Chapter 25 — Careful What You Wish For

~ RONAN ~

"How on earth did Selene know you were going to go sneaking around their pack for information?" I bark, already beyond pissed.

Killan rubs the back of his neck. "It seems Selene has something up her sleeve because she came looking for you at the tattoo parlor last night. And when I refused to tell her where you were, she subtly threatened us. I think she has spies watching because when I went to The Grit, Magnus’s men were already there. I managed to eavesdrop on a conversation that confirmed Selene was the informant before I was told to leave. Magnus spread the word that something was going down. It seems the wrong people got the message and sent our friend there," Killan points at the vampire, Jude, "to see what was what. I tried to call and warn you, but apparently, you were too busy to answer your goddamn phone."

"So Magnus doesn’t know for sure yet?" I ask.

Killan’s gaze briefly darts over to Lyra. "It seems like it. It also seems like the Crimson Court doesn’t know, too. At least not yet."

Lyra tilts her head as if she caught Killan’s look and has figured out his words hold a deeper meaning.

"Know what?" she asks, looking determined to know what he’s hiding. I can feel that my mate's ready to take control of her life and everything involving it, but this isn’t the place to discuss this.

I glance at Killan. "Go inside and call the pack. Tell them to meet us at the tattoo parlor in an hour. It's time to strategize."

"You got it," he says with a rasp, going from annoyed to almost eager. He rushes away, his long strides eating up distance like it’s nothing.

I cross the remaining space to Lyra, keeping Jude away from her. Reaching out with my free hand, I pull her against my side, wrapping my arm firmly around her waist. Leaning in, I breathe softly into her ear.

"How much do you want to know?" I murmur. When she starts to speak, I cut in, "Think about the question before you answer. Make sure you're ready to go there."

Although I know that this will be like jumping without a safety net. I’ll answer her questions—even the ones she might not be ready for. She’d be going in blind, but she’d come out wiser. Whatever’s happening now is big. If outside packs are becoming wary and trying to gather information about her, then she shouldn’t be left in the dark. She shouldn’t be a weak link. She’s already proven she wants to be my equal, to stand strong beside me.

Turning her head so her lips brush my jaw, she replies softly, her voice sharp with anticipation, "Everything. I want to know everything."

---

~ LYRA ~

Be careful what you wish for. That phrase has never hit harder.

I listen as the pack speaks, trying to act like I’m comfortable in their presence, absorbing all I’ve learned. Ronan knew who my father was the moment he saw me. Apparently, I look exactly like the asshole. The truth clarifies so many things, but it doesn’t erase the tension twisting in my gut.

Not when Ronan still didn’t have all the answers to my next set of questions.

He’s certain Magnus Dusk is the one who got my mother pregnant, but he doesn’t know how it happened. That unsettles me. I never gave much thought to my father growing up—aside from hating him for what he did to Amanda. I never imagined meeting him. I wasn’t a lost little girl looking for a daddy. Silas and Maura made sure I didn’t need one.

Still... now that I know, I’m curious. Where did I really come from?

A woman who arrived with an imposing male stares at me. I struggle to remember her name—Hannah, I think. Ronan had introduced her earlier. I’m not sure if he was being honest about the size of his pack, but based on what I can see, he isn’t lacking in numbers. Twenty members in total. Fourteen mated pairs. Six unmated males.

After brief introductions, I settled into the chair Ronan pulled out for me. The couples greet me with warm smiles. The men nod politely, though some of their stares are curious, if not unimpressed. Still, there are no arguments or hostility—just questions, and Ronan answers every single one.

So far, so good.

"Lyra?" Ronan’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts. "What do you think?"

I blink, staring up at him. I hadn’t been paying attention. I don’t even know what they were talking about. If I speak now, I risk sounding like an idiot.

Crap.

"I’m sure it’ll be fine," I say, hoping that whatever I just responded to isn’t catastrophic.

Ronan lifts a brow, his mouth curving in amusement. "I’m not sure," he says, confirming that he absolutely knows I wasn’t listening. "Your stepfather wants to put a bullet in Magnus’s ass. If the two of them come face-to-face, I have a feeling things will get nasty."

I feel the color drain from my face.

While I was zoning out, the pack decided to bring Silas into this. If Silas meets the man who destroyed his wife and best friend, he will lose it. Ronan had hinted that a meeting might be necessary to formalize our bond among the regional packs—but I was hoping to dodge that bullet. Surely, just because Magnus is my biological father doesn’t mean he gets a say in my future.

"That’s an understatement, and you know it. Silas will try to kill him."

"All the more reason to do it," Killan cuts in, leaning forward in his chair. "The man raised you. He fed you, protected you. He has the final say in your mating. Magnus can’t do shit about that. He’s fucked."

"I don’t want Silas in danger," I say. My stepfather might be clever, but he’s still human. He doesn’t stand a chance against a werewolf. Not that I’m letting Magnus dictate anything in my life either. If that bastard thinks he can walk in and start pulling strings, he’s in for a rude awakening.

"He won’t be," Ronan replies, voice full of calm certainty. "As the man who raised you, he has every right to confront anyone who’s endangered you."

Endangered might be a stretch. Abandonment is more accurate. But I don’t argue. I’m just as resolute. Magnus might share my blood, but that’s all. He doesn’t get a say in my life—not now, not ever.