Riley’s POV
I stood there, staring at him, because I honestly did not know how to react to what he had just said.
He was the youngest.
And Sebastian was not his father.
That did not make any sense to at all, especially with everything I had seen and heard since I got here, because everyone treated them like one family, like they all ca from the sa place and now he was telling that he was different.
"How?" I asked before I could stop myself, my voice full of confusion as I looked at him.
He did not answer imdiately, and for a mont he just watched like he was deciding how much he wanted to say, and I could tell this was not sothing he told people, not sothing he spoke about freely.
Then he leaned back slightly on the bed, his posture calm but his eyes still focused on .
"My mother," he started, his voice steady, "gave birth to and made it look like I was Sebastian’s son."
I blinked, trying to follow.
"She lied?" I asked.
"Yes," he said simply. "And she made sure no one would question it."
I took a small step closer without realizing it, because now I needed to understand this properly.
"Does he know?" I asked."I an Sebastian"
Gunnar shook his head once.
"No. And he never will."
There was sothing final in the way he said that, sothing that made it clear that this was not just a secret, it was sothing he had decided would stay buried no matter what.
"No one knows?" I asked again.
"Just and her," he replied. "And my brothers"
I swallowed slowly, trying to process everything.
"Your mother..." I started, unsure how to even phrase it. "Who is she exactly?"
His expression did not change much, but I could tell this part mattered.
"You ask too many questions but her na is Alia," he said. "She is Sebastian’s mate."
That made pause.
"But..." I frowned, trying to connect it. "If she is his mate, then how..."
"She already had soone else," Gunnar cut in calmly.
That made my eyes widen slightly.
"She had a lover before Sebastian," he continued. "She was young at the ti, and she did not choose him, but the bond still ford. I guess you could bla the fucking fate of a bitchy moon Goddess"
"The mate bond thing?" I asked quietly.
He nodded once.
"Sebastian could not resist it not reject her either," he said. "He never does when it cos to what he wants."
There was sothing in his tone when he said that, sothing that sounded like disgust, sothing that had been there for a long ti.
"He wanted her," Gunnar continued. "So he took her, made her his Luna, and made sure she stayed even while having several concubines at his disposal, mates were just different"
I felt my chest tighten slightly.
"And she stayed?" I asked.
"She had no choice," he replied.
I did not say anything to that, because I could already tell what kind of situation that must have been.
"She gave birth to Cane and Caden after that," he added.
I blinked again."Wait... Cane and Caden are twins?" I asked.
He nodded.
"They are the actual twins," he said. "Not , I’m not among."
That explained a lot.
I had always wondered why they were so similar, why they moved the sa way sotis, why there was sothing about them that matched so clearly.
"And you?" I asked carefully.
He looked at for a second before answering.
"I ca later," he said. "But not from Sebastian."
The tension in the room felt stiff now.
"From who?" I asked, even though I was not sure I was ready for the answer.
There was a pause."You could call him Dracula or the so called vampire Lord."
I felt like my breath caught in my throat.
"The... what?" I asked, my voice lower now.
"The vampire king," he repeated, his tone unchanged, but there was sothing darker in his eyes now.
"That is your father?" I asked slowly.
"Yes."
I did not know what to say for a mont, because that explained a lot more than I was ready for.
His strength.
His control.
The way he felt different from the others.
Everything.
"He is my father," Gunnar continued, "and also Sebastian’s enemy even with a truce between them."
That confused again.
"Sebastian’s enemy?" I asked.
He nodded.
"They hate each other," he said. "And I despise him more than I do for Sebastian."
That surprised .
Because from everything I had seen, Gunnar did not hold back when it ca to his feelings about Sebastian.
So for him to say that ant sothing.
"Why do you hate him?" I asked before I could stop myself.
He let out a quiet breath, then pushed himself up from the bed, standing to his full height as he looked at again.
"A lot of reasons, Riley," he said, his voice steady but heavier now. "But he is just as bad as Sebastian."
He took a step closer."Maybe even worse."
I felt my stomach tighten slightly.
"What did he do?" I asked.
Gunnar’s jaw tightened a little before he answered.
"My mother did not realize he was using her until it was too late," he said.
There was sothing in the way he said that, sothing that made it clear that this was not just anger, it was sothing that had stayed with him for a long ti.
"And you?" I asked quietly. "Did he ever..."
I did not finish the question, but I think he understood what I ant.
"He never cared about ," Gunnar said. "Not even once. I’m sothing fate bitchily would tag as a curse."
That made my chest tighten again.
Because there was no emotion in his voice when he said that, and that made it feel worse.
Like he had already accepted it. Like it did not even matter anymore. For a mont, neither of us spoke.
Then, without thinking too much about it, I asked the question that had been sitting at the back of my mind for a while now.
"Did you ever have a woman before?"
The mont the words left my mouth, I saw the change in him imdiately.
His jaw tightened and his expression shifted slightly.
And I realized I had just stepped into sothing personal.
"I didn’t an to—" I started quickly, lifting my hand a little. "You don’t have to answer that, I was just curious."
I let out a small breath and added, "Your mother ntioned it to earlier so I thought to ask"
That did it and he snapped.
"Why would she ntion my personal life to you?" he asked, his voice sharper now.
I blinked at the sudden irritation in his tone.
"I didn’t ask her to," I said quickly. "She just happened to tell ." I replied although it was blatant lie.
He stared at for a mont, his eyes narrowing slightly, like he was trying to figure out exactly what had been said.
"What exactly did she tell you?" he asked.
I hesitated for a second the answered "Maybe that’s why you’re sadistic"
His expression did not soften. If anything, it got more guarded.
"And that bothers you?" he asked.
"No," I said quickly, shaking my head. "I was just asking."
He did not look convinced.
"You ask a lot of questions," he said.
"And you answer so of them," I replied, trying to keep my voice steady.
He stepped closer again, closing the small distance between us, and I felt my breath catch slightly.
"Not all," he said.
There was a pause. Then he looked down at , his expression unreadable again, but his eyes focused.
"Why do you care to know?" he asked.
That question caught off guard."I don’t," I said quickly.
"Then why ask?" he pressed.
I hesitated."I just... want to understand," I said finally.
"Understand what?" he asked.
"You," I replied before I could stop myself.
The mont I said it, I regretted it instantly.
He did not move. He did not speak imdiately. He just looked at .
And for a second, I wondered if I had said too much.
"You don’t need to understand , Riley Grayson" he said finally, his voice lower now.
"You’re only going to make this complicated," he said.
"I’m not trying to," I replied.
"Then stop asking questions you’re not ready to hear the answers to," he said.
I frowned slightly."How do you know I’m not ready to hear them, Gunnar Dravenmoor?" I asked.
He held my gaze for a second longer after I said that na.
Then he said quietly, "I don’t want you to."
That made pause. Still, I did not look away, sothing told he was unguarded right now and it was the perfect opportunity to perhaps know a bit about them right?
"Answer anyway," I said.
For a mont, it looked like he might ignore. But then he exhaled slowly and looked away briefly before looking back at .
"Yes," he said.
My heart skipped slightly."Yes... what?" I asked softly.
"Yes, I had," he replied.
I swallowed hard."And what happened?" I asked.
There was a short pause then he said, "Dead"
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