I waited until we were alone in his chambers before I asked. The firelight cast shadows across the stone walls, and Jack was reviewing reports from the palace guards.
"I need a favor," I said.
He looked up from the parchment. "Anything."
"I need you to find out who my mother dated. Or find the Adrian Delmark she wrote about in her journal." My voice wavered. "Maybe that person knows something about my father. Please."
Jack crossed the room and pulled me close. "Consider it done."
I pressed my face against his chest, breathing in his scent. Pine and earth and something uniquely him. "Thank you."
He kissed the top of my head, but I felt tension in his body. Something he was not saying.
Across the kingdom, in the Delmark estate, Jane paced before her mate. The dinner party had unsettled her in ways she could not name.
"We need to speak with Aurora again," she said. "Richard's friend."
Adrian looked up from his desk. "Why?"
"Do you see it? Do you see Susan in her?" Jane stopped pacing. "That necklace around her neck. Her features. It has been years, but I see my friend in her face."
Adrian set down his quill. The ink dried on unfinished words. "I feel something too. A kind of familiarity. Like I should know her."
"Could she be the daughter you have been searching for?"
The question hung between them like smoke.
"I do not know how to explain it," Adrian admitted. "But yes. We need to meet her again. Can you arrange it?"
Jane nodded. "I will speak with her."
Meanwhile, their son had not been home in two days. Richard was staying goddess knows where, refusing to return after learning his father had sired a daughter with another woman years ago.
I was about to climb into bed when my phone rang. Nonna.
"You are wicked to call me this late," I said, smiling despite myself.
Her laugh echoed through the speaker. "I am sure the Alpha King would let you talk to me briefly."
I put the call on speaker and walked to pour myself water. Jack stood by the window, his broad shoulders silhouetted against the moonlight. Even now, he was magnificent. Dark hair that curled slightly at his neck, amber eyes that saw everything.
"Jack is not bothered, but I am," I said. "What is wrong?"
Nonna's voice turned serious. "It is Richard. He has not come home. He will not speak to his father."
I straightened. "What happened? Did he fight with the Senator?"
"Adrian told him the truth. About having a daughter from before he met Jane. Richard is furious. He says his father cheated. He says Adrian was his role model and now he has failed him."
I felt my chest tighten. One person searching for a father while another rejected his. The world was never balanced.
"He will come around," I said softly.
After I hung up, I stared at my phone. Jack came to stand beside me.
"Richard is upset with his father," I explained. "He just learned he has a sister."
Jack's jaw clenched. "What a small world."
"What?"
"I mean he will eventually accept her," Jack said quickly. Too quickly.
The next morning, Jane Delmark called me to her office. She was elegant in a deep blue dress, her silver hair swept back from a face that remained beautiful despite her years.
"Thank you for coming to dinner," she said. "I hope we can be friends going forward."
"Of course."
"Would you join me for lunch today?" Her eyes searched my face like she was looking for something.
"I have plans during lunch. But I could do dinner."
"Perfect. I look forward to it."
I texted Jack during the lunch hour. Going to see Ned Bluey and his wife.
His reply came immediately. Take your bodyguard.
The house looked the same as I remembered. Smaller now, perhaps. Less frightening. I walked through the door without knocking and found them eating at the table. Ned Bluey, his wife Emily, and their daughter Codysa.
I sat on the sofa and crossed my legs.
"Hello, Ned Bluey. Dad." I let mockery drip from the last word.
Emily shot to her feet. "How dare you walk through that door after what you did? You ruined your sister's life. You left the hospital without agreeing to marry the man we arranged for you."
"We raised you like a princess," she continued, her face flushing red. "We gave you everything. And this is how you repay us? By defying us and shaming this family?"
I laughed. The sound was cold even to my own ears.
"Emily Bluey, I am not here to fight with you. I am here to see your husband. But if you provoke me further, I will throw you out of my house and ensure you end up in the kingdom's dungeons."
She gaped at me. "Your house?"
"Yes. My house. The one my mother left me in her will." I turned my gaze to Ned Bluey. "The house you have been living in rent free for over a decade."
"How did the arranged marriage go, by the way?" I continued. "Why is Codysa sitting at that table instead of at Larry Keyamo's side? I heard he has particular standards for his brides."
"Watch your mouth," Emily snarled. "My daughter is pure. Unlike your mother, who got herself pregnant—"
"Enough!" Ned Bluey finally spoke.
But I was already standing. "You should be grateful my mother was pregnant. That is the only reason your husband has a roof over his head."
Ned Bluey's face went pale. "What are you talking about?"
"You really do not know, do you?"
The room went silent. Outside, I heard wolves howling in the distance. The sound of the kingdom going about its evening. Inside this house, secrets were about to surface.
And I was going to make sure they all came to light.