Nn remained.


    Ellie took a breath and told her father what had happened. The attack. The panic. Nn bleeding on the debate. stage. The withdrawal that followed. The rogue''s words. The goddess''s warning.


    It all came tumbling out in a rush. Connections seemed to click into ce as she spoke.


    As she spoke, ric''s expression darkened further-not into visible rage, but into something deeper and more dangerous. His jaw tightened. His eyes sharpened with a calcting edge.


    When Ellie finished, silence stretched between them.


    "This wasn''t random," ric said finally.


    Ellie stiffened. "I know."


    "No," he said firmly. "You suspect. I know."


    Her breath caught. "What do you mean?"


    ric straightened to his full height and turned slightly, his gaze distant as if aligning pieces only he could see.


    "There are patterns to this kind of violence," he said. "Esction points. Symbolic moments. An attack during a public convergence-especially one tied to legitimacy and power-is not about killing. It''s about destabilizing.” He looked back at her. "About provoking a choice."


    Ellie thought of Nn on that stage. Blood on his shirt. The way he had spoken without hesitation.


    "She wanted him to break," Ellie whispered.


    ric nodded. "Or to reveal himself. Either oue would have served the same end. I doubt that this is the choice she anticipated."


    Her stomach twisted. "The visions-Dad, the goddess warned me. She said the children of the storm must be protected."


    ric''s gaze sharpened instantly. "She''s not warning you that danger exists," he said quietly. “She''s warning you that it is moving."


    Ellie felt a chill race down her spine.


    "This is not finished," ric continued. "What happened today was a test. Of Nn. Of you. Of the bonds between you." His voice softened slightly. "You passed. That doesn''t mean the storm will stop."


    Ellie swallowed. "What do I do?"


    ric cupped her cheek, his touch grounding. "You prepare."


    "For what?" she asked.


    "For something terrible," he said honestly. "And for the possibility that you will have


    to act-not just as a mother, or a mate, but as what you are."


    Her heart pounded. "What I am? You mean the goddess''s messanger"


    “No,” he said immediately. “A guardian.”


    That distinction mattered more than she could articte.


    +25 Bonus


    ric stepped back then and turned toward Nn for the first time since entering the room.


    The air between the two alphas was heavy-measured, assessing,yered with history and unspoken judgment.


    Nn met his gaze evenly, his posture respectful but unyielding.


    ric studied him in silence for a long moment.


    Then he inclined his head.


    "Thank you," ric said.


    The words caught Nn off guard.


    "For choosing my daughter," ric continued. "For choosing my grandchildren.” His voice dropped, weighty with significance. "For walking away from ambition when it threatened to cost you your soul."


    Nn exhaled slowly. "It wasn''t a sacrifice," he said. "It was rity."


    A corner of ric''s mouth twitched. "That answer may be the only reason I didn''t tear this ce apart looking for you."


    Nn huffed quietly-something between augh and a release of tension.


    ric''s gaze hardened again. "Do not mistake my gratitude for leniency. If you fail to protect them-"


    "I won''t," Nn said without hesitation. "I won''t fail her again. I swear it on my life."


    Their eyes locked.


    For a long moment, nothing else existed in the room but two alphas measuring each other-not as rivals or as allies, but as men who understood exactly what was at stake.


    Finally, ric nodded once. Approval. Conditional, but real.


    "You are no longer alone in this," ric said. "If someone believes they can reach my daughter through fear or blood, they will learn how wrong they are."


    Ellie released a breath she hadn''t realized she was holding.


    ric turned back to her, pulling her into onest fierce embrace.


    "We will not wait for the storm to break," he murmured. "We will meet it on our feet.


    It''s time that I teach you whates with your mother''s legacy, what power you can wield as the chosen messenger of the goddess."


    She nodded against his chest.


    Outside the nursery, the packhouse buzzed with controlled urgency-ns forming, security shifting, lines being redrawn.


    But inside, Ellie stood between the two most powerful men in her world.


    And for the first time since the attack, she felt something close to certainty.


    The storm wasing.


    But it would not find her unguarded.