Penelope was standing idly by in Grayson's office while he consulted with the guard who had pulled him aside before they entered the ballroom. She couldn't hear what their hushed voices were saying, but whatever was going on couldn't be good.
She desperately wanted to return to the ballroom to offer Cora her support, but now her curiosity had gotten the best of her. What kind of threats did the vampires face here? Were their feuds between realms? Zagan made it seem that whatever power struggles took place were actually extremely rare, particularly when considered in terms of the average human's life span.
Vampires were cunning and controlled, and the power balance in place was one that had been established centuries ago. But Cora's existence could upset all of that. If others had learned of her ability to give their kind life despite the fact that she was herself half vampire, it could create a tidal wave of new aggressions to either try to eliminate her before she transitioned to her immortal state or try to kidnap her to gain access to her power.
But anyone pursuing those ends would have to face the potential loss of their access to the blood river that Gray Vale supplied as well as the obvious threat of Cora's defenses, which could land anyone threatening her with beating hearts. Would any vampire realm wish to pursue her with those significant risks?
It was Penelope's understanding that no one outside of Gray Vale was supposed to know about Cora for these reasons, at least not until she had become a vampire herself—that way she would at least be protected from immediate threats. But as long as she still had a beating heart in her chest, she was vulnerable. And now Penelope was itching to know what had created the urgency of this meeting.
The guard left the room, and Grayson gestured for Penelope to approach his desk. He seemed calm enough, so she doubted there was any immediate threat to her daughter's life. But it was hard to know if that was a reliable indicator. You couldn't really trust the apparent emotions of a vampire.
"It is good that you are here," he said as she got closer. "Your knowledge may prove to be very useful."
"What is happening?" She frowned and wrung her hands together. Grayson's gaze landed on this peculiar human behavior and he took note of it, though he doubted it was one he would ever have reason to imitate. It spoke of insecurity.
Still, it was so interesting to have Penelope and her daughter around to learn about these behaviors. It was so much more fascinating than simply being taught about them from a textbook. He wondered what it would be like to be surrounded by humans and the wealth of unusual behaviors they would display. Maybe one day he could leave Gray Vale to see them for himself.
"Prince Grayson?" Penelope called to him, her eyes slightly wide. He must have alarmed her by being frozen in thought.
"Right. There is an animal loose in Gray Vale," he chuckled. "A wolf, it seems. As you can imagine, we do not often have animals running around here, which means it entered from the portal by your home."
He paused with a frown, recalling that their house was no longer their home since it had been set on fire. Was he supposed to offer condolences? He shook his head against the wayward thought and moved on.
"And while our guards have not been exposed to the human dimension to know what an average wolf looks like, this one is very very large. And…" a smile curved on his lips as his eyes slid to hers, "he turns into a human male. You know what that means, of course."
Penelope's expression appeared more worried and guilt-ridden than he had ever seen it. Apparently this was not entirely unexpected news to her.
"I am sorry, Miss Penelope, but did you know he was here?" His head tilted to the side in amusement.
"No," she shook her head adamantly. "I mean… well, Cora mentioned seeing a wolf. But I never saw him."
"When was this?" Grayson was surprised that this encounter had happened without any of his guards witnessing it. That was unless it had happened during the blood moon when the siblings had apparently been able to slip out of their home.
"Just last night," she said. "After Cora lost track of Zane."
"Ah," Grayson nodded. Well, that explained it. "I am going to need your help in understanding why a lycan would be here. I don't even know how he would have found the portal to begin with. It is not a simple task."
Penelope's stomach twisted with the confirmation of her own suspicion and fear. What was she supposed to say? Was she truly supposed to tell him that she suspected this male may be her daughter's mate? They would surely kill him if that were revealed.
"Penelope?" He said as gently as he could manage. "Do you have any ideas? If so, please share them. My men are wondering if they should kill him once they have him or if they should put him in the dungeon for my mother to interrogate."
"Don't kill him," she breathed, squeezing her eyes shut as she said it.
"Why?"
"I think he…" she swallowed, unsure about her next words. But what choice did she have? "I think he might be Cora's mate."
She heard a pen drop softly on Grayson's desk, but she couldn't look at him to see his reaction. She was too afraid.
"If this wolf is my daughter's mate, Your Highness, his death will likely cause her own," she lied.
Well, it wasn't entirely a lie. If the two truly were mated—if he had marked her and mated with her—then his death could quite possibly cause hers to follow. But before that happened, Cora would not be significantly affected if her lycan mate died. She would feel something, of course, but Penelope didn't know how much.
Cora was an unusual case. She was half alyko/fae and half vampire. Would she even feel the mate pull as significantly as another lycan would? It was difficult to know for sure.
"I see," Grayson said. "I will make sure he is not killed then. But this… information about him possibly being her mate…" he trailed off, his thoughts wandering to his mother and Rayth. This was going to be difficult indeed. "Does Cora realize it?"
"No," Penelope breathed. "No, no she has no idea."
"Good. Don't share this with anyone else."