The Mate He Gave Away

Liara Vance stands in the black market arena, barefoot and shackled, her expression calm while the auctioneer calls out her fertility index. The Serpent King Kale Vireth claims her for 9.8 million credits. She bears him triplets—Cason, Rowan, and Nico—and becomes his irreplaceable partner, the only Omega who can soothe him during his feral heat. But at the annual mate reconfirmation ceremony, Kale holds another Omega, Isla Saran, in his arms and announces: Liara is no longer his mate. He calls her nothing but a breeding vessel. The room waits for her to crumble. She doesn't.

Kale orders her transferred to his missing brother Darius, the feared war god who vanished during the northern campaign. The blood scroll cracks her name from Kale's line and binds her to Darius instead. The next morning, servants strip her quarters. Isla issues an eviction order. Ayla tears out her herb garden. Isla picks up a toy Kale once carved for the children and smashes it to pieces. By sunset, Liara stands outside the palace gates with nothing. Then a horn sounds. Elite royal guards arrive and escort her to Darius's estate, which has sat silent and dusty for years. The moment she steps forward, the gates swing open. Golden light explodes. Serpent runes ignite. Fountains awaken. The entire palace awakens—the estate recognizes its mistress. Inside, she finds a painting of herself and the triplets she never saw before, wooden toys carved by Darius, and a sealed letter addressed to her. He writes that he always feared Kale would fail her, that Kale mistakes possession for love. But before she can finish reading, Isla corners her children. Liara throws herself in front of her son, taking the blow meant for him. Thousands of miles away, a scarred hand tightens around a sword. Darius Vireth, the lost prince, feels the bond mark ignite on his wrist—fear, pain, his mate in danger. The fleet he has guarded for five years finally turns toward home. The triplets were never Kale's. They were always his.