Page 13 of Secret Heir's Return

“Well,” Diana said and pursed her lips. “I’m fairly certain that he came with them before, too. He had no family in the pack. Not like the others did.”

I nodded again. “Yes, Dad was a rogue, but he joined the pack later after Ono Chios was more established as the Alpha. He came in as an omega, working his way up as Chios’s personal valet.”

Diana nodded again. “Yes, I remember. That was around the time that you were born, but I never knew who your mother was.”

“She was a rogue,” I answered quickly. The lie my parents had trained me to tell fell from my lips despite the years since having said it. “She dropped me off with him and left.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Diana offered. “Well, I hope your father doesn’t have an issue with you being Liberty’s mate. I’d hate for you to have to lose your only family.”

I folded my hands in my lap, nodding. “He’ll come around. All he needs is time. He understands the mate bond is out of our control.”

“And how do you feel about the mate bond to our daughter?” Orion asked. “Any hard feelings on your end? Can’t imagine your dad raised you to like us.”

“I’m my own man,” I answered. “While, yes, Dad raised me with some very low opinions of you both, I can form my own thoughts and beliefs. I am more than happy with the fate’s choice in a mate for me.”

“That’s good to hear,” Diana noted and smiled at me.

“Gag,” Brady chimed in beside me.

Diana shook her head at her son. “Someday it’s going to be you in his position. You just wait.”

“I’m just giving him a hard time,” Brady laughed. “I’m feeling a tad bit jealous as well. I told Lib about my desire to be the first to find my mate. She beat me to something yet again.”

“The fates decide when we meet our match, son,” Orion said with a squeeze of his mate’s hand. “Or your mate decides at the last minute after hiding from you.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Brady uttered. “So, should we get him his own room? Or do you think Lib will be okay with him bunking with her?”

“We have no available rooms,” Diana replied. “Why wouldn’t your sister be okay with sharing her room with her mate? I saw the mark. I doubt that happened while she was out on patrol with you.”

“She’s already marked?” Orion asked, then looked at me. “How long have you two known you were mates?”

I chuckled nervously. “We actually found out last night. The frenzy hit us as we locked eyes and I got ahead of myself and marked her.”

“She hasn’t marked you yet?” Orion asked, leaning forward to sniff me.

“No, sir, I’m on her time with that.”

Orion frowned, then chuckled. “On her time is right. You’re going to be on her time for the rest of your life. Trust me.” He wrapped his arms around Diana, and she laughed back at him.

Brady stood up then, stretching his arms over his head. “Well, how about I show you around the packhouse before my parents make us sick with their little PDA habit?”

His parents both laughed as I followed him out the door.

“I figured you may have had enough bonding time with the parent in laws. They can be a little insufferable once they get going about how much in love they are and how it almost didn’t happen.”

“How did it almost not happen?” I asked, confused by his words.

“Because Mom didn’t let Dad know she was his real mate until the Chios Alpha nearly killed him.”

“What? I thought he knew all along. That’s what my dad told me.”

Brady laughed. “No, Mom had this big plan to run away from the pack and become a witch in the woods. She kept her scent hidden so no one would know just how strong her magic was; and since her scent was blocked, Dad did not know she was the real deal. Not until she released the spell when he was ready to give up all hope.”

I was surprised by the story, wondering what else Dad could have gotten wrong about that time.

“Dad almost took Chios’s sister as his chosen mate, too,” Brady continued. My head jerked up to look at him in surprise.

Mom? Orion was going to take her as a chosen mate? How could I not have known about this? It was true that Mom and Dad had kept their mate bond secret. Mom marked Dad, but she never allowed him to mark her. Would she have really taken another mate over Dad?

---