Chapter 193

When we arrived, the three of them stayed in the car, allowing me to approach the house on my own. They thought perhaps a woman with three men in tow might scare off anyone who would speak to me.

But I didn’t miss the flash of Theo’s weapon as he kept it just below the edge of the window inside the car. If anybody tried to harm me, they’d be dead before they realized what happened.

The house in question was a seaside cottage with shake siding and big dormer windows overlooking a neighborhood lined with stately oaks. I pushed open the little gate on the path and made my way to the door, raising my hand and knocking apprehensively.

The woman who opened the door was a little old woman, probably somewhere in her 80s. A tight knot of gray hair perched on top of her head.

She greeted me. “Is there something I can do for you?”

“Perhaps,” I said. “I’m trying to track down an old acquaintance of my parents. His name was Peter Milton. This is the last address that I could find for him. Do you happen to know where he went?”

She looked a little frightened. “I have no idea who Peter Milton is.”

But I could see in her eyes that she did. I waved a hand at the car.

“I was wondering if we could speak privately, please,” I said. “My name is Elena Laurentia, and I’m a reporter. I’m trying to find information… truths.”

She gasped. “You’re Elena Laurentia? I’ve read your work. This is amazing. Yes, we can speak more privately.”

“Would you mind if my bodyguard joined us?”

She looked at the car, peering in the windows. “And which one of those handsome young men has the misfortune of being just your bodyguard?”

I laughed. “That would be Theo. He’s the one in the back seat. My fiancé Charles is driving.”

She grinned at me. “Why don’t you just invite them all in, Dearie? I haven’t had such handsome gentlemen callers in a very long time. I’d be happy to host such a nice array of eye candy.”

I laughed and waved to my companions. David rolled down the passenger side window. “Did you need something?”

“She’s invited us all in,” I called.

The three of them exited the car, and to my shock and delight, the little old lady made yummy noises as she watched them walk up her path. Once we were all inside, she shut the door and glanced around nervously as if still uncomfortable telling her truth.

“Now that I am relatively sure you’re safe, may I see your IDs, please?” she requested.

I pulled out my press pass and showed it to her, and Charles handed her his ID.

Her eyes widened. “Not the patriarch of the Rafe family…”

“That’s me,” he confirmed.

She looked at me. “You’ve done well for yourself. Dear me. Handsome and an alpha on top of it. I’m impressed.”

She leaned over and took a long sniff of me, her eyes fluttering closed. “But if he can smell what I can smell then it’s no wonder he nabbed you. I have a feeling you’re more of a catch than he is.”

“I would fully agree with that,” Charles said.

“Well, you kids came to the right place. My name is Mabel Davis. And I am Peter Milton’s mother-in-law. My daughter has since passed on, and it wasn’t safe for me to keep an association with my son-in-law. But I know where to find him.”

Her eyes gleamed at me. “But to get that information, you’re going to have to stay for dinner.”

Mabel chatted with us the entire time she cooked dinner, using all of the skills one would fully expect of a matriarch of her generation. It didn’t take long into her preparations before my mouth started watering and my stomach started grumbling.

Judging by the fidgeting in their seats at the kitchen table, it looked like all three of the guys felt the same way. She told us stories about the way Orlune used to be under the reign of King James’s father. And I had to fully agree with her that those sounded like the good old days.

Perhaps Mabel looked upon them with the fondness that comes with reminiscing about one’s youth. But given how things were being run under King James, I had to imagine that it wasn’t entirely rose-colored glasses on her part.

She set out absolutely luscious-looking steaks with homemade scalloped potatoes and a salad. All of us stared hungrily at the spread.

She sat down in her chair and passed a glance between each of us. Clearly, she was ready to start her story.

“You’ve now heard about the way Orlune used to be,” she started. “I was thrilled when my son got hired as one of the palace physicians and even prouder still when he got promoted to the personal physician of Prince James.

“We didn’t realize what a terrifying position that would be until the old king passed and James assumed the throne in his father’s place. My son was appalled at first. Telling me without breaking too many confidences about the abuse that King James would dole out.

“He was fierce about lashing out at his companions and advisers if he didn’t like what they had to say. I would imagine that the men King James abused went in for medical attention less than the ladies. So, I would assume that there were probably far more of them than even my son-in-law knew about.

“Shortly after King James married Queen Rosemary, my son stopped talking about what was going on at the palace altogether. I’m sure it was because he feared for his own safety. After the Queen passed, my son-in-law came home briefly, long enough to drop my daughter off with me for safekeeping.

“He had already hidden my grandchildren, placing them anonymously in various locations around Orlune. I honestly don’t even know where they were at the time. My daughter fully expected to see her husband again. He meant to leave and then come back for her when he thought it was safe.

“Unfortunately, right after he left her here with me, she was diagnosed with cancer, and she passed away just a few short months later. He never got to see her again, and it broke her heart. The only consolation I got out of it was that she was here with me rather than on the run for the last few months of her life.

“I don’t know if the Alpha King got wind of her terminal cancer diagnosis and decided that she’d be gone soon enough. Or if he didn’t care to retaliate against the doctor’s family. But either way, we didn’t see any sign of the Alpha King.

“My daughter’s sickness broke my son-in-law’s heart as well, not being able to be with his wife. And the last letter that I got from him told me where I would be able to find him if I ever needed anything. Since then, the only thing that I’ve ever seen from him has been money that he occasionally deposits in my bank account. His parents passed before all of this went down, so I’m the only remaining family that he has.”

“He’s lost his kids, too?” I asked, my eyes filling with unshed tears for this poor man. He was hounded the same way Charles and I were by the king. What if the king had killed his children? I wasn’t sure I could bear it.

“My son-in-law decided it was too dangerous to contact his children. As far as I know, he hasn’t seen them since he tucked them into hiding.”

“So where can we find him?” Charles pressed.

“He is in the northernmost temple of the moon goddess, living under an assumed name as a monk there.”