[ACROD]
The surprise on Grant's face didn't disappear even when the ceremony was done. It was almost like a part of him refused to lean into the fact that Nour was back and was not going to be caged like he had imagined.
He had dreamt of far better conditions for himself and the ones he cared about, but right now, as he watched Alanor and the Afshin alongside Nour, Grant knew that things would never be the same.
The confusion on his face at the prince's Viking blood was even more unsettling, because it spoke of something that Grant didn't need spelled out for him.
The crown prince was back.
Not as the omega who had been whining for his Erasthai or even the mate Grant had spent years ruling and abusing.
This was a different person.
Someone who looked like he could twist Grant's neck and pull out his spine while eating with his left hand. It was the unsettling kind, and naturally, as the ceremony closed, Grant turned to where his grandma had been standing.
Aurora was gone.
