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I had gone from living a remotely peaceful life to a throbbing headache in the middle of the night from running into Griffin.

“Whew, thank God.”

“So?” I urged her in the direction I wanted the conversation to take. I could feel her reluctance to tell me about Griffin, but after reassuring her it was okay, she divulged the situation at the palace.

“I can’t say exactly when it started, but it became worse after her miscarriage. She sends maids to the infirmary every day, punishes guards for the slightest mistakes, and spends the rest of her day desperately chasing after the prince.”

I found it difficult to reconcile the soft elegant woman I knew to the tyrant Mary was describing, and despite being aware of her manipulative ways, I still found it difficult to put an aggressive face to her.

“What about Griffin? How is he holding up?” I felt my voice tremble as his name slipped from my lips. It was the first time I had said it out loud in years.

“He hasn’t changed much. He is still fighting for reform and protecting the weak, but you can tell the pressure from the court to produce an heir and Lilith’s behavior are weighing heavily on him. There have been whispers in the palace about the court wanting to bring his brother as a replacement. I still can’t believe Victor is the illegitimate prince.”

The way he said her name in the bathroom and his complete disregard for her suddenly made sense. Even his assumption that I was getting Victor in order to get back at him sounded a lot less like he was making things up. I felt my chest tighten with empathy for him, but I reminded myself it wasn’t my place to feel sorry for him.

He wanted to choose his mate, and he got what he wanted. He’ll have to live with his choices.

“What are you going to do about the situation?” Mary’s voice pulled me back to the moment.

“Nothing. I’ll call my board and try to speed up whatever deals we have yet to tie up and leave the States as soon as possible. I didn’t spend all these years away to get sucked into a black hole of manipulation and royal tussles on my first year back.”

“What about Noah?” Mary asked. “He will grow to ask questions. You can’t continue to run forever.”

“I’m not running, Mary. I’m only protecting what is mine. If Griffin finds out about Noah, he’ll use him to secure his place on the throne, and I’ll lose my baby. I can’t throw him into the system that chewed me up and discarded me like used gum. They’ll tear him apart.”

A few moments paused before she finally spoke. “I understand you, Mira. I do. I just don’t want the past to come crashing in when you’re not ready.”

“I’ll be ready if it gets to that, but if I can, I’ll do whatever it takes to protect my baby.”

I could tell Mary wanted to say more but she decided against it, choosing to respect my decision. She had voiced her displeasure at how Noah was being raised away from his people and how he would need the community for the changes he’ll encounter in the future. But at the same time, she knew what I’ve been through and the reasons for my decision, and she respects it. Sometimes, I don’t know what I would do without her support.

We said our goodbyes, and she promised to come visit whenever she found the time.

I sent a text to my COO to set up a board meeting first thing tomorrow. The sooner I concluded my stay here, the sooner I could leave this city before it all blew up in my face.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Griffin

I watched as the couple ran in circles around the large oak tree in the middle of the garden, the male intentionally slowing his strides to give the woman a feeling of victory.

Their laughter echoed through the empty space. Even the flowers seemed to bloom under the radiance of their love.

“Do you want me to send them away?” Michael asked when we stepped into the garden, but I declined, feeling a need to watch them.

They were mates, and from the innocence of their touch, you could tell they had just found each other. Girly laughter spilled into the air, sending my stomach into knots of discomfort and dread.

It was only a matter of time till the momentary excitement wore off and they would turn on each other, reaching for the jugulars and whatever would bleed most.

I knew this. It’s what happens when two people who know next to nothing about each other are forced to be together by some meddling goddess. I witnessed it happen with my parents.

Theirs was the classic fairytale of the young prince finding his perfect mate and the glamorous wedding that followed. That was where the beauty of it all ended. They were on each other’s neck every day, plotting and scheming ways to get rid of each other. Eventually, Father found comfort in the arms of one of the serving Omegas, an affair that resulted in Victor’s birth and my mother’s suicide.

The whole thing was a nightmare that could’ve been avoided if either of them had taken the time to look inward and find a partner that was best suited for them instead of following some stupid divine fate.

So, I vowed to choose. I vowed to never get sucked into the same trick that robbed my parents of a chance at happiness and eventually cost them their lives. I promised to find someone who I would grow in love with and commit to loving for the rest of my life. That was Lilith for me. Everything about her felt like she was tailor-made for me, but now, I couldn’t shake off the feeling that on the quest to avoid the fate that doomed my parents, I might have doomed myself even more.

On the other hand, there was Mira, the wish of the goddess. Just like Lilith, she had appeared to be everything I could’ve wanted in a mate. A vivid memory of the first time I saw her replayed in my head.