CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

RICHARD

Richard returned to the palace after an investiture ceremony feeling as if he'd finally turned a corner. Prince Peter Rainier was flying in from Seattle on a private jet tonight. He'd be arriving after eight, and that meant Richard had a couple hours to clean up and get ready for his betrothed. He intended to greet the prince at the airfield with a limo right there on the tarmac.

After that, he had dinner reservations at the most exclusive restaurant in Altaden. Richard was determined to wine and dine his betrothed and show him a wonderful time.

Peter deserved it for putting up with Richard's half-hearted attempts to romance him. The omega prince was understanding—perhaps too understanding. Enough to make Richard feel guilty, and that made him even less comfortable in Peter's company. He'd never once felt that way with Justin, but Justin was gone, and it was past time to let that go. Richard had made his choices. Now he had to live with them.

But living with them didn't mean he had to make Peter's life miserable. Tonight, Richard was turning over a new leaf. In a way, Peter was an inspiration to him, while at the same time, he shamed Richard because he was always so patient and understanding.

Or maybe it was all a careful mask. So what if it was? Peter was a wolf who would make a good mate. That selflessness in a wolf prince wasn't something Richard expected to find. So Richard was determined to stop licking his wounds over Justin and walk the path he'd chosen. A path leading to Prince Peter Rainier.

The parade of cars and SUVs from his security detail and the public ceremony entourage pulled into the grand courtyard, parking close to the palace's front doors. A footman hurried to open the car door for him. Richard smiled at the footman before pausing to straighten his tie and button his overcoat against the cold. New England this year had been sadistically frigid. His breath steamed and billowed as he started toward the extravagant main entrance. The guards bowed and swept open the doors for Richard as he led a small army of security guards, assistants, media crew, and other palace personnel who'd attended the ceremony.

Heath waited alone in the grand foyer, resplendent in his Royal Guard dress uniform. One look into his friend's eyes and a bad feeling immediately settled in Richard's gut, as heavy as lead and twice as cold.

Richard kept his face expressionless and nodded to Heath. "Captain Sieger."

Heath bowed formally. "There's a pressing matter we must discuss, Your Highness."

Richard's wolf tensed in his mind, ears up, alert for some threat to the pack or to Justin, his mate—

No, Peter. Peter was his mate. He snarled it at the wolf and returned his focus to Heath. "What's wrong?"

"Will you do me the honor of walking with me, my prince?" Heath indicated one of the doors leading into the eastern wing.

Richard nodded his assent. He dismissed his security detail and informed the chief of palace staff that he had other business to attend. The chief of staff bowed and assured Richard the palace was ready to receive Prince Rainier and his entourage tonight. He thanked her and followed Heath into the east wing of the palace, down a lavishly appointed corridor. But Heath led him through a side door Richard wasn't sure he'd ever used before. They stepped into a narrow service hallway meant for staff and security.

"This all seems suitably ominous," Richard said wryly. "I needed more suspense in my life."

"Not here," Heath replied curtly and set off down the service corridor.

Well, that was certainly disturbing. Heath's scent was anxious and stressed, as spiny as a cactus.

If Richard remembered correctly, they had to be close to the Royal Guard barracks. Heath surprised him by taking another doorway into yet another service hall. He finally led Richard into some kind of maintenance room filled with huge pipes painted different colors, flow valves, big machinery humming or rumbling away, and air so dry from dehumidifiers that it felt like a desert.

"I hope you're not luring me here to murder me," Richard growled, his patience rapidly thinning. "Regicide is a crime, you know."

"That might even have been funny on a different day," Heath shot back with a dour look.

Heath opened yet another door to a room filled with huge industrial water heaters, boilers, and all kinds of levers, handles, and gauges. This part of the palace was definitely not on the public tour.

A lanky man sat on a folding chair at the far end of the maintenance room. Richard recognized him immediately.

It was the reporter from the airfield, back when Richard had returned from his first excursion to Seattle as a guest of the Rainier Pack. The reporter was scrolling on his phone, rapidly sliding his thumb on the screen. At first, he didn't seem to notice them enter, possibly thanks to all the ambient machinery noise. The constant undercurrent of sound hampered Richard's shifter-enhanced hearing.

Heath cleared his throat. The man flinched and looked up quickly, almost dropping his phone. His eyes darted to Richard and widened. Then the reporter grinned and launched himself out of the chair so fast that the rubber legs slid on the floor tiles with a strange, horn-like sound.

"Prince Hargreave!" the reporter said enthusiastically. "It's always an honor. I'm Luke Brown, freelance investigative journalist. You probably don't remember me, but I'm not offended." He lifted his smartphone and waggled it from side to side. "Just checking the old social media feed. We all have to keep current. It's a dirty job."

Richard frowned at the reporter. The man was long and thin, the same height as Richard. He wore a blue blazer, a white tie over a darker blue shirt, a white belt, and black trousers. Luke Brown seemed to think better of approaching Richard too closely. Following his initial leap out of the chair, the reporter stood there in a perfectly contradictory mix of confidence and awkwardness.

Richard glanced at Heath and raised an eyebrow, expecting his best friend to explain why a reporter was a) inside the palace and b) talking to Richard in a maintenance room.

Heath's expression remained grim. "Listen to what he has to say. You know I wouldn't have dragged you here if it wasn't important."

That was true. He trusted Heath more than he'd ever trusted anyone save Justin. Richard returned his attention to the reporter, who was avidly watching their interaction.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Brown?" Richard asked carefully.

"An interview. That's what you can do for me, Your Highness."

"I'm not interested in doing an interview at this time. Feel free to contact the palace's media corps. I'm certain someone there can answer your questions."

"Not these questions, Your Highness. I guarantee it."

The reporter's wolfish grin made Richard's own wolf stir. His wolf seemed to consider the other shifter as some kind of threat.

Richard maintained careful control of the beast. After the mess surrounding the bar fight, he didn't need to cause more trouble by throwing a reporter through a window. Especially given this room had no windows.

"What exactly are you looking to find, Mr. Brown?"

"The truth. I want to know how you feel about Brin Edwards being wrongfully accused and forced from her position as your pack's majinette dreamer. I want to know whether you're aware that your father, King Frederick Hargreave, is up to his neck in the scandal. Last but definitely not least, I want to know how you feel about becoming a father."

Richard stood motionless, his eyes and voice colder than the weather outside. "Is that last question supposed to mean something to me?"

"It will, Your Highness." The reporter's face lit up as he played his ace. "Justin Turner is pregnant."

For a second, Richard was certain he'd misheard the man. He struggled to come to grips with the words his ears insisted they'd recognized but that his brain adamantly denied understanding.

The wolf understood, however. His wolf loosed a howl of joy, pride, and triumph that echoed in his brain like an air-raid siren.

He shut the damn thing up with pure force of will. His wolf and its instincts had no place here, not in a situation like this.

"You're mistaken." Each word was as hard as steel. He punctuated the sentence with a dismissive shake of his head. "I haven't seen Justin Turner in months. If he is pregnant, which I don't believe for an instant, then I am not the father."

Luke Brown was clearly amused by his denials. "Justin believes you are the father. I talked with him, you know." He shrugged. "Math isn't my subject, but as pregnant as he is right now, I'd say there's plenty of chance you two were together when he was knocked up. A paternity test would lay the issue to rest."

Richard stepped toward the reporter, his fists clenching. This was an extremely serious claim. If true, it would be a disaster, and the reporter's brash amusement rubbed Richard's fur the wrong way.

Heath immediately laid a restraining hand on his arm. "Careful, Richard. Please. I know this is a fraught subject, but we need to be cautious and hear him out."

Richard angrily shook his hand away. "This is some ugly gossip story. It's sensationalist garbage." His gaze fell upon the reporter again, and he showed his teeth. "You didn't see Justin. He's not in Altaden anymore. You're fishing for something. Trying to rattle cages and provoke a reaction to see what you can glean."

"Wrong, Your Highness. I very much did see him. I was as surprised as you to find him—how do they say it?—quite heavily ‘with child.' But he's an omega wolf, after all, and life finds a way."

Heath wheeled on the reporter, his scent suddenly hot as a brushfire as fury radiated from him. "Show some respect or I'll toss you out myself. This isn't some amusing game for us. This is extremely serious."

If Luke Brown was intimidated by Heath's warning, he didn't show it. Perhaps he was used to rubbing people the wrong way. Perhaps he was a reckless fool. Richard crossed his arms over his chest and eyed the man coldly. He caught no scent of lies or deceit from the reporter, and that simple fact left him staggered.

Justin pregnant…

Richard was ashamed to have denied the chance that the child might be his. His refusal to accept it had been the shock of hearing something so completely unexpected. Justin was many things, most of them wonderful, but he was not a playboy. He wouldn't have gone out and hooked up with some random stranger after Richard ended things. That wasn't arrogant pride talking, either, boasting that Richard could never be replaced. No, Justin simply wasn't like that.

So the child was Richard's… Goddess, he was going to be a father. Why hadn't Justin said anything? Had he not trusted Richard with the truth?

He must've learned after I cut him loose. After he fled Altaden.

"Where is Justin now?" Richard demanded. He needed to see Justin. Find out the truth himself and somehow come to grips with this.

"Not in Altaden," Luke replied cagily. "He doesn't want to be found."

Richard's anger at being denied exploded inside him. Heath put a hand on his shoulder again, sensing his fury. But Richard didn't need the reminder to keep himself under control this time. As soon as his anger flashed hot, it was immediately doused with icy water as he considered everything this news of Justin's pregnancy implied.

He was left reeling as conflicting emotions battered him. Not only shock but hurt and outrage that Justin kept this secret and stayed away.

You cut him out first. You sliced him out of your life as if removing a tumor. You sent him away, and after he left the city, you did nothing to search for him, even to see if he was okay.

He had his reasons. His father's threats had hamstrung him. But those were convenient excuses, weren't they? He'd ended up failing Justin in so many ways—he saw that now. He should've been the strong one, Justin's bedrock, the one person in all the world that Justin could count on.

But here Richard was, planning on taking Justin's omega prince replacement out to dinner, to wine and dine, and then back to the palace, intending to take their relationship to the next level. He'd been moving on with his royal life while Justin was out there somewhere, carrying his child and doing it all without him.

Heath watched him closely. His friend's body was tense, and his scent anxious. Even the reporter seemed a bit uneasy now. Perhaps the ferocious glower on Richard's face had finally impressed upon the other shifter that he wasn't a wolf to mess with.

"How many people know this information?" Richard's question was spoken softly. He clasped his hands behind his back and watched the reporter fidget under his gaze.

"Only me. Well, I mean Justin, of course. And his aunt. But that's it. I think."

Richard stared at him in silence, furiously thinking. He'd been focused on the fact that he was going to be a father. What he should've been worrying about was what his father would do when he learned the truth. That was enough to make Richard's blood run cold.

Luke shifted anxiously, his scent no longer so nonchalant. He didn't seem to enjoy being the target of Richard's silent stare. In fact, he very noticeably began to sweat.

"My story goes live in five days, Your Highness," Luke continued quickly. "I've left sealed copies of what I've learned with my editor and others, so if anything should happen to me—"

"The crown prince isn't going to kill you himself," Heath spat. "Get your tail out from between your legs."

"That's certainly reassuring." Luke wiped a hand across his forehead and gave a sickly grin. "I don't take threats against the press lightly. Especially since I came here because I'm an insufferable romantic and could see how much Justin loves you."

Heath was having none of it. "You came here because you want an interview with the prince about a bastard child when His Highness is betrothed to a prince from another kingdom."

"That too."

Richard closed his eyes and tipped back his head. Emotions warred inside him, growing stronger, pulling him in so many different directions he felt as if he were being torn apart. He felt elated at the chance that Justin still loved him, underscored by the pressing, ever-increasing compulsion to find his mate and bring him safely to his side again. Those feelings were undermined by near panic at how this situation seemed to be spinning out of control, and any chance to contain it had already been lost. That emotional chaos intermixed with a deep sense of betrayal from all directions. His father. The majinette dreamers. The Goddess. Justin…

He shoved aside feelings of anger and shame and the bitter taste of betrayal and unleashed every ounce of his will, his determination, his alpha wolf aura, on the reporter.

"Your story will endanger my mate."

Luke was already vehemently shaking his head. "Don't be a fool, Your Highness—"

"I've been a fool about many things lately. But I'm not mistaken about this. If you tell the world that Justin Turner is pregnant with my child, both of them will be in danger."

"That's where you're wrong," the reporter said so adamantly that he clearly forgot he was speaking to royalty. "Your mate is in danger as long as people don't know anything about this."

Richard kept his arms crossed, glaring at the man. "Explain yourself." He leaned closer, his eyes narrowing. "But understand that I have no more patience for being manipulated by anyone. That ends now."

"You're not the only one harmed by this, Your Highness," Luke protested. "Brin Edwards is still missing. Don't forget that. The king's up to his muzzle in this, but he'll want to cover this up. A royal bastard might undo that precious marriage alliance with the Rainier Pack. If nothing else, it undermines his story about a rogue, evil majinette and endangers the Hargreave line of succession." He held up a hand, finger pointing toward the ceiling. "But if the world learns about Justin, your baby, the false accusation and the corrupt dismissal of a majinette dreamer, and the conspiracy to work against the will of the Goddess, then your father can't harm him. Don't you see? The world knowing the truth is Justin's armor. The king can't make Justin ‘disappear.' You can acknowledge the child as yours and there will be nothing your father can do about it."

"I think you greatly underestimate how much people care about the truth in this day and age," Richard snarled. Did this reporter truly believe Richard's father wouldn't do whatever he felt necessary to protect the throne? The man was na?ve, a starry-eyed idealist at best, and a dangerous fool at worst.

"You can't allow yourself to be cynical and give up hope." The passion in Luke's words was surprising. He faced off with the crown prince of Altaden and a captain of the Royal Guard and howled back at them as if he were another alpha in the room. "If we don't care—if we let people like your father terrorize others, lie, cheat, and steal to get what they want with no regard for the people they hurt—then the bad guys win. People that I've talked to about you always claim you're a good man, Your Highness. Prove it."

Richard bared his teeth. "I won't be lectured to by a man who intends to put my mate and my child in danger because of some principle."

"I didn't have to come here, Your Highness. That's what you're refusing to see. I could've simply published a big exposé about how the mate you dismissed is now carrying your child. But I came here to give you a chance to do the right thing."

The wolf inside Richard's head growled menacingly, pushing forward, urging him to shift and rip apart this threat to his mate and his child. He silenced the wolf and remained in control. For now. "What if I'm not willing to trust that you're right?"

Luke raised his chin defiantly. "I'm going to blow the roof off this story no matter what, Your Highness. Everyone in the world will know, and like I keep telling you, that truth will do more to keep Justin and your child safe than your fangs ever will."

"I could have you arrested and held." He might hate the words coming out of his mouth, but all he could think of was protecting Justin and his child. That compulsion was powerful.

"The prince would be within his rights," Heath told the reporter. "You might not be part of our pack, but you are in Altaden. There is no law guaranteeing freedom of the press in the kingdom."

The reporter didn't seem afraid or even fazed. His scent did hold bitter disappointment as though Richard had failed some critical test.

"You're threatening me because you don't know what to do," Luke said, half in condemnation, half in sympathy. "I understand. But believe me, you want to be on the right side of this, Your Highness. I refuse to be silenced."

Richard didn't respond, caught in a wave of disgust and regret over how he'd handled this so far. He was a better man than this. His thoughts and emotions were consumed by frantic, nearly feral worry about his mate and their child.

Because Justin Turner had always been his mate. He would no longer deny the truth. Richard's betrothal to Prince Rainier was meaningless, nothing more than a political tactic to benefit Richard's father. The Church of the Mother, his father, Pirchet, and any and all others be damned if they tried to stop him from being with the man he loved.

And it was love. The constant vivid dreams of Justin had only started to prove it, yet it was a hundred undeniable things that drove the point home once and for all. All those wonderful memories of them together. How from the instant he'd learned Justin was pregnant, all Richard could think of was finding him again and making things right.

He'd been blind. He should've questioned what they were telling him. He should've stood his ground. Remained defiant and remained true to his mate. Instead, he'd convinced himself that he was doing the will of the Goddess and serving the pack.

Well, fuck all of that. His mate needed him. He was not going to fail Justin again.

"It was wrong of me to threaten your arrest," Richard finally admitted. "You aren't part of our pack, but you deserve better as our guest."

Luke Brown squinted at him warily. "I'm still publishing the story."

"I know. I'm not going to stop you."

Heath gaped at him, clearly staggered by Richard's words. "That doesn't give us many options, Your Highness."

"He's a man of principles," Richard replied, and the reporter looked surprised by the compliment. "I respect that. But I'm not willing to rely on abstract concepts to shield my mate and my unborn child." He locked eyes with the reporter. "I mean to find Justin and make things right. Will you tell me where he is?"

Luke Brown hesitated again, clearly torn. "He really didn't want to be found by anyone. That was abundantly clear."

"I'm not just ‘anyone.' I'm his mate."

He expected those words to have some pull. They did not.

"You're his mate," Luke replied, "but he didn't tell you about the child he carries, did he?"

Heath growled. It was a pure wolf sound that Heath's human throat mimicked nearly perfectly. Richard raised a hand, commanding his friend to show restraint.

"What you say is true," Richard admitted. "But you found him, so I can find him. That would take time I don't have, and you are determined to publish that story no matter what. I need to be at Justin's side when your story goes live. My mate needs to know that I still love him. So, I can find him if you force me to, but I don't want to use the throne's intelligence service and tip my hand. I have few enough cards to play as it is. So, please. Tell me."

"You don't trust them." The reporter looked eager now, ready to spring on a lead. "They are tied up in this, aren't they? I have a source who is certain they planted some of the ‘evidence' condemning Brin Edwards and getting her booted out of the Church of the Mother."

Richard simply stared at him, inexorably demanding that the reporter give in and do what was right. He might not yet be king, but his blood was alpha wolf, and he could use that dominant power to full effect when he wished.

Luke hesitated a moment more and finally gave in, rubbing a hand across his sweaty face. "He's hiding at his aunt's farm in Wisconsin. Cheddar Wolf Farm. They have cows and lots of dogs. Don't piss off the dogs. Or his aunt. Believe me."

"Noted." Richard's heart was beating fast in triumph, and exhilaration raced in his veins. His wolf wanted to immediately shift and run to find Justin despite the fact that hundreds of miles separated them. He requested the specific address, and Luke read it off his phone.

"How long do I have before you publish your story?" Richard demanded.

"I give it to my editor in five days."

Richard needed to find Justin long before that, but it gave him enough of a head start to reach Justin and stay one step ahead of his father.

"Don't worry," the reporter continued eagerly as if Richard had asked. "This isn't some trashy gossip post about Justin Turner being pregnant with a royal bastard. It's an exposé of everything I've learned investigating what happened to Brin Edwards. Lies, corruption, betrayal—"

"He told me all the details," Heath interrupted, shutting the reporter down as he shared a significant look with Richard.

"The captain will fill me in," Richard assured Luke, and the reporter seemed crestfallen. Richard held out his hand to shake. "Thank you for telling me where Justin is. Coming here took courage."

"Are you certain you don't want to give me an interview? Tell your side of the story? Get out ahead of this?"

"Don't push it."

"Ah. Yes, I suppose I won't. How about the promise of an exclusive interview at some to-be-negotiated date?"

"That's pushing it."

"Yeah, all right, fine. I don't suppose a quote—?"

Richard turned to Heath. "Will you show our guest safely out of the palace without attracting too much attention?"

"I'll do what I can," Heath assured him. "But we need to talk."

"I know." He glanced around the maintenance room and didn't spot any cameras. That didn't necessarily mean there weren't any, but Heath wouldn't have brought the reporter here if they'd be monitored. "How about I wait here? I've taken a liking to the ambiance."

Heath smirked and escorted Luke Brown out the door. As he left, Luke urged him to believe in the disinfecting power of truth, which apparently functioned like sunlight in the reporter's opinion.

The stillness felt ominous when Richard was alone. He leaned against one of the metal machine panels and ran both hands through his hair. Goddess, what a mess.

His entire world felt deeply unstable, wobbling on its axis. His life now felt like nothing more than a series of carefully staged illusions, the picture of a wolf prince designed to be embraced by the public. By the pack. By the humans. By everyone.

A royal bastard with a mate the palace claimed was "illegitimate" and "disgraced" would shatter the illusion his father had done so much to cultivate. The existence of an illegitimate child would endanger the wedding alliance with the Rainier Pack, the treaties, and the trade agreements. The scandal would shake the palace to its foundations. It wouldn't take down his father, whose grip on power seemed absolute, but it would certainly bring Richard down. How could he forget his father's threats to strip him of the title of heir apparent and give it to his younger brother? Richard had sacrificed Justin for his pack, accepting the necessity as the will of the Goddess and believing he was doing the noble thing.

It had been a lie.

He didn't want his child raised to live a life of lies. He was a father now. That changed everything. He was going to find his mate. He was going to get down on his knees and beg if necessary. Justin might very well hate him. Richard couldn't blame him if he did. But he needed to try anyway. He had to win his real mate back, no matter what he needed to do, whatever sacrifice he had to make. Justin belonged in his arms. He was a damned fool to have ever doubted that.

Heath entered again, shut the door behind him, and leaned against it. "Well, shit."

"I know."

"You really know how to get in trouble, don't you?"

"You taught me well."

They grinned at each other.

The moment of humor didn't last. Heath slowly shook his head. "We can't stop this from getting out. It's not going to be pretty when it does."

"I'm going to find Justin."

Heath walked over and put a hand on his shoulder, gripping him tightly. "I knew you'd say that."

"You aren't going to try and talk me out of it?"

"You still love him." Heath spoke as if it had never been in doubt. Perhaps it had never been, not deep in Richard's heart.

No, he growled at himself. You don't get to go easy on yourself. He needed you and you turned your back on him. You're going to have to live with that for the rest of your life.

"I still love him. I failed him, but I love him."

"Justin might not be happy to see you," Heath warned. "After everything done to him."

Richard began to pace, his mind racing. "He has a right to hate my guts. But I'm going to put things right again. I don't care how hard it is, how long it takes, or how much I need to beg."

"He deliberately kept the fact that he was pregnant from you."

Richard shot his friend a dangerous look. "Whose side are you cheering for here?"

"Yours, but I want you to understand before you charge into this blind. The situation is a mess. A lot of regrettable things have happened."

"I know," he growled. "Justin kept it from me. Do I blame him? No, but it still hurts. I might never have known if not for that reporter." The thought of never even knowing his child existed left him feeling wounded and desolate.

"Before you get to feeling too hurt, maybe you should see things from Justin's point of view."

"What does that mean?"

"It means Justin probably found out after you sent him away. He left Altaden, didn't he? He was afraid or it was too difficult to stay. When he did find out he was pregnant with your kid, it had to be terrifying." Heath's mouth tightened into a knife-slash line. "He had to fear that we would come and take the baby from him. Especially after how he was treated."

Richard stared at Heath, knowing his friend was right and his heart breaking for his mate. Justin was part of the Hargreave Pack. A commoner from Altaden wouldn't have the same parental rights as an American citizen if the throne got involved. In the wolf kingdoms, an alpha's rule was absolute. There wasn't even a council of nobles to put a check on his power. Justin's fear of having his child taken from him would be very legitimate.

Goddess above… Richard slowly rubbed a hand across his face, staring at his friend in dismay. "We are the bad guys, aren't we?"

Heath rolled his eyes. "Not you, you idiot." His expression turned grim. "Your father, though…" He shrugged, and his words scattered between them like broken glass. Heath frowned, something occurring to him. "What about Prince Rainier? His flight arrives in a couple hours."

"You're right. I completely forgot about it." The news that his mate was pregnant had driven everything else from his mind. The fallout from this was going to be apocalyptic. "I'll deal with Peter. There's no way to salvage any of this, but he deserves the truth."

"About the kid, too?"

"That's part of the truth."

"If you tell him everything and the prince turns on you, you'll lose any advantage you might've had. Hell, your father will lock you in your chambers until the wedding and throw me in prison."

"Peter deserves the truth," Richard replied implacably. "Just like Justin does."

"Are you listening to yourself? You gave that reporter a hard time about his ideals when he started going on about truth."

"You're right."

"You stubborn son-of-a-bitch. That's not an answer."

"Right again."

The corner of Heath's mouth turned up in a grudging smile. "I'm coming with you to find Justin. Someone intelligent needs to watch your back."

The offer touched Richard deeply. Alpha wolf or no, he felt the prickle of tears behind his eyes. Heath would be throwing away his career and risking his life for Richard. But there was no way Richard would allow his friend to do that.

He forced away the pressure of tears, ignored the ache in his throat, and put on a cavalier grin. "No, my friend. I need you here."

"Like hell. Justin's a friend of mine too."

Richard took him by the shoulders, staring into his friend's earnest eyes. His voice was hoarse with emotion. "Thank you. But you can't change my mind about this. I'm giving you an order as your prince. Besides, Sara would kill me if I took you away from her."

Heath bared his teeth, holding Richard's gaze. His face was a mask of frustration, worry, and pain. After a long, tense moment, Heath closed his eyes and nodded, then reached into his pocket and held out his smartphone to Richard.

"Ditch your phone and take mine. They can track yours, but they won't know about mine, not yet. The unlock code is my birthday."

"A captain in the Royal Guard uses his birthday as a security code?"

"Kiss my ass. I struggle to remember passwords. Sara gives me enough crap about it as it is." He shook the phone angrily in Richard's face. "Are you going to take this or just stand there being a wise ass?"

"Both." He took the phone and tapped in Heath's birthday. The wallpaper background on the phone was a picture of Heath and Sara grinning like mad, hugging each other near some waterfall he didn't recognize. Of course, that made him feel even worse about everything.

"You can't fly," Heath went on. "They'll track you too easily. I'll drive you out of Altaden, and you can take my car from there. They won't look for it right away if we do this right. You'll have time to put some miles between us."

"Heath…" He stopped, not having the words to express how much this meant. And how he would never be able to repay it.

"Might as well go in style, right?" Heath said. His friend drove a black Dodge Charger with purple racing stripes. He'd always been ridiculously fond of the car. "Take good care of her."

Richard nodded. It was all he could do.

"I'll tell Sara what's going on," Heath continued. "She can help."

Richard was already shaking his head. "I don't want to get her in trouble. She's your mate, and she loves you too much, even if she doesn't feel like marrying your sorry ass yet. You've done enough already. Too much."

Heath shot him a savage look. "I'm already up to my neck in this, and she's going to want to be there beside me. So yeah, Your Worship, I'm going to tell her."

"When my father learns of this, he's going to be looking for me, but he'll also be looking for anyone who helped me. The spymaster will start digging away at what happened. They are going to find out." And he was terrified of what they'd do if they tracked it back to Heath and Sara.

"They will, I know. But since she works for the intelligence arm, she'll know faster than anyone what's going on. If that reporter keeps to his schedule, your no-show disappearance tonight will be a mystery because they won't know about Justin and the baby. Once they find out, I'll send you a warning so you can make sure you and Justin are in the wind. Then I'll get our asses out of Altaden."

"What if she won't go? I don't want either of you in prison—"

"She'll go, even if I have to throw her over my shoulder and take her."

"She'd kick your ass for that."

"Yeah. She would. But I love her too much to let that stop me." Heath grinned. "I know you're worried, but she's very good at what she does. Trust us."

Damn it. Richard had already wrecked Justin's life here, and now he was destroying his best friend's life and dragging Heath's mate down with him. It enraged him to feel so powerless. He was a prince, and yet, he couldn't seem to stop the injustice around him. It was a bitter pill to swallow.

But it was clear he wouldn't be able to talk Heath out of this or command him to obey. He could see the resolve in his friend's eyes. He needed to trust his friends.

"Thank you." Richard hugged him.

Heath slapped him on the back, hugging him hard. "All right, Your Worship. All right. Now, let's get you the hell out of the palace and back to your mate."

Forty minutes later, Heath pulled into a gas station in Chelsea. He parked at the side of the building, and both of them got out. The gas station was only a few blocks from Altaden, but far enough away that Richard could no longer see the walls. They were on U.S. soil now, albeit a grungy gas station at night. The air stank of petrol and hot engines. One of the nearby fluorescent lights buzzed and flickered.

Heath walked around the car and tossed Richard the keys. Richard snatched them out of the air. Now that the moment had arrived, he didn't know what to say. It felt as if they should be doing this somewhere more remarkable than a random gas station with weeds growing around the parking berms.

Leaving the palace had been tense, taking routes with the fewest cameras and people. Luckily, Heath knew the ins and outs of the palace far better than Richard.

After making it out of the palace and into Altaden proper, Heath changed clothes and picked him up in his Charger. Richard hid in the back under a blanket as Heath drove through Altaden's gates. The gate sentries exchanged a few jokes and waved Heath through without giving the car more than a cursory glance.

The entire time, Richard had been sweating in the back, his heart pounding, and a maddening itch on his nose that he didn't dare scratch. They were leaving as little evidence behind as possible—a few witnesses and some security camera footage—but it still had Richard on edge.

His friend was taking enormous risks for him. Any misstep might deprive him of his freedom or even his life. If Heath was worried, he didn't show it.

"Sure you can handle her?" Heath asked, putting his hand protectively on the Charger's roof. "She goes fast."

Richard snorted with amusement. "She'll purr under my hand."

"Nah, she loves me. But she'd tolerate you because I asked her."

"You realize we're standing here talking about your car as if it can hear us?"

"Don't offend her before you even get behind the wheel." Heath pulled a folded-over wad of cash from his jeans pocket and held it out to him. "This is all the cash we had on hand at Sara's place. Use only cash. It doesn't leave a trail."

He nodded silently. Neither of them mentioned what would happen when the cash ran out. Richard wouldn't be able to use any of his bottomless charge cards paid for by the throne. He knew he was vastly unprepared for what he was undertaking. If he hadn't been so focused on reaching Justin, that realization might have made him stop and think twice. But nothing and no one would stop him from reuniting with his mate and his unborn child.

"You've got a head start," Heath continued, "but it won't last forever. Drive hard, but don't go too fast. A ticket will leave a record to trace."

Richard nodded again. It touched him to see Heath fretting like a concerned parent dropping off a kid at college and flooding them with last-minute advice.

Heath let out a long breath that clouded in the cold air. "I guess this is it. I'll use burner phones to call and keep you up-to-date for as long as it's safe."

"Thank you. For everything."

"Yeah, yeah. Having a prince for a friend turned out to be a royal pain in my ass." But Heath was grinning, his scent a chaotic mix of pride, anxiety, camaraderie, and melancholy. "Go find your mate. Tell Justin…" He trailed off before shaking his head curtly. "Tell him I don't envy him having to put up with you."

They stood there staring at each other. Neither of them would say what they were both thinking. Once it got out that Richard had defied his father, broken the betrothal, and gone to find Justin, it was only a matter of time until Richard was exiled. He'd be disinherited, even excommunicated from the Church of the Mother, if his father had his way. He might be arrested…or even killed. He would put nothing past his father now. If something went wrong, this might be the final time they ever saw each other, and the weight of so many years as the best of friends was both comforting and bittersweet.

There were no more words to say. Richard climbed into the car and started the engine. Heath was close enough to Altaden to walk back, although Richard had no idea how he'd explain his missing car. He backed up, turned into traffic, and drove west. He didn't look behind him. Everything in his rearview mirror would remain there forever.

One last thing remained to be done. He'd copied Peter Rainier's number from his smartphone into Heath's phone. He waited until he was in New York, just past Albany, before calling Peter. The Rainier prince's jet would be arriving at Logan International in less than an hour.

He autodialed the number, put it on speaker, and set it in the phone dock. His heart thudded dully in his chest as the phone began to ring. One ring. Two. His mouth tasted like he'd been chewing on iron nails. He gripped the steering wheel harder than needed, relying on cruise control as the dark freeway unwound endlessly before him.

Peter finally answered. "Who is this?"

"Richard Hargreave. Peter, we need to talk."

There was a long pause on the other end of the line. "Sounds bad. I didn't recognize the number. I almost didn't answer."

"I'm glad you did. Listen, I won't be meeting you when you arrive."

"That's all? No worries. I'll see you at the palace—"

"I won't be there either. Peter, I don't know how to say this. I'm leaving to find my mate. I'm on my way to Justin right now."

The silence on the other end of the line was glacial. He endured it, waiting for an answer. He expected curses. Or maybe Peter would simply disconnect. Richard wouldn't blame him in the least.

"You're breaking up with me over the phone?" Peter finally said, and the tone of his voice was difficult for Richard to interpret. Pain, yes, but also a sardonic amusement and a surprising lack of surprise. "And it's not even your phone."

"I know. I'm sorry. Those words can't convey the regret I feel having dragged you into this mess. You're a good man, Peter. A good friend. If things had been different…"

"Alas, ever a friend and never a mate."

"Someone better is out there for you. The Goddess will bring him."

"I wish I had the same amount of faith. Wasn't your pack's majinette swearing up and down that the Goddess intended us as mates?"

"It was a lie. A scheme by my father. They framed our real majinette to discredit her. There's going to be a huge news report blowing open the whole sordid affair."

"Sounds positively scandalous. I'll be sure to read it. But what will your father say?"

"What he says no longer matters. I'm leaving the pack. He will disinherit and expel me, but I'll be gone."

"I…I don't know what to say. Is there anything I can do?"

Richard closed his eyes against a sharp stab of pain. Peter should be cursing him, hating him, and here he was, offering to help.

"Thank you, but no. I won't drag you any further into my mess. There's more. A secret you need to know. Justin is pregnant with my child. I found out a couple of hours ago from the reporter investigating all of this."

"Holy shit."

He chuckled darkly. "The news knocked me on my ass. I'm still reeling."

"I'll bet. You really had no idea?"

"He must've been pregnant when I sent him away, but it had to be too early to tell without a test. He didn't say anything." That particular wound still bled freely. "Then he was gone, and my father blackmailed me into never contacting him again. I failed my mate, Peter. I need to make this right."

Peter let out a long sigh. "I understand. Goddess, what a fucking disaster. Are you on the road? You sound like you're in a car."

"I'm driving to Justin now." He paused, worried about the fallout from this. Peter didn't deserve to be harmed by the broken betrothal or the failed alliance, but Richard was afraid it was too late for that. "What about you? How bad is this going to be? Will your parents blame you?"

"Maybe? I'm not sure. My mother might. My father won't. Don't worry about me. I was always my dad's favorite whelp thanks to my irrepressible charm."

"I can see it." Richard found himself grinning so hard it hurt his mouth. He guided the car along the unending stretch of freeway, so choked up with emotion that every nerve-ending felt raw.

Peter was putting on a brave face. There could be no reading scent-emotions over a cell phone, but Richard still caught the note of pain hidden in Peter's deceptively cavalier words.

It made Richard feel terrible. He'd made too many mistakes, and too many people had been hurt. Even trying to repair those wounds would leave scars. Peter deserved better, damn it all. Yet, Richard had no choice but to choose Justin and his child.

"We're making our approach to Boston soon," Peter said. "Tell you what. I'll throw a spoiled-prince tantrum and demand we turn around and fly back to Seattle immediately for some reason I have yet to come up with. That way, the attention's on me and not you. Maybe it will buy you some time."

"You'd do that for me?"

"How can I not? You're showing me your throat by telling me this. I'm also an incurable romantic. Don't worry. I'll keep your secret. But people are bound to notice the Altaden crown prince is missing before long."

"I know. You're a friend, Peter."

"I am. I really am. Remember me fondly. Oh, and Richard?"

"Yes?"

"Good luck. Be the father you always wanted to have."

His breath caught. For a moment, he couldn't speak. He had to force out the words, his voice rough. "I will." He paused, the ache in his chest throbbing and making it difficult to keep his voice steady. "Goodbye, Peter."

"Goodbye, Richard," Peter whispered. The line disconnected.

Richard turned off the phone. Through the windshield, the dark freeway relentlessly unspooled westward. He followed it in silence, shaken, hurting, knowing he'd made the right decision but still bleeding from it nonetheless. Somehow, he would make this right. He would keep his promise to Peter.

He would be a good father. That much he vowed with all his heart.