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KENDRICK'S POV.

When I walked through the entrance of that hall, I didn't expect to see my fated mate being tied to a pillar and being flogged.

A familiar sense of uncontrollable rage ignited through my veins and the natural instinct to protect surged forth.

"Enough!" I thundered.

The entire hall went as silent as night, and the Delta who had been flogging her froze halfway through another lash.

As I walked further inside, the High Priestess, Nadia, followed me behind. Everyone dropped from their seat to the floor on one knee.

"Your Majesty!" they chorused.

My gaze had only been on one person. But the closer I got to her, an inferior energy radiated off her. My eyes narrowed when I realized it.

Cursed furs...

...An omega.

I had done my findings on the Blackthorne daughters; Aurelia Blackthorne and Alma Blackthorne.

Both sisters were noble-born and Beta trained warriors. So who in the blasted moon was this omega my beast just claimed as our mate?!

"Your Majesty." Alpha Garrett quickly stepped forward, looking disoriented. "I'm sorry you had to see this," he said, looking at the omega with a hint of irritation.

"Untie her," I ordered. "Now."

He quickly signaled the guards and they went ahead to untie her, watching as she fell to the floor in a half-conscious state.

"Get her away from here," Alpha Garrett ordered sharply.

One of the guards lifted her limp figure into his arms and headed out.

Both my beasts clawed beneath my skin, refusing to let her out of our sight. But I was irritated.

An omega?

My mate was supposed to come from the Blackthorne bloodline, so what exactly was happening? Or had the High priestess heard wrongly from the goddess?

I rested my frosty gaze on her.

'Explain', my voice filtered through our mindlink. 'My beast just claimed that omega'.

Her eyes went wide with shock and I suppressed the urge to scoff. She had no idea what was happening.

I turned to Alpha Garrett immediately. "Who is that girl?"

He shook his head and forced a nervous chuckle. "She's no one worthy of Your Majesty's attention. I'm sorry you had to see that."

"I asked you a question," I said in a clipped tone. "Who is she?"

For a long moment, he simply stared at me. Then the color slowly drained from his face.

"No..." he whispered. "No way..."

My patience thinned.

"I won't ask again," I warned.

"I'm sorry." He brushed his palm over his face before swallowing hard. "She's... she's my daughter. My illegitimate daughter. Lyra."

Silence settled over the hall.

So...

She was indeed a Blackthorne -- A weak, despised, bastard Blackthorne.

An omega...

An omega...

A fucking omega!

My jaw locked.

I waited years for the woman fated to bear the weight of my curse and anchor the beast within me. A mate powerful enough to withstand the demon's corruption. Strong enough to survive carrying my demon-corrupted seed without it killing her.

Instead... the Goddess handed me a fragile omega who looked like a strong breeze could snap her in half.

"Your Majesty," Nadia said quietly behind me. "Perhaps we should..."

"We're leaving," I cut in flatly and she inhaled sharply.

'Please, don't', she pleaded through our mindlink, but I ignored her.

I turned on my heels and the Deltas standing behind me immediately parted to the side, creating an aisle for me to walk through.

In firm, angry strides, I headed out.

But halfway to the entrance, I stopped and turned back, holding Alpha Garrett's gaze. I let our minds connect before warning.

'It would be in your best interest that what happened here tonight never leaves this residence'.

I watched satisfactorily as fear flashed across his face, before turning and exiting the hall.

***************

THE WHITE CITADEL (ROYAL PACK).

After the sour disappointment last night, we had journeyed through the night, back to the White Citadel. Even though I had barely gotten any sleep during the trip, I still found it difficult to shut my eyes that morning.

After hours of being restless on my bed, I eventually headed out to the private sparring room.

Moments later, I drove my fist into my third spar partner’s face and the Delta stumbled back, blood spilling from his nose before he could even regain footing.

It only fueled my rage.

A sharp whistle cut through the private ring.

"Out!" The referee called quickly, already waving the injured Delta off.

He glanced at me for a couple of seconds, as if hesitating whether or not to caution me. I threw him a hard glare and he visibly gulped.

I was in no mood to be cautioned.

"I can see you're really on a tear today," the familiar voice of Knox--my Beta, rang through the ring. I turned to see him walking in.

He was back.

The remaining Deltas and referee bowed deeply.

"Beta," they murmured respectfully.

I moved toward the edge of the ring, my jaw tight.

"How the hell has Ryker been training these men?" I asked dryly. "They call themselves Deltas yet fight like pups."

Knox exhaled, watching me with that infuriatingly observant stare of his. A moment later, he motioned for the referee and the remaining Deltas to clear the ring.

I stepped down from the platform as he held out a bottle of water, and I collected the bottle and gulped down.

Silence stretched between us.

He studied me for several seconds more, before pinching the bridge of his nose

"Please," he said quietly. "Tell me this wasn’t all for nothing. Tell me one of the Blackthorne daughters really is your mate."

My grip tightened around the bottle as I recalled everything that had happened the previous night.

Knox usually accompanied me on trips like that, but yesterday he had been away on an important mission in Vampire Territory.

"Kendrick," he pressed. "Put me out of my misery already."

"Were you aware that Alpha Garrett has a bastard daughter?" I asked.

His brow furrowed. "A bastard?"

"Yes." I nodded. "An illegitimate daughter he cast aside. An omega."

He stared at me for a long moment, then realization hit him.

"No way," he breathed out in disbelief.

My jaw tightened as fresh anger bubbled within me.

"Find out everything there is to know about Lyra Blackthorne," I said. "I want a complete report on my desk as soon as possible."

I paused.

"If she is truly my mate…" My voice came out colder than I intended. "..then the Moon Goddess has made a catastrophic mistake."