I looked at my dad, both curious and worried at his expression.“What is it?”, I asked. “What’s wrong?”When he looked back up at me, it was like the previous look of shock had never been there.“Annalyse Mitchell?”, he asked again.“Yeah. Why?”, I returned.“We have a lot to talk about, Son.”, he bagan. “But first, we need to have the guest quarters prepared. She’s safest here with you, as your mate and future Queen.” he finished.I looked at him curiously. And with gratitude.“I’m glad you think so, Dad. I was going to ask, but you beat me

I walked out to the palace gardens, thinking over the conversation that I had with my father, feeling more confused than I had when I went to speak with him in the first place.The look on his face when I said Annalyse was my mate was telling. I had great instincts and they were all firing right now.He was shocked, but hid it well. But why? Was he shocked that I had found my Fated One or because it was her, a girl who wasn’t royalty? Or was it something else altogether?I’m not sure, but I’m going to find out. I decided to let Havoc out for a run. I could feel him clawing at me to be in control. I ran to the edge of the forest, shifting as I crossed into the dense trees.‘Something is go

Annalyse I heard the door slam as my father rushed in. I peeked my head out of the entry to the kitchen, mid-bite to say hi.He looked super stressed as he asked where mom was.“She’s up in her closet making sure I have the right jewelry to go with the dress. Why? Is everything ok?”“Yes, Sweets. Everything is alright. I just need to talk to her.”, he said as he passed me to head upstairs.A few minutes later, I could hear their raised voices and then mom crying.I rushed up to their room, worried. They never fought. Like, ever.I knocked on their door and everything got super quiet.

I sat, stunned, in my parents’ room. This is so much to process. Mom looked at me with concern. “I know this is a lot, Lyse. Why don’t you start getting the things you want to take with you packed while you process.” “Wait, Mom. Is there more?” “Yes. There’s more. There always is. And we will talk about it. All of it. I’m so sorry that I’ve kept things from you. We thought we were keeping you safe and happy. But for you, there’s more to being Astrydian than just being a strong wolf. You’re the daughter of an Alpha Astrydian.” I balked a little. I was of the alpha line to a pack? No. I AM of an alpha line. “Okay. But why am I so special? My wolf is a tiny little thing, certainly not like that of an Alpha. The pack is apparently no longer together if the Mahogany Mountain pack now holds the territory. Did another Alpha challenge my father? What happened to the rest of the pack? Did they just stay with Mahogany Mountain? We’re in River Moon and have been for as long as I can remember.

Chase I needed to run. Havoc needed to run. There was so much going through my head right now and I just needed some time to process. My mom died that night. My beautiful mate had lived. There was more to the story, but Dad said we’d talk after Lyse had time to settle in. He said that she needed to hear some things also.I shifted as I reached the forest floor, Havoc’s paws digging into the earth as he pushed us near to exhaustion. We ran for the better part of an hour, until we reached a mountaintop that I had never been to before. As I looked down, Tranquility came into view in the distance. With the sight of the peaceful lake, came thoughts of my mate.Havoc paced and became agitated as he thought of the danger she might be in and at the same time, the need to mark and mate her was getting stronger. ‘Almost time, Havoc. I want her too.’‘It’s almost unbearable the closer it gets to her birthday, Chase.’‘I know. She feels the bond too, Havoc. I can sense it when I’m close to her.’