Chapter 188
Elowen's POV
Casper and Cassian moved to flank me again, and I felt their support through our bonds like warm hands on my shoulders. Whatever the truth was, I wouldn't face it alone.
Behind me, Ronan's hands had moved from the chair to rest lightly on my shoulders, thumbs pressing gently into the tense muscles there. The touch was surprisingly comforting, even though it made both Casper and Cassian's eyes narrow.
What is he doing? Casper sent through our bond, his jealousy mixing with concern.
Let him, I replied. I need... I need someone who isn't drowning in guilt right now. Someone who can be objective.
"Your mother," Austin finally said, his voice heavy, "was a regular pack wolf. Nothing special about her bloodline, nothing that would have drawn the attention of a Lycan King under normal circumstances."
"But?" I prompted.
"But she was beautiful," Ella said softly. "And kind. And..." she hesitated, "and she was mated to the King. It wasn't arranged. It wasn't political. It was a true mate bond."
The room seemed to tilt slightly. My biological mother had been the Lycan King's mate? His destined partner?
Then why the fuck did she give us away? Juno demanded, her outrage bleeding into my consciousness. Mates don't abandon their children. It goes against every instinct we have.
"If she was his mate," I said slowly, my legal training kicking in as I examined their words for loopholes, "then why did she give me to Jessica to raise? Lycans are even more protective of their children than regular wolves. A mated pair would never willingly—"
"You're asking the right questions," Ronan murmured from behind me, his hands still working the knots in my shoulders. "But you're not pushing hard enough. Listen to what they're not saying, little wolf."
I stiffened at yet another nickname, but he had a point. I replayed Ella's words in my mind, examining them like I would a suspect's testimony.
"You said she was mated to the King," I said, my eyes narrowing. "Past tense. What happened to her?"
The silence that followed was deafening.
"This is ridiculous," Austin said, moving toward us. "Ronan, I'm ordering you to leave. Now."
"Make me," Ronan said pleasantly, and I felt Casper and Cassian tense on either side of me.
Don't, I sent through our bonds. Not yet. I need to hear this.
"Luna," I said, keeping my voice level even though my heart was racing, "what happened to my biological mother?"
Ella looked like she wanted to disappear into the floor. "We don't... we're not entirely sure—"
"Bullshit," Ronan said flatly. "You know exactly what happened to her. You were both there when the alliance was formed. When the terms were set."
"What terms?" Cassian demanded. Through our bond, I felt his mind working, putting pieces together. "What kind of alliance requires giving away a child?"
"The kind," Ronan said, his voice going cold, "that involves royal blood and pack politics and people who see children as assets rather than actual human beings."
His hands tightened slightly on my shoulders, and I felt a tremor run through them. Whatever this story was, it affected him too. Somehow.
Why does he care so much? I wondered. What's his stake in all this?
"My mother," I said again, fighting to keep my voice steady. "Did she... did she willingly give me up? Or was she forced?"
"That's not a simple question," Ella began, but I cut her off.
"Yes, it is. Either she chose to send me away, or someone made her. Which was it?"
"Both," Austin said finally, and something in his voice made my blood run cold. "And neither."
"That's not an answer!" I practically shouted, and I felt Juno pushing at my control. My eyes must have flashed gold because both Casper and Cassian moved even closer, ready to support me if I lost control.
"What he means," Ronan said, his voice dropping to something almost gentle, "is that your mother made a choice. But it was a choice made under... circumstances that made it not really a choice at all."
"Stop talking in riddles!" The words burst out of me, and I was shaking now, really shaking. "I'm so fucking tired of everyone speaking in code and giving me half-truths and dramatic pauses! Can someone—anyone—just tell me what the hell happened?!"
The room fell silent. Even Ronan's hands stilled on my shoulders.
It was Cassian who spoke first, his ice-blue eyes locked on his mother. "She's right. Enough games. Tell her everything, or I will."
"You don't know everything," Ella whispered.
"Then fill in the gaps," Casper said, his voice rough with barely contained fury. "Because whatever you're hiding, it can't be worse than what we're all imagining."
Ronan leaned down, his lips close to my ear. His next words were so soft that only I could hear them: "You can't fight fate, sweetheart. Some bonds are written in the stars from the moment we're born."
I turned my head sharply to look at him, but his expression was unreadable. What the hell is he talking about?
Mate bonds? Juno wondered. But that doesn't make sense. We're already bonded to Casper and Cassian. There can't be—
"Enough!" I said, pulling away from Ronan's touch and stepping forward to face Austin and Ella directly. My hands were clenched into fists at my sides, and I could feel my nails lengthening into claws. "I want the truth. All of it. Right now. No more stalling, no more deflecting, no more cryptic bullshit. What happened to my mother? Why was I given to Jessica? And what the fuck does any of this have to do with the Lycan King?"