Chapter 197

Theodore’s POV

I had the TV in my study turned low and tuned to the news channel. Dahlia sat next to me on the couch, her posture stock-straight, while I lounged on my end, feet propped on the coffee table in front of us.

My brilliant, beautiful mate was about to be on television. Again.

Honestly, the number of trade deals she was finalizing one after the other was astonishing. She was at the Vainthott Estate today to announce the deal they had negotiated: a clear symbol that she was standing with those who dared to oppose the king.

It was reprehensible that my half-brother had found a way to get the lawsuit against him and Lucas thrown out so quickly – or rather that there was still a judge under his thumb, and Olivia Bronson’s father no less. It took effort to not spiral into panicked thoughts of whether Olivia was just playing us and following in her father’s footsteps.

Otherwise, I was a little sad to say, I wasn’t even surprised by Owen’s behavior anymore. When I’d heard the news about the lawsuit, I’d even smiled.

He was playing right into our hands, showing the country what he was capable of, and why it was time for him to be dethroned.

Cameras flashed on screen as Dorian and Seraphine stepped up to the microphone to address their territory. I half paid attention as I turned my head toward a knock on my study door.

Ideally, I’d have had the door to my study closed to avoid Eva realizing I was watching who she considered to be my ex, but with Dahlia in the room with me, I also needed to avoid Eva thinking I was up to something naughty with my Beta. So the door was ajar, enough to indicate we weren’t trying to hide anything. Even if we kind of were.

Eva poked her head through the little opening, scowling when she saw Dahlia in the room with me, even if we were on opposite sides of the couch. “What’s going on in here?” Eva asked as she pushed the door open wider.

I gave her a charming smile then motioned to the TV. “Research. We have to stay up-to-date on the political goings-on in the country.”

Eva glowered at the screen as Violet stepped up to the microphone to heavy applause.

“You can join us if you’d like,” I offered half-heartedly as I returned my attention to the TV and turned up the volume. No sense in keeping it low now that Eva already knew we were watching this.

To my dismay, she stepped further into my study, taking a seat between me and Dahlia on the couch, much closer to me than necessary. She didn’t lean into me or wrap around me like she used to before Olivia’s little lie about me, but she did send Dahlia a brief glare before homing in on the TV.

I had been betting she wouldn’t find this interesting and would leave us alone, content with having at least been invited to stay. But that was the thing about bets: sometimes you lost.

Violet spoke to the trade deal that had just been announced, thanking both territories, and coming back to the phrase that had been at the core of all her speeches lately: that we were stronger together. There was something different about this speech though.

It wasn’t her words or her tone, but it was something about her. Almost like the forehead band glowed brighter. Even shattered into pieces, the magical accessory looked divine on her.

Like it belonged there.

I had been reigning in my desire to check on her all day, reminding myself over and over that she would tell me if she hallucinated again. It had been almost two weeks since the last one.

Part of me dared to hope that it was an indication that everything we were doing to restabilize her magic was working. Even if the pregnancy hormones and the effects of the fake mate bond were still working against her, maybe we were doing enough to stabilize her until the baby was born and our bond was restored.

Then, for the first time in all the speeches Violet had given since her claim on Darkmoon had been restored, they opened it up to the press for questions.

“Alpha Vainthott,” someone in the press asked first, “is it true that you will be appealing the court to reconsider the decision on your shocking lawsuit against our king?”

Dorian leaned into the microphone. “I will only be taking questions about the trade deal or the political relations between our territory and Darkmoon at this time.”

The press erupted, all vying to ask the next question. Seraphine chose one from the group.

“Alpha Donovan, historical research shows that 98 percent of werewolves who endure a double mate rejection die from rejection-related complications within six months of the second rejection. The two percent who survive have been the greatest leaders in werewolf history. With your confirmed bill of health from the High Priestess, can we expect you to be our next great leader?”

I blinked in surprise. Was that true? I scrutinized Violet’s reaction as she approached the microphone.

She wasn’t surprised. She knew this and had been expecting the question. A smile began to creep onto my face, but I quickly flattened it as I remembered Eva was next to me.

“I will also only be taking questions at this time related to the trade deal or the political relations between our two territories. Thank you.”

She pointed to a third journalist. “Alpha Donovan, are you prepared to confirm or deny today the rumors that you’re pregnant? Who’s the father?”

That one surprised her a little bit, as it did me. I stiffened on the couch, even lounged as I was. Eva stiffened, too.

“Thank you,” Violet responded, quickly schooling her expression, “to the press for your time.” I reached for the remote as I dropped my feet off the coffee table, recognizing through Violet’s tone I knew so well that this press conference was over. “Since you clearly have no questions about the trade deal, we’ll end—”

I kept my gaze on the remote as if trying to decide whether to lower the volume or turn off the TV completely, hoping Eva wouldn’t notice how hard I was working to keep my face neutral. We didn’t want the press to know about the pregnancy. Not yet.

But then I realized that Violet had never finished her sentence even though I hadn’t turned off the TV. I looked back up to the screen, just as Dorian and Seraphine looked at Violet, both of them clearly also wondering why she had stopped mid-sentence.

And Violet’s expression…

I knew that face.

No.

With the eyes of the entire country on her, my mate was hallucinating.

I willed myself not to react in front of Eva, making sure she didn’t notice as I subtly glanced at Dahlia. My Beta was already typing on her phone, likely a text to Kincaid.

He was on screen, too, in the background. He didn’t need to look at Dahlia’s text before he figured out what was going on and stepped to his Alpha’s side. He cast a glance to Dorian, who nudged Violet out of the way enough to lean into the microphone.

“We have concluded the question portion of the press conference. Thank you all for attending.”

Together, he and Kincaid discreetly linked arms with Violet to walk her off stage.

She refused to move.