The pieces were falling into place with terrifying clarity. The systematic undermining of human-shifter bonds, the decade-long poisoning designed to coincide with his coming of age, the political pressure to choose a controllable mate.
“This was never about the mate bond,” he said, his voice deadly quiet. “This was about control. About manipulating me into becoming a king they could puppet.”
His stomach churned with the realization that his entire worldview had been carefully constructed lies.
“We need to move fast,” he said, already heading toward the door. “If they’re willing to murder a shifter king, they won’t hesitate to eliminate a human queen.”
NINETEEN
TESS
The laboratory’s fluorescent lights cast harsh shadows as Tess bolted for the door, the damning test results clutched in her trembling hands. The paper felt like it weighed a thousand pounds—proof that everything about King Voran’s illness had been a carefully orchestrated lie.
“Hurry up!” Korran’s voice cracked like a whip, his tall frame radiating lethal intent. The controlled prince she’d come to know had vanished, replaced by something primal and dangerous. “We’re running out of time.”
Kael stumbled behind them, his usually steady hands shaking as he gathered additional evidence from their workstation. The young scientist’s face had gone pale, the weight of their discovery clearly overwhelming him.
Tess’s heart hammered as they burst through the laboratory doors and into the corridor. Each step echoed like gunshots in the empty medical facility, the sound amplifying her growing dread. The queen—sweet, intelligent Queen Lysia who’d shown her nothing but kindness—was somewhere out there and possibly in danger.
“Kael!” Korran barked as they reached the building’s exit, his voice carrying the unmistakable authority of a future king. “Takethose test results to the vigil. Find Orric and tell the clan their king was murdered by Varix.”
“I thought we were going to present the evidence to the council,” Tess said, breathless from their sprint as she handed over the test results to Kael. Her scientific mind still clung to proper procedure, even as her instincts screamed that something horrible was happening here.
Korran’s laugh was bitter and sharp. “I’m starting to think the council was behind this whole thing. We need to get the clan on our side and find my mother before they murder her too.”
Tess nodded grimly as she climbed into Korran’s SUV. The vehicle roared to life beneath them, tires spinning against the snow-covered pavement as Korran gunned the engine with barely controlled fury.
The winter landscape blurred past them as they raced toward the estate, bare trees reaching toward the darkening sky like skeletal fingers. Tess’s mind churned with terrible possibilities. If Varix and the council had been willing to orchestrate such an elaborate deception—slowly poisoning the king while spreading propaganda about human-shifter bonds being dangerous—then they were dealing with people who planned years in advance.
“I don’t think Queen Lysia is at the estate,” she said, voicing the fear that had been growing in her chest since they’d left the lab. Her scientific training demanded she consider all variables, even the ones that terrified her.
Korran’s knuckles were white where they gripped the steering wheel. “We have to check. Malvek said he was taking her home from the burial grounds.”
“Do you really trust Malvek?” The question tasted bitter on her tongue.
“Not anymore.” His voice was steel, but she could hear the fear underneath—the terror of a son who’d already lost his father and might be about to lose his mother too.
Minutes later, the estate loomed before them, its familiar towers and walls now seeming ominous rather than welcoming. Korran brought the SUV to a skidding halt and turned to her, his brown eyes blazing with desperate intensity.
“Wait here,” he commanded, already opening his door.
Tess could see the barely leashed panic in his movements. This was a man on the edge of losing everything, and she wasn’t about to let him face that alone.
She watched him disappear through the estate’s front entrance, her heart pounding as precious seconds ticked by. The silence stretched endlessly, broken only by the wind howling through the pine trees outside. Each moment felt like an eternity, and she found herself holding her breath as she waited for any sign of Queen Lysia’s safety.
When Korran burst back through the doors barely two minutes later, his face was a mask of fury and terror that made her stomach drop. He moved with the predatory grace of his bear, but there was something wilder and more uncontrolled in his movements now.
“She never came back,” he snarled as he threw himself into the driver’s seat. “We may be too late.”
Too late.
Just like with her mother, just like with King Voran—always too late to save the people who mattered.
“We have to hold onto hope that she’s still alive and fighting,” Tess said, surprised by the steadiness in her own voice. “She’s strong, brave, and smart. She’s probably doing everything she can to stay alive until we get to her.”
Korran’s breathing was ragged, but her words seemed to anchor him. “You’re right. My mother is the strongest person I know. If she’s fighting for her life right now, then I won’t let her down.”
The SUV roared back to life, and they tore away from the estate with desperate urgency. Snow sprayed from their tires as Korran navigated the winding roads with reckless precision, his enhanced reflexes the only thing keeping them from sliding off the mountain path.
