**3rd Person POV**
Dagen looked at the terrified woman in front of him. He had been asking her questions for hours now but she remained mute. He was not sure how else to tell her that her freedom was only guaranteed so long as she gave them something tangible.
“Rosaline, I will have to return you to your master if you are going to be no good to me,” Dagen threatened. It was the only thing he could think of to say. She still remained quiet and he decided that he'd had enough; he had to leave the room. Perhaps Lord Tyler and Lord Edvin would have better luck talking to her.
“If I speak, I die. There's a blood contract involved—one that ties me to my master. If you will just wait seven days then I can say everything you want me to,” Rosaline said just as Dagen was about to leave the room.
“Why didn't you…” Dagen was saying angrily when she cut him off mid-sentence.
“He will do anything and everything to locate me before then. Please, you cannot return me to my master,” said Rosaline.
“What gives you the confidence that I will not kill you myself when you tell me what I need to know?” quipped Dagen. He had considered the fact that her being here could have been masterfully planned by Prince Ashton. He would not put it past the bastard to come up with such a trickier plan. He knew that Ashton was capable of such a level of deception.
“I will take my chances with you,” came her response.
“Why? Why would you do that?”
“Because of Irvette,” she replied.
“Irvette?” quipped Dagen. He was once more interested in the conversation. He had never been close to Queen Irvette but he knew she had something to do with the kidnap of his children.
“She told me a lot about you,” said Rosaline, “she told me a lot about werewolves,” she continued.
“You met with her? There is someone here who believes he knows the location of the woman you mention,” Dagen was referring to Lord Silver. The man had refused to give up the information he was holding so that Dagen would agree to release him which was just impossible. No one did that much harm to his pack and got away with it.
“Lord Silver?” she quipped.
“How would you know that?” asked Dagen, slightly surprised.
“Because Lord Silver is…” but she contorted her face in pain. She would be saying too much if she revealed the identity of Lord Silver.
****
No one had any interest in dinner anymore. They had all dropped their cutlery and lifted their eyes to look at Harlin in anticipation of the answer he would give the vampire prince.
Harlin could feel the eyes boring into him, waiting for him to accept the deal or refuse it. He thought to himself if it was really worth it. He knew that his mother deserved in part what had happened to her. Nobody had told him but while he had lain sick in the clinic, the twins who thought he was dead had brought it up a couple of times in their conversation. They had begged him to wake up from his sleep even though they had wanted him dead before they had seen him for the first time.
The twins had mentioned their kidnapping experience and over the years he had picked up pieces of conversation about his mother. So he knew that his mother was not innocent. She was reaping in part the consequences of her actions. Still, it was a tough decision to make given the fact that it was his mother and guilty or not he was supposed to love her.
That was another thing he had to think about. Ashton had called her his mother but how could he decide what he felt for her when he had never known her? Why should he care about her when all he knew about her were exaggerated stories of her exploits from his aunts. He had known her only in pictures but they were not enough. He was closer in fact to Queen Emily than he was to his own mother.
He had been told that when he was a baby, he and his mother had shared a special bond but he could not remember it.
And yet, when the slightest hope presented itself that he might reconcile with his mother, he could not bring himself to ignore it. He had held at the bottom of his heart the desire to one day be embraced by his mother's warm arms. He longed still for the relationship that Reginald shared with his mother.
“Perhaps if you knew that Lady Tristan knew she was…”
“Enough!” exclaimed Prince Harlin. He could no longer bear the stares that sought to search his soul for the answer nor could he bear to have Prince Ashton standing over him.
“What is there to think about, just…” Prince Ashton started to say but King Armand had sincerely had enough of the prince now so he shouted, “Guards!”
About ten guards, carefully positioned behind the pillars appeared and surrounded Prince Ashton. Ashton, who had come to the palace with his own guards, also appeared.
For a split second everyone at the table thought that a bloodbath would follow but Ashton placed his hands up in surrender and all the guards—his and Armand's lowered their weapons.
Ashton left after that but the mood at the table could not return to its cheery state. Harlin knew that it was up to him to ease the discomfort at the table so he cleared his throat and tried for words, “The food has gone cold.”
“Harlin, are you okay?” quipped Charlotte. She was worried that her cousin was suffering more than he let on. She wanted to tell him that no matter what decision he made, she was going to support him but she did not want to influence his choice in any way.