"Erald?" a voice whispered through the door. "I thought I heard so noises. What are you doing here so late?"
Erald let out the breath she didn’t realise she was holding.
It was Nessa.
"Gods, it’s just you," Erald muttered. She dropped the parchnt onto the table and rushed to the door, pulling it open just enough to usher her cousin in.
She glanced down both ends of the hallway before shutting it quickly behind them.
Nessa blinked at her, still in her oversized nightshirt, and her hair all tousled. "Okay... why do you look like you just saw a ghost?"
Erald didn’t answer. She grabbed Nessa’s hand and tugged her toward the desk. "Sit. Quietly."
"Em, what are you—?"
"Shhh!" Erald hissed.
Nessa sat down with a sigh, clearly confused. "You’re acting like you broke into soone else’s house. You know it’s your office, right? Why are you being so secretive?"
Erald leaned against the desk, arms folded tightly. "Because Uncle Darius can’t know I’m here."
Nessa’s brows shot up. "Why not?"
"I don’t know if I can trust him right now."
That got Nessa’s full attention. "Okay," she said slowly. "What the hell is going on?"
Erald rubbed her face with both hands. "You want the full story?"
"Obviously."
She sat down across from her cousin and laid it all out for her. "The assassin who broke into my room has been found... dead. Murdered. Not outside the estate... inside it. In the garden."
"What?" Nessa straightened. "I thought he escaped."
"Soone helped him escape. But it wasn’t a jailbreak. It was a cleanup job. They wanted to silence him before he could talk. And his body was dumped behind the wall."
Nessa stared at her. "Holy... okay, that’s bad. But what does this have to do with you sneaking around and not telling my father?"
Erald licked her lips and dropped the next bomb.
"Because tonight... I t soone."
Nessa blinked. "Another soone? Em, that’s starting to sound like a full roster."
Erald rubbed her temples. "He’s not just any soone. He’s... he claid to be my mate."
Nessa’s jaw dropped. "You’re joking."
"I wish I was." Erald leaned back. "He kissed before I could stop him and then said he was my mate. My fourth mate."
Nessa blinked several tis, then leaned forward slowly. "You’re living in so kind of twisted fairy tale," she whispered. "This isn’t normal, Em. You realise that, right? Three fated mates was already unheard of. Four? And this guy shows up the exact sa night the assassin turns up dead?"
"I know," Erald said, slumping in her seat. "You think I don’t know how insane it sounds?"
Nessa stared at her, then said softly, "And how do you feel?"
Erald closed her eyes. "I hate it. I never wanted mates. They’re distractions. Every ti I get close, it drags further away from what I’m supposed to be doing. I have real enemies out there, and instead the universe wants to play house with Alphas."
Nessa was quiet, clearly processing the situation.
Erald shook her head. "I didn’t ask for all these."
"No, but you’re knee-deep in it now."
Erald glanced at the sealed parchnt, the edge still peeking out from beneath a scroll.
"And the worst part is... your father knew him."
"Wait. What?"
Erald nodded. "Recognised him instantly. Called him the Rogue King."
Nessa sat back, eyes wide. "I thought the Rogue King was a legend. Like ghost wolf stories."
" too. But he’s very real. And he said I called to him."
Nessa was quiet for a mont, then asked, "So what are you going to do now?"
Erald was silent.
Then: "I don’t know. But sothing about him feels... off. Not in a dangerous way. Just... old, powerful, and familiar."
"You said my father knows him. So why not just ask him?"
"Because I did," Erald said. "And he clamd up. Whatever history he has with that man, he’s not ready to share it."
"So that’s why you’re here."
"Exactly. I ca looking for answers," Erald muttered. "I didn’t know what I’d find, but..."
She suddenly turned, rembering the parchnt.
She rushed to the desk and grabbed the folded page. "I almost forgot," she murmured, unfolding it carefully.
Nessa ca up, peeking over her shoulder as Erald opened it.
The paper was thick and yellowed with ti.
Inside... was an old photograph, faded, curled at the corners.
Erald’s breath caught in her throat.
In the photo was her father, younger, maybe barely older than she was now. And beside him was a man.
Erald didn’t need a second look to recognise the second man.
He looked exactly like the Rogue King—sa height, sa dark gold eyes, sa black hair streaked with silver.
The exact sa face.
He didn’t just look like him... It was him.
Erald gasped. "That’s him."
Nessa’s eyes widened. "Him? Like the Rogue King him?"
Erald nodded.
"And your dad... he looks like a youth. Goddess, Em. This photo must be thirty, maybe forty years old."
"Maybe more," Erald murmured. "But he..." She looked at the man in the photo again. "He looks exactly the sa in the photo as he did tonight."
Nessa stared. "You an he hasn’t aged? No. No way."
Erald swallowed. "Doesn’t even look a day different."
Nessa grabbed the photo from her. "Are we sure this isn’t, like... his father?"
Erald leaned against the desk. "I don’t think so. Everything just looks too the sa."
Nessa dropped the photo on the desk. "So either he’s immortal... or very, very old. Both of which are almost impossible."
They both stared at the photo in silence.
Nessa finally asked, "Do you think your dad knew he was your mate?"
Erald didn’t respond right away. "I don’t know. But if he did... why would they keep it secret?"
Nessa looked up. "Well, if my father won’t talk... maybe soone else already did."
Erald frowned. "What do you an?"
"I an your dad," Nessa said. "This photo was hidden for a reason. If he t that guy, if he knew him, then maybe there’s more... journals, letters, anything."
Erald ran a hand through her hair. "I know I’ve heard that na before," she said. "Before I left for the Blood Moon Pack. I rember soone ntioning the Rogue King... years ago. But I didn’t care back then."
"Well, maybe now’s the ti to care." Nessa crossed her arms. "Maybe the library has sothing. If there’s anything about him, about this... ’Rogue King’ and whatever history he’s tied to, it’ll be there."
Erald sighed. "You think he’s written down in a history book?"
"Only one way to find out."
Erald didn’t wait. She folded the photo and tucked it safely into her inner pocket. "Let’s go."
—
They quietly snuck into the estate library, doing their best not to alarm the night guards. The room had the scent of aged paper and oak, softly illuminated by lights lining the walls.
Nessa imdiately went to the ’Historical Archives’ section while Erald took ’Pack Histories and Rogues’.
"Not the ’I-told-you-so’ fan," Erald muttered as she flipped through a heavy leather to, "but I doubt we’re going to find so dusty old paragraph that says, ’The Rogue King: Born in darkness, immortal, hot, terrifying, kissed Erald once—’"
"No offence, Alpha, but would you shut up and look?" Nessa hissed from the next aisle.
Erald grumbled and kept flipping.
One hour passed, maybe more.
Piles of open books and scrolls surrounded them. Erald yawned and leaned against the shelf. "Nothing. This was a dumb idea."
"Em—"
"I’m going to bed, Ness. I’ve had enough weirdness for the week. And month. And life. And..."
"EM, I’VE GOT SOTHING!"
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