MATED TO MY CRUEL EX-HUSBAND

ROWAN. Elliot dismissed the security team with a wave of his hand. They filed out quickly, leaving just the three of us and Dorian. The moment the door closed again, Elliot's control cracked slightly. He dragged both hands through his hair. "He knows something. About the kidnapping. Maybe about more." He stopped himself, glancing at Dorian. Our head of security raised both eyebrows. "Should I leave?" "No," I said before Elliot could answer. "But what we're about to discuss stays in this room. Understood?" "Always, Alpha Rowan." I looked at my brothers. Torhana's jaw was clenched tight enough to crack teeth. Elliot was staring at the map on the wall with unseeing eyes. "The letter," I said quietly. "We need to talk about the letter." We’d been beating around the bush of it for days now. The parchment had been burned after we'd documented it, that was the decision we came to. But the words were seared into all our minds. You built your throne on blood and bone. "If not him, someone else knows," Torhana said. His voice was rough. "About that night. About what we did." Dorian went very still. "What night, Alpha?" Elliot turned from the map to look at him. He sighed heavily, "Sixteen years ago,” his gaze flicked up to mine, “When we took the throne." "The former royal family died of illness, didn't they?" Dorian said slowly, looking between the three of us with slight confusion. "No," I interrupted. "They didn't." Understanding dawned slowly across Dorian's face. Horror followed quickly behind it. "You... the three of you..." "We were sixteen," Elliot said flatly. “Our father had given us clear instructions and we knew no better.” "Goddess," Dorian breathed. "We found out three years ago that he lied." Torhana's hands were fists on the table. "The reason we needed.... to do what we did, was fabricated. Our father had lied to us." "But someone knows," I continued. "Someone either survived that night or found evidence of what happened. And they've been sitting on it for sixteen years, waiting." "Waiting for what?" Dorian asked. "For us to care about something," Elliot said quietly. "For us to have something they could destroy." The implication hung heavy in the air. Tenna. They were waiting until we had Tenna. "And you think it is the Elders?" Dorian asked carefully. "We don't know." I moved back to the table and sat heavily. "Matthias is old enough to remember that time. If he suspected, if he had proof, he'd use it against us." "Unless he's waiting," Elliot said. "Building his case. Gathering more evidence. Waiting for the right moment to reveal it." "Or he's not the one who knows," I said slowly. "Maybe someone else sent that message and Matthias is just being his usual smug self about the trials." "Either way," Elliot straightened, "we need to find out who knows about what happened and what they plan to do with that information." "And we need to keep Tenna safe," Torhana added. "If they're targeting her to get to us, we need better protection." "She's already refused to be locked in her room," I reminded him. "We’ve already compromised. Guards ave been posted. They follow her everywhere. But she has freedom to move around the estate. She’s not going to let us do more than that." "Not enough," Torhana growled. "It has to be enough," Elliot said. "She's not a prisoner. She's our Luna. She needs to be able to function." Dorian cleared his throat carefully. "If I may, Alphas. Whoever sent that message knows a great secret. They've already demonstrated they can breach your security. And they specifically targeted your mate. This isn't just about revenge for the past. This is about destroying your future." "We know," all three of us said simultaneously. "Then with respect," Dorian continued, "you need to decide something. Do you tell Luna Tenna the truth about what happened sixteen years ago? Before someone else does?" The question landed like a bomb. Elliot's face went carefully blank. Torhana's jaw clenched. I felt something twist in my chest. "No," Elliot said after a long moment. "Not yet. She's just starting to trust us. This would destroy that." "But if she finds out we've been hiding it, she'll never forgive us," I started. "Then we make sure she doesn't find out," Elliot interrupted. His ice-blue eyes were hard. "We bury it deeper. We find whoever knows and we eliminate the threat. And we protect Tenna from ever learning what we did." "That's a mistake," I said quietly. "Maybe," Elliot acknowledged. "But it's the mistake I'm choosing to make." Torhana said nothing. His silence was agreement. I looked between my brothers and felt the weight of our shared past pressing down on all of us. Sixteen years of guilt. Three years of knowing the truth. And now one mate who could never, ever know what we'd done. "Alright," I said finally. "We bury it. But if this comes back on us, if she finds out we lied, that's on you." "It won't," Elliot said with more conviction than I felt. I guess I had to f*****g fake it till I believed it too.