Chapter 186
Elowen's POV
Now, Elowen, Juno growled in my mind. Ask him. Don't let them hide behind more lies.
She was right. I was done being the quiet, obedient girl who let everyone else decide her fate.
I stepped forward, pulling away from Cassian's protective stance. My voice came out stronger than I expected. "Wait."
Everyone turned to look at me. Casper paused at the door, his amber eyes meeting mine with a mixture of surprise and concern.
I walked to the center of the room, ignoring Juno's warning about protocol. Fuck protocol, I thought viciously. "I know I'm being rude to an Alpha right now," I said, keeping my eyes locked on Austin. "I know I should show more respect. But I need to know something."
My amber eyes bore into Austin's. "Were you part of the deal? The one that sold me to the royal Lycan family like I was a fucking breeding mare?"
The words hung in the air like a grenade with the pin pulled.
Casper immediately moved back to my side, his hand finding mine. Through our bond, I felt Leo's low growl of support rumbling in his chest. Cassian flanked my other side within seconds, his ice-blue eyes locked on his father like a predator watching prey.
Good, Juno purred. Let them see you're not alone. Let them see you have teeth.
Austin took a step forward, and I could see the conflict on his face—the Alpha who wanted to maintain control versus the man who knew he owed me answers. "Elowen, this is complicated—"
"Complicated?" Casper cut him off with a sharp laugh that held no humor. His hand tightened around mine. "You mean the part where you're about to tell us you would sell her to the highest bidder?"
"That's not—" Ella started, but Casper wasn't done.
"Because that's what it sounds like," he continued, his voice dropping to something dangerous. Leo was close to the surface now, turning his amber eyes more gold. "That you made deals about Elowen's life without even asking her. Just like you made deals about mine."
"This was part of Cindy's marriage arrangement," Ella said, her voice tired. She sank into one of the chairs like her legs couldn't hold her anymore. "The terms included... certain provisions."
I felt my eyebrows draw together in confusion. "Why would the royal family care about my marriage? I'm nothing to them. Just a Beta's daughter—"
No, Juno whispered, suddenly alert. Something's wrong, Elowen. Royals don't concern themselves with random pack members. There's more here.
"That's not true, Elowen," Cassian said quietly, and the way he said it—so careful, so controlled—made my stomach drop.
I turned to look at him, then at Ella, whose eyes were now avoiding mine. "What do you mean, that's not true?"
"Explain," Casper demanded, his voice rough. "Now. No more dancing around it."
I pushed away from Casper's hand, needing to stand on my own for this. I walked toward Austin and Ella, and I felt my anger rising, heating my skin. My amber eyes must have been flashing gold because Juno was right there with me, her presence strong in my mind.
"Explain it clearly!" The words came out in Juno's growl. "No more hiding! No more secrets!"
Both Casper and Cassian moved behind me immediately, Leo and Zero alert through their bonds. I could feel their protective instincts flaring, but they let me lead. They let me be strong.
Austin and Ella exchanged a long look—the kind of look parents share when they know they're about to lose their children forever.
Ella's eyes filled with tears. "We have to tell them," she whispered to Austin. "All of it. Or we're going to lose them completely—all of them, including the grandchildren." Her voice broke. "No more secrets. Please."
"You promise?" Casper asked, and I heard a tiny thread of hope in his voice that broke my heart.
"Of course," Cassian said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Why wouldn't you lie to our faces again?"
I felt Casper's pain through our bond and Cassian's cold fury. The family was tearing itself apart, and I was somehow at the center of it.
But I needed to know.
Ella gestured to the seats. "Please, Casper. Sit down, son."
There was a long pause. I watched Casper's jaw work, saw the conflict in his eyes. Finally, with a sigh that seemed to come from his soul, he moved to one of the chairs. Cassian followed, though his expression remained closed off.
I noticed them exchanging something through their twin bond—a private conversation I wasn't part of. It stung a little.
Hey! I sent through our mate bond to both of them. That's rude!
Cassian's panicking, Casper replied, his mental voice tight. He's worried about what we're about to hear. About what it might do to you.
He thinks you're going to break, Zero's voice came through Cassian's bond, and it was surprisingly gentle.
My heart sank. They already knew something. Something bad enough that they were trying to protect me from it.
They know, Juno whispered. They've been keeping this from us. Trying to shield us.
I know, I thought back. But I need to hear it. All of it.
I squeezed Casper's hand, then looked at Austin. "Start talking."
Austin cleared his throat. He looked older suddenly, more worn down. "The alliance between Thornwood Pack and the royal Lycan family goes back generations. It was established with Lucian Ashborne's father, actually."
"Lucian Ashborne," I repeated the name. "The current Lycan King."
"Yes," Ella confirmed softly. "Your mother and I both spent time at the royal court receiving elite training. It was part of the long-standing relationship between our families."
I blinked. "Okay, so my mom got some fancy training at the palace. Lucky her." I couldn't quite keep the bitterness out of my voice. "I wish she'd married someone who wasn't a gambling addict as my dad, because I'm finding that shit really fucking difficult right now."
Ella's mouth fell open in shock. Austin made a sound that might have been a suppressed laugh. I heard Casper snort beside me.
"Practice, baby," he said, a hint of his usual playfulness in his voice. "You'll get the hang of it."
That's my girl! Juno practically crowed in my mind.
But Ella's expression shifted, becoming more serious. Her hands twisted in her lap, and when she looked up at me, her eyes were swimming with unshed tears. "Elowen, honey... Jessica isn't your biological mother. And that gambling addict wasn't your father."
The world stopped.
Just... stopped.
My heart was suddenly pounding so hard I thought it might break through my ribs. "What... what are you talking about?"
"That's impossible," I whispered. "My mom— She raised me. She—"
But even as I said it, I thought about how distant she'd always been. How she never seemed to love me the way a mother should. How easily she'd signed that contract with Drake's family.
No, I thought desperately. No, this can't be—
And that's when I heard it. A voice from the doorway, low and magnetic, carrying a weight of pain and confirmation that made my blood run cold.
"Your father is the Lycan King, Lucian Ashborne."
I spun around, and there stood Ronan. His emerald green eyes were fixed on me with an intensity that stole my breath.
The room erupted into chaos, but all I could hear was the rushing of blood in my ears and Juno's shocked silence in my mind.
Royal blood, she finally whispered. We have royal blood.