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It was a mounted gold nugget.

“Hartlock Pack found a veritable fortune before they were forced into the wildlands. This is one of the original nuggets they used to help grow Starhaven.” Ajax read over his shoulder.

“There are ranches still there, my family and I used to go there when I was younger. I can ride well actually.” I laughed.

“Are you going to take me for a ride?” Pan mock bit my shoulder and a shiver ran through me.

“Do you know how expensive keeping a horse is?” I shook my head, aware of the crowd near us, but no one was paying attention.

The high prince was much more interesting. We moved on to the next item. It was a blackened teapot, with cracks running through a darkened orange motif on the side.

“You want something bought for you?” Lloyd whispered to me.

“Sure, where’s your credit card?” I shot him a teasing grin.

“Here, take mine.” Walden whipped out his wallet and waved it at me. “Or better yet, send me the list and I’ll make sure to organize buying, shipping, and set up, if needed.”

I waved him off with a surprised chuckle. “I was only joking.”

“I’m not,” Walden insisted, but he tucked away the card.

My chest was tight, and my lungs stifled as I tried to process his words.

Pan dug his chin into my shoulder and sighed. “Give him what he wants, Tully. He’s an alpha caring for his omega, isn’t he?” Pan whispered, a bittersweet shade in his tone.

I leaned into Pan, offering my support. Was it hard? Being forced to watch as Walden claimed me openly, and not him?

We moved onto one of the last items, a muted brown photograph, with a reddish tinge. It showed a group of threetall men. One had impossibly broad shoulders, his bulk as stiff as his expression. Another had dark, curly hair and a twinkle in his eyes. The final one had imposing brows and a thick, unruly beard. It gave him a menacing edge. There was a gangly teenage boy standing a little to the side, expression frozen in a blurred laugh, his hat clutched in his hands. But it was the woman at the front that made my breath catch. A loose bun held back her hair, and her hands were laced in her lap. Muted glee brightened her expression. Like the photographer captured her on the edge of a wide smile.

If not for the dress, I would have thought it was me. Esta Hartlock and I could have been twins.

“Gods, Tully. You’re mirrors of each other,” Ajax gasped.

“Aren’t they? Lloyd and I were both stunned when we saw it earlier.”

A shiver went down my spine, and my tongue was thick in my mouth. I turned the WWED bracelet on my wrist and tried to calm my beating heart. It felt like Esta’s smile was for me, like she knew I would see this in the future. On the journey toward building a new life, like she was.

It was hard not to find a thread of fate when I saw a mirror of my face. My parents thought the gods were another frivolous waste of time. But something tickled at the back of my mind, determined to be heard. The Oracle was the god of omegas. She knew things… didn’t she?

But a voice calling my name extinguished the thought.

One I would recognize anywhere.

“Tully Alexis Hartlock. What are you doing here?”

27

Tully

I stepped outside the circle of my alphas as Seph, my former friend, glided toward me.

What was she doing here?They were meant to be in Astaly.

Seph had her sleek red hair pinned off her face, sharp cheekbones softened by a wide smile. She wore a black, strapless dress, showing off her freckled skin. No silver bites marred her slender neck. A beta couldn’t be claimed.

“Seph.” I swallowed a boulder in my throat.

She let out an airy laugh of surprise and I wished I could return her exuberance, but it was impossible. Not when her pack followed her through the crowd, with a mixture of curiosity and adoration warming their faces.