Karn reached the palace the mont he heard the news that Katelyn had been kidnapped and got heavily injured.
In the elegant drawing room just outside the royal bedroom, the entire family was gathered in tense silence with worried faces. They were all waiting for Katelyn to wake up.
Gabriel caught his eye across the room and rose imdiately. With a quiet word to the others, he excused himself and guided Karn out into the quieter hallway, closing the drawing-room doors behind them.
Karn didn’t waste a second. "Why am I only hearing about this now?" he demanded.
Gabriel t his gaze steadily. "I didn’t think it was necessary at the ti."
"She was kidnapped, Gabriel," Karn shot back, disbelief coloring his tone. "Ophelia was behind it. How did you even get her back?"
Gabriel exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair. "Katelyn showed up here on her own, appeared out of nowhere. She’s unconscious now. Carlos is in there with the doctor, trying to figure out what kind of spell or magic Ophelia used on her." He paused, the mory clearly weighing on him. "Carlos and I were already on our way to Ophelia’s place. I was planning to swing by and pick you up, but then Kate suddenly arrived. After that... My head was only on her. Nothing else mattered."
Karn studied him for a long mont, the anger easing into sothing closer to understanding. He nodded once. "I managed to track down Louis," he said. "He’ll be here this afternoon to see you."
"Good," Gabriel said.
Karn’s eyes narrowed. "Ophelia’s co after your family now. We should hit her hard, raid her place, bring the full force of our wolves down on her."
Gabriel nodded. "We will. But not yet, not until the weapon is in my hands."
He then clarified with his intense gaze, "Ophelia can teleport, Karn. She wields magic most of us can barely comprehend. In my past life, she cut through our wolves like they were nothing. Slaughtered them. She could do it again." His voice dropped, carrying the weight of old scars.
"If she pulls it off this ti, if she slips away after, we’ll lose her trail for good. Jaxon’s been watching her every move for a long ti, keeping tabs, making sure she stays pinned to one spot. That’s why we can’t rush this. We have to be patient."
"I understand," Karn said, exhaling slowly as the weight of Gabriel’s words settled between them. "Is Idris here yet? We can’t leave him at the academy, not with everything going on."
Gabriel nodded. "Casaio already brought him back to the palace. He’s in his chamber right now, taking his classes online."
Karn gave a small, relieved hum. "I see."
Before either could say more, a maidservant appeared at the hallway entrance with urgency. "Your Highness, Mr. Carlos is out."
Gabriel and Karn exchanged a quick glance and strode back into the drawing room. The family mbers parted slightly as Carlos erged from the bedroom doorway, his expression a mix of exhaustion and cautious relief.
Everyone’s attention locked on him.
Carlos t Gabriel’s eyes first. "Princess Katelyn’s already broken the spell the one that severed her connection to her wolf. I can sense them both now, fully together in her body again." He held up a small, faintly glowing amulet on a thin chain.
"I’ve placed a talisman in it for her protection. Since she’s lost the ring, it’ll shield her from Ophelia, at least until I get sothing stronger in place."
"Your Majesty," Carlos said, turning to the Queen with respect as he held out the faintly glowing talisman, "you should be the one to place it around the princess’s neck."
Mabel rose at once, crossing the room in quick, graceful strides. She took the amulet from Carlos’s hand with gentle fingers, cradling it as though it were sothing infinitely precious. "Thank you, Carlos," she murmured with unspoken gratitude.
Raidan glanced toward Harriet, hope flickering in his eyes. "Shall we go in and see Kate now?"
Harriet offered a small, careful smile. "Once Her Majesty has secured the talisman around the princess’s neck, you may all enter. But... She’s still unconscious."
Casaio’s brow furrowed, worry sharpening his tone. "Do we know when she’ll wake up?"
Harriet lowered her gaze, regret softening her features. "I’m afraid not, Your Highness. We simply don’t know yet."
"I believe there’s nothing serious, right?" Zilia asked, her voice soft but threaded with lingering worry as she glanced toward the bedroom door.
Harriet turned to her with a reassuring nod. "Yes, there’s no cause for alarm now. The injuries will just take a little longer to heal because she was poisoned with wolfsbane and silver. But Princess Katelyn is strong. She’ll co through this."
Everyone felt relaxed hearing that.
Carlos stepped forward then, holding out the talisman once more. "Your Majesty," he said gently to the Queen, "please place it around her neck now."
Mabel gave a small hum and brushed past him, her chin lifted as she disappeared into the bedroom. One by one, the others followed, drawn by the need to see Katelyn with their own eyes.
The sight of her stopped them all for a heartbeat.
Katelyn lay pale against the white pillows, a thick bandage covering one side of her face. The faint rise and fall of her chest was the only movent in the stillness.
Gabriel, Dominick, and Casaio froze in the doorway, fists clenching hard at their sides as the anger and helplessness crashed over them anew at the sight of their little sister so hurt.
Raidan recovered first, moving silently to his wife’s side. He stood close as Mabel leaned over the bed, her fingers trembling only slightly while she carefully fastened the glowing talisman around Katelyn’s neck, tucking it beneath the collar of her nightgown so it rested against her heart.
"Kate!" Sage’s voice reverberated in the drawing room.
Gabriel walked out and saw Sage looking frantically around.
"She’s inside, Sage. And she’s out of danger," Gabriel inford him.
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