Page 171 of Cursed Bonds: An Alpha's Destiny

“Do you know what it’s about?”

“No. She just told me to have you call her as soon as you could.”

Jace let out a weary sigh. “I guess I’ll do that now. Talk to you later, Shay.”

“See you, big bro,” she said, then ended the call.

“What do you think is so important?” Waylan asked.

“Who the hell knows,” Jace said as he dialed the other alpha.

She answered almost immediately. “Jace?”

“My sister said you were desperate to speak?”

Over the speaker, I heard her take a deep breath as if she was preparing to say something important. Anxiety clawed at my stomach.

“I have someone here who needs to talk to you,” Ivy said, and a moment later, a new voice spoke.

“Hello?” a wavering, somewhat terrified voice asked.

I frowned. It sounded vaguely familiar.

“This is Jace Stone, alpha of Crestwood. Who am I speaking to?”

Ivy cut in again. “Donna Edgerton. The mother of the boy Kirsten saved from being feral. Carter.”

Jace frowned at the phone, leaning his bulk on both elbows. “Ivy, I’m not one for melodrama. Can we get to the point here?”

“Go on, Donna. Tell him,” Ivy said.

“Okay, um, I’ve been keeping this secret for a while, so bear with me. I’m not sure if you’ll believe this or not… but Eren is not the true heir to the Scottsdale Pack. He’s not the real alpha.”

Jace froze, a look of consternation coming over his face. Waylan sat, mouth open and brows knit.

Jace regained his footing. “Can you run that by me one more time? And be a little more specific?”

Donna sighed. “Sorry. Yeah, Eren shouldn’t be the alpha because he has an older half-brother.”

“Eren doesn’t have any siblings,” Abigail said, looking equally confused. “He never has. Not even a sister. Ma’am, what are you talking about?”

“Oh, this is all coming out wrong,” Donna muttered. In the background, Ivy murmured something.

Donna continued. “Here’s the deal. Eren’s father had another child. He had an affair with my older sister. This happened decades ago. They had a son, who was born a couple months before Eren’s mother gave birth to him. By rights and by blood, he should be alpha.

“Eren’s father knew there would be trouble if anyone found out, especially his mate, so he sent them away,” Donna continued. “My sister swore she’d never tell her son. As far as I know, my nephew has no clue that he’s the rightful heir to the Scottsdale Pack.”

“Holy shit,” Harley whispered beside me. “This shifter drama is just like a soap opera. When do we find out about Jace’s long-lost, evil identical twin?”

“Would you shut up?” I hissed.

The council gaped at Jace, who looked absolutely flabbergasted.

Abigail leaned close to the phone. “Are you positive about this? A hundred percent sure?”

“I am,” Donna answered. “My sister was a virgin when she got with Eren’s dad. He also…um, there’s a resemblance, you could say. It’s part of why they had to leave. There’s no doubt about it.”

“What’s this mystery man’s name?” Abigail asked.

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