“Lennart,” I murmur in the elevator, an attempt at communicating with him as his father’s guards stand behind us.

“Not now,” he bites out angrily, staring straight ahead.

I wonder who, exactly, his rage is directed at.

For the first time ever, I have an opportunity to analyze his Beta scent, which is profoundly fine. Not bad by any means, but difficult to muster any feeling over. It’s ever been an issue, since I couldn’t tease apart subtle smells, but now that my nose is working overtime, all I can think about is how deliciously perfect Gabriel smelled, and⁠—

Don’t compare him to Gabriel, I order myself.

There was no sign of him as Bastian and his soldiers escorted me outside. When Gabriel offered for me to stay, he was probably just playing some kind of mind game. Drawing a comparison between Lennart and Gabriel is pointless, but if I must, I should just focus on one simple truth: Lennart would never force another man’s mate to do whatever it is that happened last night.

The fact that Gabriel didn’t have to force me—that I enjoyed it, that I asked for most aspects of it—is beyond the point. I will feel guilty about that for the rest of my natural life.

The moment we step into Lennart’s quarters, I turn to him, feeling a surge of indignation toward this man who swore to love me and protect me forever, no matter what, during our mating ceremony not forty-eight hours ago.

This man who is showing very little concern for my well-being.

After I was taken against my will.

To settle a score between his father and the general.

Not only has Lennart not asked me if I’m injured, he also looks actively upset at me, as though he’s the real victim of the past two days. “Are you angry at me?” I ask.

He purses his lips. “I came to take you back, last night.”

“I heard. But I⁠—”

“Was sleeping, yes.” He seems to be looking anywhere but at me. “That was not a wise choice, Sofia. My father was enraged. It made it look like you actually wanted to be there, with that monster.”

My eyebrow lifts. I fold my arms to my chest. “Lennart,” I say calmly, “I am going to pretend that you didn’t just blame me for having been taken by an enemy of your family. Would you like to start again?”

His laugh is incredulous. “Start again? Do you understand the position you put us in? You made us look like we have no power when facing the general. We used to be the greatest House in the stronghold, and now the other nobles are actively siding with the military over us. My father is going to⁠—”

“Why don’t you talk less about your father and start by asking me how I feel?”

His eyes widen.

When he finally meets my gaze, I take a step forward, letting my rage boil out of me. “I was given no choice but to spend two nights with a man I barely know, and you are concerned about your family’s reputation over my safety? You didn’t even ask if I was hurt. I could be bleeding, or traumatized, or in need of medical attention, but you wouldn’t even know that because you care so little about me that⁠—”

“Sof! You’re here!” A flurry of movement bursts into the room, and then a pair of strong arms press me into a soft body.

“Lara,” I say, nearly inhaling a mouthful of her hair and returning her hug.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I…” It feels like I’m meeting her for the first time. Her scent is beautiful, flowery, and zesty. Indisputably Alpha.

All these years of being friends, and I cannot fathom how I missed it.

“Let me take care of you.” She pulls back with a smile. Her hand tugs mine, coaxing me toward the door. “You need a bath. A real one—no sonic. You’ll feel cleaner that way.”

“Lara,” Lennart tells his sister through gritted teeth, “not now. We’re busy with⁠—”

“You may not realize this, Lennart, given that you have no olfaction whatsoever, but Sof needs a bath now,” she hisses at her brother. The subtext is so obvious, he doesn’t object to her dragging me toward her room.

And given my current feelings toward Lennart, a break from each other is probably the best for us.

I wonder whether I can confide in Lara. Tell her the truth about what happened. Sure, she’s sometimes unable to stand up to her family, but she’s always been just as much my friend as Lennart’s sister. This may be what I really need—to be told by someone rational, someone who can understand Alpha-Omega dynamics, that Gabriel is a piece of shit, that what he did was wrong, that it matters nothing whether he smells good or doesn’t. When the metal door to her room slides closed and she turns to me, I’ve made up my mind to be honest with her.

But she must have done the same, because she clutches my upper arm, and with her head bent toward mine, she whispers, “You are in danger.”

I swallow. “It’s fine. It wasn’t as bad as you probably think. The general⁠—”

“No, you don’t understand. It’s my family that is the danger.” Her eyes are shiny, like she’s on the brink of tears. There are dark circles around them, but her expression is determined. “Your scent has changed. Significantly.”

“I know. Gabriel and I⁠—”

“No, Sof.” She takes both my hands in hers. “Your scent has changed. You no longer smell like a Beta. It’s like you just went through presenting all over again, only this time for real. Are your glands itching?”

“No,” I say automatically. But then my hand finds the side of my neck. “Maybe just a little, but⁠—”

“That’s good. It means you’re not too close to a heat.”

“Close to a what?” Laughter dies in my throat when I notice how serious her expression is.

“Listen carefully. When you left, all Hel broke loose. My father wants a new general to be installed, and he’s going to do something very, very unwise, very soon, and… Honestly, fuck him. That’s not the problem. Not now. Not the biggest one. Sof, Lennart was very…distressed while you were gone. I overheard my mother trying to calm him down. He was screaming. He was worried about you going without a…” She swallows. “Without a dose of something. About something running out.”

“I… What?”

“I confronted my mother last night. I asked her if there was some medication that you needed. I recalled that years ago, back when you still lived with your dad, you used to take that vitamin D supplement because you weren’t exposed to the light enough.”

“The one your mother kept buying for me, yes. But what⁠—”

“I figured that’s what you needed, so I offered to bring it to you in the military wing, but Mom told me that I’d misheard. She ordered me never to speak of it again. But, Sof, I know what I heard. And when I thought it through, I realized that you hadn’t been taking that supplement in years, anyway. I could not understand why Mom would be so cagey, but then Lennart brought you back, and the second you were nearby, I could smell you. It’s like your previous scent but dozens of times stronger. Like everything that you always were just broke through a dam. And you know I love my mother, but I think… Sofia, I think she may have done something terrible.”

She lets my hands go as tears slide down both her cheeks.

I would like to cry, too. Maybe there would be some relief in that. But I am too busy taking in Lara’s words and reconstructing what really happened, the enormity of it, the complexity of such deceit.

Lady Larsen did send over boxes of supplements when I was younger. She cared about my health because I was such a good friend to Lennart, and she pointed out that people who lived on the middle and lower levels often had vitamin deficiencies. I was a healer in training, and I knew it to be true. So, when she began buying me something that I couldn’t have otherwise afforded, I felt only gratitude.

And, of course, I took the pills religiously.