Wolf's Claim (The Royal Heir #3) - Jen L. Grey Page 0,30

because, even though I'd made my choice, I hadn't really said it out loud. This was the last step I had to do in order to leave my lineage behind."

"You think this makes everything okay?" Kassie took a step in his direction.

"He saved my life." I couldn't just turn my back on him no matter how angry I was.

It could've been a convenience thing. Mason's whole body was shaking at this point.

Either way, I couldn't live with myself if I didn't at least give him a chance. Sometimes, people could change. He never had to tell us if he didn't want to.

"He's my mate, and I don't buy that shit." Ella's face was tense with pure agony written across it. "You lying, opportunistic piece of shit." Her hands clenched like she was ready to beat the shit out of him. "Did you force the bond on us too?"

"What?" His eyes widened, and he lifted both hands in the air. "God, no. You know I’m not lying. You’d smell it if I was. You’re just hurt, and I don’t blame you."

"Hey." Mona glanced at Kassie. "Ella, why don't we go into the other room and talk for a second. I think you need a minute before you do something you’ll regret."

"What? No." Ella shook her head, making her hair whip from side to side. "I won't regret anything I do to this asshole."

I'm kind of on the same page as her. Mason took another step toward him.

Stop letting your emotions drive this. I was hurt the same as them, but this might be an opportunity. Maybe we could actually be ahead of the game.

"Why are you telling us this now?" We had to figure out if he was sincere or playing the game. "What changed?"

"I'm afraid my dad might be involved." He took a deep breath and glanced at his shirt coated in blood. "Why else would the alphas be listening to your cousin?"

"When did you come to that conclusion?" Mason's shoulders stayed tensed, but the quivering stopped.

"I'm not sure if he is, but after him busting into the house and how you all accepted me with open arms. It's been weighing on me." Louis took a deep breath without wincing.

His wolf healing was in full force. I wasn't quite sure if I was glad or pissed.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ella's voice cracked with pain.

"Even though I had nothing to do with King Corey's and Queen Serafina's deaths, I was afraid of how you'd react." Louis licked his lips, wincing when he tasted his blood. "I mean, look at how this is going.”

"Don't even try to get sympathy," Ella growled the words. “If you’d just told us from the start ...”

"So, what were you supposed to do while staying with us?" Tommy leaned against the door frame, staring Louis down.

"Nothing really. Just tell him what you all were doing and how your reign was going." Louis glanced at the ground. "Apparently, he and Darren had some kind of agreement, but it didn't pan out. He's wanting to take over the United States wolves as well as his own."

"Why should we believe you’re on our side now?" At the end of the day, that's what we needed to know.

"Honestly, I've got nothing." Louis took a deep breath. "All I can say is," he said as his attention turned to Ella, "that being here with all of you, the love and friendship that you all share together made me realize that I didn't want that kind of throne back home. Each one of you loves each other, and there aren't ulterior motives. Back home, people either wanted to be close to me to get something or for exposure. It's not like that here."

Despite my growing up mainly with Kassie and Mona, I understood where he was coming from. Even at the tender age of six, people had tried manipulating me since I was tied to the crown. My parents tried to protect me, but there was only so much they could do when growing up in the spotlight. Through tragedy, I had gotten a chance to get away from it all and grow up normally. "Well, we got a chance to meet and connect without the throne. That's why I tried to pretend to be human.”

"But even if you hadn't, you wouldn't do something like this." Ella turned her head to me with an expression I couldn't read. "Tell him."

"I can't tell you that." I had to be honest even if it