His arms wrapped around before my mind could catch up.
Warm.
Solid.
Real.
But my body didn’t relax.
It stiffened.
Remained frigid and confused.
Because as comforting as the embrace should have been, sothing inside recoiled.
Slowly, carefully, I pushed against his chest.
"Wait," I said, breath uneven. "No."
He froze instantly.
Not offended.
Not angry.
Just... startled and ..... lost.
I stepped back, my heart pounding violently against my ribs.
"I know who you are," I said quickly, panic threading my words together. "You’re Aiden. I recognize you. I saw your painting. I felt it the mont I looked at it. You’re my uncle, aren’t you?"
His smile faltered.
"But you’re not my father," I continued, firr now, grounding myself in the truth I knew. "My father was Bale. Whether he was a monster or not, whether he lied or not.... that’s who raised . That’s who-
My voice cracked despite myself.
"That’s who everyone said he was."
And it was true.
That was what I had known my entire life.
Despite Bale acting insane towards the end and saying things that never made sense.
Things like him not being my father.
I had accepted that it was most likely the fact that he had lost the pack that had made him descend into his madness in the end.
Aiden didn’t interrupt.
He didn’t argue.
He just looked at like soone watching a storm roll in, knowing it couldn’t be stopped.
"Jasmine," he said gently, "I didn’t an to frighten you."
"Then don’t say things like that," I snapped, emotion spilling out before I could stop it. "Don’t claim like that. I’ve had enough people telling who I am, what I am, what I belong to."
I pressed a hand to my stomach, grounding myself again.
"I don’t even know where I am right now," I whispered. "One mont, I was surrounded by guards in the distant lands, the next the throne reacted to , and now I’m here with you, calling sothing I don’t understand."
And then my mind flickered like a touch.
Otto.
He wasn’t here with .
I had left him behind when I ca.
At that mont, I noticed his eyes flicked to my stomach.
Just for a second.
Then back to my face.
"You’re right," he said quietly. "You deserve clarity. Not proclamations."
I swallowed.
"Then explain," I demanded, though my voice trembled. "Explain why my necklace reacted to that throne. Explain why those people bowed. Why does everyone keep calling ’your majesty’ when I’ve never ruled anything in my life?"
He inhaled slowly, like a man choosing his words with great care.
"You know what?" I said, massaging my brows, no longer caring what they called . I just wanted to find my way back ho. "Just forget about everything I asked. It’s completely irrelevant. I ca looking for you because I have questions."
"You are not wrong," Aiden said. "Bale was the man you were told was your father. He raised you. That matters. That will always matter."
I clenched my fists.
Well.... Bale didn’t exactly raise .
He just tossed aside in the pack while everyone spread rumors that I was his child.
"But," he continued softly, "blood is a complicated thing, Jasmine. And truth... even more so."
My chest tightened.
"You said ’my daughter,’" I whispered. "You didn’t say ’my niece.’"
Silence stretched between us.
The chamber seed to breathe.
The light from the windows shifted, catching the silver veins in the throne behind and making them glow faintly once more.
As though they were listening.
"I said it because it is the truth," Aiden replied at last. "But not in the way you think."
My pulse roared in my ears.
"Then say it in a way I do think," I snapped. "Because right now it sounds like you’re telling my entire life was a lie."
His jaw tightened.
"Parts of it were," he admitted. "But not the parts that shaped you."
I shook my head, overwheld.
"My mother," I said hoarsely. "She died giving birth to . Everyone knows that. I’ve known that my whole life."
He looked at with a piercing gaze, and it seed like my words had hurt him.
It had co like a flash, and if I didn’t see it as quickly as it had co, I would have never noticed it.
"You didn’t know she had died, did you?" I asked, my heart racing.
He smiled faintly.
"No, I didn’t, Jasmine." He said to .
He was so handso.
Any she-wolf who saw him would stop and gawk.
He was barely any different from the painting, except that he had gotten older.
And it seed the older he had gotten, the more handso he had beco.
Small streaks of gray in his beautiful blonde hair.
I was in complete awe of this man.
He sighed heavily.
"I knew she was going to die." He said as he set his hands into his pockets. "But I had sohow hoped she would survive."
I was lost.
"The prophecy had said you would co like her." He stated. "Didn’t know what it ant until now."
He was pointing at my pregnant stomach.
Nothing he was saying made sense.
"And my brother Bale?" He asked .
I looked at him, puzzled.
"Bale is dead," I said. "How don’t you know any of this?"
He set his hands on his waist and sighed heavily.
"Would you like to sit?" He offered. "You’re heavily pregnant, and you shouldn’t be standing."
"I’m fine," I said sharply.
He nodded.
"Jasmine, have you ever heard of the other side?" He asked .
I tilted my head and rembered Otto’s obsession. "Yes, my friend Otto. He believes in it. Was searching for it."
He nodded. "You’re on the other side, Jasmine."
I blinked.
"What?"
"You portaled to the other side." He inford . "That hasn’t happened in over twenty-one years."
I balked.
"You’re crazy," I said.
He shook his head and then walked to one of the balconies.
He gestured to . "Co. Let show you sothing."
I hesitated at first.
But eventually gave in.
I walked to the balcony, and what I saw shocked to the bone.
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