Crown and Shackles: The Princes Mate (Story Updated)

When Wolves Lose Their Own

I folded my arms, glaring at Sam and Henry. "This is Logan again, isn't it? Twisting things. He's always hated Troy. He wants to turn me against him-but Troy isn't the enemy. He's my friend."

The word felt wrong in my mouth now.

Because even as I said it, something sharp and uncomfortable twisted in my gut.

Troy had kissed me.

It wasn't romantic. Not for me.
It had never been that. Not even close.
Troy was family. He was the one who'd been there since the beginning-who'd fought beside us, grieved with us. I loved him like a brother.

That kiss... it wasn't part of our story. It wasn't supposed to be.

I'd tried to forget it. Tried to bury it under excuses. Told myself it was a moment of grief, of confusion-something that didn't mean anything.

But maybe it had meant something to him.

Maybe it meant everything.

"Ally," Sam said carefully, "this isn't about Logan. It's not some plot to turn you against Troy. This is... real. Henry and I-we've seen something in him. Something we didn't want to see."

I frowned, voice quiet. "Seen what?"

Henry looked pained. "He's changed. It started subtle. Quiet. We thought he was just struggling, same as the rest of us. But it's more than that now. He's fixated. On you."

My heart skipped. "That doesn't make sense. Troy knows how I feel. I've never-he's like a brother to me."

Sam nodded slowly. "You've always been clear. That's why this is hitting us so hard."

"I don't think he ever saw it that way," Henry said. "I think he's been holding onto this... idea of you. Of something that was never real."

"No," I said, shaking my head. "He wouldn't-he knows I'm with Logan. He should knows I love him."

"He doesn't care," Sam said. "We heard him, Ally. Talking to himself in the shed. Saying you were supposed to be his. That Logan took you. Like he was living in a different version of the story."

My skin went cold.

Henry's voice was flat. "When he found out you were pregnant, he snapped. He said the baby should've been his. That you and Jace were his family."

My stomach turned.

"That's not even... how could he think that?" I whispered. "He knows I never saw him that way."

"But that doesn't matter to him anymore," Sam said. "He's rewritten it in his head. You're not a person to him-you're a role he thinks he was meant to have. And now he's trying to take it back."

My arms wrapped around my stomach without thinking.

Troy had kissed me.
He'd said I didn't have to go back.
He'd looked at me like I already belonged to him.

"He told me your bond with Logan was a lie," Sam said. "That he was going to 'fix it.' That he'd make it right."

"Troy's not grieving you, Ally," Henry added. "He's trying to claim you. Like you're something he lost."

I stared at them-two people who had known him as long as I had. Their faces were etched with the same hurt and disbelief that I felt slowly blooming inside me.

"No," I said. "He wouldn't do this. He can't."

"None of us wanted to believe it," Sam whispered. "But we have to now. Before something worse happens."