Chapter 42

The heavy oak door creaked open, revealing Elroy's office. Sunlight streamed through the single window, illuminating shelves lined with leather-bound tomes and casting a warm glow on the polished mahogany desk. It wasn’t a huge space like the library, and something about being able to see the whole room from where I stood made me feel a little less exposed.

It also felt cozier, more personal—it felt like being allowed entry to a sanctuary. My heart skipped a beat as Elroy's hand brushed my lower back, guiding me inside.

"Welcome to our new workspace," he said, his deep voice sending a shiver down my spine. "At least for the next few days. A little more secure than the library, wouldn’t you say?”

I swallowed hard, forcing myself to step away from his touch. My wolf whined in protest as I tried to put some emotional distance between us, but after last night's revelations and the intensity of our connection, I knew I needed to regain some perspective.

"It's certainly more private," I admitted, my eyes darting to the armed guards visible through the open door. "I…have to admit, I do feel better being here.”

Elroy nodded, seeming pleased by that. “Good. The room across the hall is getting cleared out to be your office, so you’ll have some private space too if you feel like you need it.”

My lips quirked up a little. “Oh, I’m a big believer in the sanctity of space,” I said. “My dad thought it was an Alpha thing, some territorial instinct, but I’m pretty sure that’s just how the Harp women are.”

Elroy smiled a little, taking his seat behind the desk. "I’ll keep that in mind,” he half-joked. “The Pearl Room is yours by pack law, for what it’s worth.”

“Pack law?” I asked, eyebrows shooting up.

“Yep,” Elroy said. “The manor as a whole is legally pack property, but living spaces are individually owned. Technically this whole hallway belongs to us as a joint entity, but the Pearl and Ruby rooms can legally only be owned by one person.”

“That’s so interesting,” I said, taking a moment to think about it. I hadn’t considered the legalities of property ownership when the high-ranking members all lived in the same building.

“The rule was made generations ago,” Elroy shrugged. “There have been some notoriously contemptuous marriages in our pack’s history, so I guess they decided untouchable spaces was a way to keep the peace.”

“A good way, too,” I agreed, even though I couldn’t imagine a marriage being so bad the couple would have to legally split their property without ending the marriage. It was probably just because I grew up watching my mom and dad love each other the way they did, but after what I’d learned the night before about Elroy’s parent’s relationship I didn’t really want to say that out loud.

Elroy cleared his throat, snapping my gaze back to him. “Speak of, uh, harmony in marriages, I want to answer your questions. About my family, I mean—I know last night was a lot, but I’m sure you’ve already got a few burning questions by now, right?”

My breath caught in my throat. I’d assumed he’d bring it up again, but for him to let me control the conversation was an olive branch I hadn’t expected. This was my chance to unravel the mystery of the prophecy, to finally understand my role in all of this.

It wouldn’t be hard to bring it up, just mention I overheard it at Rita’s banquet, act casual, watch his reaction…but I didn’t. I didn’t want to. With a sinking feeling I realized I wanted more time like this.

Because if the prophecy really did exist, and all signs so far pointed that it did, then I would never be able to forgive this man.

Instead, I heard myself say, "Tell me about you and Astor. Why is there so much tension between you two?"

Elroy's expression darkened, and for a moment, I feared I'd overstepped. But then he leaned back in his chair, a weary sigh escaping his lips.

"It's a long and complicated story," he began, his eyes flickering with a mix of sadness and frustration as he began to speak. "You know I lived with my mother exclusively until I presented?”

“Yes, Iris told me,” I said.

“Well, all that time Astor had our father to himself. It was like I didn’t even exist, and he was basically an only child. All of father’s attention, all his efforts, went into him.

“When I presented as an Alpha, it changed everything. Suddenly my father was interested in me, more or less discarding Astor in favor of me, so of course as a kid that grew a lot of resentment. I think it killed something in him when I was named successor.”

My brows pinched, imagining a young Astor cast to the side like a used toy and forced to watch as everything that he’d been promised was given to the brother he’d never met.

“Your father was an ass,” I said. Elroy snorted.

“You don’t know the half of it,” he said. “Well, you do now, I guess. But Astor was still too young to see that, so instead of hating our father he pointed all his rage at me.”

“That’s so fucked,” I said emphatically. My baby was still smaller than a kidney bean and I couldn’t imagine doing something so vile to them. I was glad Elroy’s father was already dead, because I couldn’t promise I wouldn’t kill him myself for so completely failing both of his boys.

“He never grew out of it,” Elroy continued. “Like I said, I was the illegitimate bastard child, and in Astor's eyes that should have disqualified me from leadership."

I leaned forward, intrigued despite myself. "But it didn't?"

"No," Elroy shook his head. "It should have, but there’s technically no law against it and my Alpha was obviously the stronger of the two.”

My heart sunk, wondering if this was yet another thing related to the prophecy. Elroy was a child of both Moonshadow and Eclipse, with a powerful wolf, and Elroy’s father had clearly prioritized that over the son he actually raised… My wolf stirred uneasily within me, sensing the weight of unspoken truths.

"Our relationship was strained from the start," Elroy continued, his fingers drumming lightly on the desk. "But it truly fell apart when I took over the pack."

I bit my lip, hesitating before asking the question that had been on my mind since I'd first heard the rumors. "Is that... is that because of what happened to your father?"

Elroy's gaze sharpened, and for a moment, I feared I'd crossed a line. But then he leaned back, a bitter smile twisting his lips.

"You mean the rumor that I killed him?" he asked, his tone deceptively light.

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.

"No, Olivia," Elroy said softly. "I didn't kill my father. But someone did."

He paused, his eyes meeting mine with an intensity that made my breath catch. "It was my mother."

I stared across the desk at him, mouth hanging open. My mind stalled for a long moment, refusing to compute what he'd said. Apothecary Iris, strong and gentle, an apothecary who had dedicated her life to healing, snapping a man's neck in rage?

I shook my head, trying to reconcile the image of the kind, nurturing Iris I knew with the woman Elroy was describing. The gentle healer who had saved my life a decade ago, the supportive mother-in-law I knew today, had blurred the line between healer and killer, and I couldn’t blame her one bit.

She had been imprisoned for over thirty years. Forced to carry, birth, and raise a child all while her tormenters waited just outside the door to take him away. And then she spent at least another decade all alone, in that tower without even her child, only able to hope and pray that he was at least safe.

I didn’t need my wolf to tell me I would have killed that man too. Elroy was looking at me like he was waiting for my reaction, almost anxious, like he thought I would treat Iris differently now that I knew. I looked him dead in the eye and spoke seriously.

“Good for her.”