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I remembered waking up in the hospital with Lady Helena fussing over me like a gothic mother hen, insisting I drink every drop of some ancient Blackthorn blood that shimmered like liquid rubies. The brothers had been there, their power wrapping around me protectively while the Blackthorn researchers documented every breath I took. Poor Alan had nearly fainted when I smiled at him—which, honestly, was kind of adorable in a nerdy vampire way. Then the brothers had to leave for some urgent council meeting and after that… nothing. Just strange dreams about an orb of pure light and then waking up here a week ago with three very intense, very overprotective alpha wolves who now treated me like I might float away if they blinked.

Since then, it had been a blur of worried family members and medical staff who treated me like I was made of spun glass. Something had changed—I could feel it in the way everyone looked at me, in the way the brothers hardly left my side. But no one would tell me exactly what happened that day.

I stared at the blurry screenshot again of someone who looked suspiciously like me being carried by Archer. “This was me, right?”

“Well, technically…” Alan adjusted his glasses, a sure sign he was about to start babbling scientific facts to avoid real answers. “The council’s official statement focused on the territorial violation aspects rather than the specific?—”

“And then there’s this,” I cut him off, scrolling to the most viral clip. “My brothers going full alpha mode on those Dark Haven vampires.”

I might have watched these videos hundreds of times in the past week. For research purposes, obviously. Not because watching three massive wolves transform into my ridiculously hot brothers made my heart stop, or because their combined powers turned the battlefield into something out of a supernatural action movie. And I definitely hadn’t spent hours replaying the part where Zane’s massive silver-white wolf, frost crystallizing in his magnificent fur, led the charge. Or where Ryker’s dark-blond form crackled with storm energy that lit up the night sky. And I absolutely hadn’t memorized the exact moment Archer’s golden form shifted mid-leap to catch me, his solar magic making him glow like some avenging angel.

The comments section, though… that made my fangs ache.

‘Those wolves! The Whitlock alphas are MAGNIFICENT in both forms!’

‘The way Alpha Archer shifted mid-leap to catch the prince… I’ve watched it 497 times. For science.’

‘That moment when their powers combined—frost, lightning, and solar light? DECEASED. Someone check my pulse!’

‘Can we talk about how protective they are of their prince? That growl when anyone got too close? HOT.’

‘The way they went from deadly wolves to deadly hot alphas? Supernatural genetics are just unfair.’

‘Did you see Alpha Zane’s face when he made that threat? I volunteer as tribute!’

‘Their combined howl at the end? Pretty sure I’m pregnant now.’

A low hiss escaped me at that last comment. My fangs definitely made an involuntary appearance.

“Those are, um, very creative interpretations of a serious security incident,” Alan offered diplomatically, though his tablet recorded my reaction with suspicious enthusiasm.

“And why exactly”—I scrolled to another clip that showed Alpha Blackthorn’s forces joining the fight—“is everyone suddenly treating me like I’m some kind of actual prince? The nurses practically bow when they bring my blood bags. Even the Council Elders have been visiting.”

Which was weird on so many levels. Lady Victoria Lionheart—whom I recognized from my late-night research binges on the council’s website as one of the founding elders and head of the Lionheart clan—had spent an hour discussing celestial tea ceremonies with me. Lord Thanatos Shadowmere, the terrifying death angel elder whose bio had made me sleep with the lights on for a week, had personally delivered a shadow-wrapped gift that turned out to be an ancient grimoire. And Lady Wei Cheng, the dragon elder whose achievements section on the council database read like a supernatural history book, had left me a set of protection scrolls that made Alan’s research crystals chime every time he got too close.

I’d spent countless hours studying the council archives since arriving in New Vale, trying to understand this world I’d been dropped into. But reading about these legendary figures was very different from having them visit my hospital room like concerned relatives checking on a favorite grandchild.

Alan’s tablet chimed urgently. “Oh! Would you look at that? Lady Helena needs these readings right away. Very important. Very scientific. I should?—”

“Alan.”

He froze halfway to the door.

“If you don’t explain what’s going on, I’ll tell Lady Helena about how you nearly fainted into her ancient blood fountain. Again.”

He spun around, his face a picture of horror. “You… you saw that?” He slumped back into his chair. “I thought everyone was distracted by the power readings at the time…”

“I see everything from this luxury prison cell.” I gestured around at the ridiculously opulent hospital suite. “Including how the brothers growl at anyone who comes near me. Even the doctors have to ask their permission to check my vitals now.”

Which was both adorable and slightly concerning. This morning, a nurse had dropped my blood bag—lavender straw included, because apparently being kidnapped didn’t change my aesthetic—and Zane had appeared out of nowhere like some frost-wrapped avenging wolf. The poor nurse probably needed therapy.

“That’s… perfectly normal alpha behavior,” Alan tried, his tablet recording everything with suspicious enthusiasm. “Given the circumstances and the unique power resonance patterns?—”

A knock at the door saved Alan from further awkward explanations. Archer’s golden head poked in, his signature sunny smile lighting up the room. “There’s my favorite patient! Ready to break out of this fancy prison, precious?”

The way he said ‘precious’ made my toes curl. The brothers had been using that endearment all week, along with ‘little bat’ and other pet names that definitely didn’t sound brotherly anymore. Not that I was complaining.

“Yes!” I practically bounced off the bed. “Get me out of here before Alan tries to explain more ‘power resonance patterns’ or Dr. Stevens finds another ancient blood test to run.”