Page 55 of Abandoned By My Alpha Husband

"I understand." His voice was quiet. "If you change your mind, tell me. But hey, I heard you're opening a branch in Silver pine?"

"Yeah." I nodded. "Business is growing. Time to expand."

Gareth's expression shifted. "Be careful there. Reserpine's not like here."

"I will be," I said. "Besides, attitudes toward mixed-bloods have loosened up in Silver pine these past few years. I can't stay in a small town forever. It's time to go back." Silverthread Kingdom was good, but Silver pine was my homeland—my entire childhood, my father's grave. As for my mother—no, I had no mother. My name was Windsor, not Gray.

And I missed Liam. What did he look like now? Probably polite and exceptional.

Gareth nodded, said nothing more, and left.

The door clicked shut behind him. My wolf seemed to just wake up, letting out a long, low whine.

That evening, Anya didn't go to bed after her bath. "Mom," she climbed onto my lap, "tell me a story. You haven't told stories in forever." She whined, voice tinged with complaint. I set down my pen, saw her pout, felt affection and guilt flood through me. Between prepping the new shop, I'd missed too many bedtime routines.

"Okay," I pinched her little nose, scooped her up toward the bedroom, "I will tell you one."

Anya brightened, little feet swinging even as she lay in bed, couldn't settle down. "Shh," I lowered my voice, "what did Mom tell you before—"

"Listen quietly or the story runs away." We recited it together, and finally Anya let me tuck her in properly, looking at me sweetly.

I smiled. Her desk was chaos—picture books from the library scattered everywhere. I grabbed one at random and started reading.

"Once upon a time, in Silverthread Kingdom's Sleepy Valley, there lived a sprite—"

I deliberately slowed my pace. The bedside fragrance diffused its gentle scent. Anya's eyelids grew heavy, voice softer and softer. "Mom," she yawned, eyes slowly closing, "is there really a Sleepy Valley? And little sprites..."

I closed the book, kissed her forehead, and tucked the blanket around her again. "Goodnight." Anya's lips pressed together in her sleep, like a smile. Probably flying around with sprites in her dreams. My wolf said.

I started tidying her desk. Suddenly, I spotted a book—

Silver Thread: Family Histories.

I didn't remember checking this out. Maybe I'd grabbed it randomly to meet the library's five-book minimum.

I flipped it open casually. The table of contents. First line:

The Gray Family.

My heart skipped. I kept reading.

Turned out the Gray family's ancestors had migrated from the Silverthread Kingdom to Silver pine. Silverthread Kingdom had "the strongest witch and fated mate line systems" of any kingdom. Witch bloodlines ran thick here. Many families wielded ancient magic. The Grays among them.

No wonder my mother knew that scent-masking spell.

I turned pages and found an old photograph. A Gray family branch line. The photo was blurry, but I recognized one woman instantly—that face was almost identical to Lina's.

My fingers froze on the photo.

My blood seemed to stop for a moment.

The name listed below—not Lina, but Lina's grandmother, who'd married a lord in Silver pine and split from the Gray family. "Lord" was just a title, and Lina's grandmother's descendants were all lords' wives.

So Lina was a Gray branch member. That made us distant relatives. Because the families hadn't contacted each other in centuries, neither Lina nor I knew.

Thinking about what Lina had done to me, I couldn't pin down how I felt. Complicated. We were actually family. I might be Lina's only relative. Her whole family died in that fire. My father was dead, my mother didn't want me. She could've been important family to me too.

But none of that mattered now.