Kael’s POV
“Rightful heir?”
I repeated the words, letting them echo in my mind like a drumbeat I couldn’t silence. They didn’t just linger, they haunted me.
Does that mean… my mother wasn’t my father’s first mate?
Or what is he trying to say?
Then who is?
The thought gnawed at me, sharp as a blade, refusing to loosen its grip. Every time I thought I could move past it, it circled back, digging deeper.
“You’re not welcome here.”
His voice, Alpha Lucien, my father’s, still rang in my head, cold and final. Like steel slamming shut.
I clenched my fists.
He wanted me gone. Out of his territory, out of his path, out of his plans. But I wasn’t going anywhere. Not until I uncovered everything.
The truth. And who the rightful heir is.
And her, my mate.
The girl who called to my blood
