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"Please explain why you've asked me to come here," Lars said.

"I apologize for yesterday," Pym said. "I should not have spoken such things to you so openly."

"No... And yet you ask me to meet you secretly? So, please explain."

"I asked you here because I have a confession to make.”

“What do you mean?”

“You see, in my youth before I moved into foreign relations with the Ete government, I worked for many years as an agent of information. A spy, for lack of better terms. During my time as an agent I was assigned to Ekdol. I made many visits to the country, moved in and out of hidden places collecting information, including the royal household. During that time, I became aware of whispers of a hidden royal, an Omega who the king and queen had kept secret and protected."

Sweat prickled on the back of Lars's neck. He felt his heart quicken.

"Not unusual for a royal family to protect knowledge of an Omega heir," Pym continued. "What was unusual was the depth of the secret. I could never penetrate it, only glean shadows of it that convinced me it was not just a rumor. The closest I came to the truth was a name. Your name."

"So, you're suggesting that I'm this royal Omega?" Lars asked.

"I know it's you. So, tell me. What is your full name?"

Lars’s heart pounded so furiously that he could hear every beat as loud as if it were sitting in the palm of his hand. All this time he'd been dying to reclaim the title that had been taken from him, and now he couldn't bring himself to speak it. Had his Alphas managed to take it from him that easily? Had they been that successful in transforming him?

He felt the glow of the child inside of him, an ember of heat that was a constant reminder of who he belonged to.

"You can say it," Pym urged. "It's alright."

"Lars... Liandri. Crown Prince of Ekdol." He felt like he'd just removed something heavy from his shoulders, and let out a sigh. "Congratulations. You know the secret. For your own safety, it's probably for the best that you don't tell anyone. Not that it matters anymore. My title is forfeit. I've come to accept that there's nothing that can be done."

"There is always something."

"I'm mated to Phoenix and Griffin Greer," Lars said, feeling anger rising inside of him. "And I'm pregnant with their child."

"Yes, I know. But what if I were to tell you there was a way to break the mate bond? That you could be freed from all of it? You could keep the child, or not. There is a way."

Lars was more taken aback by this than by Pym knowing his true identity. "What do you mean?"

"I leave Ekdol tomorrow," Pym said. "Back for Ete. We have a serum which can eliminate a mate bond. Your body will no longer crave them. And they won't be able to track you. If you come with me, there would be no way they'd be able to find you. You could live in Ete where the war will never come. A new beginning."

"Why would you do this for me?"

Pym smiled. "Because I've fallen for you. And I want to help you."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"It's true. I'm in love with you, Lars. Since the moment I met you."

Lars shook his head. "I... I need to go."

Pym reached out and grabbed his wrist, stopping him. "Stop running. I'm serious."

He pulled away. "So am I. My Alphas are expecting me."

"Your Alphas," Pym repeated. "Listen to yourself, Lars. Theykidnappedyou. You've been blinded by the mate bond. Don't you understand? Break the bond and you can be free from all of this. Please. Think about my offer. I'm not asking you to become my mate. I'm only offering a choice to live your own life."

Lars lingered, uncertainty gripping him for a moment before he turned to leave. "I have to go," he said.

"The checkpoint," Pym called after him. "Please consider my offer. I'll wait an hour there at midnight tomorrow for your answer."

* * *