The Heart of a King (The Nine Realms #2)

The air in Castle Xanthe was thick with the scent of fresh pine and stale grief. Dimitrios Zanthe, barely more than a boy, stood before his mother, the weight of a crown settling heavily upon his young shoulders. His father, the late king, was barely cold in his grave, a victim of the shadowy Cerran. Today was meant to be a day of joy, his wedding day, yet all Dimitrios felt was the cold dread of duty.

"Is this the right thing, mother?" he asked, his voice rough with unshed tears. His mother, Queen Adela, her face still streaked with sorrow, clutched his arm, her gaze distant.

"You are alpha now, Dimitri. Our people need this alliance," she replied, her words a stark reminder of the heavy mantle he now bore. He was only fourteen, yet responsibility had aged him beyond his years. He was not immortal, not yet, and the political unrest within the Wolfen territory, exacerbated by his father's death, demanded immediate action. Rivals lurked in the shadows, waiting to challenge his nascent authority. This alliance, this marriage to a Vampyr princess, was their only hope.