Augustin’s POV
“Yes. You’ve been friends since childhood, right?*
“Every happy memory Juno has from her past includes you, I continued. “You were her family, her best friend. That’s why your betrayal cut so deep. You were all she had. She was trapped in that situation… until my men took her.”
Matthew shook his head. “Juno was trying to leave me long before that. She saw your men as an opportunity. I wasn’t just losing her, she was actively trying to escape me.”
I laughed. “I know.”
‘You do?”
“She told me she wrote letters to several Alphas, asking to join their packs so she could get away from you. Said she’d do any job, live anywhere, just to start fresh.” I watched his reaction carefully. “She was desperate.”
Matthew nodded, pain etched into his features. “I was devastated when I found out. I intercepted one of the letters. I never imagined a day would come when Juno and Seraphine would want to be far from me. We promised each other forever when we were kids. No matter what happens, we’ll always be together. Empty words now.”
“She gave up on me completely. She even left her necklace behind.” Matthew’s voice was barely audible.
“That doesn’t mean you can’t be friends,” I said. “If you want to continue a friendship with her, I’ll allow it. For her sake, not yours.”
“You’d trust me with her? After everything?”
I shook my head. “I trust her. I know Juno loves me completely and genuinely. I feel it in every touch, every look. There’s not a shred of doubt in her when it
comes to us.”
“She’s always loved deeply and kept her promises,” Matthew agreed, his brow slightly furrowed. “That’s why it destroyed me when she left. I never thought she would, no matter what.”
“Did you know that before I rejected my fated mate for her, she had already done the same for me?”
Matthew’s eyes widened slightly, but not with surprise, with recognition.
“She met Kieran Halloway when she went to see Alpha Elton Riddick,” I explained. “He was her fated mate. The pull was instant and powerful. She rejected
him and came back to me.”
“I knew,” Matthew admitted. “Kieran came to me in desperation. I told Kieran to give up. I warned him that you were possessive of Juno, that you’d kill him if he pursued her. But he wouldn’t listen. He said the mate bond was sacred, that it transcended all other claims.” Matthew sighed. “He wanted me to write to Juno and tell her they were fated. Said I owed her the truth. I refused, and he wasn’t happy about it. Called me a coward.”
Matthew’s eyes became distant. “She rejected her fated mate for you, and I couldn’t do the same for her. What a joke I am.” He laughed bitterly. “I once told her during an argument that finding my fated mate wasn’t my fault. That it was destiny, and she should accept it. Now I see how wrong I was. You both rejected fated mates without hesitation. You chose each other over what the universe supposedly planned.”
‘I was weak and stupid,” he whispered.
I smiled. ‘Everything worked out as it should. She’s where she belongs now.”
Matthew nodded, but his eyes told a different story. The regret in them was almost tangible.
“Tell me about Charles,” I said, carefully integrating the question into our conversation.
*Charles is a despicable bastard,” Matthew spat, surprising me with his vehemence. “He and Isabelle plotted together to get rid of Juno.”
1/
“How?”
“His worst scheme was forcing a man to attack Isabelle and then claiming June had sent someone to kill her. Then told everyone Juno had hired the attacker.” Matthew shook his head. I knew Juno might have been hurt and angry, but she would never kill someone over this. It wasn’t in her nature.
“But I overreacted. I hurt her.” Regret darkened his features. “She looked at me like I was a stranger. That’s when I knew I’d lost her for good.”
“There’s something else odd about Charles. When the Forestvale Alphas allied with Kieran, Charles stayed with us. He said he was loyal to me, that he wouldn’t abandon his daughter’s mate. When they returned to me, they were surprised he never left. They assumed he’d been with them the whole time.”
“He was playing both sides.”
“Exactly. I discovered he’d been the one encouraging them to join Kieran. Telling them I was weak, that I’d get them all killed if they followed me. Matthew’s fist clenched. “I haven’t confronted him yet, but I don’t trust him anymore. I’ve been keeping my distance, watching him.”
I leaned forward. “Since you already see through Charles, I can safely share something important with you. Charles was the one who orchestrated the attack on Verdantia that led to my assault on Forestvale, All the evidence points to him. He manipulated everything from the shadows.”
Matthew sucked in a breath, his expression morphing from shock to rage. A low growl rumbled in his chest. “That treacherous snake. All those people dead, our territories in ruins… because of him?” I could feel his wolf’s power. Perhaps Matthew wasn’t weak, just peace–loving.
“Why?” he demanded, slamming his fist on the table. “What could he possibly gain from starting a war between us?”
“That’s what we need to find out together.”
Matthew’s eyes narrowed in thought. “He wanted to get rid of Juno. He probably hoped you’d attack and I’d either abandon her or she’d be killed.”
“That’s too simplistic. We need to remove emotion and dig deeper. Think strategically, as Charles would.”
“What do you mean?”
“If your theory is correct, it was a dangerous gamble for Charles. There was no guarantee his daughter wouldn’t be hurt in the attack. You could have been killed too.” I tapped my fingers on the table. “Charles is too cunning to act without careful consideration. This wasn’t about Juno alone. There’s something bigger at play.”
“You think he has some grand scheme?”
‘I’m certain of it. And I’m going to find out what it is.”
“We need to discover why he did this and framed Quinn rather than Maddox or another Alpha.” I met Matthew’s gaze. “Will you help me investigate? Share information, compare notes, work together to expose him?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I have my own score to settle with Charles. He used my mate to manipulate me. Made me doubt myself and my judgment. He nearly destroyed everything I built.” Matthew’s eyes hardened. “I want to know why. And I want him to pay for it.”
I doubted Isabelle could change his resolve now.
Suddenly, Matthew chuckled. “Are you going to attend the football game? Maddox and Quinn aren’t out of danger yet. When they heard you were coming to perform, I saw the expressions on their faces, they looked like they’d just seen the Grim Reaper.”
“And they tried to back out of the game, but I told them participation was mandatory for all Alphas. Said it was a new requirement from the mighty Alpha King himself. His eyes twinkled with mischief. “I may have exaggerated the consequences of refusing. Something about territorial penalties and diplomatic incidents.”
I laughed, genuinely amused. “So they think they have to play?”
“Yes. Matthew grinned. “They’re terrified.*
We both laughed, united in our satisfaction at Maddox and Quinn’s predicament.
