51: Ada's POV

In the three days it took us to return to Oberon Castle, I didn't hear from Darius. Hell, I barely saw Phoenix and Nik and they were *on* the train. I'd spent most of the journey in my own quarters, practicing what Sahara referred to as 'my gifts.' With my wolfs help, I managed to have decent control over the murderous black ooze that I could force out of my body-- hitting only intended targets with it by day two. The fire was also easy to manage. I could spout it from my finger tips to melt metal, or simply warm my palms to heat a cup of cooling tea. Sparks could fly from my hands to light fires. The only thing I hadn't quite gotten down was controlled flames. They were harder to maintain and direct, making it a very useless tool at the moment.

It was the ice that was driving me insane. I could gain no control over it. I would try to frost the train car window and end up with a sword of ice cleaving through the glass instead. Once, Sahara even had me trying to freeze a cup of water and it had exploded out in a fan of ice knives. Much to my wolf's disappointment, it appeared that I would not be weilding ice successfully anytime soon.

In addition to working with my gifts, Sahara also had worked with me on shifting in the quarters. I'd only shifted a grand total of twice in my life, and normal wolves my age had shifted hundreds (if not thousands) of times. There was a certain amount of pain associated with it, but it was the disorientation that was the largest problem. I was having a hard time keeping my bearings and connecting with Sahara's form-- so she appeared clumsy and would sometimes misstep.

The one thing that we'd discovered in all of our lone exercises was that unlike Nik, who could wield his shadows in *any* of his forms, I appeared to only be able to wield the ooze, flame and ice when I was in human form. Sahara stated that it was because they were gifts bestowed upon my human soul that were tied to our connection, and not anything that was gifted to her. It made me uneasy to think about why I would have had such a strong disconnection from her and these magickal gifts bestowed upon me.

Regardless, when we pulled up to Oberon Castle and exited the train, it felt like I was an entirely new person approaching. I was back in clean leathers, my body filled out and not just a bag of bones. My wolf was back and I somehow had magickal powers. Something about it made me walk with my head just a bit higher, my shoulders pulled back. I was confident in my movement as guards kept pace on either side of me. And my heart leapt as I looked ahead at Phoenix and Nik-- two of my *mates.* I was a completely different woman than the one who had approached Oberon Castle the first time. She had been weak, beaten. I was strong, capable.

Nik's voice drifted into my mind, silky and echoing down the bond shared with his two brothers, *We cannot let our father know we are mates or that you can shift or wield any powers. He will kill you for it, Ada. For all of it.*

There wasn't even a glance over his shoulder as my mouth went dry. His words were nothing more than a force that dragged me back to reality. I may be strong and capable now, but I *still* wasn't in charge of my own life. We were returning to a place I was no longer allowed to roam, and I now had three mates that I wasn't supposed to see without permission from their father. Because he thought I was nothing more than a surrogate to them. The most naive depths of my mind wanted to scream that he would honor the sacred mating bonds between me and his sons, but I knew he wouldn't. Nik was right. He would kill me for it.

Mating bonds were power. They created strong unions and amazing bloodlines. That's why wolves usually had one mate, or may be blessed with a second chance mate if something happened with their first. I'd never heard of a wolf having three mates before-- and I would have guessed that it would have been a male that had three female mates to ensure the bloodline but...

Sahara shifted in my mind, snapping, *I am sure the princes are all our mates. Do not question my ability to read what the Moon Goddess has blessed us with,* she paced in my mind, saliva dripping from her jaws mentally, *It is as the prophecy states. Do not worry.*

Do not worry. If only it were that simple. I thought the prophecy stated I was supposed to be a surrogate. I can't be a surrogate to my own mates. While the bonds might be valid, something was still very wrong with the situation I'd found myself in. That was certain.

A lead ball seemed to form in my stomach as we approached the entrance to the castle and Alpha King Everett was waiting for us. He was dressed in black dress slacks and a black turtle neck sweater, his full beard matching the color of the shirt almost perfectly. His gaze passed over his two sons before resting on me. I froze to the spot I was in. His eyes seemed to pierce through me, a cold hatred leaking from his dark irises. Every bone in my body screamed at me to run in the opposite direction, which was how I'd felt the first time I'd approached him as well. I'd thought maybe it would be different now that I knew what I was walking into.

Unfortunately not.

My heart thudded in my chest as there was a movement to the left of him. Nik saw whoever was moving forward first and spun to face me, eyes wide. I didn't have time to process that he started running toward me and was stopped by guards. My eyes were locked on Darius, who was emerging from within the castle. Lady Elizabeth Jane was directly beside him. Both were dressed in navy clothes made from the same material-- his a suit and hers a beautiful gown. His face was pale, flat.

I heard Phoenix roar down the shared bond, *What have you done brother?!*

My mind was still reeling, trying to process what I was seeing-- Darius with Elizabeth, somehow back here with their father before us-- when the king spoke coolly, "How rare it is for a wolf to have more than one mate," his eyes were locked on mine as he smirked, "Or for a son to remain so loyal to his father that he would betray that bond for the good of the Kingdom."