Chapter 125

Violet’s POV

I was following my staff to my room where they were carrying my belongings, when a figure sitting at my desk caught my attention through the open door to my study.

“Auntie!” I grinned widely as I broke off from the caravan to my bedroom to hug the High Priestess in my study. She grinned back as she returned the embrace, but by the look in her eyes, I made sure to shut the door behind me.

She immediately looked me over, her gaze lingering on the shattered band across my forehead. She passed her palm over it without touching me. “You’re right: this would have disappeared entirely if you and Theodore were no longer mates.”

Even though I already believed Theo’s and my bond had not been truly broken, it felt immensely relieving to hear it confirmed by someone else, someone I trusted. Someone with far more wisdom and knowledge than I had, even as a highly educated noble woman. She must have recognized the feeling in my eyes because she cupped my face in her palms, saying, “We have not lost the things that matter most.”

I nodded in her hands, surprised by the small tear that trickled into them.

“Do you know how he did it?” I asked her, referring to Owen.

She took a step back, releasing my face as she shook her head in disappointment. “And until we find proof, the king’s involvement is only a theory. Though it’s a good one, as I doubt a rogue with limited education and even fewer resources would be able to hatch a plan this complex.”

I rolled my eyes at the mention of Eva.

“Were you able to gather any more information at the palace?” my aunt asked. It was strange to realize that the last time I saw her was while Lucas and I finally formally rejected our mate bond. It had taken an unfathomable amount of time to finally be rid of the mark of the unwanted, and yet I hadn’t had a second of peace since then to feel the relief in it.

Refocusing on my aunt’s question, I shared about the Moonstone glowing, as well as Owen and Eva’s reactions at dinner. I told her what Theo had shared about feeling some sort of pull toward Eva, even if it felt all wrong. My aunt’s eyes flitted back and forth as if she were scanning through information inside her mind.

“It couldn’t be a potion because all those related to mate bonds take effect immediately after consumption, and neither you nor Theodore drank anything right before you were affected. There’s a spell to block an established bond, but you said you can still feel your bond with Theo, right?”

I nodded. “It’s too weak to communicate with him, but it’s still there, like a ghost in my mind.”

“The spell I’m thinking of would block it completely, so it’s not that. There’s another spell to fake a new bond, but it doesn’t work if either party is already bonded.”

Her words reminded me of the new information I’d learned in court, specifically the fact that Nora and Lucas had already had their mate bond confirmed before he and I were involved.

“If Lucas already had a mate when he met me, we couldn’t have been fated right? But then how did I even get the mark of the unwanted? Why did we need to formally reject our bond if we never had one in the first place?”

Auntie sighed, the wisdom of the High Priestess mixing with the love of an aunt. “There are the bonds destiny chooses and the bonds we choose. Lucas chose you over Nora for money and power, tricking you into thinking you were fated to be together.”

It almost looked like her teeth clenched for a moment, though I had never known Auntie to express anger. “Once you believed the two of you were fated, you chose him, too. Through these choices, you both created a bond that functions the same as when fate chooses for us.”

My jaw had dropped in shock. “We can choose the mate bond?”

Auntie nodded. “Though the strongest bonds are chosen by fate and both people involved.”

That was new information I would need to process at a later time. Thankfully, Auntie moved past it to refocus the conversation.

“What’s so peculiar about this situation is the mate bond between Theo and both you and Eva.” She drummed her fingers on her chin. “It sounds like old magic; I’ll need to go back to the magical libraries to do more research.”

I couldn’t help the gratitude that was surely written all over my face as we locked eyes. Auntie smiled softly at the sight of it. “Your parents would be so proud of you – both of them,” she emphasized, even as I doubted my father would be so proud.

He never wanted me to lead, always insisting that I should take a husband to run Darkmoon. Now I had gone to court to very publicly reject the husband my father had approved of and been also very publicly rejected by my second husband, albeit a ruse.

I remembered then the hallucination of my dad in the courtroom. Was that yesterday? So much had happened in such a short amount of time, I had easily forgotten about it.

“Auntie, something happened yesterday.”

Before I could say more, the door to my study flew open. Lily and Kincaid stormed through, though they both paused at the sight of the High Priestess.

“Alpha,” Kincaid sputtered, “I apologize. We would have knocked had we known you had company.”

I smiled kindly. “No worries. I called for you before even I knew she was here.”

I motioned to my aunt to have a seat, letting her know that I wanted her to hear this conversation. I didn’t know what she might do with the information, but help would be in short supply for the entirety of this plan. I needed to make sure I kept the few allies I had well informed.

“What do we know?” I asked Lily and Kincaid.

As the Gamma, Lily dutifully stayed a step behind Kincaid, folding her hands in front of her while she let him report.

“The land you wanted for the Darkmoon University project, the land that was purchased out from under you – the deal fell through.” I breathed a sigh of relief at the small win that I really needed in this moment.

“The good news is that it’s up for grabs again if you still want it,” my Beta continued. “The bad but unsurprising news is that the deal falling through is a big clue that it was in fact Lucas attempting to buy it just to keep you from getting it – and that he wasn’t able to supply the funds once he was cut off from Darkmoon’s resources.”

I nodded. It was disappointing to find further indication that Lucas had been so spiteful and conniving, though it was also unsurprising at this point, as Kincaid had said. In the end though, Lucas hadn’t gotten away with it.

That was the important part to focus on.

“Excellent. Kincaid, purchase the land immediately before someone else gets their hands on it. The Darkmoon University project will start back up as soon as possible.”

I turned to my Gamma next. “I’d like you to research more available land – this time for the Shelter project.”