“It’s good to see you too.” Kian smiled.
“Who are you?” He asked Wren with a tilt to his head.
Wren wrung her hands in her lap as she gave him a nervous smile. “I’m Wren. I’m your son’s mate.”
His eyes widened as his gaze snapped to me, along with Mom.
“I found my mate, yes.” I smiled as happiness welled up inside me. “We’re just waiting for the bond to snap in place.”
“The bond hasn’t snapped in place?” Mom asked, stuffing more clothes in her bag.
“Not yet, but I can feel that it’s going to happen soon,” Wren said, her voice coming out defensive.
I reached over and placed my hand on her thigh, and she put hers on top of it.
“Are you a fox shifter?” Mom asked, her full attention now on Wren in a way I hadn’t seen her focus since we lost Lilly.
“I am. I’ve bonded with three of my mates. Kian and Lachlan are technically my potential mates right now, but I know in my heart that I’ll be bonding with them soon.”
Mom reached up and scratched her head before continuing to pack without replying.
Dad smiled at Wren. “It’s nice to meet you.”
A heavy silence settled over us, and I could see the anxiety in Wren. I didn’t know how to explain to her that my mother had been like this ever since Lilly had been taken.
“Why do you need to talk to the alpha?” Dad asked, breaking the silence.
“Our headmaster asked us to speak with the Necromancer and Werewolf Villages to see if we could recruit you to the Supernatural Council and avoid you allying with the dragons of Blezen.”
”Is that so?” Dad scratched his cheek. “Roak has already been here.”
Kian and Wren straightened and blinked at my father.
I let out a long sigh. “Has the alpha aligned the village with the dragons already?”
He coughed, launching himself into a coughing spree. The three of us were tense as he caught his breath. “Alpha hasn’t aligned himself yet, but he’s considering it. The leader of the dragons gave him a scale for good faith. Alpha is impressed with the power it provides. We’re able to hold off on our shift a little bit longer on the night of a full moon.”
I paused before squeezing Wren‘s thigh. “Dragons don’t have all supernaturals’ best interests in mind.”
Dad shrugged. “No they don’t, but maybe they’re turning a new leaf with the war with humans.”
“That’s not exactly true,” Wren said. “My mate, Rowan, is the headmaster of the academy, and he’s a firedrake. From his firsthand account, their goal is to eradicate humans, but then to rule over all supernaturals. In their perfect world, there would be two beings on the hierarchy. The dragons and drakes over all of us.”
My parents went silent for a moment as they stopped packing.
“You’ll have to talk to the alpha in the morning,” Dad told me. “But if that’s true, then I don’t see Alpha aligning us with the dragons.”
Alpha had always been morally right. Hopefully, he didn’t fail us like the Necromancer Village did.
“Kian and your mate will have to sleep in your old room tonight,” Mom said as she patted her dress. “One of you could sleep on the couch, if you’d like.” She zipped her bag up before looking at the three of us. “I’m not sure how the multiple mates work.”
“Thank you,” Wren murmured. “I’m sorry we had to show up unannounced.”
Mom shrugged as Dad waved his hand back and forth. “It’s good to see our son,” he said with a frown as his gaze lingered toward a picture on the wall of Lilly and me when we were about four years old, smiling at the camera.
My heart clenched. I still remembered her earthy scent. It was easy to since we had a similar scent due to being twins. We looked almost exactly alike, from our brown eyes to our brown curls. I missed her every day, and it killed me that we had no leads to find her or even know if she’s still with us.
He swallowed hard before pulling his eyes from the photo and back to us. “Congratulations on finding your mate.”
