Page 113 of Monsterland Mayhem

But I see it clearly now.

It was Spaten. It’s always been Spaten.

That’s why his wolf looks identical to mine. How his presence lingered here as king. Why some of the kingdom chose to follow him.

He’s an heir.

Nottheheir, but an acceptable one nonetheless.

And his aura is riddled with darkness.

Magic?I wonder.Is he the one weaving spells over those in the kingdom?

I thought it was Heart. Now I don’t know what to think.

Especially since my sister appears to still be possessing Baroness Clarice.

Or maybe she is the baroness.

I can’t smell Heart’s tangy scent anywhere. Which means either she’s not nearby, or she’s donned a clever disguise.

As though hearing my confusion, her skin begins to melt away to reveal the sister I know beneath the mask.

A shape-shifter, I realize, my heart stilling in my chest.Heart’s become a shape-shifter.

How?I want to demand. She’s never had a wolf. Never been able to shift. And yet, she’s transforming into her true self now as though she’s done this thousands of times before.

“That’s a new trick,” Craze drawls from behind me. “Can you grow a knot, too?”

My sister snarls at him.

“Well, I see your manners have taken a step in the right direction,” he muses dryly. “Better than your supposedly dead brother, anyway.” His gaze narrows at Spaten. “Growl at our mate one more time and see what happens.”

“She’s not your mate,” my sister hisses at him.

“She’s not yours either,” he bites right back. “She wants a mating ritual. So let’s give her one and see whose knot she chooses.” His gaze drops to Heart’s lower half. “Oh, wait… I guess you’ll have to sit this one out.”

Ches chuckles somewhere in the distance, the cat having vanished when he sensed our arrival. He’s probably playing in the hedges again, observing every moment.

He’s not the only one.

There are several monsters lurking in the maze. That’s where the ritual will begin. I don’t know how Ailsa knew to demand her rights here in the ceremonial courtyard, but I’m glad she did it. Her voice carried across Monsterland, inviting all the Alphas out to play.

And thus far, the only one who seems hell-bent on taking her by force is my brother.

He has yet to release her neck, despite her refusal to submit.

Oh, she’s gone still. But she’s not tilted her head.

She won’t give him what he wants.

Yet she’s given it to me before. The first night we met, I pinned her in a similar manner, my mouth instantly going to her neck.

She tilted to the side, just as an Omega should when her Alpha demands her submission.

But he’s not her Alpha.

Weare her Alphas.