LOGINRHYS' POV.The room went completely silent.What Brayden just said sounded like it was coming from another world. My ears rang so loud I thought they might never hear a thing when the ringing stops. "Some time?" My voice came out thin. "You've been investigating for some time?""Since the crash.""And you never told me.""You never told me where you go either." He dragged a hand down his face. "So I guess we're even."I stared at him.Brayden had been digging quietly. Every single night, while I lay in his arms pretending to sleep, he had been chasing the same shadows I was.And if he kept digging, where would it lead him?To the arrow in the armory. To the cliff. To a forest omega with no name, and a son with his eyes.To me.Within eight days, I had promised myself I would tell him everything before the Moonstone test. I had rehearsed it in the bath, in the car, lying awake beside him in the dark. I wanted him to hear it from my mouth. Not from a file. Not from some investigator's
RHYS' POV.I tossed my cream blazer onto the bed and started on my shirt buttons, my mind still trapped inside that leather ledger.Thirty-two years ago. Eight missing children.The door swung open.Brayden walked in, still in his charcoal suit, his tie loosened at the collar. He didn't close the door behind him. He didn't smile either.He just looked at me.Brayden was never this calm."Where were you?" he asked.My fingers paused on the third button. "Pearls Motherless Home. I'm planning a charity event for the children.""With who?""Just me and the guards."He scoffed softly. "The guards you left standing at the gate like statues?"My stomach dipped."Gina told me," he said, slipping his hands into his pockets. "The guards called it in, and she came straight to my office. She said you climbed out of the car with a man in a gray suit. Your secretary, apparently." His brow arched. "Since when do you have a secretary?"Gina.Of course it was Gina. She always seemed to know where ever
THIRD PERSON'S POV. The black royal car rolled to a stop in front of a pale yellow building with a rusted iron gate. A painted sign arched over the entrance, its letters faded by years of sun: PEARLS MOTHERLESS HOME. Beneath it, someone had painted a row of little white pearls, each one with a smiling face. Rhys stepped out of the car and smoothed down his cream blazer. Behind him, two palace guards climbed out of the front seats. "Wait here," Rhys told them. "It's a children's home. I don't want to frighten anyone with guns at the door." The guards exchanged a look. "Luna, the Alpha King said..." "The Alpha King said I shouldn't leave the palace without guards. I didn't. And you can see the front door from right here. But my secretary comes with me.” The taller guard hesitated, then nodded and planted himself beside the gate. Richard climbed out of the back seat with a leather folder tucked under his arm and his glasses pushed up his nose. He wore a plain gray suit t
THIRD PERSON'S POV. The Ravenclaw mansion smelled of roasted chicken and garlic butter. Mia sat at the long dining table with one leg folded beneath her, scrolling through her phone with one hand and stabbing at her salad with the other. Across from her, Jeddy tore a bread roll in half and dipped it into his soup, his eyes half-lidded with boredom. The front door slammed. Both of them looked up. Tyler walked into the dining room still wearing his coat. His tie hung loose around his neck. His face was gray, the lines around his mouth carved deeper than they had been that morning, and his shoes left faint smudges of dust across the marble. "Dad?" Jeddy lowered his spoon. "You're back early." Tyler didn't answer. He pulled out the chair at the head of the table and dropped into it as though his legs had stopped working. Mia set her phone face down. "Where have you been? You left before breakfast." "Out." He rubbed his forehead. "Both of you, listen to me." The twins exchanged a
THIRD PERSON'S POV.The heavy iron door creaked open and a young omega stepped into the underground chamber, balancing a silver tray in both hands. Five crystal flutes stood on it, each one filled to the brim with pale gold champagne, tiny bubbles racing to the surface and bursting.His name was Caelan.Only a few days ago, he had been dragged into this same room with his wrists bound and his bare feet bleeding against the stone. Now he wore a loose cream shirt that hung off one shoulder, soft linen trousers, and the fresh, dark bite of a mate's mark on the side of his neck. A faint floral sweetness drifted off his skin with every step he took.The torches mounted along the stone walls hissed and flickered. Their light caught the champagne and turned it to liquid fire.Five figures sat around the long, dark wooden table. Their silence was heavy enough to press against his chest."Minister Tyler."Tyler Ravenclaw didn't even look at him. He was hunched forward with his elbows on the ta
RHYS’ POV.The training ground was built behind the east wing, hidden by a wall of black stone.Brayden pushed open the iron gate, and a wide field of packed red earth spread out before us. Wooden dummies stood in rows. Rope ladders hung from a tall frame. Along the far wall ran a long, covered shed lined with racks."This is where the palace guards train," Brayden said. "The royal family too. Father brought Hadrian and me here before we could spell our names." He nodded toward the shed. "That's the armory. Every weapon the guards use is kept and counted in there."Remus was already sprinting toward the dummies."Can I fight that one?""After you learn to stand," Brayden called, jogging after him.I found a bench in the shade of an old tree and sat."Daddy!" Remus spun around. "Aren't you training?""I'm watching.""Daddy's scared," Remus informed Brayden in a loud whisper. "He thinks he'll lose to me.""He definitely would," Brayden whispered back."I can hear you both."They grinned







