Chapter 89: Careful What You Wish For - Riven's POV

The words left my mouth before I could stop them.

How am I supposed to find a cure when… we’re brothers.

The hallway suddenly felt too small and too quiet. Every sound echoed off the walls, including my own breathing, which was ragged. My chest felt tight, as if something was squeezing me in a brutal grip. It refused to let go, even though I wanted it to.

For a long moment, no one said a word.

I kept staring at the Alpha King, who was supposedly my father. He should be denying it at any moment. Maybe this is some kind of prank. Surely, he’d say Raze is lying and this is just a twisted test. Maybe he dabbled in dark magic and made someone look like me.

But he never did. That alone made something inside of me start to unravel.

“You expected me to fix him,” I continued slowly, the realization forming piece by piece. “You wanted me to fix the older brother, the actual heir to the throne. That means you were never going to just take off with him, like you told me.”

My fist clenched at my side.

Across the hallway, Raze snorted and tried to hide his laughter. The Alpha King never corrected me, though, so I was right. He watched me with that same calm expression he always wore, as if none of this was surprising him in the slightest.

“Yes,” he said softly.

The single word was a punch to the gut. My laugh came out sharp and hollow.

“So let me get this straight,” I said, dragging a hand through my hair. “You separated us because we both had the same problem. You let another pack raise me my entire life. And now you expect me to come back here and fix the son you claim. What does that mean for me?”

Raze raised an eyebrow. I ignored him as my gaze remained locked on the Alpha King.

“You told me I could become the next Alpha King,” I said, my voice tightening. “You told me you’d step down once your son was cured.”

The Alpha King inclined his head slightly. “That was the plan.”

I stared at him. “The plan,” I repeated.

Something ugly twisted in my chest.

“You never said anything about us being brothers.”

“You weren’t ready to know.”

My head snapped up. “Not ready?” I repeated. “How was I not ready?”

“Would you have listened if I told you that you were brothers and I needed you to come home?” He asked, his voice sharper than before. “You would have laughed and left. What else was I supposed to do?”

My hands spread slightly at my sides in disbelief.

“You dragged me into your mess, told me with what you knew there could be a cure, but you couldn’t be honest with me?”

The Alpha King didn’t react to the anger in my voice. “You didn’t answer me. If I had told you that you were my son and that he was your older brother, would you have come?”

The question hung in the air like a blade that was about to land. For a moment, I couldn’t answer him. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to answer. I did, but the truth formed too quickly.

No. I would have walked away, thinking it was some kind of sick joke. I would have called him insane and left this place without a second thought.

My jaw tightened as the realization settled in my chest.

“That’s not the point,” I said finally, though my voice sounded rough even to my own ears.

Across the hall, Raze laughed softly under his breath. “That’s exactly the point,” he said lazily. “You wouldn’t have come.”

I shot him a glare, but he just lifted his hands in mock surrender.

“See?” He added lightly, looking at the Alpha King. “I told you.”

The Alpha King ignored him. His attention remained fixed on me, steady and calculating.

“You came because you believed you were being offered power,” he said calmly. “You came because you believed you could help someone.”

My chest tightened.

“And now you know the truth.”

The truth tasted bitter.

I dragged a hand across my face, trying to slow the storm building inside my head. My thoughts were moving too fast as too many pieces were suddenly trying to fit together.

My parents, the pack, and my entire life no longer felt stable.

“You forged everything,” I whispered. “You created an entire life for me somewhere else.”

“Yes.”

The answer came too easily. My laugh came out sharp again.

“So what was I?” I asked. “A backup plan? He dies due to the demon, then you have me. What if I die too?”

That made the Alpha King pause. It was only for a second, but I saw it. Raze noticed too.

“Oh, that’s a good question,” he murmured with interest. The Alpha King’s gaze hardened slightly. “But you weren’t a back up. Your mother and I loved each other very much, but there was only so much we could do to outrun this.”

“What do you mean to outrun this?” I asked, my voice cracking. “What are you even talking about?”

“You’ve been snooping around, so what do you think it means?”

“I wouldn’t know, because Alpha Kings have been erasing the past to cover this up,” I snapped, my voice laced with fury. “How is anyone supposed to know what to do when you all cover it up?”

The Alpha King didn’t react to the anger in my voice. If anything, he looked almost tired.

“That is precisely why you are here,” he said calmly.

My hands curled into fists. “Don’t twist this into some noble reason.”

Across the hall, Raze huffed out a quiet laugh. “He’s not twisting it,” he said lazily. “He’s just skipping the parts that make him look worse.”

The Alpha King’s gaze flicked toward him, sharp enough to cut. But Raze didn’t stop smiling.

“You wanted the truth,” he added, looking back at me. “Be careful what you wish for, brother.”