.Chapter 24-1
Simone
I stared open-mouthed at Kane when he wasn’t looking, which was most of the time since he
seemed determined to address everyone except me.
Voices started mixing together as everyone began talking at once.
Aerith’s king, here in Wolfspire territory.
Kellan’s father.
The enemy.
Claim
My wolf was absolutely overjoyed though, howling inside my head and telling me to fucking go to Kane already. Our mate had finally come to get us!
But I was frozen, just staring at his beautiful face. He’d cut his hair. The man bun was gone, and now the ends of his dark hair brushed his forehead in loose waves that made him look more unruly and wild and young. His eyes were glowing red, making him look absolutely dangerous and devastatingly attractive.
He looked so, so good. And I was fighting for my life not to let everyone in this room know how much his presence was affecting me. I didn’t want them to know yet that he was my mate, the father of my unborn child.
“What…” Elonso mumbled, his voice cutting through the chaos. “And you brought him here, Finn?!” “What the hell?” London shook his head, standing up abruptly and nearly knocking over his chair. “Calm down, calm down,” Finn tried to defuse the situation, raising his hands in a peaceful gesture. “I swear it’s fine. He found us two weeks ago and since then we’ve been planning on how to strike
Kellan where it hurts.”
“Is that so?” My father Troy grunted, turning his alpha stare on Kane. “You want to kill your own
son?”
“No, I don’t. I’d avoid killing him at all costs,” Kane answered truthfully, his voice steady despite the hostility radiating from the room. “But if it’s the only option… I cannot put his wellbeing above the rest of my people. He’s mind-controlling a major part of the court and sending enforcers to squash any type of resistance he might get, mostly from the farms in the outskirts of the kingdom that have been affected by a rise in taxes.”
Kane’s face was grim as he continued. “He’s bleeding my people dry while keeping them compliant
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Chapter 24-1
through magical manipulation. Those who resist disappear or end up dead.”
Clas
“And how do you know this?” My mother asked, suddenly appearing beside me and grabbing my
hand.
Kane looked down at our joined hands and cleared his throat, standing slightly straighter. What
was he doing?
“Nice to meet you, you must be Si-” He stopped himself mid-sentence, glancing quickly at me. I tried to avoid his eyes but wasn’t fast enough. Our gazes met for just a moment, and I felt that familiar electric jolt run through me. “Dash’s mother.”
“I am,” Mom answered, sounding a bit confused by his awkward introduction.
“I know because I spent a few weeks tracking down his forces to see what he was doing, what he was planning,” Kane explained. “I couldn’t get the full extent of his plans, but I do know my people are suffering, and I’ve been too blind to see it. I thought everything was fine. That my son and my council had everything handled. I was wrong.”
The pain in his voice when he said those last words shouldn’t have affected me as much as it did. I could see the guilt eating at him, the self-recrimination that had probably been building for
months.
“And what have you been doing all these years?” A harsh voice cut through the room.
Jensen was standing up, glaring at Kane with barely contained rage. His hands were clenched into fists, and I could see him trembling with the effort to control himself.
“Where were you when your son started gaining power?” Jensen continued, his voice getting louder with each word. “When he took my mate and Wolfspire’s beta as prisoners? When he threatened the life of Wolfspire’s princess?”
I rubbed my face, knowing Jensen was barely hanging on. We needed to rescue Irene and Kenzi, and we needed to do it soon. Every day they remained in Kellan’s custody was another day they could be tortured or worse.
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