She glared at me, but I held back. “Cat’s got your tongue?” I crossed my arms, but my mind was spinning. Verity was obviously related to Aurora. She was probably a cousin or something. She obviously had magic like them. The entire family had set their sights high for their mates. Aurora wanted my father. Amara nailed Beck, which I wasn’t sure if they were goddess-blessed mates now that I think of it. And now Verity, setting her sights and claws into Rowan. “I have to hand it to you. Out of the twins and you, you aimed higher.”

“I deserved more than my sisters.” She snarled and then seemed to catch herself.

I felt my eyes narrow. “Sisters? Interesting. But you had different last names—probably different sires.” I tossed my head back and forth. “I can only assume since your grandmother helped them, you came first, and you were the mistake.”

She snarled, charging at us. “I was not a mistake!” she screamed. “They were weaker than me in every way.” She spun and started to pace. “No one ever sees it.”

I glanced at Toya, but she was already smirking. “How could they see what isn’t there?” She looked down at her hands. “You were the mistake. You were the pup made outside of the mate bond, right?”

“Shut the fuck up. You’re just like them, like everyone else. My father was powerful.” She snarled, and I caught the crazed look in her eyes. “My mother should have been grateful she was selected.”

“Selected?” Toya’s brow furrowed.

But I had a sinking suspicion. “Your mother must have been gorgeous enough to be chosen as a brood mare for an alpha.”

Verity scoffed. “That is the only thing she had, that and her magic.” She spun to face us. “But could she be grateful? No.”

I watched as the truth hit Toya. Her face was a mixture of disbelief and horror. “Wait…are you saying that your mother should have been grateful because an alpha abused her? To breed her? To ruin her chances at possibly finding her mate?”

Verity rolled her eyes. “She found her mate when I was ten. He accepted what happened because he was as weak as she was. She could have become the concubine of our alpha, but she chose an unranked fool to mate with.”

“The goddess chose her mate. The bond isn’t a choice,” I said. “And the fact that you would rather your mother suffer and be forced by a man to be less than a full mate is disgusting.”

“You don’t get to look down on me,” she growled. “I am a daughter of an alpha.”

Toya and I scoffed. “So are we,” Toya pointed out. “Only we are rightful heirs made from bonded mates. And you are the trophy of a man who abused his power. Yet somehow you idolize him instead of viewing him exactly as he is—a monster.”

She snarled. “My father is ten times the man that your fathers are. And bonds are a choice.” She looked into my eyes. “Obviously, since Rowan chose me.”

I tilted my head. “Did he?” I felt my eyes narrow as I glared at her. “Or is it more likely that it’s just another spell you cast?”

She reeled back; her face paled for a second before she rallied, then she threw her head back and laughed. “You almost had me. I’ll be honest. At first, I used magic to keep him away from you. As he wouldn’t look at anyone else but you, and I was frustrated. I have been next to him for years, and he never even glanced my way. But when he started dating the selected women, he started at the list the council gave him, the one I was on. He said he would see their choices before he moved to his own list, the one you were on.” She smirked. “He didn’t make it to his list. He stopped at me.” She smiled. “Once he looked at me, once he gave me a shot, he was a goner.” She smiled widely, but I could see something behind that she was hiding. But I wasn’t going to focus on that right now.

I laughed. Truly laughed. I turned to Toya and pointed back at Verity with my thumb. “She is so happy that she has Rowan.”

Toya snorted. “She obviously doesn’t know you.” She shook her head and sighed.

Verity shook, anger rushing to her face. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

I tilted my head. “You act like Rowan is some prize.”

She snorted. “He’s the fucking king.”

Toya nodded. “He is, but Amy here is not very forgiving.”

Verity’s face fell. “What are you talking about?”

I leaned in, as if I was telling her a secret. “Rowan always said he would never touch a female that wasn’t his goddess-given mate.” Her face paled. “He left me while I was in heat, and I was begging him to help me.” I smiled at her. “Do you think that a forced mating will change his vow? He will leave you time and time again, begging for help, burning and in pain. King or not, he is a cruel man, and no prize.”