Page 92 of An Enigma for the Lycan Crown Prince

“That’s wrong,” he interrupts me. “I will always come if you need me. You are Caro’s son, and she loved you dearly.”

I look at Tobias for a moment, trying to piece together what he is saying, and what he isn’t saying. I think about the day that Mom died, and for the first time I don’t focus on me or Mom inthis memory but on him. Something broke in him that day. His luna died.

His luna…

“Who was Mom to you?” I ask quietly. “She was more than a luna.”

“She was my mate,” he answers honestly.

“What?” Flora gapes.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Tobias hurries to reassure us. “She was loyal to Caelum. She said she swore an oath and couldn’t break it. She never cheated on him. Not even once. And we all know that he didn’t deserve her loyalty.”

“Did no one know that you were mates?” I ask.

“Caelum knew. And her father knew, which is why he pressured her to marry Caelum,” he says bitterly. “I wasn’t good enough for him. Not a royal lycan.”

“But my cheating, abusive father was good enough, just because he had royal blood,” I say bitterly. Tobias clearly loved my mother, he was loyal to her and supported her although they couldn’t ever be together. That’s how deep his unconditional love for her was. Mom would have still been alive if she were mated to him. I just know it.

“There is more Elden,” Tobias says. “You were very young back then, so I am sure you didn’t notice, but your mother never marked Caelum. He wouldn’t let her. He did mark her, and made sure that she and I had no future, but she couldn’t mark him in return.”

“Wait… what…” Flora stares at him. “But they are chosen mates. For their bond to be complete, both of them have to mark each other!”

“She is right!” I exclaim. “For fated mates it’s enough if one of the mates does the marking, but for chosen ones… both of them need to break their bonds to their potential fated mates!”

“Exactly,” Tobias says. “That’s how it should be. But no one knew that the both of them weren’t fated mates, so no one questioned it.” He brushes through his hair. “That fucker. Carolina suffered whenever he cheated on her. He owned her. Yet he didn’t let her mark him.”

“But why?” Flora asks. “Was it just to control her and to insult her?”

“If only I know,” Tobias mutters.

“No,” I say. “No… Goddess… no way.”

Flora eyes me curiously. “What did you figure out?”

“He had his mate somewhere, his fated mate,” I say as realization settles in. “It can only be that!”

Both Tobias and Flora look at me in shock.

“Think of it,” I urge them. “Why would he want to remain free, if you want to call it that way? He didn’t let Mom mark him, so he could have both… her as his luna, and his mate somewhere hidden for him to visit whenever he wanted to.”

“It would make sense,” Tobias says.

Flora still seems shocked to the core. “Goddess,” she whispers.

“Dad never cared about anything but his own pleasure. We know that now. He was barely at home.”

“He was in Paris with his mistress,” Flora muses.

“At first, he was, but he soon grew tired of her. She definitely isn’t his mate. Calvin verified that he isn’t in contact with her anymore by tracing Dad’s steps.”

“Emilia?” Flora asks. “Could she be your father’s real mate?”

“It’s an option.”

“Emilia is his new wife, right?” Tobias asks.

“How do you know?”