Alpha Joe's POVI wondered what important thing we needed to discuss. Looking over at Jay, it was obvious he was also oblivious to the purpose of our summons."Now that we are all here, I would begin," he said, looking over at Jay and then myself. My stepmother looked like she already knew what was about to be discussed."The Queen reminded me that 5 days from today will mark the anniversary of the day we had our mating ceremony," he smiled and looked at her, placing his hand on her shoulder. He continued, "We have been together for 25 years, my love." She chuckled at his words.Where exactly is this heading to? I thought. Bravo, they have been together for 25 years, did he call us just to tell us that? I doubt that; my father isn't that kind of person. For him to summon my stepbrother and me, there must be more."Well, to mark the remembrance, we have decided to throw a party with all the members of the pack invited to celebrate with us," he said.Finally, so that was what it was abo
Lilith's POVI opened the door, and he walked in – the man who had captured my mother's heart. He had been visiting our house frequently these past few days, after staying away for about a month or two."Good evening, Alpha Andrew," I said coldly, not meaning to sound that way, especially after the way he had stood up for me the other day. But anyone associated with my mother deserved as much scorn from me as I could give."Evening, Lilith," he replied, disregarding my tone. "Is your mother at home?" he asked with a raised brow.Thankfully, I didn't need to reply, as she walked out of her room and headed in our direction."Just the man I wanted to see," she said, giving him a kiss and a long hug. I moved away from them to the kitchen to prepare dinner as usual.From the kitchen, I heard smooching sounds coming from the living room where they sat on the couch. The living room was very close to the kitchen, making it easy to hear everything going on there from the kitchen."Oh, get a ro
Lilith's POVWe arrived at the palace soon enough, though we were a bit late, as most members of the pack were already seated. Adrain led me to an empty seat on the second row, and we sat down.From where we sat, we could clearly see everything that was going on on the stage. Everywhere was beautifully decorated to mark the occasion.Alpha Joe stepped onto the stage to make an announcement. Upon seeing him, the whispering in the crowd stopped as everyone paid rapt attention to what he wanted to say."Greetings to you all, the wonderful people of Starfall Pack. We are extremely delighted to have you all here tonight to celebrate with the king and Queen as they mark their 25th mating ceremony anniversary," he said, looking across the crowd as he spoke.He stood with so much poise and elegance. He would indeed make a great king one day, I thought. I could feel my wolf recoiling with sadness inside me. She had been rejected by her mate, and I could understand her pain.I could still feel
Lilith's POVThe voice caused Seline's hand to freeze mid-air, and she retreated instead of slapping me again. I looked up to see who it was, just as my attackers spun around to see who had intruded.My eyes widened in shock; it felt like they would pop out of their sockets. It was the crown prince. What was he doing here? I thought. Had he been summoned by the bond between us? My heart skipped at the thought.He looked at me intently before coming closer and helping me stand up. My heart kept pounding; it felt like it would break out of my chest any minute now. His steady hand supported my back as I stood up, and I felt weak in the knees.My mate was there, he had come to my rescue! I suppressed the urge to scream to anyone who would listen that the Crown Prince was my mate. "Aren't you just stupid?" my inner thoughts sneered. "You'd scream to anyone who'd listen that the crown prince is your mate?Please snap out of it already, or have you forgotten how he marked another in front of
Alpha Joe's POV:I shrugged off the thought. My mate, Lilian, was beside me, and it would be very disrespectful to her to keep thinking of another girl whom I had saved by chance.As soon as the ceremony ended, I went straight to my chambers with Lilian. We had been so busy preparing for the ceremony that we had little time to rest. Now that it was all over, we could use all the rest we could get.********Morning came soon enough, and I stood up from the bed, looking over at Lilian who lay next to me. She looked so beautiful. I kissed her forehead and stood up. My father, the king, had told me the previous day that we would go hunting today. I enjoyed hunting with my father.On the hunting grounds, we were free beings, shifting into our wolf forms and even brawling with each other. I smiled at the thought. These days, I had been defeating my father, unlike before when he would pin me on the floor a few seconds into the spar.Growth does beautiful things to one, I presumed. It has mad
Alpha Joe's POV:"This is it," I thought. The time had finally come for him to reveal what he wanted to discuss with me. I had actually been in suspense for the past couple of hours, wondering what my father wanted to discuss with me outside the palace grounds. It must be something very important, I had thought.He looked at me, his eyes had some depth to them as he spoke gravely, "Son, you already know my story with your mother. I am so glad you threaded a different path," he began. I understood what he meant. I am glad he didn't go into details; I didn't need a reminder right now that I had been born out of wedlock.He was proud I threaded a different path by finding my mate and marking her already. Even though I loathed the circumstances surrounding my birth, I couldn't help but be thankful to my mother and father for bringing me into this world."If they hadn't met or given in to their sexual urges, I wouldn't have come into existence, or I probably would have, but to a different
Lilith's POV:Seline was the first to speak. First, she cast a glance at Adrian, who stood beside me with an unreadable expression on his face, then she turned her gaze back to me.She took my hand in hers, an act that made me want to pull away. This had never happened before. Seline always avoided me as if I was a plague. Why then was she taking my hand in hers this time around? Adrian, seeing what had just happened, rolled his eyes and scoffed.Seline didn't pay him any attention as she continued. "Lilith, I am so sorry about what happened last night," she blinked her eyes twice as if she was trying to suppress tears, "I couldn't sleep much last night thinking about what happened.I just don't know what came over me. You know I am not usually like that," she said frantically, drawing her brows together."What an actress!" I thought. She was indeed a natural. The way she had delivered her speech with so much remorse and emotion would make anyone at all who witnessed the scene believe
Lilith's POV:I wondered what he wanted to ask me. "Go on and ask then," I replied with a smile. "Promise first, promise me that you won't get mad," he said. "I promise, I won't get mad." "Okay, I have been meaning to ask why you haven't stood up to your mother yet. You are an adult now; you should stop letting her treat you like an outcast." I knew he was right; I have thought about it several times too. "I guess I just haven't summoned the courage to do so," I replied. We were already at my doorstep. I looked at him, forcing a smile. "Well, I guess this is where we say our goodbyes," I said. "Yeah, I guess so." His eyes were filled with concern as he looked at me. He was troubled for my sake. "I guess I will see you tomorrow then," he said after hesitating for a while. I simply nodded, and he left. He didn't know the real reason why I couldn't leave my mother just yet. It wasn't just because I lacked courage; it was also because I didn't have anywhere else to go. If I chall