I push through the door and into the hallway, my wolf pacing frantically in my mind. Every instinct I have is screaming that something is wrong—not just with Zane’s story about the attack, but with his confidence about seeing Selene.
The way he said it, with such quiet conviction, as if their meeting isn’t a matter of if, but when. As if he knows something that guarantees she will come to him, whether she wants to or not.
My hands clench into fists as I stride down the corridor, my wolf snarling with unease.
I findLucian in Astra’s lab, a small building he had constructed adjacent to the Queen’s private herb garden. As I walk through the carefully tended rows of medicinal plants and rare specimens, I can’t help but marvel at how much has changed over the past several months. The once-cold Crown Prince, my childhood friend who would barely acknowledge any woman—finding them annoying and clingy—built this entire garden to please his mate.
How the mighty have fallen.
When I enter the lab, Lucian is standing behind Astra, his hand resting casually on her shoulder as she sits on her work stool, grinding herbs with a mortar and pestle. Luna, a sleek black cat, is stretched out in the chair that belonged to Lucian’s father, the previous king. Astra and Lucian both look up when I enter.
“Zane’s awake,” I say without preamble.
Lucian straightens. “And?”
“His story’s clean. Says he was drunk, went for a walk, got jumped by three shifters.” I cross my arms over my chest. “Claims he was too intoxicated to fight back properly.”
Lucian studies me curiously. “You don’t believe him.”
“Would you? The man who consolidated power by eliminating his entire family line, taken down by a couple of rogues?” I shake myhead. “He was already a general in the army before he took over the position as head of his family. Three shifters couldn’t take him down. Something’s off.”
Astra sets aside the mortar and pestle. “Has Selene woken up yet?”
“Yes, this morning.”
She gives me a smile, but it fades when I don’t return it. “What’s wrong?”
I hesitate, not sure how to explain what I witnessed without revealing that Selene is my fated mate. The complete absence of reaction, the way she looked at me like I was a stranger. “Her behavior was…odd.”
Astra’s eyes narrow, studying my face with that unsettling perception she has always had. “How would you know what her normal behavior looks like, Seth?”
Heat creeps up my neck. “She’s your friend. It’s natural that I’d keep an eye on the Queen’s companions.”
“Right.” She snorts, rolling her eyes. “I’m going to see her.” She rises from her stool, kisses Lucian on the cheek, and sweeps past me.
I watch her leave through the door and then look back at the King. “What if it’s a trap?”
“A trap?” Lucian picks up Luna and places her on his shoulder. He gestures for me to follow him as he, too, leaves the lab. “A trap for what?”
“I don’t know,” I mutter in frustration. “But the man creeps me out.”
“He was badly injured, Seth. If he had orchestrated the attack, he wouldn’t have had life-threatening wounds.”
I come to a halt, giving him an incredulous look. “You believe he really was taken down by three rogue shifters?”
Lucian looks over his shoulder at me, his eyes cool. “That’s what you’re here for. Investigate this matter and find out the truth.”
I sigh. “I’ll go back to the scene. Something’s not adding up.”
When we part ways, I head back to the area in the forest where the incident occurred. The scene looks different in the daylight, less mysterious but somehow more troubling. My team isstill combing through every inch, but they’re finding nothing useful. No scents, no tracks, no evidence that anyone other than Zane was ever here.
I’m crouched near where Selene found him when something catches my eye: a faint, red residue on some leaves, barely visible unless you’re looking for it.
“Genesis!” I call to one of the witches. “Come look at this.”
He jogs over and squats beside me. “What am I looking at?”
“This red powder. Can you identify it?”
