Page 84 of Clash of Sin and Secret

“No. Zane and Huntley wanted to keep it quick and simple, so I stayed behind.”

“So, is that why the long face? You worried about being left behind?”

“Not at all.” I meet his concern and smile. “I was just looking at your photos and feeling a little nostalgic. It took a lot to get here, but I’m grateful to be in the here and now.”

He flashes me a knowing smile. “And I’m happy that you’re here and things are going well for you, son. Truly. I’ve lovedthose three like my own kids for decades. To have them be your family couldn’t make me happier.”

It’s crazy how life turned out.

“Things are good?”

“Amazing, actually. It’s one reason I’m here. I’m going to move my things into the royal residence and join their lives.”

My dad smiles. “Can’t say that I’m surprised. I imagine giving a four-way love affair an honest shot demands a fair bit of involvement and compromise. I’m sure it’s complicated.”

I shrug and shuffle down the hall to the room I’ve been staying in. My duffle from when I arrived is at the back of the closet and I toss it on the bed and start pulling clothes from my dresser. “It’s actually not complicated at all. We love Scotland and are devoted to Zane’s rule and protecting what we’re building.”

“And you’re happy?”

I meet his gaze. It’s because he didn’t get to worry about me as a kid, but he seems to worry a lot now. “Very happy…more excited about my life than I’ve ever been.”

My heart races as images of the past twenty-four hours fill my mind. Of Scottie wrapped in my arms. Of me, Huntley, and Zane treating her like the queen she is.

It feels right, like the pieces of my life are finally falling into place.

Jack leans against the doorframe, studying me over his cup. “Is there a lot of emotional juggling to be part of a polyamorous relationship?”

I chuckle softly as I stuff clothes into my bag. “It’s no different from what I grew up with in my pack. Only now I’m not on the outside looking in. They are my pack. I finally have a pack.”

I finish emptying my dresser, grab what little I had in the closet, and move to my desk. When I’m finished, I pack up mytoiletries in the bathroom. When I come back, Jack is holding the package I collected from the post office before I came here.

“What’s this?” Jack asks, eyeing the post mark. “You got something from Yellowknife?”

I gesture for him to lead the way back to the kitchen and we take a seat. “It’s a care package from my buddy Koda back in the bear pack.”

The tape binding the package closed rips off with a tug, and I pull out a stack of letters. “He’s renovating the cabin Mom and I were assigned and he found a hidden compartment in the back of her closet. He said they are threatening letters sent from someone high in the shifter hierarchy.”

“Threats?” Jack scowls, taking several of the letters to look at them himself. “Why would anyone threaten your mother?”

“That’s what I intend to find out.”

“Do you think it has something to do with her death?”

“Her murder, you mean.” I skim through two first letters and focus on the strange runes inked along the bottom.

“Is this someone powerful in the Polar world?” Jack asks.

“I don’t know, but I intend to find out.”

Jack leans over me now, concern etching lines on his forehead. “We’llfind out. I may not be a Sacred Squire anymore, but I know the ins and outs of investigating conflicts within other races.”

His eyes narrow as he scans more letters filled. “We need to figure out why she fell out of favor and who would’ve wanted to kill her for it.”

A coldness washes over me at those words—the betrayal cutting deeper than any blade ever could.

“I miss her every fucking day.”

“I know that pain. She imprinted on my soul, and I never loved another all my life.” Jack’s voice falters as regret and love war in his gaze.

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