The lead Sentinel looked at my stubborn, disbelieving face and spoke in a tone that was half lecture, half mockery:
"Young wolf, perhaps look within yourself for answers. You must have failed in your duties to him. Whether it's your uncle or your own sire—if an Alpha is displeased with his heir, it's his right to bestow his territory and succession upon whomever he chooses."
A crack split through my thoughts like lightning.
My own sire?
I turned sharply toward Alaric Ravenhart, and a terrifying possibility began to take root in my mind.
I was forcibly removed from the estate I had called home for over twenty years.
As they escorted me out, I slipped away unnoticed with something Alaric had left behind—the remnants of a blood-herb pipe he'd been smoking.
The moment I passed through the territory gates, I rushed to the Healer's Hall and retrieved the blood sample my uncle had stored there. Then I went straight to the Bloodline Verification Chamber.
The wait for results stretched my nerves to breaking.
My uncle had lived his entire life with honor and restraint. Despite controlling vast territories and tribute networks, he never indulged in excess.