Page 48 of A Crown of Fates

“And what is that?” I expect her to call me out on any of the many things I’ve done wrong over the last few years, but instead, her words become the next blow to my already fractured psyche.

“What you’ve yet to figure out on your own is that you’re more god than wolf, Theo.”

Shock fills me, spreading like wildfire through my veins, igniting emotions I haven’t allowed myself to feel in what seems like forever. But before I can let myself hope that thisinformation might help me get my mate back, I need to know more.

“What does that mean exactly?”

She tilts her head, her tone soft but firm, one that leaves no room for doubt. “The answer to that is meant for another day, when we have more time to unravel the intricacies of your heritage. For now, you just need to know that by not understanding who you truly are, you were left susceptible to Orix,” she replies, her words cloaked in a quiet urgency. “He was a lower god, a bastard with no family, and that left a chip on his shoulder. Instead of creating a legacy of his own, he chose a path of terror, lashing out, spreading misery like a disease. For thousands of years, he manipulated, broke, and devastated those around him. Until the other gods had enough. They stripped him of his power, banishing him to the shadows, a place between realms where only darkness resides.”

I shake my head, the information swirling in my mind, trying to find a place to settle. “No, he’s still plenty powerful. He’s in my head. He appears to me whenever he feels like it. Whatever the other gods thought they did, they failed.”

Elyn remains steadfast. “No, Theo. They succeeded. They stole his power, and he’s been tied to the shadow realm ever since—that’s where lost souls reside. Unfortunately, as powerless as Orix is, he’s just as cunning. He knew of your existence and targeted people to ruin you so that your soul would come to him. He broke you so he could attach himself to you, stealing your power for himself.”

My shoulders slump under the weight of her revelation, the gravity of the truth pulling me down, grounding me in the depths of my own failure and ignorance. How could he have been taking my power—a power I never even knew I possessed? Though as Elyn’s words sink deeper, my denial fades, replacedby a cold, steely acceptance, a dark melody that resonates with the pieces of my soul I’d long since buried.

The hold on my emotions shatters, and I’m left exposed, raw, drowning in a storm of grief, rage, and vengeance that threatens to consume me. I grip the edges of the table, my knuckles whitening, as a single, burning desire takes hold.

Elyn’s gaze sharpens, her voice a challenge that cuts through the chaos within me. “Are you ready to reclaim your power, Alpha King Theo?”

I nod, the motion small but filled with determination as I try not to focus on everything I’ve lost. Instead, my thoughts race with all that I’m prepared to do to take everything back.

A slow, knowing smile curves her lips. “Good,” she says with satisfaction. “Because I have a plan. One your wolf is going to love.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

ESTEE

Theo, where are you?

Orix left me to suffer alone, and while I thought I had him right where I wanted, the passing hours have begun to blend into an agonizing haze. Before there was only silence when he was gone, now the emptiness is punctuated by the howls of broken souls that haunt the darkness around me. Their mournful cries echo, filling the quiet with despair.

They sing a melody of suffering, a reminder that I’m as trapped in this misery as they are, alone in a way I never thought possible. Their grief tugs at something deep within me, tempting me to surrender, to sink with them. There’s a twisted beauty in it, a fragile, haunting allure to simply giving up.

Maybe it would be easier. Easier than hoping. Easier than waiting, clinging to the fraying thread of a bond I don’t even know if Theo can feel while I’m here. A darkness as thick as death presses in around me, and I’m so, so tired. My strength seeps away with every drop of blood that drips from my body, pooling onto the stone beneath me, swallowed whole by this wretched realm.

The pull of oblivion is so strong that I begin to give myself over, sinking deeper into that endless void. But just as I’m aboutto let go, a spark flares within me, fragile yet defiant—a glint of light in this suffocating darkness.

Theo.

That tether, faint and almost indistinguishable, flickers within my mind, a pulse of life that refuses to extinguish. The bond I’d once doubted and pushed away now feels like my only salvation, my only reason to hold on. I can’t explain it, I don’t even fully understand it, but I feel him—somewhere out there, searching, desperate, determined. It’s a weak, unwinding piece of thread, but it’s real. It’shim.

With a shuddering breath, I reach out, pouring every ounce of strength I have left into that fragile bond. My silent plea becomes a scream in my mind, aching and desperate.

Please, Theo. I know you can find me. I’m right here. Don’t give up on me.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

THEO

It’s as if I’ve been blind all my life, and I’m only now seeing the world for what it truly is. My wolf is calmer than he’s ever been, even in our happiest moments, a steady, silent guardian within me. And the fear that once controlled me—the terror of losing Estee—is gone. There’s only the certainty that I will have her back. Orix can’t and won’t keep her from me. Not now that I know where she is, and not once I reclaim the power he’s stolen from me.

A part of me knows this won’t be easy. But that dread of failure has faded into resolve. The only thing that concerns me now is taking back what’s mine.

“Don’t be greedy, boy,” Elyn snaps, as if reading my thoughts. Her sharp eyes pierce me as we stand in my office, back at the castle. “The shadow realm isn’t your playground. You’re not strong enough to fight him there. Find Estee and return as quickly as possible. That’s all you’re supposed to do.”

That’s what she’s told me already, but if I get the chance to sink my claws into Orix, I make no promises that I won’t. Though, I don’t admit that to her.

“My mate is always my priority,” I state, having to force myself to keep the bite out of my tone. “I won’t put her at risk for selfish gain.”

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