“Which are?” My heart thrummed in my chest even though I tried calming it down.
“Either you’re a daughter that King Corey hid or you’re supposed to be dead.” His eyes stayed on my face.
I couldn’t believe that he already pegged exactly who I was. “Why couldn’t it be K...” I couldn’t force my lips to use the title before his name. “Darren?”
“Because he doesn’t have the auburn coat.”
“But he’s the king.” Mason’s forehead creased. “So why doesn’t he?”
“That’s what all the alphas have asked for the last twelve years.” He searched for something within me. “Destiny has a funny way of making sure the truth gets told eventually.”
He had helped me and deserved to know exactly what he stepped in. “Mr. Lockly…”
“It’s James to you.” His words were soft, and a small smile spread across his face. “You are one of my own now.”
To be so easily accepted surprised me. “Okay, James.” My heart seemed to thaw a little bit more. “I’m King Corey and Queen Sarafina’s daughter.”
“You’ve been alive all these years?” His breath caught as if he hadn’t expected to hear the words.
“Yes, I’ve been in hiding.” Now that I started telling the truth, it was just rolling out of me. The second time wasn’t quite as difficult as it was with Mason.
As I thought of him, he moved over and took my hand. “If you aren’t ready to tell him, we can wait.”
“No, it’s fine.” Hopefully, this would be the last time we had to discuss it.
“Why would you hide?” James shook his head as he glanced toward the woods. “You were meant to rule.”
I opened my mouth to say the words, but they were lodged in my throat.
“Darren is the reason why her parents died.” The words sounded like they scratched Mason’s throat as if it was hard for him to say them.
“Wait.” James startled back and sucked in a breath. “When you say he’s the reason why, what do you mean.”
“He’s the one who orchestrated my and my parents’ deaths.” My emotions were all over the place. I had never planned on telling anyone, and in the past twenty-four hours, I’d told two people.
“So that’s why you struggled when submitting to me.” James blew out a long breath and began to pace in front of us. “That’s not right. I need to submit to you.”
“No.” The word was spoken louder than I intended. “We can’t.” I wouldn’t be able to force myself to submit again. I felt it in my blood. In fact, I wanted to challenge him for his spot. “My uncle can’t know I’m alive. He’ll come finish what he started.”
“There’s no way in hell I’d let that bastard hurt you.” Mason turned and faced me. “If that’s what you want…”
“This was a mistake.” I should’ve known and run from here. “I don’t want that.”
“Then, okay.” Mason nodded and stepped closer to me. He placed his finger under my chin, lifting my face so I’d look him in the eye. “We do whatever you want.”
“But…” James turned toward me again.
“I lost my family over it.” He had to understand. “I don’t want to lose anyone else.”
The tension thickened between us. I wasn’t sure what he was going to do.
“Dad, it’s not your decision.” Mason wrapped an arm around me and stared his dad down. “It’s hers.”
“This is my pack.” James pointed in the direction where all the other houses resided. “I can’t let one person outweigh the others.”
Whether I liked it or not, I respected his argument. “You’re right. And I unfairly put you in an uncomfortable situation.” I wished I’d known all this before now. “Had I known that I had a red coat and what the implications were, I never would have put you in a situation like this. So for that, I’m sorry.” I took a step toward him. “Do you want to denounce me, or should I part from you.” Maybe if I rushed home, I could talk Kassie into letting me be part of their pack. That was going to be the best bet I had now.
“No, you can’t.” Mason turned me toward him. “He’ll know. That was the whole point of all this.”
“What are you two talking about?” James squinted and tilted his head.
“The king can sense every alpha. That’s why I asked if you would take her in.” Mason’s jaw tensed. “I thought you would be willing to help my mate.”
“That’s not fair.” James huffed and shook his head. “I do want to help her.”
“Stop fighting with him.” He didn’t realize how lucky he was. “He’s your father. He loves you, but he has to think of the pack, too. I get it.”
“You’re my pack too now. We’ll figure something out.” James reached over and grabbed his son’s shoulders, lowering his head to look Mason in the eye. “Of course I care about her. She’s part of our family now. We just have to be careful.”
The word family rang in my ears. I hadn’t thought of it that way. It both terrified and excited me. “There’s gotta be another way.” All this was causing too much drama for me.
“It shocked me.” James rubbed his eyes and sighed. “I overreacted, and I do believe you when you said that you had no clue.”
“I’d rather no one else know if possible.” I bit my bottom lip as I thought through it. “I mean, other than your wife, that is.”
“She doesn’t need to know either.” James reached for my free hand. “She’s got too much other stuff on her mind, and I agree this needs to be kept a secret. No running with the rest of the pack.”
“That’s fine. She can run with me.” Mason’s face spread into a huge smile. “We’ll stay clear of the others.”
“I’m sure you will.” James rolled his eyes.
This conversation suddenly turned awkward. “Are you sure? I truly don’t want to impose.”
“It’s fine.” He headed toward
