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“Maybe,” he mused.
“Look, you don’t need to do this bonding thing with me. I said I’ll help you and my word is good.”
“I’m not trying to bond with you. You don’t owe me anything and I know that. But you should know about your mom. She was tough as nails. Brilliant and fiercely loyal. She had an energy around her that you could feel. Strength. She wasn’t like any woman I ever met,” he said.
“She’s none of those things anymore,” I said bitterly.
“Maybe not, but she passed all those traits to you. I can see it. You have her strength. And you have royal blood. You just need to let yourself lean into your instincts. Trust your intuition. Trust your inner wolf,” he said.
“My instincts kept me alive so far, despite the many attempts by others to end my life,” I said.
“Good. Now use it to learn how to take the offensive instead of using it as defense.”
“What exactly is it that you expect me to do in your plan?” I asked.
“Malcom will be my second,” he said. “You get to steal the crown.”
My brow furrowed. “You can’t be serious. A crown?”
“Malcom is next in line for the throne,” he said. “Unless you want to challenge him for it?”
I shook my head. “Fuck no.”
“Then he’s the natural choice for second,” he said.
“So, this is just an alpha challenge on a greater scale?” I asked.
“Basically. If he doesn’t play dirty. But that’s where you come in. That crown has power. Well, not literal power. It’s a hunk of gold. I’ve never cared for it. But the other shifters, the nobles, and the hangers on, they believe it means something. We have that crown, and we publicly challenge him, he’ll have no choice but to fight.”
“How did you lose last time? You said your friends turned on you. Why didn’t you just challenge him?” I asked.
“I never made it to the throne room,” he said. “As soon as I crossed through the front doors, my friends turned on me. My brother was tipped off about my arrival.”
“That sucks,” I said.
“Yeah,” he agreed. “If I had won that day, I would have searched for your mom. You’d have been raised as a princess.”
I swallowed. “You didn’t even know she was pregnant. You act like you actually cared about her.”
He growled. “Don’t you dare question my feelings for her. Your mom is my true mate. I wanted a family with her. I wanted forever with her,” he said.
I tensed. My mom never told me she’d had a true mate. All this time, she’d been away from him, and she’d quit shifting. Since my dad wasn’t dead, she’d have felt that bond all these years. What had that done to her? I was a mess simply being apart from my true mate and we had yet to complete the mating bond. She’d completed the bond, then had to flee. Every day, my very existence had been a reminder of the love she’d lost.
“My mom is broken after everything she’s been through.” My throat was tight, and I had to stop speaking for fear of breaking down in front of him. He might be my father, but he was still a stranger.
“After we win, I will find a way to heal her. I’ve never stopped loving her. I never will. Mating bonds are eternal. Chosen by fate. Sacred. She is my other half. Being away from her was the worst part of my punishment. I know I don’t deserve your affection, but I hope to at least one day gain your trust,” he said.
I nodded once. It was all I had in me. Here was a true mate, trying to get back to his love while I had just taken to magic to break my own bond. Why were the fates so fucking cruel?
