Page 65 of Fae King's Secret Baby

“How did I get out here?” I demanded, my head swiveling toward the building in the background. There didn’t appear to be any external damage.

“You inhaled too much smoke, Alpha. You had to be carried out,” the healer explained. “We were worried.”

“Where did you find me?” I growled, jumping to my feet. The blanket fell fully away, exposing my nudity to all of the bystanders. I reached down to secure it around my waist again.

“On the second floor, near the game room, I believe. Alpha, you really shouldn’t be?—”

I rushed back toward the condo, ignoring all the warnings coming at me, but as I entered the lobby, I saw that the damage was minimal. The firefighters had made sure that the blaze didn’t spread, and the lack of ambulances outside indicated that no one had been injured.

“Alpha! Please, we need to secure the area!” the fire chief called out, but I ignored him, racing back up the stairs the way I’d gone the first time.

The door to the billiards room remained closed, but this time, I had no issue kicking it in. I stood in total blackness.

“Dad?” I called out. “Are you in here?”

Silence met my call, and suddenly, I felt like an idiot. Of course I’d been hallucinating. I’d inhaled too much smoke. My father wasn’t coming back to Steelshire, and certainly not to taunt me in Maren’s building.

But the undeniable stench of sulfur lingered in the room, almost overwhelmingly so.

It reeks of dark magic in here. The fire was deliberately set.

“Alpha?”

I whirled around to confront the unexpected guest, and the fire chief held up his hands.

“I’m sorry to have startled you, Alpha.”

I relaxed, dropping my hands. “What is it?”

“You really shouldn’t be up here. There’s dark magic in every corner of these halls. Can’t you smell the sulfur?”

Striding out into the better lit hallway, I nodded.

“Any suspects? Anything on camera?” I asked.

“We’re still investigating, but it seems to follow the same patterns as the other arsons. With the right spell, some of these atrocities can be conducted remotely.”

Maren’s home, Maren’s work,I mused, worry consuming me.She can’t stay here if she’s a target, even indirectly.

“Keep me abreast of any and all updates,” I ordered him. “I want to be the first to know. Expect my guards on the scene.”

“Yes, Alpha. Of course.”

There was nothing left for me to do but what I’d promised: go back to the castle and meet Maren.

To my absolute chagrin,Maren was not at the castle when I arrived. I stood in the foyer to confront her personal guard, the doors still open at my back.

“What the hell do you mean, she’s not here?” I roared at Drakias. “She left before I left the apartment.”

“I’m sorry, Alpha,” the Royal Guard gulped. “I’ve been waiting for her to arrive, but she hasn’t shown up.”

A dozen awful thoughts plagued my mind, lingering on my father for some reason.

A low hoot caught my attention, and relief almost brought me to my knees as Maren swooped in through the open doors to land on my shoulder.

“There you are,” I sighed. “Where were you?”

She cocked her head at me, pointed beak parting slightly as if she wanted to answer, and I understood. She didn’t want to shift in front of the guard and servants.

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