I look at my father dumbfounded.

“Lycan? Lycan ? Why did no one tell me that before? What does it even mean? They don’t exist anymore!”

“Relax, it’s diluted at this point. Like one in forty or something.”

I look at my dad, the King, skeptically.

“How much digging exactly did you do yesterday?”

“A lot. I looked up his ancestor, you know, the one who my great-great-great-great-grandma rejected—”

I put my hand up front to stop him.

“Hold on, time out. Rejected? No one ever told me that they were true mates, and she rejected him! I thought he assaulted her and that’s why he became a rogue. Is that why King Rogue the Bold kidnapped and killed Grandma? Revenge?”

No wonder my mom didn’t want me to reject Cain if that history ought to repeat itself.

“He became a rogue before she rejected him. Anyway, he was one of the last werewolves with prominent Lycan blood. He could even still shift into one on full moons, and that DNA was transferred down his bloodline right to the current Rogue King and his offspring. Your husband.”

Is that why Cain can mind-link everyone in his pack in human form so easily?

“To be honest I always suspected that. I mean, the guy prefers his sword over a wolf form, because he knows his human form is almost as strong—because of his Lycan blood.”

“No, I still think that’s just his ego,” I chuckle. “But he definitely has some hidden heightened abilities. Shit, I really thought I couldn’t heal because of the mate bond.”

“Well, that happens only after at least one of you marks the other. Then you would have to watch out for everything—not just his Lycan venom; but also any weapon he could even accidentally use, which makes it a little bit tricky for you, I guess. Oh, your mother mind-linked me that brunch is ready.” He spins on his heel and goes for the door again. “Asher… I hope you plan to take a shower first. And change that dress, I can smell the scent of my archenemy all over you.”

He leaves me speechless and embarrassed again.

Ugh, parents!

I try my best to participate in Gregory’s birthday brunch with a smile, but it feels forced and for some reason, I feel very on edge.

I sit between my dad and Greg. There is only my closest family around the table. My parents, all the siblings, Ella, and just one other cousin, Hashy. I shouldn’t even miss Cain; he wouldn’t fit this setting anyway.

I shouldn’t miss him, period.

Something my parents said about my mate bond with Cain, made me realize there was no other path I could take that wouldn’t lead me to him eventually. I would meet him anyway, maybe on the battlefield a few years from now, but it would happen. And I am aware it would be very problematic to meet your true mate in the middle of an active, elaborate plan to kill him.

But this cannot stop me from trying to ignore all the feelings I have for him. He’s still going to kill me if I’m not on my best behavior.

“So, Ella said that you didn’t make any non-sex pact. ”

It takes me a good few seconds to realize that this question is directed at me.

“Excuse me?” I look up from my lemon ricotta pancakes that Cain would love.

“We had a bet,” Greg says, snacking on toasted walnuts on my right, “How quickly you would give in to your new husband and have sex with him. And Hashy here is sour that he lost betting on the no-sex pact for the first few months.”

“Hey, that’s what my parents did!” Hashy, our royal beta’s oldest son, whimpers. His parents hated each other before discovering they are Goddess-gifted true mates. It took some time to overcome that.

I wonder how much, or what Hashy lost.

“Well, at least the rest of us still have a chance,” Greg laughs.

I notice from the corner of my eye that my mom shakes her head with resignation. Probably not the first time they have been talking about it during meals.

“I bet for the wedding night!” Ella says, enthusiastically.

“Well, you lost,” I say dryly, loading another fork full of pancake in my mouth.

“When I asked your huge hot Rogue Prince about it, he just told me you had some little game?” Greg questions, and I almost choke on my brunch.

Did Cain really say that? When? Why?

“What game?” Ella catches the bait.

I shoot an apologetic look at my dad, who despite being the person who told me what sex is when I was just six, I’m sure doesn’t want to hear any actual details of it now.

“You almost won, Ella, but, well, I don’t remember why he said he wouldn’t take me until I begged for it. I figured we were already married anyway, and I didn’t have anything to lose, so I started teasing him to make him break without me begging.”

My dad massages his temples, and my mom blushes, but grins .

“You were always a little bit competitive,” she says jokingly.

“Who won? And when?” Ella asks, practically sitting on the edge of her chair.

How much money did they put in this bet?!

“Honestly, after a few days of torture and humiliation, it got a little bit blurry for me,” I send them a chilly smile.

That gets everyone's undivided attention, but I shrug my shoulders and go back to eating.

However, my attention is drawn to Greg and one of the twins. I can’t tell which one it is from this angle, but Greg is scowling and giving her some money. They must have figured out that we had sex already, and she must have bet for it to happen in the first week.

“I can’t believe you actually slept with our enemy!” she exclaims with disappointment, despite betting her money on it.

Glad to know she thinks so lowly of me.

“Excuse me?” Ella is as livid as if someone just told her the Earth is flat, “Have you seen him?! He’s hot! H.O.T.”

“So, for real, who do you think will take the throne after you are no longer available?” the other twin asks me, to everyone’s delight.

I look at my siblings. Almost all of them are still underage. To be honest, the twins are showing the most King-like qualities, but they are still kids, sixteen. And no matter how much it hurts me to admit that it does matter, they are girls. It’s too much of a stretch to anticipate they will somehow win over so many older brothers.

“I don’t know, maybe you should fight each other like the Rogues,” I finally say dryly, and they all laugh as if it’s a joke.

I’m not sure it was.

I Iook down at my plate. My appetite is gone. I feel off. I can’t shake it.

I’m not where I should be.

How can I return to this life when I already know life with him ? I stand up abruptly and catch Greg’s understanding eyes.

“I’ll drive you,” he says, somehow knowing what I need faster than I do. He always could understand me, without words, in situations like this.

I quickly apologize to my parents and run out of the dining room with Greg. I lead him to the Grey Room.

“I just need to change; can you pack the rest in something? He took our bag with him,” I ask, grabbing my jeans and band t-shirt.

“He forgot his jacket,” Greg lifts Cain’s black leather motorbike jacket I wore in the drugstore.

“It was air-drying after I tried to clean my blood from it.”

He gives me a questioning look.

“Long story, I’ll tell you in the car.”

Two minutes and one peeing later, I’m changed and ready to go. I put Cain’s too-big jacket on and exit The Grey Room, holding the door for Greg, who grabbed all my stuff in his arms.

“Just to be clear, I’m taking you to the rogue territory so you can beg the Rogue Prince for forgiveness on your knees.”

“He does love to alpha-command penalty blowjobs left and right,” I half-joke about being on my knees.

His smirk comes out, “Really? Maybe I’ll start doing that.”

I chuckle and grab my car keys as we are leaving the mansion.

An hour later we are almost at the border, despite making one stop on the way. Greg is behind the steering wheel and I’m enjoying a few last minutes of working LTE connection.

The signal is starting to fade, and I look up just in time to see the border on the horizon .

“You know I can’t go far, right?” Greg gives me a side-eye.

“I’m fine, I’ll run in my wolf form if I have to and come back for my stuff later.”

“You can always grab the bag we brought in your teeth, and run with it,” Greg suggests, stopping on the road near the few patrol warriors. “Hey, I feel weird.”

I glance at his scrunched nose, but he seems fine. So I look back at the warriors, wondering if someone will approach us.

“Wait. What’s Cain’s Beta doing here?” I open the door and get out. “Hey! Is our Alpha nearby, too?”

Beta looks at me surprised. While I’m running up to him the last few feet, his gaze moves down to Cain’s jacket and then stares at my pink hair with a raised brow. I hear Greg’s door opening and closing behind me.

“No, he’s busy. We didn’t expect—” Beta abruptly stops and inhales deeply. His nose flares.

“Fuck!” Cain’s Beta and my brother exclaim simultaneously, and I watch in slow motion as they approach each other with intense gazes.

At first, I’m wondering if they knew each other. Maybe they fought against one another at war, but I doubt it. Then I watch, flabbergasted, as they grab and kiss each other hungrily, with hands roaming each other’s bodies—running through each other’s hair.

Oh no, are you kidding me?! They are true mates?!

‘Who are true mates?’ Cain is mind-linking me with his inner voice, somehow equal parts bored and interested.

After the Lycan talk with my dad, I’m not surprised we can connect like that even when he is so far away. But I am mad that I must have opened my mind to him again. I have to be more careful.

‘ Greg and your Beta, ’ I mind-link back.

‘Fuck. Where are you?’

What, did he think we mind-linked while I am still at my parents' summer mansion? Glad to know he thinks so highly of his abilities.

‘ At the border,’ I try to cut Cain out after that, and I think I succeeded, judging by the lack of response.

I’m still staring at a new couple, kissing, struggling for breath… They are almost the same height, but my brother is leaner.

“Okay guys, can we maybe stop making out in front of the sister?”

Greg chuckles, still glued to the Beta's mouth, but it works and they start to unpeel from each other.

“So, that’s your brother?” Beta asks, ogling Greg up and down.

“I’m Gregory.”

“Lucifer,” They exchange a firm handshake.

I snort with laughter. Of course, Beta is named after the devil himself. I don’t know what I was even thinking. I roll my eyes.

Oh, so ‘Lucifer Black’ from the credit card Cain gave me was a real name after all.

“Well, Lucifer, can you take my sister to your Alpha?”

Beta Lucifer shoots me a quick look before nodding at Greg.

“I’ll just take my things from the trunk, and we can go,” I say and go for my new faux leather backpack.

“See you around,” Greg says to his true mate nonchalantly, with no more body contact.

Then he hugs me shortly but tightly and rides off in my car. Ex-car, I guess.

Beta stands staring after the SUV like in a trance. I wonder what he expected from my younger, barely twenty-year-old, wild and openly and unapologetically gay brother.

“Did he just stand me up?” He asks, pointing a finger at a now-tiny car.

I shrug my shoulders with a genuine smile.

“I don’t think so. Can we go now? I have like a million blowjobs to perform on our Alpha, better start as soon as I can.”

Beta eyes me, annoyed, and leads me to his horse, but I catch the hint of a smirk for a second there. He appreciates the blowjob joke for sure, just doesn’t want to let me know.

I attach my backpack properly and wait for him to help me mount the horse, but he just stares at me.

“I don’t care if it’s fear or a good dick, or both—knowing you are not the most stable person—but you better have come back for him and not for the alliance.”

He’s always straightforward, but I’m surprised that Cain’s personal feelings are what he’s worried about. Maybe the two of them are closer than I thought?

I choose to be honest too.

“Believe me, I wish I came back for the alliance,” I sigh heavily.

He eyes me one last time and mounts the horse first before giving me a hand. I sit behind him.

“The hair—”

“It will wash out quickly,” I cut him off, holding to his sides.

“Thank God.”

The closer we get to the Castle the tighter my throat and heart become. All the blowjob jokes evaporate from my brain to make room for anxiety, dread, and second-guessing. When we finally reach the front grounds, I question everything. From the choice I made to come here, through all my life decisions, the clothes I wear, the boys I kissed, the hairstyle I have, the war tactics I used, all to my favorite color.

The last one was definitely a mistake—I think I like black or grey more than pink now. Who knows, maybe I am wrong about coming back to Cain too?

“You better calm that fucking heart rate down, Luna .” Beta’s tone lacks compassion.

I jump off the horse and follow him into the castle.

“Cain is in his office, but keep in mind he captured an Unwanted today, so he’s probably in the middle of an interrogation,” he whispers when inside.

“You aren’t coming in with me?” I question.

“Of course I am. I won’t miss him having your ass handed to you.” He grins and opens the doors for me with mocking politeness.

I have to talk to my husband, there is no point in pushing it, so I take a big breath and step inside.

Cain’s navy-blue eyes go to mine for a split second; immediately down to the jacket I’m wearing, and then his whole attention goes back to the woman in front of him like I wasn’t worth the sight.

It hurts more than it should.

She is sitting in a chair in the middle of the room, in baggy clothes, with her back to me and tousled dull brown hair covering her shaking shoulders.

Judging by the splatters of blood on my husband's tight-fitting button-up white shirt, she wasn’t keen on giving up any valuable information yet. Why he is dressed like a businessman is something I won’t be unpacking right now.

I quietly put down my backpack by the doors, straighten my back, and approach them with cold military confidence; because the Kingdom always has to be the bigger priority than anything else, especially more than just wanting to have ‘the talk’ as soon as possible.

“May I, Alpha?”

“Officer,” He nods slightly, with a blank look.

I grab the woman by the hair to tilt her head up, and I lean down to scent her.

I’m curious if she stinks, as my dad suggested a real pack-less rogue should—so I take advantage of the fact that this kind of creepy gesture is unsettling to the captured.

She smells like a werewolf, but with a second whiff, I indeed catch that acidy hint of decay and… Hmm, something entirely else.