Chapter Twenty–Five
Alpha Kadden POV
was showing summon the door following the private meeting between us, only to be pulled to an abrupt halt. Right there in the entranceway of the living room towards the kitchen, my son leaned up agamat the wall. Almost like he was trying to regain the strength he’d lost, to krep from Grellapung on the ground. The pained expression on his face was evidence of those same beliefs, leaving me wondering what’d happened.
“Hi Dad” the kd surred
Larken was drink. Again
Sumon shook his head as he too noticed the drunken slur of the boy, which only served to cement his beliefs. He lowered his voice “Thope you take wur talk to bear, Your Majesty. Our people deserer the absolute best ”
“Leave.” I growled in warning
He didn’t think to argue
Spinning on my heel the second that the bastard had left my house. 1 stalked to where the boy was I stared down at the six inches that separated our height, plagued by the stench of alcohol “What the fork happened?”
Larken rolled his eyes heavenward at the domineering tone to be heard in his father’s voice, noticing my dapleasure from him. “Dude, chill the fuck out already. I come to visit for the first time in a month and you behave as if I’ve murdered someone.
Keeping from throttling the boy where he stood, I backed away when the stench of him wanted to make me sick. “Firstly I am your father, you will show me the fucking respect that I deserve Second off In your king. In neither of those accounts am I your dude ”
“Dad” he began.
in this state. “My warriors have been “Where have you been?” I changed the track of our conversation aware we weren’t going to get anywhere in looking for you for weeks now. There was an attack on our borders, and rogues were seen to the south, but you were nowhere. You re supposed to be my heir, but how anyone going to be able to trust you when you drink and fuck your life away.‘
Larken grased his teeth angrily at the demands I was making, proving the childish behaviors he was prone to “Good grief Dad, I’m only twenty–two. You can’t expect me to be a monk. Besides. I have a good twenty or thiny year before I’m expected to take the throne.”
That didnt even come close to the plan. Id believed in another three years, on his twenty–fifth birthday. Larken would rise to the throne. I was begining to see that wasn’t going to be the outcome, I sighed wearily. “What happened to you Larken? You’ve changed so much in the last couple of years. You need to find your mate, maybe she can help settle you
I don’t need a mare.” he growled
I rolled my eyes. “Larken-
“Fuck this bullshur,” he cursed.
Then I was forced to stand there to watch as my son stormed out of the manor, too pissed off at the direction of our conversation. Muttering under my breath I stormed back to my office, more pissed off than ever. I had hoped talking to him would compel my son to change his mind, but now I was left facing the truth. Larken wasn’t going to change. He wasn’t going to be the king I’d hoped he’d become, the one that our people needed to
BUNIVE
called his sister.
“Larken again.” Layla guessed.
I fling back in the chair at the greeting I received from my daughter, which only served to remind me why I called. I raked my fingers through my hair. “Yes, your brother finally showed up after being MLA for a month, just as drunk and sorely as ever. I honestly don’t know what is wrong with, that boy.”
“It’s the reject illness,” she explained.
I lurched forward. “He found his mate!”
Layla sniffled as if she was crying, no doubt in pain for whatever happened to her twin brother, “Yes. Two
“Two year! I gasped, surprised
o years ago.”
She wiped away her tean “Yes. Larken was in the woods when he caught the scent of his mate, though he wasn’t pleased by who it was. He allowed has displeasure to be known and when she confronted him be informed her he wasn’t rejecting her. Because he needed his fated mate if he was ever expected to be the strongest alpha and king. It wasn’t to her liking. She rejected him and the goddess allowed it.”
Stilling in my movement, there was something about her confession that sounded decidedly familiar to me. Like this wasn’t the first time I’d heard the story, but didn’t know who had told me. “Who was his mate?”
“Rayven,” she cried. “Ray was his mate.”
My mind took me back two years into the past, on the night I encountered Rayven outside of the manor. I’d gone to check up on her to find her crying on ihar udde of the house, broken up by whard happened. For the first time, she completely forgot the differences between our stations. hoving launched into my arms. As I stood there holding the girl who’d always deeply touched me. I tried to soothe her pain. Id been astonished
Chapter Twe
chen.completely our of the blue she leaned up on tiptors, pressing her lips to mine.
Id be hocked to way the least
Though Sarah and I had been mumed to close to thirty years, there’d never been kisses shared between us. The only other time Ed kissed a woman
the dar of our wedding, though it was brief and emotionless. That night I had belt the brush of a woman’s lips on mate, though it been a
en–year–old curl. Then as if shocked by what shed done, Ravven barely apologized when she was running into the woods.
The reason why she’d kissed me Had Rayven been anguished at the thought of encountering the truth of her unwanted mate?) what had happened between tis when she had never stepped out of line before. Her pain had driven her to it.
Eventually deconnecting the call with my daughter. I leaned back in my chur pondering my next move. Now in the face of what Layla had told me.
there wain’t a chance of Larken ascending as king. To have found his mate and been rejected by her, it was a death sentence none of them could escape. I could explain why he was always drunk because his wolf was too weak to fight the effects of the alcohol. And judging by the state
tidn’t think the man had more than a decade before death took him
Though the thought of my son eventual death was killing me. Inned to remain focused on my goal. My people needed a king. A true leader. An
they could depend upon ruling in their fathers stead, none of which Larken was capable of. The loss of his mate assured me that my son.
be king, as he neither had the strength nor power. Just as I knew that neither Layla nor the baby would be accepted, though for entirely
ifferent reasons. Meaning that I needed to produce an heir that the Remnants and council would accept as
