The Princess's Revenge Chapter 115

Valencia's POV

My heart pounded against my ribs as I stepped into the private audience chamber. Alpha King Winston sat by the window. The fading afternoon light cast long shadows across his gaunt face, making him look even more frail than he had during the council meeting. He held a small ceramic cup in his hands, and I could smell the bitter scent of medicine from across the room.

He turned his head as I entered, and a gentle smile crossed his weathered features. "Valencia," he said. "Thank you for coming. Please, sit down."

I moved toward the chair he indicated, my hands clasped tightly in front of me. Every instinct told me to be careful.

"You must be wondering why I asked to speak with you alone," Winston said, setting down his medicine cup.

"Yes, Alpha King," I replied quietly.

He waved his hand dismissively. "Please, just Winston. We're past such formalities." He studied me for a long moment, and I felt heat rise to my cheeks under his scrutiny. "Logan chose well. You're quite beautiful, and your eyes... they're very special."

The mention of my eyes made my pulse spike. I forced myself to remain calm, to keep my expression neutral.

Winston seemed to notice my tension, and his smile softened. "Don't worry, child. I have no interest in whether you're a dragon or not."

The directness of his statement shocked me. My eyes widened involuntarily, and I felt my heart skip a beat. He knew? Or at least suspected? And he was just... saying it? So casually?

"I..." I started, but my voice failed me.

"I said I'm not interested," Winston repeated gently. "Whatever secrets you carry, they're yours to keep. I didn't ask you here to interrogate you or put you in danger." He leaned back in his chair, his expression growing thoughtful. "I asked you here because I wanted to know something else. Do you love my son?"

The question caught me off guard. Of all the things I'd expected him to ask, that wasn't one of them.

"Yes," I said without hesitation. The truth of it rang clear in my voice. "I love Logan with everything I am. I would give my life for him without a second thought."

Winston's eyes brightened slightly, and he nodded with satisfaction. "Good. That's very good." He was quiet for a moment, seeming to gather his strength. "Then I want to tell you about Kiora Ogden. Logan’s mother."

Ogden?! This was very surprising to me. I leaned forward slightly, suddenly intensely focused.

"She was Lycan," Winston continued. "But she didn't have the dragon bloodline, despite her family name. This was over thirty years ago, during the height of our conflicts with Aldermere. I was stationed at Ironwatch Border, commanding our forces there."

"One night," Winston said, his voice taking on a distant quality, "our guards found a woman wandering near the military camp. She was alone, exhausted, clearly terrified. They brought her to me for questioning." His expression softened with memory. "She said her name was Kiora. She claimed she was fleeing from Ashwood's forces, that she'd been running for days and had stumbled upon our territory by accident."

"You believed her?" I asked quietly.

"I did. More than that—I fell in love with her the moment I saw her." Winston's voice grew thick with emotion. "It felt like destiny, like the Moon Goddess herself had guided her to me. But there was a complication. I already had a Luna. Geneva."

My stomach tightened. I knew what was coming.

"Geneva was—is—the mother of Soren and Elton," Winston continued. "She was my fated mate, my political alliance. But Kiora... Kiora was something else entirely. She was my heart."

The pain in his voice was evident.

"I couldn't abandon my duties or my Luna," Winston said. "The kingdom needed stability, and divorcing Geneva would have caused political chaos. So I did the only thing I could think of—I arranged for Kiora to live at Cliffwatch Pack, far from the capital, far from prying eyes."

Winston's face crumpled. "The pack members treated her terribly. They knew she was the king's mistress, knew Logan was my bastard son. They showed her no respect, no mercy." His hands clenched into fists. "And Geneva... she sent people to make Kiora's life even more difficult. To torment her and Logan both."

Anger flared in my chest. I thought of Logan as a child, watching his mother suffer, being mocked and bullied himself. The cruelty of it made my blood boil.

"I failed them both," Winston said. "I was too much of a coward to claim them publicly, too afraid of the political consequences. And because of that, they suffered. Logan grew up believing he was unwanted, unworthy. Kiora lived in isolation and pain."

I wanted to be angry at him—and I was. Despite the pain evident in the man's expression before me, I felt no sympathy for him whatsoever. This was what he deserved. What truly made my heart ache was thinking of Logan and Kiora—the suffering they had endured because of his choices.

"I'm telling you this," Winston continued, "because I need you to understand what's at stake. Logan has spent his entire life fighting to prove himself, to show he's worthy despite his birth. He's strong, capable, brilliant. But he's also vulnerable in ways he doesn't show anyone."

"I know," I said softly. "I see it."

"Then you also need to know about the threats he faces." Winston leaned forward, his expression growing deadly serious. "Winston Ashwood is more dangerous than anyone realizes. Years ago, I sent spies to Aldermere to gather information about him. I sent dozens of my best intelligence operatives."

I had a sinking feeling I already knew.

"Only one survived," Winston said grimly. "And what he reported terrified me. He saw the bodies of his fellow spies. They hadn't just been killed—they'd been torn apart. And the wounds... they bore the marks of lion claws."

The words didn't make sense. "Lion?" I repeated. "But that's impossible. There are no lion shifters on this continent. Only wolves and... and dragons."

"That's what I thought too," Winston said. "But my spy was certain of what he saw. Which means one of two things—either Ashwood has somehow acquired powers from another continent entirely, or he's found a way to access abilities we don't understand."

My mind reeled. If Ashwood commanded lion shifters, or had that power himself, it would explain how he'd managed to slaughter the entire Ogden family. Dragons might be powerful, but if they were caught off guard by something completely unexpected...

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked.

"Because Winston Ashwood is my brother," Winston said bluntly. "His birth name was Wilder. He changed it when he took Aldermere's throne." Winston's expression was haunted. "He's spent decades building his power, consolidating his forces. And his ultimate goal is revenge against me. Against Valdoria. Against everything I built."

"And Logan will be a target," Winston continued. "Wilder knows about him now. He knows Logan is my son, knows he's strong and capable. If Wilder invades and I die, he won't stop until he's destroyed Logan too. Not just because Logan stands in his way, but because killing my son would hurt me even in death."

The weight of it crashed over me like a wave. "I'll fight beside him," I said fiercely. "Whatever comes, we'll face it together."

Winston smiled. "That's what I hoped you'd say." He paused, then added, "There's one more thing you should know. In the dungeons beneath this palace, we're holding a prisoner. Someone from the Ogden family."

My heart stopped. "What?"

"It's true. We captured him years ago during a border skirmish. He's been imprisoned ever since." Winston's eyes locked onto mine. "If you want information about the Ogden bloodline, he might have answers. I'm giving you permission to question him."

The implications were staggering. A living Ogden, someone who might know about dragons, about what I was becoming. The information could be invaluable.

But it was also dangerous. If I went to the dungeons, if I asked questions, I'd be revealing my interest in the Ogden family. I'd be painting a target on my back.

Still, we needed answers. Logan and I were fighting blind, and knowledge was the only weapon that could change that.

"Thank you," I said quietly. "For the information. For... for trusting me with this."

Winston nodded. "Take care of my son, Valencia. He's stronger than he knows, but even the strongest warriors need someone to stand beside them."

"I will," I promised.

I pulled open the door and stepped back into the corridor, where Logan waited with barely contained tension. His gray eyes found mine immediately, searching my face for any sign of harm.

"I'm fine," I said quietly, taking his hand. "But we need to talk. There's so much you need to know."