Chapter 56
Rogan’s eyes go wide. “Your stepfather? The demon king?”
I nod grimly. “Yes. He controls my mother, and he’s always hated that he couldn’t control me. When I learned my true lineage and became bound by blood to obey my father’s commands… God, Richard must have despised that. The vampire king could control what he couldn’t.”
Rogan clenches his fists, a low growl escaping his throat. “And you’re sure about this?”
“I’m sure,” I say with conviction.
Indeed, it all makes sense now. Even my father’s duplicity in manipulating Rogan and me.
“But why send a she-wolf? Why not attack directly?” Rogan asks.
“That’s the cunning part, isn’t it?” A chill creeps through me. “A direct attack would be obvious. It would unite the entire vampire kingdom against him. But don’t you see?”
“No, princess, I don’t see. Eris is not a demon. I… I was with her. She’s a wolf.”
My mind churns. “Maybe she’s half demon and half wolf. Like I’m half human and half vampire.”
“That’s not possible.”
“Isn’t it? Who are we to know what’s truly possible? The child growing inside me shouldn’t be possible, but I know, Rogan. I know in my heart that he is strong. Strong and healthy, and he has a role to play. An important one.”
“How can she be my mate, then?”
“If she’s part wolf—”
He shakes his head, his unruly hair falling into his eyes. “But I would have sensed something.”
“Perhaps,” I say, my heart pounding. “But you were attracted to her on a primal level, Rogan. You said so yourself. It was part of your wolf nature. Your senses were clouded.”
“Like they were with you…except that was different,” he says, more to himself than to me. His gaze hardens, his eyes reflecting a storm of emotions—confusion, disbelief, anger. But beneath it all lies the undeniable truth. His wolf chose Eris. But he—Rogan, the man who controls the wolf—chose me.
“If she’s half demon,” he growls, his voice barely above a whisper, “it means…”
“It means you may have been manipulated again.”
He shakes his head once more. “No. This was real. Like you said, it was primal. When I saw you, smelled you, I knew you were mine. With Eris, it was deeper but less intimate. Forced, almost, as if I was drawn to her against my will. Which, in fact, I was, because I love you, princess. Not her.”
I draw in a breath.
So the bond between Rogan and Eris is real.
Not that I ever doubted it. He wouldn’t have left me otherwise.
My stepfather’s treachery knows no bounds.
He knew Eris was half demon, found out she was fated to mate with Rogan, an alpha lycan, and capitalized on her inherent evil to have her carve out those two vampires’ hearts and make sure Rogan got blamed for it.
That would send my father after Rogan, and Richard knew my father would use his best weapon.
Me.
Like I said to Rogan. Cunning.
Shrewd, cunning, and devilishly clever. The perfect trap.
But Richard underestimated my father.
He underestimated me.
And he underestimated Rogan.
It would never have occurred to Richard that Rogan could truly love me. In the demon king’s mind, I’m the evil one. Completely unlovable.
“Guess the game is up.” Rogan’s voice pulls me back from my thoughts, his words heavy with bitter acceptance and simmering rage. “We confront Eris.”
“No.” I shake my head, locking my gaze with his. “Not we. You heard Alara. I must fight Eris. Me.”
“Princess…”
“I’ve trained for it, Rogan. Alara prepared me well. I’m not a wolf or a demon. But I’m vampire. I’m human. And most importantly, I’m a mother protecting her child. That’s a beast few can best.”
He grabs me then, crushes our lips together.
I respond instantly, my flesh tingling, all feeling arrowing right between my legs.
How easy it would be to fall back into bed with Rogan. To let him love me, fuck me into oblivion as only he can.
But I break the kiss, his lips already swollen from the punishment of the embrace.
“I won’t let you go,” he says through gritted teeth.
I cup his cheek, scrape my fingers over his dark stubble. “You have to,” I say. “There’s no other choice.”
Then—
A gust of heavy wind, and the shutters in my bedroom crash open. I inhale the scent of impending rain and a far-off sharp tang of danger.
But it’s not a storm.
The only storm in this room is me.
And I’m ready to unleash my power.
Alara, I say in my mind.
Her words come to me swiftly.
It’s time.