The lost princess

Oliver’s POV:

I stuck my head out and looked at the bottom of the cliff. The cliff was high, and even I felt a little scared. The river flowing below sounded like blood rushing in the blood vessels.

A piece of white cloth was hanging on the branch, very conspicuous.

Rhys’s mother came over. Her lips trembled as she said, “That is what Malory wore today! She really jumped!”

She supported her head with her left hand and leaned against Rhys’s father.

She was right. The only thing that made me feel comfortable was on Malory. The scent of the little orchid had completely disappeared at the edge of the cliff. She had jumped. What a foolish human. She couldn’t even take such a minor blow. She was the weakest person in the world.

Rhys couldn’t be bothered to comfort his grieving mother, who was on the verge of fainting. So instead, he found a way to the bottom of the cliff.

I followed him down but not to find Malory. I was afraid that she would leave behind some evidence that would point to me. I felt suffocated at the thought of it.

I was about to become the Alpha of my pack, and a person who forced his people to die was not a trait of a successor. My father would reprimand me and maybe even ask me to apologize to them in front of the whole pack.

We successfully reached the bottom of the cliff. There was nothing here. It was clean as if Malory had never been here. If not for the shredded cloth caught on the branch, we would not have found anything if we had been a day later.

She seemed to have suddenly melted into the water, just like the strange stories of fairies I had heard when I was young. She had become one with this place forever.

Rhys’s tears were already flowing down his cheeks.

I opened my mouth to comfort him. Perhaps Malory had a chance of surviving, but we both knew that at such a high altitude, even if there were water below, it would be unlikely for her to survive. It would be difficult for her to survive, even if she were a werewolf, let alone a human without a single muscle in her body working normally.

It was as if something was stuck in my throat. The scent had completely disappeared from the surface of the river. Her body might have already appeared a few miles away, or she might have become food to other beasts. Just a few hours ago, she accepted my rejection.

This strange feeling made me feel heavy. I patted Rhys’s shoulder, and we returned the way we came. His parents were waiting for us to bring some good news, but their last hope was shattered.

She covered her face and let out a cry of extreme grief after a long time. Her body kept twitching. A mother had lost her daughter.

I didn’t dare to look into her teary eyes. If she knew I was the main reason Malory jumped off the cliff, I would lose their kindness and love forever. At the same time, I would also lose my good friend, Rhys.

The best way was to cover up this matter. I need to go to Malory’s room to check it thoroughly so that she didn’t leave anything unfavorable to me behind.

We bowed our heads and returned to the banquet. Father asked Rhys what happened, showing deep concern. Taking care of everyone in the pack was his responsibility as an Alpha and mine. I hope that before I become an Alpha, he would not find out about this.

His father had gathered the entire pack to search for Malory. For the sake of such a useless human, the entire pack was forced to wear the color of sadness on the night of the full moon. Her departure was indeed a wise decision. At least from today onward, the pack would not have such moments again.

“Hey, Father. I’ll go to Malory’s room to take a look. There might be some evidence.” I pretended to be relaxed and asked my father alone, but I didn’t dare to look him in the eye, fearing he would smell that something was wrong with me.

“Go, this is also your test before you officially become an Alpha.”

I easily entered Malory’s room. There was nothing inside other than the fleeting scent of the little orchid. She had very few things as if she was ready to leave this place at any time.

No matter what, I heaved a sigh of relief that there was no diary or a note.

I heard people shouting Malory’s name outside. This made me feel very irritated. She didn’t know how to pick the right time. It was likely that no one would be able to get a good night’s sleep tonight.

Just like I said, we were divided into several groups and searched along every possible path, but we found nothing.

Rhys and his parents stood in the middle of the crowd. From their ashen faces, it could be seen that they had accepted that they had lost Malory forever.

I could see Rhys’s mother’s tears and father’s sigh. They had treated that weak human as their blood-related relative.

I shook my head and tried to forget Malory’s face. I should not have such a strong sense of responsibility and mistakenly blame her weakness on myself. It was she who chose this path, all because of a single rejection.

I looked at the river’s last bend that disappeared around the corner. She would not have survived this.

I followed my father to their family to comfort the couple who had lost their family member.

***

King Aldrich pov

I suddenly woke up.

All these years, I’d been having the same recurring dream.

Because of that accident, my daughter disappeared. I couldn’t do anything about it and could only cry helplessly.

Perhaps I’d been under too much pressure recently, but I dreamed of other things I hadn’t dreamed of for a long time: the forest, the lake, and the sound of sad crying.

I stood up and planned to go there for a walk, to the forest where my daughter had gone missing. At first, it was a weak hope, but after a long exploration, it became a habit. Whenever I was unhappy, I would go to the forest as if my baby was still with me.

But today was very different.

I could feel my chest throbbing violently as I walked. I was extremely agitated and restless. This was very unusual for someone like the Lycan King. It was like an ominous sign. My uneasiness reached its peak when I met some silly little animals that bumped into my legs.

There shouldn’t be any small animals in this place. At least, when I appeared, they would run away. Today, they were running around strangely. I walked in the direction they came from.

No matter what it was, I would not allow it to mess around in my territory.

I passed through the bushes and woods, and the strong smell of orchids filled the space.

Other than the members of Lycan, no wolf had the scent of orchids on them. This was a gift from the Moon Goddess and a way to distinguish between the Lycans and other wolves. Such a pure scent could only be from my direct bloodline.

My only daughter left me more than ten years ago. My wife and I searched for her for a long time, but we only got disappointment.

An unrealistic fantasy filled my head. I was dizzy now, even more excited and dizzy than drinking at a party all night.

The scent of the orchid led me to the lakeside. An ugly beast showed its fangs and was about to rush at the figure in the lake. I didn’t have time to think and kicked it away.

The beast ran away with its tail between its legs.

My gaze was completely focused on the girl in the lake. Her face was ashen, and her breathing was so weak that I could barely feel it. Even with her eyes closed, her lips were tightly pursed.

My heart was beating wildly. If my daughter were still alive, if I could see her again, she would probably be around this age.

The smell on her body was getting fainter, and I carried her to the pack without thinking.

‘Dear Moon Goddess, please don’t let a father hug his daughter only at a funeral.’

I ran forward with all my might. After the war, it was rare for me to be so exhausted. I only felt my hands trembling uncontrollably when the royal doctor put her down.

The attendants looked at me in surprise as if I had gone crazy. Yes, I think I was already on the edge of madness.

“Your Majesty, you might need to rest for a while.” Then, they helped me change out of my wet clothes.

“Go and tell the Queen now... No! I’ll tell the Queen when she wakes up. I don’t want her to be tortured by false happiness.”

“Your Majesty, I don’t mean to interrupt you, but this girl has appeared so suddenly. Could it be...”

I calmed down and paid attention to the girl’s face and scent, which were almost identical to the Queen’s. I knew the answer. I could say without any doubt that this was my daughter.

“Tracy, look at her. Even if her appearance can be faked, her scent is the unique mark the Moon Goddess gave us. There’s no doubt that she’s my daughter.”

Many years ago, no one thought that the accident would involve my daughter and cause her to leave the arms of her father and mother. My wife washed her face with tears every day, and I was trapped in the same nightmare, blaming myself for not being able to protect her.

“But she came back. It was like a miracle. She suddenly appeared before me. This must be a gift from the heavens.”

“Your Majesty, you might need to be mentally prepared.” The doctor’s words suddenly broke the beautiful illusion.

I was so happy that I forgot that she hadn’t really woken up and was still fighting against the god of death.

“No matter the price, you must save her,” I pleaded tremblingly.

At this moment, I was no longer a high and mighty king but a father who had lost his daughter.

After a long wait, the doctor finally brought me some good news.

“The princess is fine.” The doctor had a tired smile on his face and sternly drove me away. “You need to rest and make space for Her Highness to rest. She fell from a very high place and won’t recover so quickly.”

I was reluctant to leave. There were still many things waiting for me to deal with.

At the same time, I was also very glad I didn’t tell my wife earlier. If she were here, she might have already fainted. It had been so many years since that incident, but she had never come out of that terrible nightmare, nor had she forgiven or gone easy on herself for even a day.