The Royal Rod Anthology by Ivy Crimson

Author:Ivy Crimson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Royal Rod Anthology Collaborative

Mark watched confusion and panic chase each other across her features. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and put his head in his hands. If he was going to get this out, he couldn’t look at her.

“Most of this I’ve pieced together over the years. I was too young to remember much.” He glanced at her and found her expression open and patient.

She was perfect. He didn’t deserve her.

“I was the runt of the litter. Bullied by the bigger pups and unwanted by my parents. I was a day old when they abandoned me.”

Caliana gasped. “How could they? We treasure the smallest pups in my pack. They grow to be fierce fighters, or empathic healers.”

His lips twisted. “Weakness isn’t something werewolves in their pack accepted.”

She scooted behind him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. The show of support made him blink back tears.

“It was Gregory that heard my cries and scooped me up. They had left me at the very edge of his territory, and by dumb luck, he was patrolling his borders that night.

“He thought he’d raise me himself, having no kids of his own, but it didn’t take long for him to admit he was out of his depth.” His muscles relaxed, and he smiled. “He’d heard the newly minted king and queen of a nearby pack were struggling to have a litter. He summoned them and despite not knowing why, they came immediately.”

“Your mom and dad.”

He nodded and dared a look at her. She was grinning. Maybe she wouldn’t hate him for the lie. Maybe she wouldn’t reject him.

“Mom had been trying to have children for years, but they all ended in miscarriage. It killed dad to see her so heartbroken, so they stopped trying. They’d received Gregory’s note the day after making that decision. They thought he somehow knew and would take them to task. Nervous and upset, they entered his home, ready for battle.

“He met them in the same library we were in earlier tonight, with a screaming ball of fur in his hands. The way my parents tell it, he shoved me at them and said, ‘take this thing before he drives me mad.’ They were too stunned to ask questions, so they took me and left.

“Mom had sequestered herself from the pack after her last miscarriage, so when she re-emerged with me in tow, no one questioned where I came from. They assumed she’d finally gotten a pregnancy to stick. Months later, they went back to Gregory and got the story of how he’d found me. They were terrified my biological parents would come for me, or out their secret, but he assured them it would never happen.

“They never questioned him, but I did. The week after he’d given me to them, he tracked my original pack. He wouldn’t give me details, but he said they were cruel beyond reason—to others and to their own.

“The young who remained innocent were placed in other packs, but all the adults…”

“He killed them.

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