His Mate. His Claim. His Mistake

Family comes first

Theo

"Those details, did your mate know?"

The question hung heavy in the air between us.

I went silent.

Lilith knew everything. I had shared every detail of my life with her, including my father's late-night routines.

The implication hung in the room, thick and poisonous.

“You seem bent on the idea that an Omega felled a Lycan King,” I muttered, my voice low and dangerous. “It is ridiculous. She has no motive.”

“She may not have one personally,” the guard insisted, refusing to back down. “But she is an Omega. Omegas have long-held biases against the crown. It is well known.”

Another elder nodded in agreement. “Resentment runs deep in their communities. The Containment Act, the restrictions... many of them see the royal family as the root of their suffering.”

I felt my jaw clench so tightly it ached.

“Not Lilith,” I said coldly.

I swept my gaze over the assembled guards, advisors, and investigators standing before me, cutting off further speculation.

“You have work to do,” I said, my tone final. “Find the ones responsible.”

There had been no stranger in the palace. No unauthorized entry. No breach in security logs. That meant someone from the inside had harmed my brother. And they were going to confess, whoever it was, alongside whoever had sent them.

“Dismissed.”

The men filed out quickly, the heavy double doors closing behind them with a dull thud, leaving me alone in the suffocating silence of the study.

The weight of the crown already felt unbearable.

A single elder remained, an old, sharp-eyed man who had served my father for decades. He did not bow or leave with the others. Instead, he stood straight and unflinching.

“The Omega Regent has made public statements questioning the late King’s rulings, and his council” he said carefully, but without stepping back.

Late King.

The words twisted like a knife in my gut. I hated how easily they fell from his lips.

“While you, Your Grace, have shown clear support for the Omegas,” the elder continued. “Some might even call it favoritism.”

My eyes narrowed. “What does that mean?”

“She was found at the scene,” he replied, his voice measured. “And during questioning, she remained evasive.”

“She had no recollection!” I spat, anger flaring hot in my chest.

“Isn’t that convenient?” the elder questioned, his tone deceptively mild. “She is your mate, and you are being defensive. Perhaps they foresaw this playing out exactly this way. That you would protect her regardless of the evidence.”

My blood ran cold, then burned.

“What are you insinuating?” I demanded, stepping closer, my voice dropping into a dangerous register.

“They said she was marked,” he muttered softly.

“Marked without the normal processes. Brought to your chambers and claimed. This already shows you as a prince were compromised. It shows how much you were willing to bend the rules for her.”

I was off my seat immediately, standing over him with raw dominance radiating off my frame.

“She is an Omega. Do not forget that when it comes to their survival, they can be ruthless,” he continued, meeting my gaze without flinching. “The court is watching you, Your Majesty. Do not let the crown fall before it is even securely on your head.”

He offered a stiff, formal bow that held no real reverence, turned on his heel, and left me to the silence.

I stood there, my fists clenched so tightly my knuckles turned white. They were already building the narrative, painting Lilith as a calculating killer who had seduced the Crown Prince to get close enough to strike.

My jaw tightened until the muscle throbbed. They did not know her.

“Theo, what did you do?!”

***

My mother’s voice cracked through the room the moment I stepped into her chambers.

“You had her moved from the dungeon!”

“She will still be questioned, Mother,” I said evenly, though my jaw remained set.

“Have you lost your mind, Theo?!” she roared, taking a swift step toward me. “That girl was found at the scene of your father’s murder!”

“Being found at the scene does not mean she did it!” I shot back, my voice rising to match hers. “You harmed her without even considering for a second that she might be innocent!”

“No!” The word tore out of her, raw and guttural. “Have her taken back immediately and get the truth out of her!”

“No.”

The single word fell between us like stone.

My mother’s eyes widened in shock. “Theo…”

“She is my mate! My marked mate!” I demanded.

“You saw the mark and yet you brutalized her in that manner!”

Mom gasped, recoiling a step as if I struck her.

I exhaled a long, shaky breath, rubbing the bridge of my nose. “I understand you are hurt, Mom. I am hurting too, but... we cannot hurt innocent people.”

“You can have her questioned,” I continued, forcing my voice to stay steady. “But she will not be held hostage. She will not be tortured. She will not be treated like an animal.”

“Theo—” Her voice trembled now, thick with disbelief and pain. “Your father was murdered.” she sobbed.

The words hit hard, but I did not flinch.

“And we will find those responsible, Mother,” I said, stepping closer. “No matter what it takes. But I will not destroy an innocent girl to do it. Especially not my mate.”

She stared at me, her chest heaving, tears glistening in her golden eyes.

“You would choose her…” she whispered, her voice breaking, “over justice for your father?”

“I am choosing justice,” I replied quietly. “Real justice. Not blind vengeance. This is what Dad taught me.”

The silence that followed was heavy and agonizing.

My mother turned away from me, wrapping her arms around herself as if trying to hold her broken pieces together. She had just lost her mate, the other half of her soul. I could not begin to fathom the agony clawing at her chest.

I wanted to comfort her. I wanted to tell her I was hurting too, that the image of my father’s body in that casing still haunted me every time I closed my eyes. But right now, the only thing I could think about was Lilith, cold, terrified, and bleeding in that cell until I pulled her out.

I could not put her back there.

I walked away, restless, my feet dragging me down toward the lower grounds.

I stood alone in the private garden where my father had been murdered.

The air felt colder here than anywhere else in the palace. I stared at the dark patch on the stone where his body had been found, my chest tight with a pain I did not know how to name.

If I had not left on that mission, if I had stayed... maybe I could have walked with him that night. Maybe I could have protected him. Instead, I had been gone while someone took his life in the one place he came to find peace.

Now I did not even have time to mourn him properly. Every second was consumed by duty, reports, orders, and interrogations. The crown had fallen on my head before I was ready, and it was crushing me.

I did not want this.

I lowered myself gently onto the stone bench, burying my head in my hands.

I wished this was all a nightmare. That I would wake up in a world where my dad was not so cold.

All I wanted was to be in my quarters with Lilith. To have a younger brother who could come barging in at any moment to annoy me.

Gods. I missed my father so much.

“Your Highness.”

A captain of the Zetas approached slowly, his boots crunching against the damp gravel.

“We found him,” he said, his breath fogging in the chill air. “The man who tried to kill your brother.”

I stood immediately to face him, every muscle in my body coiling tight. “Who is he?”

“He is a guard. An Omega.”

My stomach dropped.

“He confessed,” the officer continued, his tone grim.

“He said he acted on the direct instructions of the Omega Regent.”

I froze.

Reginald.

Lilith’s uncle.