Page 36 of Billionaire Dragon King’s Rejected Mate

“And you think I can do something about that.” It wasn’t quite a question, though the edge in his voice made it clear exactly how he felt about the assumption.

Sven didn’t hesitate. “We think you’re the only one who can.”

A short, humorless breath left Chance as he turned away briefly. One hand braced against the edge of his desk as he considered the sheer audacity of that statement.

“My father doesn’t listen to anyone,” he said and looked back at them. “Least of all me.”

“That’s precisely the problem,” Jakob countered. “And precisely why you need to return. When your father is overthrown, you are the one who must be there to take the throne.”

And there it was. The very thing he had spent years avoiding wrapped neatly in expectation and inevitability.

“You’re asking me to walk back into a situation I left for a reason,” Chance said. His voice lowered slightly and tension threaded through it now. “Nothing has changed.”

“Everything has changed,” Sven corrected, his tone firm but not unkind. “You’ve changed.”

Chance almost laughed at that. “Have I? You don’t even know me.”

“You’ve built something here, proved that you could be your own man,” Sven continued and gestured vaguely to the office. “You should be proud. But this, my friend,” his gaze sharpened slightly, “was never meant to be permanent.”

The words gutted Chance but he was careful not to show it on his face. Some part of him had always known that and he had simply chosen to ignore it.

“You must return,” Jakob said, more bluntly now. “Take your place. Take the throne before your father burns everything to the ground in his refusal to yield it.”

“And you should know,” Sven began in a tight voice, “that there are rumors that your father has been recruiting people here in the states.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“He executed your brother. You’re his only living heir. The last thing he needs is for you to come back.” Jakob was direct and to the point.

“Hitmen? You think he’ll hire hitmen to come after me?” It sounded like some kind of movie.

“Wouldn’t that be a necessary move if you fear losing your throne?”

Sven’s words hit hard not because they were unexpected but because they were true. Chance felt the weight of something larger than himself pressing in and demanding acknowledgment.

His life here that he had so carefully constructed was about to tumble and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop it.

Randi suddenly appeared at the open door focused on her clipboard. “Chance, when you get a minute, I need you to…”

Her voice trailed off as she stepped into the room and realized he wasn’t alone. She froze for half a second before her face broke out into a huge smile

Before he could interpret her expression of job, she dropped her clipboard. “Sven! What are you doing here?”

The name left her in a rush of recognition and disbelief, and before Chance could process what was happening, she crossed the room and threw her arms around the King of Stagholt like he was nothing more than an old friend she hadn’t seen in years.

Sven laughed, a rare, genuine sound that broke through the tension like it had no business being there. He wrapped his arms around her in a huge hug and spun her around.

“Randi,” he said as he pulled back just enough to look at her. “I didn’t know this is where you were working.”

Chance didn’t move. He couldn’t speak. His brain had stalled somewhere between recognition and recalibration, trying to reconcile two completely incompatible realities, one being Randi and the other being Sven.

Things got even more complicated when she turned. “Jakob, it’s good to see you again.” She gave him a big hug, too.

“You all know each other,” he said finally. The words were flatter than he intended and his gaze flickered between them as something sharp and complicated twisted low in his chest.

Randi turned back toward him, something like surprise crossing her face as if she had only just remembered he was there.

“Know each other?” she echoed. “Chance, Sven is my brother-in-law.”