Page 43 of Wolf’s Fated Bride

Ash smiles sweetly and sits back down.

I want to throw up.

“Morning.” My father walks by and sits at the opposite end of the table.

“Hi, Dad.”

He pours himself a coffee and sips it as he sits, looking over the papers in his hand. When he reaches for the eggs, his gaze lands on my mother, but doesn’t linger long enough to matter. I’m crushed for her, while she pretends as if his negligence can’t hurt her.

“Sören isn’t coming,” my dad says. “He and Sven are on a call with the Council. Sven is being reassigned.”

“Packing is in order, I believe,” Ash comments.

“I hear,” my father starts while housekeeping brings fresh eggs for my parents, “that you allow your Regulators to film your purge.”

“I figure I could use the live feeds as a way to remind them of what can happen if they decide to come for me or mine again.”

I frown. “You went after them. You burned down just about everything.”

“After they killed my sister and tried to silence me.”

I put down my fork. “I didn’t know you had a sister.”

“Aiseen was fourteen when they raped and murdered her.”

My mother clears her throat. “Not at the breakfast table.”

“Truth makes the guilty parties uncomfortable.” Ash sips coffee. “That is why you don’t know about my sister.”

“We were told you lost control of your element.”

“That would be the end of the world, don’t you think?”

I haven’t thought about it that way, but I will now. If he lost control, the flames would burn…uncontrolled.

“Don’t fill my daughter’s head with your nonsense,” my dad says.

“Daddy, I’m perfectly capable of discerning what is nonsense and what isn’t.”

My father huffs out a breath.

Ash leans back in his chair. “Runa tells me you asked Maren to nest.”

“I have.”

“Are you her alpha?” Ash asks.

My father nearly chokes on a piece of bread. “Excuse me?”

“Are you her alpha?” Ash repeats. “The male who will visit the nest?”

“Show some respect,” my dad barks.

“I will when you extend that courtesy to me. You’re not her Alpha anymore. You stopped being her Alpha from the moment she signed that treaty. Don’t overstep your authority again.”

“Don’t talk to me⁠—”

“Blade!” My mother shouts to interrupt the tension growing between my dad and Ash. “Where is your friend Blade?”