Alpha's Secret Bride-Chapter 67: The Night Her Fate Was Rewritten

"Young wolf, stop right there!" He heard the alpha king’s voice bellowing from the nottingon cottage. He stopped at once and turned to face him. He crooked his fingers and he began to walk towards him. His eyes were red and inflated and there were darker haloes under his eyes. It was obvious he didn’t sleep the previous night .

A wave of guilt washed through his wolf as he walked closer, each step heavier than the last, knowing he had crossed a line he might never be able to mend.

"It’s a she-wolf, right?"

He looked away and nodded after a few seconds. He drew smoke from his cigar and puffed gently, ignoring him for some minutes. No one walks away when he hasn’t asked you to leave his presence. He stood still with his head lowered like an obedient servant.

"You couldn’t sneak in through your secret exit, right?"

He kept quiet because he didn’t know what to say.

"What haven’t I done to convince you that you are the Hereditary heir, Oliver? Last night, I discovered you created a secret exit in your chamber!" He kept calm again and continued drawing smoke from his cigar.

"Oliver, where are you coming from?"

"My moonally is in distress and I...I..." he halted when he tilted one of his brows in surprise. Probably, wondering why he embarked on a rescue mission alone.

"This is absurd, young wolf!"

"Father, I’m sorry."

"Sit," he pointed at one of the chairs beside him. He sat down unhurriedly.

"I put my pack-kins ahead of everything. Despite my tight schedule, I pay attention to your needs. I put a lot of silver in your personal assistant’s account. Last night, I discovered he transferred half of the silver to a den-seller. I became worried. Are you moving out? Did you stay for the night in your new den with the she-wolf?"

"No, father."

"Tell me everything."

"Her pack-kins doesn’t want her anymore and they sent her away."

"Where?"

"Far north territory."

"Where precisely?"

"I’m sorry, I can’t go beyond this, father. I went to the territory to see her."

"You are grounded!" He shouted at him. He kept quiet and continued looking at the field.

"I guess the den is for her," he said after a few minutes of silence.

"Yes."

He kept quiet again and continued drawing smoke from his cigar. A silent battle raged within his wolf—duty clawing at him from one side, while the bond he felt for Emma pulled just as fiercely from the other. He knew no decree could sever what had already taken root in his wolf.

"I forbid you to see her again!"

"I have fallen deeply in love with her, father."

"Oh...I see. How long have you been seeing her?"

"A winter."

"How old is she?"

"She is fourteen."

"What? A pack- kins sent a fourteen-year-old away?"

"Yes"

"I want to see her pack-kins immediately!"

"Don’t worry father, I can take care of it."

"You can’t because you are grounded and you have lost the use of your communication device too."

"How long?"

"Till further notice."

"Father, I’m sorry. Please, do not stop me from seeing her. She poses for me each time I want to draw a wolf."

"Go and shower," he waved at him.

"A pack-kins has been inviting me for dinner and I want to respect their invitation. Would you mind?"

"Oliver, you are grounded! You are not stepping out of this royal Realm and your activities are limited!"

He stood still and was ready to stand forever until he granted his request. He must see Emma’s parents. His wolf refused to yield, clinging stubbornly to hope, because somewhere deep within him, he believed this was the only way to protect her from a fate she did not deserve.

"Invite them over," he let out after a few minutes.

"Thank you, father," he said, and left the cottage with a mixture of joy and sadness. His father has shown him nothing but love. He gave him the best. Just like he said; his schedule was tight, yet he mapped out considerable time for them. It was difficult for him to disobey him.

He walked towards the long hallway that led to his chamber with a sad face. His mother and his younger sibling were in his chamber staring at the sealed secret exit that was covered with a floor-to-ceiling curtain.

The high Luna lifted her teary gaze and fixed it on him. He quickly lowered his head. His sibling, moon princess Elara ran to him and hugged him so tight.

"Oliver, you frightened our wolves to the core," she said, wetting his shirt with her tears. He stroked her hair and kissed her forehead, while tears continued coursing down her cheeks and soaking his shirt more.

"Where did you go?" Mother asked with a tear-smothered tone.

"I went to rescue a moonally that was in trouble."

"Did you rescue him or her?"

"Yes."

"You should have asked for help, Oliver! Don’t ever do this if you don’t want to lose your pack-kins at once. None of us slept last night. Your father sat in the cottage all night, waiting for you. He is still there as I’m saying."

"I saw him."

"What did he say to you?"

"He grounded me indefinitely."

"Very good. You really deserve it. Take your shower and I’ll tell Bernard to serve your lunch, since you prefer his food to Mr. Richard’s. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"Don’t worry, mother; I’ll call him when I’m ready. Right now, I need a short nap."

"Let’s give him some space, Elara," Mother said, and began to walk towards the door while he moved towards his bed. Elara followed him.

"Elara, let him be!" Mother said, holding the door.

"Alright mother," she responded as she sat beside him.

"Last night, I regretted ever supporting you. I was scared and I almost gave up on our little secret. I almost told them I knew where you went."

"I’m glad you didn’t."

"How is she?"

"She is fine"

"Did you come back with her?" She asked with a low whisper.

"No"

"Why?"

"They can only release her to any of her parents. I’m going to talk to her parents."

"Is she a prisoner there?"

"Kind of."

"Now you have been grounded, what do you intend to do?"

"I want to invite them for dinner, and I need your help."

"I’ll help you. What do you want?"

"We need to convince them to bring her back without implicating Emma."

"This is difficult! They still won’t tell her anything about her blood parents. Didn’t you tell her?"

"I told her. Let’s try first and if it doesn’t work, I am going to do it the right way.

"How are we going to do it?"

"Elara, you are good at savage response; I’m not. Please, I leave this ball in your court."

"Trust me, I’ll score the goal. When are you inviting them?"

"Tomorrow evening. They have been sending dinner invitations to me and I think it’s time to respond."

"What do they want from you?"

"They want me to be their blood daughter’s mate."

"Do you like her or hate her?"

"She hasn’t done anything wrong to me, so why should I hate her? Of course, I like her. But I love her sibling, Emma."

"Alright, invite them and trust me. I’ll take hold of any available opportunity and pass your message on to them.

"Thank you, moonpup," he smiled and stroked her curly dark hair.

He sat on the chair and quickly prepared a dinner invitation when his sibling left the room. He gave it to one of the guards and he left immediately.

The next day, the Greens arrived at the high den earlier than the agreed time. Lunara screamed and threw herself at him as though they had known each other since they were pups. He smiled and put his arms around her tiny waist. Her parents kept smiling as he led them to his exclusive dining chamber. Their desperation threw him off several times, but he just had to put up with them because of their adopted She-wolf, Emma.

The first-course meal had been served already, but it was not time yet and Elara hadn’t joined them yet. Lunara couldn’t keep her mouth shut and he hated noisy people. After a few minutes, Elara walked majestically into the dining chamber with a deceptive smile. They all waved at her with genuine smiles. He lowered his head and grinned. If only they knew what that savage smile of hers meant.

"She took after you," Elara said, referring to Lunara and her mother. They exchanged glances and grinned, but Elara did not.

"If you find out tomorrow that she was switched at birth, what would you do? Give her back to her mother?"

"Heck no!" Luna Theresa and her daughter Lunara exchanged glances again and grinned, but her father, alpha Daniel did not. Probably, he understood where the conversation was heading and did not like it.

"Why?" Elara asked.

"Let’s eat," Oliver interrupted her and began to uncover the appetizers. Elara shrugged and picked up the cutlery.