“Thank you,” Fergal said.
The omega startled, his gaze flicking to Fergal for a fraction of a second before dropping again. “You’re welcome, Your Majesty.” His voice was barely audible.
“What’s your name?” He hadn’t come with their group, so he had to be one of the former Murphy omegas who had arrived earlier.
“Simon, Your Majesty.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Simon.”
He nodded, and then he was gone, slipping out the door quietly. He seemed to be still carrying the ghost of whatever the Murphy clan had done to him. Poor guy.
Fergal refocused on the others. “Tell me about Rhene’s disappearance,” he said.
Erwan cleared his throat, then sighed, his eyes filling with tears.
“We sensed he was in danger and was tapping into our powers,” Jermon said, putting a hand on Erwan’s arm in quiet comfort. “Then, suddenly, the bond was severed and he disappeared. We haven’t felt him since.”
Fergal leaned forward, intrigued. “You can sense him? But he’s a wolf.”
“Their magic is different from ours, but they still have magic. Rhene especially, since he’s connected to Lidon.”
Lindon Hayes. The True Alpha. Even after Rhene and Erwan had told Fergal and Gregor all about him at the Dragon Council, that name still didn’t leave Fergal unaffected. It was as if even the mention of him had power.
“I assume you’ve tried all modern technology to track him?” Gregor asked.
Jermon nodded. “Nothing. He vanished with Jokkmokk as his last location. Our working theory is that he was taken by the dragon slayers.”
“Dragon slayer,” Gregor said. “Singular. There’s only one left, a man named Duff Bás.”
For the next two hours, they talked.
Fergal and Gregor laid out everything—Duncan and Donovan’s infiltration of the Fitzgerald clan, the fake Duff Bás email, the crossbow-bolt analysis, their theory that the Murphys had orchestrated Lorcan’s assassination and framed the dragon slayers. Gregor explained his Murphy background concisely and without self-pity, providing context for how the Murphy clan operated—the infiltration tactics, the long-game strategy, the patient consolidation of power from within.
In return, Emma walked them through her research into the historical conspiracy—how the 1822 Dragon Council had been the turning point, how Cladhaire had revealed Erwan’s White Dragon status to the other clans and had sworn he’d reverse it. Jermon described the ranch attack—fifteen attackers killed, crossbows designed to pierce dragon scales, Irish incantations used to immobilize him. Fergal had already heard the story at the Dragon Council, where Rhene had shared it, but not all the details had fully registered with him then.
“So the Murphys were the ones who told you dragon slayers were behind it,” he said slowly. “Did you have that corroborated by any other source?”
Jermon shook his head. “We didn’t have any reason to question it, but after what you told us, that has changed, obviously.”
“The timing works out,” Emma said. “We discovered they arrived here before we shifted, so before they could’ve known we were here.”
“What did they tell you, exactly?” Fergal asked. “About the dragon slayers, I mean.”
Jermon scratched his chin, clearly trying to remember. “Alistair told us they’re an ancient secret society from Ireland who took a vow to kill all dragons. He said they started out as Christians who thought dragons were in league with the devil because of their magic.”
“But you said the attackers used magic,” Fergal pointed out. “That you were clearly under the influence of a dark spell.”
“Yes, and the Murphys explained that. They said the dragon slayers are now using warlocks and thus the same magic they condemned the dragons for. And he accused them of using dark magic, stating they only used their magic for good—obviously another big fat lie.” Jermon’s tone was full of bitterness, and Fergal couldn’t blame him for it.
“So what do you think the attack was?” Erwan asked Fergal.
He hesitated, not knowing Erwan well enough yet to gauge if he was strong enough for the truth, especially now that he was vulnerable without his mate.
Erwan’s gaze softened. “I can handle it. Don’t sugarcoat it.”
Okay then. “My gut says they were trying to take you out since you confirmed they only attacked dragons, not wolves. And when it became clear the attack wasn’t successful, they rushed in to supposedly help so they could gain your trust as your saviors.”
Erwan’s only reaction was a long shared look with his brothers.
