Wolf's Claim (The Royal Heir #3) - Jen L. Grey Page 0,68

my neck.

Obviously, whoever it was, wasn't going to leave. I kept my eyes closed as the pain seeped back into my consciousness. I listened and almost cried with relief when I heard the second heartbeat inside me. I'd been so afraid I might have lost it. No matter what, I had to escape before I did.

"Holy shit! I can't believe this." Warm, strong hands grabbed my arms and gently turned me over, moving the hair out of my face.

My eyes cracked open once I recognized the accent. "King Adelmo?" Of course, he'd be involved.

"Yes, it's me." He huffed as his hands ran over my body, taking inventory. "No wonder they didn't want me down here."

"What do you mean?" My words were thick with pain and sleep.

"We've got to get you out of here."

I opened my eyes to find him glancing around the room, looking for some backdoor exit. I almost wanted to laugh, but that would hurt too much. Thankfully, my wolf side was kicking into gear, and I was healing. "Is this some kind of trick or mind game?"

"What? No." His gray eyes lightened, and his head shook from side to side. "I promise, I didn't know this was going to happen."

His smell stayed the same, and his heartbeat didn't increase. He was telling the truth for now.

I slowly raised myself to a sitting position. "Do you honestly expect me to trust you after finding out you helped kill my father?"

"My God." His mouth dropped open. "Louis told you."

"Yes, he did." What the hell was he expecting? "He told us when Atlanta’s alpha, Brent, told me that he was going to start the process to dethrone me." I had a feeling he and Brent knew each other well.

"Look, I didn't know Darren planned to kill your dad." He lifted both hands in the air. "He asked if I would be interested in expanding my monarchy. He wanted to talk about collaborating so my kingdom had some influence in the U.S. Had I known what collaborating truly meant, I would've never asked for the impromptu meeting that weekend."

"Wait, that wasn't planned?" Hell, I’d been so young; I didn't really know our schedules or even care at the time.

"No, I called it last minute saying I was visiting from out of town." He ran a hand through his hair. "Of course, I knew he'd come. He always wanted an excuse to go to the Hamptons, but I'm sure you know that."

"I do." I scooted so my back was against the wall, helping prop me up. I didn't want to say too much and discourage him from coming clean.

"Anyway, I was shocked when your dad and the rest of you ran out the door." His eyes were glassy with tears. "And within twenty minutes, Darren was telling me that you all were dead and he appreciated my assistance on handling the situation."

That sounded like something my pompous ass of an uncle would say.

"And then he blackmailed me, claiming he'd tell the world what I'd done if I didn't give him access to whatever he needed." He pinched the bridge of his nose and huffed. "I've always lived with the guilt of that night."

"Well, your son appears to think it was more involved than that." Even though I hated to admit it, everything seemed to prove true. "So what are you doing here now? And why are you confessing to me? You made it pretty clear the way you felt about me."

"Richard called me in." He took a deep breath. "He said they needed help cleaning up a matter and brought up the pictures he had of me visiting with your father before he died. Hell, they even hired Europeans to run him off the road. They have it all locked up like I orchestrated the whole thing, and then my son willingly stayed with you. I'm sorry, but your family has manipulated and blackmailed me for the past thirteen years."

"No, my family didn't. They died." Did he think he'd get my sympathy for that? "My uncle and his family did. Did you ever think that Louis might not want to lead and that he might want to be here with his mate?"

"His mate?" King Adelmo's body seemed to sag. "It's that girl you’re always with, isn’t it?"

I hadn't meant for it to slip. It wasn't my news to share, but hell, we were having a heart to heart.

Two pairs of footsteps pounded on the stairs.

"Shit, I'm not supposed to be down here."