Chapter One

Ihad an entire speech thought out in my head. I even went so far as to think of what I would say to her, but that went out the window the moment I laid eyes on her; I lost it. I know it’s ridiculous because she doesn’t even resemble her mother in any way. Marissa’s face was all I could see the moment I laid eyes on her.

She is their child. And I can’t see past what they did. I can’t see her, see my mate. All I saw was the enemy and reacted. The moment I glanced at her, I could only see that bitch who mutilated my sister and killed her and her child. For years, we hunted down the wolves that helped the hunters. We wasted years trying to find out who the ringleader was, only to learn she was dead all this time.

I just can’t fathom how she could do it. She had a child herself, and yet she killed a pregnant woman and her unborn baby—killed the Landeena’s and Queen Tatiana’s baby. The same woman helped wipe out an entire village of children before sending them down the river to me in a warning. She was a mother herself yet she killed all those innocent children.

There is no one I hate more than Marissa Talbot. Shetook everything from me. Everything and everyone I cared about. Pacing my bed chambers, I try to think, try to see past my rage. Her scent is everywhere in this room, lingering on my sheets, her essence filling my sacred space, and it is driving me insane.

Grabbing the chair, I fling it across the room, the wood splinters and cracks against the wall with a loud creaking thud. Despite my hatred and fury, the bond calls for Ivy, and I want her. However, it’s not safe for her to be around me. My mind is warped with uncontrollable anger.

The door opens, and Gannon stalks in. I take him in briefly, noticing the damage I have caused him, before my gaze darts away guiltily. Gannon’s black eyes are cold, hard, and unforgiving. His lips are lifted in a snarl, and his hair is disheveled. He’s shirtless, his muscled chest covered in blood from the various wounds he sustained from our fight.

“Where is Ivy?” Gannon demands, his tone clipped and holds a warning as he peers around the room. “Well, Kyson? I swear to God if you…”

“If I what?” I snarl angrily as I fist my hands. My hand throbs painfully, and I know it is because the bond has awakened after being so near her and is in full swing. I can feel her pain as if it were my own, feel her anguish and confusion. But I have to shake off the look she had given me when I tossed open the door or I’ll be sick. Gannon growls and stalks toward me. Before I can react, I find myself slammed against the wall.

“Where is my fucking queen?” Gannon roars, his hands fisting my shirt as he glares at me. Before I can respond, the door flings open, and I punch him. He grunts, stumbling back before I kick him, sending him flying backward into the bookshelf. A few books tumble off the shelf, spilling onto the floor. With a snarl, I move toward him, but Damian gets between us as we charge at each other. Damian shoves Gannon back.

“Stand down, Gannon!” Damian snaps, his tone telling him he is inserious danger of breaching the pledge he swore to uphold.

Gannon glares at me, pointing an accusing finger. “You have made a fucking mistake, king or not. I won’t stand by this. Now where is our queen?” Gannon bellows. Damian is caught between us, glancing at us both, trying to figure out what the hell happened. We still haven’t told him, I was telling him when Ivy had walked up earlier, making me lose my trail of thought as I became consumed by rage.

“Will someone tell me what has happened and why you just made me put your fucking mate in the damn stables like some wild animal?” Damian demands, looking at a complete loss for words.

“The stables?” Gannon gapes at him, then glares at me.

They both hate me. I hate myself for what I did. I just lost control, and if she had been near me, I may have killed her.

The stables‌ were what came to mind, being the furthermost place from the castle itself while still being somewhat covered from the elements.

“You fucking bastard, you fucking promised. She isn’t her mother. You can’t punish her for something she had no part in,” Gannon snarls. If he were anyone else, I would have killed him for daring to talk back to me, let alone touching me. But Gannon and I grew up together. He is considered family, more than a guard.

“Who?” Damian shakes his head, looking between us. “What in the world happened when you were gone, and who are you talking about?” Damian demands to know. But Gannon and I are too busy glaring at each other to answer.

“Fix it! I swear, Kyson, I have stuck by you for fucking decades, opposed nothing you have asked of me, but if you don’t fix this, I am walking, king or not. I am fucking done,” Gannon spits at me, then stomps to the door.

“Where are you going?” Damian asks, trying to figure out what is going on.

“To find my queen,” Gannon snaps as he rips open the door to my growl.

“Wait, just fucking wait until I know what’s goingon,” Damian snarls at us both. Gannon growls but closes the door and folds his arms across his chest.

“Now, explain,” Damian says.

“Marissa Talbot is Ivy’s mother,” I tell him.

“What?” he asks, shocked.

“The werewolf hunter, the one who killed my sister and the other Lycan bloodlines. Her mother was the insider; she was the one who killed them,” I growl. Just speaking that vile woman’s name is like ingesting poison.

“What? How is Ivy connected to this?”

“She’s not. Her mother killed them,” Gannon growls. “Not Ivy, she didn’t kill them, you fucking moron!” he snaps, turning his attention to me, and I press my lips in a line.

“That’s what Alpha Dean had to tell you?” Damian gasps, glancing between us, while I wander over to the bar to drown my sorrows and my guilt.

“Wait, that is why you sent her to the fucking stables, Kyson? For something her mother did?” Damian asks, outraged.