LOGINTHIRD PERSONâS POV.Cedric and Victor instinctively stepped backward.Victor raised his hands.âAlpha King, we have nothing to do with your mateâs disappearance.ââNothing?ââYes, Alpha King.â Victor swallowed. âYou already declared Rhys your mate. There is nothing we can do about that.âCedric quickly nodded.âThat is correct.â He stepped forward slightly, though his fear remained visible. âWe may have disagreed with your decision, Alpha King, but we would never dare abduct your mate. We have no reason to oppose you anymore.âBrayden stared at them.âFine.â His eyes remained cold. âBut youâre both here.âHe glanced around.âWhere is Tyler?âVictorâs expression changed.âTyler?ââYes. Tyler.âBraydenâs voice hardened.âIsnât he a minister? He has no reason not to be seated in this room, but I havenât seen him since yesterday.âVictor hesitated.âAlpha King, I instructed Tyler to remain at home for the meantime.âBraydenâs eyebrow lifted.âWhy?âVictor shifted uncomfortably.âBecause o
THIRD PERSONâS POV.At Crownfang Packâs Palace, the atmosphere inside the throne room had become almost unbearable.Brayden paced relentlessly across the vast room, moving from the center of the throne room toward the raised platform, then turning around and walking back again. His footsteps echoed against the marble floor, each one carrying the weight of his growing frustration.He had been doing this for hours.The ministers sat in silence, their expressions grim and uneasy. Some appeared worried about what Rhysâ disappearance meant for the pack, while others remained unusually still, as though they were carefully choosing every expression they allowed themselves to show.The ministers who had always stood firmly behind Braydenâs decision of making Rhys the Luna looked just as gloomy.No one knew what to say.Gina stood near the throne, watching the Alpha King with deep concern. She had never seen him like this. Since he was born nor in the past six years, when Brayden had spent co
THIRD PERSONâS POV.Elara stood in the kitchen, leaning her body against the counter while a bright smile was on her face as she scooped some portion of food onto two plates sitting on the dining table.Meanwhile, Riven was seated comfortably in the living room, sipping his tea as he watched the news on television.âHurry up! Iâm starving!â he called out.âIf youâre that hungry, why donât you come over here and serve yourself?â she retorted, dropping the spoon back into the pot. âPlease donât kill me before the Goddess calls me. Iâm already an old woman.âRiven let out a loud chuckle.âSomeone is finally getting old.ââWhat did you say?â Elara shouted from the kitchen.Riven immediately straightened in his seat.âWhat did you say?â she asked again, this time louder.âWellâŚâ Riven cleared his throat and fixed his attention on the television. âI said youâre still looking as pretty and as agile as ever, my love.âElara hissed.âYou had better not repeat the main thing you said.âRiven wi
THIRD PERSONâS POV.Deep inside a dark, minimally lit room, Rhys was hung against the wall. Both of his hands were restrained above him, his body barely able to move. His legs were spread apart, and his head hung downward as ragged breaths escaped his lips.Slowly, his fingers twitched.His body reacted weakly as consciousness began returning to him.Rhysâ eyelids fluttered. For a few seconds, he couldnât see anything. He closed his eyes again.Where am I?What happened?His breathing quickened.He tried to move his arms, only to feel the restraints holding him firmly in place.Fear immediately surged through him.Rhys forced his eyes open again.This time, he saw.And he froze.His lips began trembling.âNoâŚâ The figure standing before him was impossible to mistake.The same man.The same masked man.The same masked man who had kidnapped him six years ago.The man who had wanted to force him to carry a pup.The man who had tried to kill him.Brayden.At least, that was the name Rhys
THIRD PERSONâS POV.Brayden slowly regained consciousness as his eyes fluttered open but his vision made everything around him still blurry.âAh!âA sharp groan escaped him as pain seemed to rake through every part of his body. His head throbbed violently, and for several seconds, he could barely remember where he was.He turned gently to the right.âRhys?â he called softly.There was no response.âRhys?âHe called again, louder this time.Still nothing.Brayden frowned and tried to reach toward the other side of the back seat, but his arm met nothing except empty space. He forced himself to blink repeatedly until everything around him gradually came into focus.Rhys was nowhere to be found.Braydenâs heart immediately began pounding.He looked toward the front of the vehicle.Rodrigo was still in the driverâs seat, his body slumped forward against the steering wheel.âRodrigo?âNo response.âRodrigo!âBrayden reached forward and grabbed the driverâs shoulder, shaking him repeatedly.
RHYSâ POV.Just imagine!A lot of weird, stupid, and completely not-supposed-to-happen things had been happening ever since I met Brayden.And donât even get me started on everything that had happened since I moved into the palace just yesterday.It hadnât even been twenty-four hours.Not even twenty-four freaking hours!Yet somehow, I had already experienced enough things to last me an entire month.First, I had to pretend to be Braydenâs mate.Then, there was the whole issue with Tyler and Mia almost recognizing me.Then Brayden kissed me. Or I kissed him back. Whatever. And somehow, I ended up sleeping on his chest.Now, I was sitting in the back seat of a car with my son and the very man I was supposed to be investigating.And somehow, I felt like an outsider.Remus had been talking nonstop with Brayden ever since we left the palace. He had so many things to tell him that I was beginning to wonder where he was getting all that energy from this early in the morning.âDad, do you k







