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Ezra brushed by our alderbeast, and my thoughts went back to him.

I hadn’t spoken to Ezra about his trip after he’d stopped contacting me, and it was breaking my heart that I still wanted to know how everything had gone down. How had he found the portal? Did he go through alone? What had been his first impressions?

And how had he festered these eight years into someone so rotten and broken he could kill his own parents without remorse?

Alaroth unfortunately noticed my shift in demeanor, his fingers lightly brushing up my leg. “You are saddened by this, why?”

I wiped away an errant tear with the palm of my hand and sniffed. “I was just reminded of when I’d heard Ezra was dead. It was the most painful time of my life.”

Alaroth wrapped an arm around my abdomen and squeezed me. “The love you two share is beautiful, and I find myself envious of its purity and intensity.”

I held back my scoff. Ezra might have thought he loved me, but all he’d done is destroy my life due to his own bitterness and desperation to belong.

He’d always belonged withme. He could have reliedon me.

Instead, he’d chosen the genocidal maniac threatening to kill the males I loved if I didn’t marry him.

I pretended to fall asleep to get out of talking to him for the rest of the trip.

“We’re here.”

I was gently jostled awake by Alaroth. The sun was much lower in the sky as we trotted through a large gate cut through imposing stone walls. Alpha scents and pheromones hit me like a ton of bricks and I whined on instinct.

The king gripped onto me tighter as the soldiers nearest us immediately stopped what they were doing, sniffing the air and focusing on me.

“Now, now,” he whispered curtly. “Mustn’t start a riot. Let’s keep those adorable little omega noises to a minimum, shall we?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t do it on purpose.” I replied.

A large fae man, with pale skin and dark green hair, approached quickly, flanked by two alphas.

“Your Majesty, welcome back to Howlstone Keep. We are honored by your visit.”

He lowered himself in a deep bow as Alaroth dismounted, helping me down next.

“Captain Nivardi, so good to see you again.”

This was the guy my mom was supposed to have married. When he rose, his eyes locked with mine, and they widened in surprise.

A possessive hand crept around my stomach as the king brought me close to him. Ezra shifted back to his human form and stood beside us.

“Allow me to introduce Jaelis and Thistle’s children, Ezra and Marlowe. The twin wolves.”

Nivardi’s gaze darted between us and his throat bobbed. “I see. The resemblance is clear.”

Alaroth nibbled on my ear and laughed. “Isn’t it?”

What a dick.

An awkward silence fell over us, and Wasabi came up to me for more petting. While I scratched her ear, Alaroth threw out another jab. “It seems she’s inherited her mother’s love of beasts, as well, although her appetite is much more insatiable. She’s bonded herself to a whole pack of alphas, the naughty little thing.”

Who knew, maybe the king had a good reason for rubbing it in Nivardi’s face, but at the moment, it just seemed cruel.

Ezra cleared his throat. “Is the fighting ring prepared?”

Nivardi broke out of his melancholy stare and nodded. “Yes, we’re ready for the demonstration.”

I looked at my brother, opening my mouth to ask him what was going on, when the image of him standing over our parents’ bodies flashed across my mind.