58. The Unsolicited Advice

Tatum raised his brow. “What makes you think there's a woman I'm in love with?”

“Just a hunch.”

Like him, Eugene had trained his heart, blocking its rate and heat signature from every other werewolf. So Tatum had no way of knowing if he was telling the truth.

But he was determined to find out. There was a knowing glint in Eugene’s eyes that unsettled him. Something he had said had caught his attention.

“You implied that Gabriel is king because you could never accept being bound by duty to the city. But isn’t it the truth that he’s king because he’s the offspring of your parent’s true mate union?”

Eugene shook his head. “It’s true, he’s a true mate kid. But that’s not why he’s king. Our father was ready to give me the title. I turned it down.”

Tatum was bewildered. He had never known. He had simply assumed that was the case because his was no different. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why did you turn it down?”

“Ah,” Eugene smiled, still sitting in his meditative position. “I knew what it would co