"He didn''t," ric said simply. "He was surviving."


    The word hit Lance harder than he expected.


    ric continued, his tone gentle but unwavering. "I remember your father''s training sessions. He would drive Nn past exhaustion. The boy could barely stand on some days. But he never quit. He couldn''t. Not when his father was watching."


    Lance''s jaw clenched. "Why didn''t anyone stop him?"


    "It wasn''t that unusual back in the old days, and I guess a lot of us didn''t feel right criticizing tradition," ric said. "Your father believed he was preparing Nn for leadership, for the weight of the throne. In truth, he was teaching him fear of failure, of weakness, of emotion. When your parents died, that fear became hispass."


    Silence settled between them, heavy and fragile.


    Lance felt something tighten in his throat. “He told me he med himself for their deaths."


    ric nodded. "He does. And maybe, in some ways, he''s right. He led them into that fight. But he was a boy trying to save himself from the expectations he was struggling to meet. The fault doesn''t belong to him alone."


    Lance exhaled slowly. The room felt smaller somehow. "I''ve been told that you were there. Afterward."


    "I was," ric said. "I saw what was left of that night. I saw the look in his eyes when he realized they were gone. There was no rage. No grief. Just... silence. That kind of loss can change a man."


    Lance rubbed a hand over his face, the weight of it all pressing down. "No wonder he turned out the way he did."


    "He turned out stronger than anyone expected," ric said. "When your parents died, the other packs thought Silver Fang would crumble. A boy Alpha with no experience? They thought the title would destroy him."


    "And it almost did," Lance said bitterly.


    “Perhaps,” ric conceded. “But it didn''t. He rebuilt his pack from ashes. He learned to lead, tomand respect, to instill order. Whatever his faults, your brother did what none of us believed possible."


    Lance looked up, eyes sharp with disbelief. "You''re saying he saved Silver Fang. ric smiled faintly. "I''m saying it''s a miracle he survived it."


    The words sank in slowly, settling somewhere deep.


    >>


    Lance had always known his brother was hard, unyielding. But he had never thought of him as resilient. Not until


    now.


    He leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. "All this time, I thought he was trying to control everything because he wanted power. But maybe he was just... trying not to lose it all again."


    ric nodded. “We repeat what we don''t repair."


    Lance gave a small, humorlessugh. "You sound like Ellie."


    "She''s wise beyond her years," ric said warmly. "Moonstone blood runs deep in


    her, whether she remembers all of it yet or not."


    Lance smiled faintly. "He still loves her, you know."


    +25 Bonus


    "I know," ric said. "And someday, she''ll see it. But love built on pain must learn to heal before it canst."


    Lance let the words linger, staring at the grain of the desk. The image of Nn''s face-the guilt, the regret- shed again in his mind.


    “I used to envy him,” Lance said softly. “The perfect son. The perfect Alpha. Now I just pity him."


    "Don''t," ric said gently. "He doesn''t need pity. He needs grace.”


    Lance looked up. "You think he deserves that?"


    "I think we all do," ric replied. “Even the ones who don''t believe it. Maybe especially them."


    The conversation drifted after that-talk of politics, of shifting alliances, of the quiet rumors spreading about the goddess''s return. But the heart of it stayed with Lance long after he left the room.


    Outside, the sun was setting, turning the world gold. He paused at the edge of the courtyard, breathing in the cool air, and thought about what ric had said.


    A miracle.


    Maybe that was what he''d always failed to see. He had hated Nn, med him for everything. For years, he''d screamed at him, insulted him, belittled him. Nn had just taken it. He''d never tried to defend himself once. Lance had always assumed it was because he just didn''t care that Lance''s words meant nothing to him. But now, the truth was starting to sink in, and it made his heart ache.


    Nn had never defended himself because deep down, he had agreed with Lance''s harsh condemnations. He had seen himself as the viin, too.


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