Chapter 148

Mrs. Robins takes a deep breath, and then begins to tell me the story of her daughter.

“Summer was a servant in the palace. They had her assigned to cleaning up after the women of the palace. She wasn’t important enough to actually interact with them, but she would do their laundry and tend to the mending. Eventually, I think, they wanted her to become a nanny, if either of the princes were to have children.

“It’s difficult for an omega to find work, so she was proud of the work she did. She never complained, never made much of a fuss. From how Summer told it, Evan spotted her first, while she was carrying a bundle of laundry to the servants’ area. He was intrigued, having never seen her before, and followed her…”

Summer was nearly to the door of the servants’ area, where she could properly tend to the laundry, when a man she didn’t know stopped her, placing his hand on her elbow.

He was noble, she could tell that from his state of dress, but she was not permitted to interact with the nobility and thusly did not know him.

She had no idea she was talking to Prince Evan.

“Who are you?” he asked her, which surprised her. To the nobility, servants’ names didn’t matter.

As Summer was an omega, distinction clearly marked by a brand near her collarbone, she was even more shocked. A gentle soul, Summer dropped all the laundry and ran, dashing into the servants’ area.

Prince Evan picked up all of the discarded, dirty laundry and followed her.

She hadn’t gone far before she realized how much trouble she’d be in for abandoning her work. Just as she turned around, Evan was there, carrying her burden.

“I’m sorry for startling you,” he said. “I merely wished to know the name of the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life.”

“They were fated mates,” Mrs. Robins says. “Prince Evan knew at once, seeing Summer. For Summer, the bond took longer to form. As an omega, she had given up the idea of finding her own mate. Now this noble – this prince, as she could come to discover – claimed she was his? For months she kept him at arm’s length, afraid he would change his mind and abandon her.”

“He didn’t,” I fill in.

“No, he didn’t,” she confirms. “Maybe it would have been better for him if he did.”

Even knowing the story ends with Evan’s death, I have difficulties believing he would think so. Fated mates are so rare, so special. They are to be cherished, not discarded. If Evan didn’t care at first glance that Summer was an omega, he never would. To him, likely, Summer was his perfect match.

Even in death, I could not see someone regretting that.

“Soon, my daughter could no longer resist the bond she too felt. But she worried about his reputation. It’s taboo, of course, for an omega to bond with any werewolf. But a prince? That could only be forbidden. Prince Evan convinced her though, and soon they shared their mating bite. In secret.”

This is so much deeper than Evan taking an omega lover. For him to have bond to her? Is this the secret Hector wants to keep secret? Is this enough for him to feel disgraced? And where does Caleb fit in?

Caleb said he killed Evan for the crown. He made no mention of an omega, or of Evan living in disgrace.

“They bonded in the werewolf way, though still kept it as secret as they could. But eventually, Summer came to be with child. Prince Evan again insisted that they come forward. The King at the time, his father, was pressuring him to take a wife. Evan only wanted Summer as his queen, and their child as the heir. He was ready to disregard all propriety for the sake of love.”

It was terribly romantic, and my heart ached for them. How I wished things could have been different.

“On the day Evan was to announce his bride, just before his coronation, when his father was to hand over the crown, Caleb killed him,” Mrs. Robins says.

She sighs heavily, like the breath is punched out of her. “Forgive me. I wasn’t there, but I remember Summer returning to me, frightened and crying. Such a brave girl, to have faced the death of her fated-mate without taking her own life. The drain, it’s difficult on the one left behind. But Summer persevered. For her child.”

“She’s alive?”

“Hidden,” Mrs. Robins says. “Her and her child. As far away from here as possible, though I don’t know exactly where. To protect them, I refused to ask where she was headed.”

He both take a moment to breath, and I thank the gods that Summer and her child are somewhere safe.

“I hate Caleb for what he’s done,” Mrs. Robins says, looking at me now. “I suspect you do not hate him.”

“No.”

“You might even love him.”

I don’t say anything, but my silence is admission enough.

“Then you should be warned,” Mrs. Robins says.

“I already know about Caleb’s temper,” I say.

“Not about Caleb,” Mrs. Robins says. “About the former King. Hector. His father.”

A chill creeps up along my spine, freezing me to the spot. I’ve already experienced a hint of Hector’s rage. I can only imagine what Summer must have seen, when the truth was revealed.

“I have no proof but a notion and a handful of words that Summer passed along as she packed,” Mrs. Robins says. “Caleb was a weapon that was turned on Evan, but I’m not sure he was to blame… Summer, she said, ‘King Hector lied to him, to Caleb…’ I don’t know what about, but I can guess.”

“Hector has returned to the palace,” I say. “He’s encouraging Caleb to find a wife.”

“The man continues to mettle. Men in power do not let go willingly, my dear. Be careful. If Hector turns on Caleb, as he likely did with Evan, you may be caught in the middle.”

“I’m sorry,” I say. “For everything that happened to you and your daughter. For what Caleb did…”

“I’ve told you all I can,” Mrs. Robins says. “I’m sorry it’s not enough.”

“It is,” I promised. Now that I know the story, if I could talk to Caleb about all this, maybe he could fill in the missing pieces. “Thank you, Mrs. Robins.”

She opens the door again, and sees me through it. “Be careful, Harper. There are a great many people who will be coming for you.”

Outside, I reconvene with Bethany and Ted.

“Did you learn anything?” Bethany asks.

“Later,” I tell her, glancing at Ted.

He’s looking at something in the distance. “We should hurry. And not go back the way we came.”

“Why?” I ask.

“We’re being watched,” Ted says. “I wasn’t sure at first, but now I’m certain.”

“Where?” Bethany asks, glancing.

“Don’t look,” Ted says quickly, and she stills.

“Come on,” he says. “Follow me, and try to look natural.”

My heart hammering, I fall into step behind Ted, walking with him and Bethany past the line of row-houses and into an alleyway beyond. It’s dark back here, and secluded. None of the windows of the nearby houses face this direction.

Ted suddenly stops.

Bethany and I huddle together.

“What is it?” I ask. “Is there someone there?”

“There’s danger here,” Ted says.

“Where?” I ask, glancing around. I don’t see anyone, but there are many shadows. I’m not a werewolf, I can’t smell anything. But Ted could.

“Harper,” Bethany says, drawing my attention back to Ted.

He’s turned to us. He’s holding a gun right to my forehead.