUTES LATER

One Alpha command, one cold shower, and one existential crisis later, Landon Thunderfang stepped out of his chambers fully dressed and fully done with the morning.

The guards snapped to attention. Same two. Same knowing nods. Same sensitivity-trained, grandmother-briefed, sex-game-believing faces.

"New orders." He stopped in front of them. "The only person who enters my chambers is Nova."

Both guards blinked. The synchronized confusion was almost impressive.

"Nova, Alpha?"

"Yes. 7709." He watched recognition land on their faces. "The woman with white hair. Her name is Nova. She is the only person permitted inside. She is to be protected as a member of the royal family. Understand?"

"Yes, Alpha."

"Princess Celeste is not to enter. Under any circumstances. For any reason. At any hour. Regardless of what she tells you, regardless of what the High Luna tells you, regardless of what anyone in this keep tells you. She does not cross that threshold."

"Understood, Alpha."

"And this is not a sexual game."

Both guards nodded. The nods were immediate, supportive, and radiating the exact same energy as the last time he had said that sentence, which meant the nods were doing the heavy lifting of agreement while their eyes were doing the heavy lifting of sure it isn’t.

"Understood, Alpha."

Landon studied their faces for a full three seconds, searching for any indication that the words he had just spoken had traveled from his mouth to their ears to their brains and arrived intact.

The evidence was inconclusive.

He added it to the list. The list was long. The list had been long before Celeste Starborne and it was now the kind of long that required a scroll and a cartographer. He turned on his heel and walked.

The Head Omega intercepted him at the base of the main stairwell with a holo-band projecting a cascading task queue.

"Alpha. Are you looking for something?"

"Nova is supposed to be in my quarters. She is not."

The Head Omega’s brow creased. "Who is that, Alpha?"

"Derek’s mate."

"Ah." The Head Omega swiped through the projection from his holo-band. "I have her listed as 7709. No image on file either."

He turned the holo-band on his wrist and projected the registry into the air between them. A clean grid of every mate entering the pack post-Moonfire. Names. Images. Pack of origin. Status. Maria Emberclaw’s entry was polished, a portrait beside her name, rank, bloodline, the works. Sierra’s was identical. Every woman brought into Thunderfang had a face and a name attached to her file.

Except one.

A blank square sat where a portrait should have been with REGISTRATION #7709 underneath.

Landon dragged a hand down his face. "Update her name to Nova."

"On it, Alpha. What is her last name?"

There was a long pause. The Head Omega glanced up at him. "We can leave last name blank, Alpha."

"No. Put her last name as Thunderfang."

"Yes, Alpha." The Head Omega gave a nod and continued typing. "I’ve mindlinked on her whereabouts. Jean has volunteered to show 7709...er... I mean Nova around the keep so she can learn the layout and serve the future Luna."

Landon pinched the bridge of his nose. Held it. Took a breath that carried the weight of a man whose morning had started with lingerie ambush and was now being told his brother’s mate was being trained as a servant.

"She’s not serving Celeste. She has duties as a member of the royal family. I never approved that as her role."

The Head Omega looked up from his projection. "But Alpha, you said yesterday that she would be serving the future Luna. Those were your direct orders."

Landon blinked a few times, confused.

"I did?"

"Yes, Alpha. Yesterday evening. Before the dinner."

His jaw tightened. The muscle beneath his ear fired once and held. "Make a note. She is to receive full pack membership and be coronated as a royal. Same process as the Beta Luna and Gamma Luna."

The Head Omega gestured a confirmation into the display. "And the future Luna would be separate from that process, Alpha?"

Landon didn’t hesitate. "No. That partnership is dissolved as of today. The Starborne princess and I are not moving forward. Have a team pack her things."

The Head Omega’s fingers hovered over the projection, mid-input.

"But Alpha—"

"That is final. If the High Luna has questions, send her my way."

The Head Omega gave a nod that communicated compliance, concern, and the quiet acknowledgment that the morning’s agenda had just been incinerated and rebuilt from scratch. All before breakfast.

Landon moved.

A captain was already waiting at the corridor junction, holo-band lit, posture tight.

"Walk with me," Landon said without stopping.

The captain fell into step. Matched the pace. Pulled up a casualty log from his wrist unit, voice low.

"How many?"

"Perimeter Lead Torren Valis. Vanguard Sentinel Declan Ashcroft. And Strike Warden Sera Haldane."

"Funeral rites. Full honors. All three. Families receive the Alpha’s pension for life. Arrange it today."

"Yes, Alpha."

"And pull their family quarters from the registry. All three. I’m visiting them personally this afternoon."

"Yes, Alpha. You always do for fallen soldiers."

???

THUNDERFANG WAR ROOM - FIVE HOURS LATER

Tavian was ill and resting. Sebastian was on bedrest on Landon’s orders. Derek was in a coma. The Alpha had a lot on his plate today.

War room was the last item on the list.

The war room was already full when he walked in. Captains. Leads. Elders. All standing. The central holo-table was projecting the keep’s defense grid in three dimensions, perimeter lines pulsing red at every breach point from the night before.

"Talk to me," Landon said, not sitting down.

Captain Wren gave a nod. "Perimeter was breached at three points. East gate. West wing rooftop access. And south cellar."

"Double rotating patrols. Four-hour rotations. Fresh eyes on every gate."

"Yes, Alpha."

Landon turned to Captain Harlan. "Tell me you were able to pull footage."

"We were, Alpha." Harlan swiped the defense grid off the holo-table and replaced it with a corridor feed. Timestamp in the corner. "Starting with the corridor outside of Derek’s quarters."