Trevor didn’t deny it. "And you?"
Dax swirled the remaining wine in his glass, gaze steady. "And I can see that you didn’t claim him yet," he said, voice low and even, "and I wonder what the hell is going on in your head."
Trevor didn’t react at first. He simply set his glass down with the same precision he applied to every battlefield strategy.
Dax leaned back, eyebrows raised. "That’s rich coming from the man who gave Benjamin a forty-two-hour deadline and threatened to pull the commission if he used ’too much filigree.’"
"I knew what the ring meant," Trevor replied. "But I also knew Lucas needed space. Not another decision made for him."
"He’s already yours, Trevor. Anyone with eyes can see it."
"He didn’t awaken yet," Trevor said with a sigh, running a hand down his jaw. "The physician estimates his first heat will come in two months. You’ve read his file."
Dax’s expression sobered immediately. "Yes, I did."
He didn’t elaborate right away. He just leaned forward, setting his glass aside with more care than usual. The shift in tone was palpable, becoming closer to war-room honesty.
"He’s lucky to be alive," Dax said quietly. "Considering what was done to him." NovelHub
Trevor’s eyes darkened, jaw tightening. "That’s not luck. That’s resilience. Or punishment. I’m still not sure which."
There was a long silence before Dax set aside his dessert plate. "I promised you names."
Dax’s voice was low. Flat. "Faceless Agatha. And Odin."
The name hung in the air like a dropped sword.
Trevor went still. The kind of stillness that only came before movement.
"When?" Trevor asked, his voice cold enough to silence a room.
Dax’s gaze sharpened. "Odin surfaced briefly in Daxis last month," he said. "Disappeared again right after. Probably under a new name, with a new face. I’ve already set people on him, but he’s slippery."
Trevor’s jaw worked once.
"But Faceless Agatha..." Dax’s voice dropped, not to a whisper but to something more dangerous. "That one’s worse. Much worse."
Trevor said nothing. He just waited.
"It’s not a person. It’s an organization. Untraceable unless you already know where to look."
"And now I do," Trevor murmured.
Dax nodded once. "They specialize in a very particular trade. Blood. Specifically royal-blooded omegas—ones with certain... reactive genetic traits."
Trevor exhaled slowly, the kind of breath that carried too much weight to be just air. He turned his gaze toward the window, to the darkness beyond the palace, where Saha’s sky lay like ink poured over gold.
"I had the suspicion," he said, his voice quieter now. "That it would come back to that."
Dax watched him without interrupting.
"Caelan was told Lucas died," Trevor continued. "One week after birth. Misty reported a newborn that died from heart malformation. No remains or funeral. Just a sealed record and a signature."
Dax’s eyes narrowed, sharp and calculating. "And no one questioned it?"
"Why would they?" Trevor said bitterly. "Caelan had too many enemies. Too many secrets. Misty knew he wouldn’t push, he couldn’t afford to look vulnerable. And the timing was convenient. Suspicious, even before this."
He didn’t look at Dax. His eyes were still fixed on the dark stretch of sky outside, where the lights of the city flickered like distant stars, just far enough to seem unreal.
"She knew what he was," Trevor said. "What he could become. But claiming his blood would’ve meant giving him to the palace. To Caelan. And that would’ve taken him out of her hands." NovelHub
Dax was silent now, absorbing the pieces, watching the shape of the lie take full form.
"But if her plan was to rent him out first," Trevor continued, voice growing colder, "to Christian, keep control, keep leverage, and then, when the time was right, trade him to Agatha for long-term power..."
He finally turned from the window.
"That would explain everything. The timing. The falsified death. The distance from the palace. And why she didn’t want Caelan’s money."
"Because influence," Dax said, "was worth more."
Trevor nodded. "She didn’t just want a son with royal blood. She wanted to own a tool capable of controlling powerful alphas. Lucas was never the endgame; he was the mechanism."
"And now," Trevor finished, "he’s wearing my ring. Sleeping under my roof. Living outside of their script."
Dax leaned forward slightly, eyes sharp again. "Which makes him dangerous to them." He reached for the wine bottle without ceremony and poured himself a slow glass. The sound was soft but deliberate.
"Speaking of danger..." he added, tone shifting just slightly, but no less calculated.
Trevor turned, gaze locked on him now. Waiting.
Dax took a sip first.
"You have three months."
Trevor didn’t react, not at first. "For what?"
Dax set the glass down with a soft clink. "For claiming Lucas."
The words hung between them like a drawn blade.
"That is the time I can give you," Dax said calmly. "Until I try it myself."
Trevor’s jaw tensed. "He didn’t awaken yet; he is barely eighteen for fuck’s sake."
Dax arched a brow, unimpressed. "And?"
Trevor’s voice sharpened. "He’s not ready."
"He’s yours," Dax snapped, his tone still calm but laced with pointed frustration. "And he’s walking around unmarked in a court full of eyes. You think Agatha will wait? You think Odin cares how old he is? They don’t want his readiness, Trevor. They want his body."
Trevor didn’t answer right away.
Dax leaned forward again, elbows on the table, the fire in his gaze simmering under years of battlefield diplomacy. "Don’t play coy with me, Trevor. You can mark him without having sex. You could let your pheromones settle on him. You know that."
"I’m not going to manipulate him," Trevor said, voice low.
"It’s not manipulation if he already wants you," Dax countered. "And he does."
Trevor looked away briefly, but that was enough.
Dax pressed, his voice quieter now, more dangerous. "He’s definitely liking you. But that doesn’t mean he’ll wait forever."
Trevor’s hands clenched at his sides. "I don’t expect him to wait. I expect him to choose. Fully. Freely."
Dax tilted his head, studying him. "And what happens if someone else gives him that choice first?"
Trevor’s eyes snapped back, full of threat. "They won’t."
Dax didn’t flinch. "You’re gambling on trust in a world that only plays with power. That’s noble, I’ll give you that. But Lucas isn’t just a mate. He’s a keystone. And everyone knows it except the one person who should."
Trevor exhaled, slow and tight. "He’s been used his entire life. I won’t be another name on that list."