Page 64 of Redeeming His Omega Mate

I leaned back in my chair, unfazed. “Tell me, would my father have invited you to his chambers to share a meal and discuss peace?”

His lips curled in disdain. “That’s why you called me here? To talk peace? You must be out of your goddamn mind if you think I’d ever agree to that.”

“So what then?” I asked, voice steady. “You’d rather we slaughter each other until there’s nothing left?”

His sneer deepened. “It won’t come to that,” he said darkly. “Because I’m going to kill you first and take this pack for myself.”

His threat hung in the air between us. We stared each other down, neither of us breaking gaze first. Then, a knock at the door shattered the tension.

Tala. I thought. Perfect timing.

I pushed back my chair and stood. “Help yourself to some pork,” I said, glancing at the table. “Everyone loves pork.”

He didn’t respond, his cold stare tracking my every move as I crossed the room. I opened the door, and sure enough, Tala stood there, her expression guarded.

“You sent for me,” she said, her tone even as she avoided my gaze.

There was still an unresolved conversation hanging between us about the fact that she had kept my daughter a secret for seven years, and I’d found out through Serena, of all people. But now wasn’t the time to address it. Right now, we had bigger things to deal with.

“I’m here with the rogue leader,” I said quietly. “I could use your diplomatic skills.”

Her brows lifted slightly. “The rogue leader?”

I sighed. “I’m trying to make peace.”

Stepping aside, I let her look inside. But as soon as her eyes landed on the man by the table, her entire body went rigid. Shock flickered across her face.

The rogue leader stiffened as well, his own expression mirroring hers.

“Tala?” I asked, frowning at the palpable tension between them. “What’s going on?”

She barely seemed to hear me. Her voice came out in a whisper as if the words had been stolen by disbelief.

“Damian…” she breathed. “That’s my brother.”

Chapter 25

Tala

The air around me went still as I met the rogue leader’s gaze. My heart slammed against my ribs, my vision blurring at the edges as recognition tore through me.

No. I thought at first. It wasn’t possible. My brother had died that night. He went back to save our parents, and I never saw him again.

But unless my mind was playing tricks on me, unless this was some cruel hallucination, he was right there. Alive.

“Ryker?” His name slipped from my lips, barely a whisper, as tears burned in my eyes.

I saw the way his body tensed, the way his gaze swept over me, confusion flickering in his dark eyes.

“Tala?”

The room tilted, and my knees threatened to give out. Shock crashed into me like a tidal wave, shaking me to my core.

My brother was alive.

He was right in front of me in flesh and blood, shattering the belief I had for years that he was nothing more than a ghost lost to war.

Memories crashed into me all at once. The way he used to rufflemy hair. The way he stood between me and the bullies at school. The last time I saw him, he made a promise to come back for me. But he never did.

---