L

    By the time Kyren and his men finally left their rooms and came downstairs, it was night already, and dinner was ready.

    The dining room was dimly lit withntern-style sconces that cast soft amber shadows across the long dining table. A firece crackled in the far corner, offering some warmth to the unusually chilly evening. Eleven members of the Hollow Kin filled the left side of the table while Kyren, ever fashionably out of ce, sat at the head, draped in a sleek ck dinner jacket, somehow looking both regal and annoyed.

    Ramsey sat to my left, his hand casually brushing against mine beneath the table. Nanny, straight-backed and suspicious as always, nked my right like an overprotective lioness, her eyes scanning every bite and gesture I made.

    We ate in rtive silence, and I was d about that. I didn''t want to be forced into small talk about anything. Besides that, I noticed Kyren didn''t look happy.

    Earlier, Ramsey had told me he''d been horrified when he was told he''d have to share a room with someone. We only had eight rooms avable. Ramsey and I would stay in one, and since Nanny couldn''t stay with a man in any of the rooms, she had to retain hers.

    The people from Hollow Kin had no other choice but to stay two in a room. It was either that or staying in a hotel, and Kyren felt that hotels would not provide the kind of privacy they wanted.

    Most of the Hollow Kin members had changed from their weird cloaks to regr clothes now, and they looked different and younger than before.

    "That was a good meal," one of the council members said with a small smile. "Did you make it yourself, Luna L?"

    Before I could respond, Nanny beat me to it. "Of course not. We have hired a kitchen to provide meals for the duration of your stay. Luna L is pregnant and should not be making food for anyone, let alone arge group like yours."

    The man stared at Nanny quietly, then chuckled. "I didn''t ask that with malicious intent, High Priestess. I was curious to know how she managed. I am sorry if it came out that way."

    "I think you must have mistaken my reply and a reaction to whatever trigger you think you sent. I assure you, I didn''t think you were asking with malicious intent."

    The man stared at Nanny for a minute before looking away. I reached for my ss of water, taking a sip to hide theughter that bubbled to my throat.

    "You had all the time in the world to prepare for our arrival and make better preparations for our amodation, Alpha Ramsey. Forcing me to share a room with my uncle…" Kyren said, bitterly shaking his head, "It''s torture. He snores loudly, not to mention, I have to lie on the same bed with him."

    "I''m sorry, Kyren, but since you won''t be staying here for so long, that''s the only solution. I got an earful from my wife about buying this house in the first ce. I wouldn''t want to be scolded again," Ramsey said quietly.

    Kyren''s eyes darted to me before he sighed and looked away. "You don''t have to shove it in our faces that you love your mate. We see it and we hear you both." He sucked his teeth, ring at Ramsey again. "Mates!"

    I took a sip of my sparkling water—pregnancy had eliminated wine from my evening routine—and met his gaze directly. "You don''t have a mate, Kyren? Why?"

    Several of the council members chuckled at my directness, though I noticed they kept ncing at my stomach with curiosity. The twins had be increasingly activetely, and I often had to pause mid-conversation when they decided to practice their martial arts.

    "I haven''t found the right one yet," he murmured grudgingly. "I spent the early part of my years travelling and touring the human world. I didn''te back to Hollow Mountain until about three years ago to prepare myself for taking over when my father dies."

    "You''re not being pressured into taking a wife then?" Ramsey asked.

    "There''s nothing to pressure me about. We don''t have many women in Hollow Kin, and the number of women being born is insufficient. So, it''s up to me to mingle with Lycan women from other packs and find my mate, if I''m lucky or find a girl from a good family and make her my mate. We''re not crazy about the mate bonds like werewolves," Kyren said.

    "You seem not to like werewolves?" I asked, meeting and holding his gaze. "I also heard you referred to me as that ''werewolf woman''. Why?"

    "Lycans and werewolves are different, Luna L. In the natural order of things, every animal should be with its family. Mate and marry within its family. This continuous cross-switching would weaken the natural order. If we continue to encourage union between werewolves and Lycans, in a few years, we won''t have pure Lycans or pure werewolves. Ask other supernatural creatures like witches and vampires how that turned out for them."

    "Most of these bonds are always from the Moon Goddess herself, Kyren," I retorted. "Are you now asking the people to go against her?"

    "If they want to," Kyren shrugged. "I told you, we''re not big on the Moon Goddess thingy. We acknowledge her, but we don''t expect herws to affect our lives. Marriages among Lycans are strategic and purposeful. There''s no such thing as marrying for love either. That is overrated."

    No wonder Ramsey had been ready to walk out of our mate bond from the beginning. It was the Lycan mentality.

    "Long ago," Kyren continued, "witches, vampires and Faes had a position on the Hollow Kin council, now they don''t. They''ve fallen so far from the natural order of things that they depend on us for their livelihood. Every member on the Hollow Kin is a Lycan, but we''ll make an exception for you and Alpha Ramsey."

    Ramseyughed dryly, looking up at Kyren. "You''re not doing us a favour, Kyren. We would have remained married and mated regardless of your verdict, I hope you know that."

    Kyren red at Ramsey. "Are we back to a first-name basis now? Have you no regard for my position as the Hollow Kin Leader?"

    "You called me Ramsey when you first arrived," Ramsey shrugged. "And since we''re around the same age…"

    "I''m two years older than you, Ramsey, just because we were acquainted before today doesn''t give you the right…"

    "Both of you were acquainted?" I asked, surprised. "How? When?"

    Ramsey looked away from Kyren and went back to his meal. Both of them ignored me. Since we were here, I didn''t want to push it, but I made a note to ask Ramsey about itter.

    "Speaking of cooperation," Kyren said after a while, setting down his wine ss, "we need to discuss tomorrow''s agenda. We''ve arranged a meeting with the local human authorities—the FBI field office, specifically."

    Ramsey looked up from his meal with a frown. "FBI involvementplicates things significantly."

    "Which is precisely why we need to get ahead of it," another council member interjected. "The humans are already developing theories thate dangerously close to the truth. We need to guide their investigation toward more... mundane exnations."

    "And how exactly do you propose we do that?" I asked.

    Kyren leaned back in his chair, his expression growing more serious. "We work with them directly. Openly. I think it''s only fair that we reveal a part of us since this would be the second time we would be doing so since we agreed."

    "That''s a dangerous game," Ramsey said quietly. "What if they start asking questions we can''t answer without revealing too much?"

    "We don''t need to answer all their questions, and, in the beginning, we''d already agreed to share resources with both worlds, nothing more than that. Don''t worry."

    "So, what next?" I asked, reaching for a grape.

    "They''ve agreed to work with us under regted conditions," Kyren said.

    "Regted conditions?" I frowned. "What''s that?"

    "The authorities have agreed to provide us with a historian professor who specialises in local folklore and unexined phenomena. She''ll be our front woman to ess certain human organisations, as we do not want to reveal ourselves to anyone except the government. In return, we''ll give them ess to our resources and some shared data."

    Ramsey''s brow lifted. "And you trust the humans with that level of intel?"

    Kyren smirked. "It''s not a matter of trust. It''s a matter of necessity. The killings are escting, and the humans have more surveince reach than we do here. And to navigate their…bureaucracy," he drawled with disdain, "that''s where the history professores in."

    I felt a chill run down my spine even before I asked the question. "Is this human professor Delia Piers?"

    Kyren nodded, apparently pleased by my knowledge. "You''ve done your research. She has impressive knowledge about our world and has been advocating for a more thorough investigation into these killings."

    "The same Delia who went viralst week for outing werewolves in a dramatic livestream, crying into the camera while standing over decapitated corpses. Really? That''s who you want to work with?"