Chapter 126

Logan

A knock at my chamber door drew me from thought. I had been lost to my own speculation all morning, thinking about all that had happened and all that was to come.

We had so much on the horizon, Evelyn and I. A new start. A fresh mating bond. A child made from both her and I. Even hours after we had both realized it, I couldn’t entirely wrap my head around the prospect.

But first, we had to let the Alpha King know. It was a sign of respect to inform him first, and given that I had no surviving family left to inform, Evelyn would handle the dissemination of the news on her own terms. So I was left to wait and think endlessly on my own, still floored by it all.

Evelyn had only just slipped away to prepare to speak with her father an hour or so ago, and I had been left pacing, restless with the new weight of our bond humming beneath my skin.

But then there had been the unexpected knock.

I knew that it couldn’t be her, but a part of me feared it was the Alpha King already, informed and unhappy with the recent unfoldings involving his beloved daughter. Perhaps he had deemed me an unworthy mate and had come to tell me as much to my face.

Yet when I opened the door, Alex stood there. And I was even more shocked to see that he wasn’t alone.

The young woman beside him was slight, her posture careful and her smile shy. Her eyes flicked to me and then back to the floor just as quickly, as though even looking directly at me for too long was forbidden. She didn’t wear jewels or silk; she had on only a simple gown with her calloused and scarred hands clasped together at her waist.

I looked between the two of them, and it was not hard to see. This had to be another one of Alex’s lovers. It was in the way that they stood so closely, a silent, intimate knowing shared between them.

But the difference between this new woman and the rest was the downcast eyes, the submissive stance she had taken on. The average noble wolf would not have wilted so easily. This was not a woman who descended from royalty. I was left to only conclude that she was something less than that: an omega.

I masked my surprise as quickly as I could, though my wolf bristled in quiet disbelief. A prince bringing home an omega? And he was so abruptly bringing her to my door? The Alpha King would not be pleased by this show of favoritism for someone so low-ranking.

If Alex had been seen throughout the palace halls with this omega, even for a second, it would have surely resulted in gossip. And if it got back to the Alpha King… He would see this as weakness, as a betrayal of the hierarchy he had built his throne upon.

But Alex’s expression was unwavering, proud even, as though daring me to challenge him. “Logan,” he said with a smile, “this is Annalise.”

“Hello, Annalise,” I said, still looking between the two of them as I waited for Alex’s explanation and confirmation.

“I wanted you to meet her as soon as possible because, well… She is my future wife.”

And there it was. Though it was admittedly even worse than I had suspected. She was not just another one in Alex’s long string of lovers. Of course, ever rebellious, Alex would have found himself falling in love with an omega wolf.

The Alpha King was definitely not going to like this.

The woman dipped into a small curtsy, her cheeks blooming red. “It’s nice to meet you, Alpha.”

I nodded politely. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, yoo.”

I gave Alex a look that blazed with all of the questions I felt were impolite to utter in front of Annalise. Alex stepped into the room without hesitation, leading her by the hand as if to anchor her. The sight of it stirred something in me, even despite my better judgment: it was an echo of the protectiveness I felt toward Evelyn, that instinct to shield and hold close what the world might try to tear away.

Still, unease coiled in my chest. I knew the Alpha King’s pride, his expectations for heirs, alliances, and noble unions. It was what kept a family like his in power. And now his heir, the firstborn son set to inherit the throne after the Alpha King’s demise, was marrying off his hand to a woman without noble prospects or lineage. The Alpha King would not look kindly upon this. Not at all.

But Alex looked at me now with that same boyish gleam I had seen on him half a hundred times. There was something else there this time, too. There was a sense of finality to his gaze, a determined expression that spoke to the fact that he was unwavering in this choice.

“I thought you would want to meet her,” Alex said. “I just spoke to Evelyn about it shortly and… I spoke to my father too. We are to be wed here within two moon cycles.”

He gave his bride-to-be a genuine, warm smile that she returned bashfully.

“We are so excited,” she said softly. “I still cannot believe it.”

Their stares lingered, like an intimate understanding was passing between them alone. It made me feel uncomfortable to be so blatantly excluded, so I deflected.

“There’s more reason to celebrate than you know,” I said, almost conspiratorial.

Their gazes broke, and Alex arched a brow. “Oh yeah?”

I decided it was only fair to share part of my own news. “Evelyn and I…” I hesitated, then allowed the words to carry their own weight. “We’ve sealed our bond.”

For a moment, silence hung heavy between us. Then Alex broke into a grin so wide it was almost disarming. “Truly?”

I inclined my head. The bond pulsed between Evelyn and me still, steady and certain, as it would for all of eternity. “Truly. She is mine, and I am hers. Forever.”

Alex clapped my shoulder hard, nearly making me stumble. “That must have been the news she had implied in the hall! I cannot believe she didn’t tell me.”

He looked between myself and Annalise, absolutely beaming. His own excitement at our union burned a new thrill through me in return. I kept the revelation of our child to myself for now, then. If Evelyn hadn’t seen fit to tell him yet, then I would wait until I had her leave to.

“Then this is cause for celebration!” Alex exclaimed. “For all of us. Two unions, two loves worth fighting for.” His voice rose, spirited and unyielding. “My old man will just have to accept it. He has no choice when faced with joy such as this. Love after war. What could be better?”

I bit back the urge to remind him that the Alpha King rarely yielded to joy; obligation was what motivated him. Instead, I let his energetic, excited conviction carry us forward. Perhaps he was right. We certainly deserved one night of revelry after so much strife. And even if the Alpha King did not approve of all of these recent unions, they were real and happening, and we had earned this fleeting sense of joy.

“Very well,” I said at last, a reluctant smile tugging at my lips. “We’ll celebrate. Tonight.”

Alex whooped in triumph, pulling Annalise closer to his side as though daring the world to separate them. And as I watched, I felt the echo of Evelyn’s warmth deep in my chest.

Because this was what we had fought for: the opportunity to love like this, boundless and free.