The morning sun cast long, pale beams of light across the frosted courtyards of the Iron-Wood Manor, but inside the sprawling estate, Roxy’s soul felt entirely swallowed by shadows.

Why wouldn’t she?

She spent the entire day in a state of reflection. She sat in the cushioned window seat of the nursery, a warm cup of herbal tea cooling in her hands, entirely oblivious to the chaotic, joyful noise of her children playing on the rugs below. Her eyes traced the familiar, towering silhouettes of the Alpha Kings as they moved through the courtyard.

She watched Torian effortlessly hoist Axel onto his broad shoulders. She watched Caspian summon a floating bubble of water to make little Zale giggle. And she watched Kaelen, standing near the eastern gates, coordinating the perimeter patrols as always. Very efficient.

A heavy, aching realization slowly settled over Roxy’s heart.

For months, she had operated under a dangerous, intoxicating assumption. Because she was the Matriarch, because her soul was the anomaly that held their universe together, she had subconsciously believed that her husbands yielded to her out of duty. She thought their submission to her wild ideas and reckless plans was a testament to her own authority.

But watching them now, the truth hit her.

They didn’t yield to her because they were weak. They were apex predators who had conquered continents and bathed in the blood of their enemies. They yielded to her simply because they loved her with a profound, terrifying magnitude.

They surrendered their pride, their territorial instincts, and their monstrous nature every single day just to see her smile.

And in return, when Kaelen had finally drawn a line in the sand out of sheer, desperate terror for her life, she had thrown a tantrum and completely dismissed him.

I need to fix this, Roxy thought, a fierce, burning determination finally piercing through her guilt. I need to show him that I respect him as my King, not just as one of my husbands.

Leaving the nursery under Torian’s watchful eye, Roxy made her way down to the central parlor.

Syris and Caspian were lounging near the roaring hearth, engaged in a quiet game of Beastworld chess. Zarek was leaning against the heavy stone mantle, his arms crossed over his massive chest, looking profoundly bored.

Roxy stopped at the edge of the fur rug, taking a deep, steadying breath.

"I’m going to Kaelen’s quarters," Roxy announced, smoothing down the front of her dark green tunic. "I am going to apologize."

Syris looked up from the chessboard. A slow, incredibly smug, and entirely supportive smile stretched across his elegant features. The Snake King elegantly waved his hand toward the Northern wing. "Finally, the Matriarch regains her senses. Go claim your wolf, Roxann. He has been pacing his chambers all afternoon, radiating enough frost to freeze the Manor’s plumbing."

Caspian offered a warm, highly encouraging smile, his aquatic eyes crinkling at the corners. "Speak from the heart, my Queen. He just needs to know you understand."

Zarek simply rolled his golden eyes so hard it was a miracle he didn’t strain a muscle. The Dragon King let out a heavy, gravelly grunt. "By the gods, the theatrics of this pack. Just go kiss the man, Roxy. It’s an apology, not a Vanguard war council."

Roxy offered Zarek a weak, grateful smile, her heart hammering a frantic rhythm against her ribs as she turned and walked down the long, shadowed corridor of the Northern wing.

Kaelen’s private quarters were situated at the farthest end of the Manor, designed to mimic the austere, chilling isolation of his home territory. Roxy stopped in front of the heavy oak door, hesitating for a fraction of a second before gently pushing it open.

The room was impeccably neat, smelling sharply of winter pine and polished steel. The ambient temperature was noticeably colder here.

Kaelen was standing beside a massive wooden table, a soft cloth in his hand as he meticulously polished the heavy silver pauldrons of his Vanguard armor. He didn’t look up when the door clicked shut. His posture remained perfectly rigid, his broad shoulders tense beneath his dark linen shirt.

"I requested not to be disturbed, Caspian," Kaelen said, his voice completely flat, assuming the aquatic warlord had entered.

"It’s not Caspian," Roxy whispered softly.

Kaelen’s hands completely froze. The soft cloth slipped from his fingers, landing silently on the wooden table. For a long, agonizing moment, he didn’t move. Then, he slowly turned around, his icy blue eyes carefully guarded, completely blank of their usual warm devotion.

"Matriarch," Kaelen greeted her, the formal title feeling like a jagged piece of glass between them.

Roxy didn’t let the frost deter her. She crossed the room, stopping just a few feet away from him. She completely dropped the confident, unyielding bravado of the Queen, leaving only the raw, incredibly vulnerable transmigrated woman beneath.

"I am so sorry, Kaelen," Roxy breathed, her voice trembling slightly with genuine emotion. "I was reckless. I was so arrogant. I used my title as a weapon to bulldoze right over your boundaries, and I took your absolute love for granted instead of actually listening to your fears and trying to find a safe alternative. I was wrong."

Kaelen’s jaw clenched. The muscles in his neck strained as he looked down at her. He wanted to forgive her instantly but his anger was still a heavy, suffocating weight on his chest.

He remained entirely silent, his icy blue eyes fixed firmly on the floorboards, completely reluctant to let his guard back down.

Roxy swallowed the lump in her throat. Seeing the stoic King of the North actively fighting his own heart broke her completely. She took a step closer, entirely invading his personal space.

She looked up at him through her dark lashes, her brilliant green eyes widening with a sweet, undeniable vulnerability. She reached out, her small hands gently grabbing the lapels of his dark linen shirt, tugging on the fabric with a soft, almost babyish pout.

"Please look at me, Kae," Roxy pleaded softly, her voice dropping into a sweet, agonizingly needy whisper that she knew bypassed every single one of his Vanguard defenses. "Don’t shut me out. I miss my husband. I miss my Kae Kae."

The pout, the nickname, and the sheer, unadulterated sweetness completely shattered his ice.

Kaelen groaned, finally making his decision. He reached out, his massive, cool hands gripping her waist so tightly it bruised, forcefully pulling her flush against his solid chest.

He buried his face into the crook of her neck, his broad shoulders shaking as the dam finally, catastrophically broke.

"You don’t understand, Roxy," Kaelen confessed, his voice a raw, broken rasp that completely tore at her soul. "You do not understand how agonizing it is to exist like this. To constantly, obsessively worry that the Demon King is going to simply snap his fingers and snatch you away from us when we least expect it."

Roxy wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, holding him as he finally bled his deepest insecurities into the open air.

"And the most painful part," Kaelen choked out, lifting his head to look directly into her eyes, his own icy blue irises burning with unshed tears, "is that despite all the strength I possess... despite the armies I have slaughtered and the titles I hold... I cannot fight this entity."

Roxy’s heart violently ached at the sheer devastation in his tone.

"Syris has magic," Kaelen continued, his voice dropping into a bitter, self-deprecating whisper. "Zarek possesses draconic fire that can burn the very air. They might actually have a chance against a demon. But me? I am but a wolf, Roxy. I have no magical power. I only possess the physical strength to kill flesh and blood. When Abaddon comes for you, my claws will pass right through his illusions. I am useless against the heavens. The only way I know how to protect you is to keep you where I can see you."

The profound, heartbreaking insecurity completely stunned her. The brilliant, tactical mastermind of the Vanguard pack felt entirely inadequate to protect his wife.

The emotional reconciliation instantly reached a boiling point. The air in the quarters became incredibly heavy, charged with a desperate, frantic need to heal the fracture between them.

Before he could utter another word of self-doubt, Roxy surged upward on her toes. She shushed him in the most effective way possible, completely capturing his lips in a deep, bruising, and overwhelmingly passionate kiss.

Kaelen let out a low, feral groan, the agonizing vulnerability instantly transmuting into raw, desperate lust. He kissed her back with a blinding intensity, his tongue sweeping into her mouth as if trying to consume her very soul. His cool hands slid up her back, tangling violently into her dark curls.

Roxy met his desperation flawlessly. Her hands slid up his chest, her fingers curling tightly around the thick, corded muscles of his neck, grabbing him with a possessive grip that completely anchored him to reality.

She kissed him until they were both entirely breathless, until the bitter taste of fear was completely burned away by the heat of their reunion.

When Roxy finally released his lips, pulling back just a fraction of an inch, both of their chests were heaving. Kaelen’s icy blue eyes were completely dilated, swallowed entirely by the dark, ravenous midnight of his Alpha hunger.

Roxy kept her tight grip on his neck, her green eyes locking onto his with certainty.

"You have me right now, don’t you?"