Chapter 51: Chapter 51

KILLIAN

My brows snapped together. I hadn’t considered that. My original assumption had been that since the robbery took place during the rogue attack, the rogue attack was a distraction for the robbery—that was why I’d gone after Ravaryn—but now I was sure it was a Dyani who robbed me. They had no need for a distraction—all they needed was to know exactly what the place they were going to looked like. They could have emerged somewhere close to my mother’s palace, sniffed out the location of the vault, and simply walked into it since it wasn’t locked. Then they sold the sun amulets to Ravaryn because they knew he’d be the first suspect. The two events might have been unrelated.

But then who brought the wards down? And why did the rogues specifically target the pack representatives?

… Whatever. The rogue attack isn’t my problem to deal with.

“Smart,” I stated, propping my head on my fist.

“You’re going to pretend like mine wasn’t?” Aurel asked and I shot him a look before returning my attention to Aurora.

“Let’s just focus on the vault robbery.”

She bobbed her head before her eyes widened slightly as something dawned on her. “Oh! Another question,” she said, and I raised my brows, thinking it was a question related to the robbery. She narrowed her eyes at me. “Who’s the girl?”

Who’s the… Who? I tipped my head to the side and she narrowed her eyes even more to the point that she probably couldn’t see anything. Then I realized who she was talking about and my lips instinctively curved into a smile. Lenore.

My gaze drifted to the couch close to the door, and the memory of the way she'd writhed beneath my touch, along with her soft gasps, sent heat coursing through me. If her insufferable brother hadn’t shown up… if my father hadn’t made a decision that soured her mood during breakfast…

I blinked at the direction my thought had taken, then remembered I wasn’t alone in the study. I cleared my throat, adjusting in my seat, and when I glanced back at Aurora and Aurel, their stares were rather intrusive. “Father gifted her to me,” I said, absent-mindedly reaching for the first report Fabien had made on Lenore the day after we returned to the city. The first page was an A4-sized portrait of her and she looked slightly irritated, like she wanted to hit someone—probably the photographer.

Beautiful.

Then it occurred to me that Aurora and Aurel hadn’t said anything since I spoke. The moment I lifted my gaze, she immediately said monotonously, “Wow. What are we to do with all this information about her?”

“Right? Showing off how caring his father is too,” Aurel chimed in, gesturing at me with his thumb while staring at her.

“...Her name is Lenore,” I muttered.

“Kind of figured that out,” Aurora replied.

“She’s from a pack… Moon Valley.” It wasn’t that I didn’t want to talk to her—I did, but I was keeping my words minimal because I didn’t want anyone to know she was my mate. Yes, they weren’t just anyone, and I’d already told Fabien, but Lenore herself didn’t even know yet.

“Don’t go giving us her whole history now,” Aurora said, and I let out an exasperated sigh, rubbing the bridge of my nose.

“What do you want?”

“You like her?” It sounded like a question, but the expression on her face made it seem like a statement, and Lenore’s face flashed through my mind, sending my lips curving into a smile.

“...I do.” There would be no point lying because they’d seen the way I behaved in her presence yesterday.

“What about Celeste?” Aurel chimed in, and I raised a brow.

“What about Celeste?”

“I thought you two were a thing.”

“Bury that thought,” I said, frowning, just before my phone’s screen lit up with a message from Celeste.

Mercer: Found one willing to meet with you :)

My frown deepened at how fast that was, and it didn’t escape me that it was probably a trap. I mean, come on… But what other choice apart from killing my father—something I’d most likely fail at—did I have though?

I clicked my tongue.

Me: Type?

Mercer: Turi

Mercer: Send the location you want to meet her at. Time too.

Before sending that, I needed to get the invitation the pack representatives used to enter the city, so I had to go to Lenore… a prospect I was more than glad about because she’d been terrorizing my thoughts since she went to her brother’s room after breakfast.

“Where are you going?” Aurel asked when I walked around the desk, heading for the door, after getting to my feet.

“Away. You’re bothering me.” I was out of the study before they could respond, dashing to the end of the hallway which connected to the hallway Lenore’s brother’s room was in. Then I ran my fingers through my hair to make sure it didn’t look out of place before making my way towards the room. The guards my father had assigned to watch her brother frowned at my presence, but still bowed when Lenore’s guards did.

When I got to the door, I reached out to open it, but paused when her brother’s voice drifted out of the room. It wasn’t clear, but he sounded upset, and I frowned before sharpening my focus on it.

“I just don’t understand, Lenore. And believe me, I’m trying,” he said and Lenore groaned, muttering an Oh my God under her breath. “Just tell me something—anything—that will better explain this.”

“I already told you I can’t explain it.”

Lingering at the door must have made the guard on my right—one of Lenore’s brother’s guards—think I wouldn’t go in until they announced my presence. “His Roya—”

A swift hit to his throat cut him off, and he descended into a brief, but rather loud, coughing fit which earned him a glare from me. What the fuck?

“I just don’t understand how or why you like him,” came Cameron’s voice after a couple of seconds—probably took time wondering who was hacking their throat out—and I blinked at the door, frowning even more. “He’s the vampire prince, Lenore.”

Oh! This is about me?