“What you are? What do you mean by that?” Adalyn wasn’t about to let it go.
“Later.” Wade briefly glanced in her direction.
“Now is not the time,”her wolf said.
“If he’s been alive all this time, why haven’t we heard from him? Why hasn’t he come home? This pack was my father’s life. He wouldn’t just walk away from me, or my mom, let alone his life here.”
“He’s under a spell.” Grace was the first to answer. “When I found him, Mariska had him under some sort of spell. His own majik had been suppressed to the point he had no idea who he even was.”
“Majik is powerful, but is it powerful enough to strip the strongest man I’ve ever known from his family? From his life?” Rafe asked.
“Yes,” Adalyn said. “You don’t know my mom or what she’s capable of. None of us do. I never thought she’d try to kill me, yet here we are.”
“I know exactly what my sister is capable of, and if there is any chance Bjorn is alive, we have to get him away from her. No matter how strong the majik is.” Brenna stepped forward into the conversation.
“I agree. We can’t let her use him as some sort of weapon against his own people,” Erin said.
“Adalyn, do you have any idea where your mom would keep Bjorn?” Grace asked.
“No, I’m sorry, but I don’t.” Adalyn tried to think of every single room in the castle where her mother could have hidden him. Through the years, she’d been up and down every corridor a hundred times over. Surely she would have found a dungeon or something, right?
“Adalyn, if my father is still alive—”
“Our father,” she cut Rafe off.
A growl rose in his throat.
“Look, I get it. You don’t want to accept me. We need to move beyond that. You know for a fact that I’m Bjorn’s daughter just as much as you are his son. You, at least, had years to get to know him—to know his love. I’ve never even had the fucking chance to meet him. So,ifheisalive, I will do everything in my power to find him. Got it?”
“Even if it means going against your mother?” Grace asked.
“I’m in. No matter what it takes,” Adalyn vowed as she swayed on her feet.
“Yeah, she needs to get some rest. The spell she was under nearly drained her powers.” Erin grabbed a hold of Adalyn before she faceplanted on the floor.
“No. I’m okay. I can do this. Ihaveto do this.” Tears streamed down her face. The very thought that her father was alive—the possibility of having a chance to meet him, was more than she’d ever hoped for.
“I’m fine. I just need to—”
The pounding in her head intensified tenfold. Her legs felt as if they’d turned to putty.
“I’ve got you.” Wade swept her up into his arms.
“I could get used to this.”
Adalyn laid her head against Wade’s chest and allowed the darkness that had started to creep in to wash over her.
