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Jermon widened his eyes. “You’re right. Rhene is a dragon prince because of his relationship with my brother. If Ainle were to mate with a dragon king or prince, he would be too, even though he’d still be one hundred percent wolf.”
“I’ll be damned.” Fallon slowly shook his head. “I didn’t even think of that, but you’re right.”
But Oliver had already come to an even more shocking conclusion. Emma had also said Ainle would unite the White Dragon and the True Alpha of his generation. “Two mates.” Oliver held up two fingers. “White Dragon and True Alpha.”
Fallon and Jermon gasped so loudly that conversations around them died down and every head in the barn turned their way. After a few seconds, people started talking again, but Fallon and Jermon still sat with their mouths open.
“You’re saying that…” Fallon swallowed. “That he’ll be mated to the White Dragon and the True Alpha of his generation?”
Oliver nodded. What he didn’t say was that he even had a good idea of who those two could be. Hakon would be the True Alpha, no doubt about it. Was it presumptuous to assume that the White Dragon would be the child that Finlay and Erwan would have?
Oh, but wait. They’d be brothers, wouldn’t they? Ainle and Erwan’s son. Well, not biologically. They shared no blood. But they would grow up together as brothers.
And wasn’t Ainle related to Hakon? If Hakon had Palani’s DNA, that meant he was blood-related to Ainle, who was Rhene’s son. Granted, it was a weak connection, like that of second cousins or something, but still.
Hmm, maybe he was wrong. Time would tell.
“Ainle is here.” Fallon jumped up and hurried over to Yitro, who carried Ainle in a sling. Duer, not a big people person—and Oliver could relate to that—was right beside him.
A big stir at the entrance drew his attention. Gods, Riordan and Wilmer had brought the hatchlings, each carrying two. The benefit of hatchlings over babies was that they were much smaller and lighter, thus easier to transport. At this stage, they wouldn’t be able to shift into their human forms yet, so that made the risks low.
Oliver tapped Jermon’s hand and pointed. Jermon’s eyes lit up with pure joy, and he rushed over to greet his mates.
“Why don’t we connect the tables?” Sivney suggested. Oliver hadn’t seen him come in. His mates were there too, bringing their two kids.
Within minutes, the barn was rearranged into three rows of four connected tables. As if people had sensed it, more and more wolves filed in until the entire pack was complete, kids included. The only ones missing were Nadiv and Emma, who were sitting with Queen Grian. Despite the size of the crowd, the conversations were hushed. People were talking and sometimes laughing, but it was all muted, as if at a funeral. Why had everyone come? What was going on?
More people entered the barn, and Oliver looked up. Oh, Palani and Kean had come. “We’re going crazy waiting for news from Rhene and Erwan,” Palani said. “And it seems we’re not the only ones.”
Chairs were pulled back so the two Hightower brothers could join them. “We’re all waiting to hear from them,” Jermon said. “Come hang out with us so we can wait together.”
Was that why they had gathered? Or was it because of the queen? Either way, unity mattered. The pack was strongest when it was united, and so was the clan. It would bring power to Erwan and Rhene…and maybe everyone had come because they’d sensed those two needed it.
Palani’s eyes lit up when he spotted Ainle. “Oh, can I hold my nephew for a bit?”
Yitro freed Ainle from the sling and handed him over with a smile. The baby had woken up, but he wasn’t crying, more watching with curiosity in his eyes.
Palani cradled the baby to his chest, and Kean bowed in to see. “Oh my god, his eyes…” Kean grinned. “It’s like looking at Rhene.”
“It is…” Palani tickled Ainle under his chin. “You’re gonna be just as big and strong as your wolf dad, aren’t you?”
Yitro chuckled. “He’s already big for his age, Enar says.”
“See? A big, strapping alpha. That’s what you’ll be.” Ainle blew a raspberry, and Palani’s smile widened. “And when you’re a little older, you’ll have so many playmates. Hakon is dying for you to be old enough to play with, and so is Jax. Our girls wanna play too, but you’ll have to be a bit more careful with them, okay? They’re omegas, so you need to protect them and watch out for them.”
Our girls? Oh, right, Palani and Kean both had a daughter, though their names escaped Oliver. And didn’t Palani also have a third kid with his mates? A beta boy who was Enar’s biological son? It was hard to keep track of all the kids.
“But for now…” Palani’s smile faded. “For now, we need to think of your dads and send them all the power we can spare.” He looked up at Kean, and something passed between the brothers. “They’re gonna need it.”
Chapter Twelve
Despite assurances they would be safe under Fergal’s protection, Rhene had an uneasy night. Usually, he was the one who immediately fell asleep, while his mate was more prone to lying awake, but this time, it had been the opposite. They’d talked for a long time, discussing their impressions and strategy going forward and sharing their worries about the rescue mission back home. But after that, Erwan had been out like a light while Rhene had lain awake until the early hours of the morning, unable to stop his brain from spinning.
Fergal seemed like an ally, but was he really? Rhene rarely doubted his intuition, but how could he not after everything they had been through? He had to be careful for himself, for his mate, but above all, for their pack, their clan. Too much was at stake to be careless.
Fergal had shown no indications of being less than forthcoming with them, and Gregor had come across as equally honest and respectable. Rhene could only hope his intuition was right this time. How many more betrayals could Erwan take?
He’d only gotten a few hours of sleep, but Rhene still woke early, probably because of the time difference his body wasn’t used to yet. Next to him, Erwan was still deep asleep, softly snoring. Rhene was quiet when he got up, careful not to wake his mate. Erwan needed the rest. He didn’t handle a lack of sleep well, unlike Rhene, who could function fine on five hours.
