The Mystical Attraction of Alpha

Chapter 353-Ella

“D-duke?” I stutter out, completely overwhelmed by the information, my eyes going wide. “There are dukes? And I had I have an uncle!?”

“I’m sorry,” Henry says, and I can see the guilt written all over his face. “I overlooked this – honestly, no one has heard from him in years – and, considering what we think he was actually getting up to, it makes a great deal of sense that he wanted everyone to believe that.”

“Who,” I say, frantic now, looking between Henry, and Sinclair, and Roger – Cora, I see, looking at me with worried eyes, but I know she doesn’t have any answers – “who is he?”

“Relax, Ella,” Sinclair murmurs to me, leaning close. “It’s all right -”

“It is absolutely not all right -“I snap, not wanting to be mean but completely panicked right now. “My father is dead but I have an uncle? Seriously? And no one told me?”

Henry continues to hang his head, shaking a little, and I instantly feel guilty. It’s not his fault – it’s so complicated, the politics, and why would he tell me about an uncle if he hadn’t spoken to the man in 30 years had genuinely assumed he was dead –

“I’m sorry, Henry,” I say quickly, leaning forward to put a hand on his arm. “I’m so sorry – I’m behaving so poorly – ”

“No, Ella,” Henry says, moving his attention back up to me. “Your reaction is absolutely correct. I have failed you in this.” His eyes shift to Sinclair now. And you, son.”

shaking his head. “Honestly, the blame game does no one any good. No one blames you, dad and Ella, you don’t have anything to apologize for. We all know

I don’t blame him for any of it, and that I love him dearly and am grateful for him every day. At least, I hope

the table now so that we can decide to do something, instead of just talking about it. I smile at him a little, loving my all-action Alpha mate who is ready to go even though he almost got burned to a

whether or not his father was his biological father. Either way, Xander was recognized, but he was never the favored son. That

my mouth as he delicately raises his brows, looking up at the ceiling. “I mean, some of us think that the better-looking brother should always take the

get him to stop, I grin at my brother-in-law, grateful for the laugh which has drained some of my tension away. He

at his brother, “Xander was never a popular figure in politics – he was always fringe, always very much the King’s sullen brother rather

the mistake. That started all of

I

is for sure. But our best guess, at this point, is that…well, that Xander put this in motion. That he knew he was never a contender for the throne when his brother died but he coveted it anyway 1 that Xander wanted it, perhaps his whole life, and certainly after his brother died, but when no one mentioned him as a potential heir he started to

I whisper, sitting back against my chair. “To – to reclaim the

My baby, the grandson of a King. The nephew of a Duke that, perhaps, always wanted to

makes sense,” Roger says softly. ” Honestly, it makes so much sense that we were fools not to consider it before now. Who benefits from Rafe being born? The

too, thought he died in quiet obscurity. He’s taken great pains, I think, to ensure that everyone assumed that

and gathering my thoughts, “is the assumption that we’re making here that Xander wanted Rafe to be born so that he would be a legitimate heir to Xavier’s throne? Is that

what I’ve pieced together. “We know that Reina told Xavier about you on his deathbed he must have found a way, somehow, to communicate your