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"Tell me about your adventures so far," Alpha Leon asked his son Roman as they walked.

And, as was common with nearly every cardinal alpha today, Roman was already at his wits’ end with his father.

His mother had practically abandoned them the moment they arrived, no doubt off somewhere flirting with boys young enough to be his age aka his classmates.

Roman made a mental note to send a message to his beta, Abel, to keep an eye on his mother while he wrangled his father.

Nearly all the cardinal alphas came from dysfunctional families, and Roman was no exception, his challenge being managing parents in an open marriage. Sure, they wore the mask of a perfect couple in public, but everyone knew Leon and Alexa kept lovers on the side.

The apple didn’t fall far from the tree, and honestly, it was no wonder Roman had inherited his infamous playboy reputation. It was the only example he’d known growing up and the values that had been handed down to him, whether he wanted them or not.

Unfortunately, you don’t get to choose your parents.

So, Roman kept walking, clearly intent on ignoring his father’s question. Roman’s only goal now was to track down Alpha Henry and hand Leon over to him. The man always straightened up around Henry, no surprise considering Asher’s father was all business.

Honestly, it was still a mystery how those two got along.

Almost as much of a mystery as his own friendship with Asher, given they were polar opposites.

Asher was dark, brooding, and bitter, and he was light, charm, and mischief.

Perfect combination for Violet to choose from whenever she wanted. Chocolate and vanilla. Tasty.

"Have you fucked Elsie yet?"

The question hit so fast Roman nearly tripped over his own feet.

He spun around, glaring at his father, who showed not even an ounce of shame at tossing out something that could easily set off a war between the four packs.

Maybe once, the idea of Elsie would’ve stirred something in Roman, but now just hearing her name made his blood boil.

Not that his father had any clue his heart, or whatever was left of it, now leaned toward a certain purple storm. Unfortunately, Roman wasn’t about to risk Violet’s safety by dragging her into conversation with a man who didn’t give a damn.

"No," he answered flatly.

"Understandable," Alpha Leon said with a smirk. "You wouldn’t want to upset the order. But if I were in your shoes, son, I’d have made Elsie my bitch and the other boys wouldn’t even know it." He chuckled like it was some accomplishment to brag about.

Roman laughed along, but it was hollow, the kind of laugh that didn’t touch his eyes. Inwardly, his thoughts were, ’What great loyalty towards your pal. Yeah, you and Elsie would make the perfect toxic match.’

It was almost funny. How long had he ignored it? How long had he pretended his family wasn’t a mess of rot under all that glossy charm? Maybe he had always known. Maybe he had just been too good at numbing it until now. Violet simply brought all those emotions to life.

Leon kept pressing, a sly grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. "So, if you’re not fucking Elsie, who are you fucking?" He wiggled his brows, his voice lowering with a suggestive tone. "Or them?"

Roman let out a long sigh. Typical. His father wasn’t the type to mind if his son mixed things up, not when Leon himself had a laundry list of flings outside his marriage.

"No one," Roman said shortly, hoping that would end it as he strode ahead.

But then, Leon suddenly stopped in his tracks, causing Roman to halt and glance back. "Why? What’s wrong?" Roman asked, frowning slightly.

Leon’s eyes swept over him from head to toe, then settled pointedly at his lower half. With a furrow of concern, he asked, "Did something happen down there? Is it a viral infection? Is it so bad you can’t even get it up?"

Roman stared at him, utterly speechless, his brain briefly short-circuiting at the absurd question.

With a dry laugh and a shake of his head, Roman finally managed to say, "There’s nothing of that nature, father. Let’s just say my brother-in-law down there is taking a little break from all the action."

There was no way he was about to explain to Leon that he’d gone celibate for Violet. Some things, after all, were better left unsaid.

"Wait, what?..." Leon blinked, staring after Roman as his son briskly walked off. But of course, the chief of man-whoring himself, Leon, wasn’t about to believe his own son — the one he’d so proudly molded in his image — had given up chasing girls. No way.

With a mischievous grin, Leon hurried after Roman, eager to pry into what had gone "right", because clearly, in Leon’s mind, no man just gave up the game. Something must have happened.

But then, a familiar scent hit Roman like a slap and he froze on the spot. Leon nearly crashed into him, confused at first, until his ears gave a little flick as he caught something too.

"Oh-ho-ho," Leon murmured, the grin stretching wider across his face, eyes glinting with wicked delight. "Seems some things don’t change after all."

Roman barely had time to react before Leon was already tracing the sound toward one of the nearby classrooms and soft moans, breathless and raw, was seeping through the door.

"This is going to be fun," Leon chuckled, rubbing his hands together in pure glee, his whole face lighting up at the thought of catching whoever was having a little midday romp.

But before he could get one foot closer, Roman’s eyes snapped wide. Oh hell no.

He lunged, practically tackling his father from behind and hauling him back with every ounce of strength.

"Hey! what the hell are you doing?! There’s someone fucking in the classroom!" Leon protested, flailing as Roman dragged him away like a sack of potatoes.

Roman gritted his teeth, not even bothering to explain, just dragging the man faster. Asher owed him big time for this one.