Weeks went by and Cora pulled more into herself. She continued writing in the journal after each session and Ana was slowly losing hope that she would ever get her daughter fully back. Jesse and Andrew felt it as well. Cora had eaten very little in the past month and she was looking gaunt and sickly. Her wolf was suffering as well and Cora had become bedridden. She was fading away slowly from the madness after the compulsion was broken, her mind unable to focus on anything. The therapist took her journal to study what had been written and she slowly came to the realization that Cora had been hypnotized. Something that no one suspected and Cora had just learned. She raised an eyebrow when she looked further into the journal entries. The first one was clear and concise. I told the story of what she and the warriors had done. It was in the later entries that she realized that Cora knew that she was Alyssa and was dealing with some of the flashbacks. Many of the entries were written in
Cora lay on the bed in her room with the blankets over her head. Her head throbbed with the pain that the memories were causing her and she felt sick from her previous actions. She felt cold and weak a the moment and her eyes were closed as she tried to push the horrible things out of her head. She wanted to die at this point. Give up because she had lost hope of ever being normal or happy again. Not after what she was remembering. It didn't matter to her that she was compelled to do those things. That she was poisoned and hypnotized by the man that she thought was her father. The man that she still considered her father in some ways. She missed him at times. The hardest part of the whole thing was that she also knew that Jeffrey and Ana were her parents. That they were brokenhearted and disappointed in the daughter that they had recovered, only to find that she was not their daughter anymore. Not in the ways that counted. She didn't even know if Alyssa existed underneath all of th
Cora sighed as he removed the blankets and lifted her out of the bed. Cradling her in his arms, he held her close. He began to whisper in her ear and he snuggled her. She was so surprised that she didn't even struggle in his strong arms. Tingles shot through her body. The mate bond was working its magic as he held her. She knew that he understood that mate bond more than he let on. Cassiopeia was enjoying every moment of this and she could hear her purring in the back of her mind. The sound annoyed her at first. She didn't want a mate. At least she didn't up until now. It seemed that the moon goddess had other ideas and she was making them known. Alyssa had her life planned before she was kidnapped and brought to the castle. She was going to help her father strengthen the pace and expand it. She wanted to be his second in command. She almost was. Now, everything had changed and she was so confused. Xander's arrival didn't help matters. It confused her even more. Still, she remaine
The next morning Alyssa awoke to an empty warm spot next to her and she sat up to look around the room. After a moment she realized that she could hear the shower going and she knew that was where Xander went.Maya poked her head in at that moment and smiled. She was glad that Alyssa seemed to be returning to her old self."Breakfast will be served in the royal dining hall in an hour. Everyone is excited to see you."Alyssa smiled back and nodded. Her memories and dreams were slowly going away and she was able to think clearer. It seemed that all those stories that she had heard about mate healing were true. At least from her point of view.Furthermore, she didn't feel compelled to be loyal to the Rogue King. He may have raised her, but Jeffrey was her father. Something that she never would have chosen belfore.She was hoping that she was finally home and that she was free of that part of her life forever.The shower stopped and she quickly got up to get dressed for the day. She decid
The next few weeks were filled with lots of reading, etiquette lessons, and field training with the other warriors.Alyssa was kept busy and barely had time to breathe. At night she would crash next to Xander and sleep on his chest. The one place where she felt safest.It was strange to depend on someone else. As a Paglione, she had learned to depend on herself. She could still do it now if she had to. Truthfully, she liked it and she felt more tension ease off her mind as the days went on.It wasn't long before she was ready to be welcomed back into the pack. There was a ceremony and a party that would follow. Of course, she was nervous about this. She was starting to remember some of the members of the pack and she wondered how they would react to her being back after everything that happened.As time progressed, though, everyone seemed to be genuinely glad that she was home.There was a big event hosting all the Alphas from all the packs in Jeffrey's kingdom and the top few from Th
It was soon time to attend the ritual. She was nervous as could be, but she knew that she would not reject the bond. A bond that was once just automatic. Now she had to rejoin the pack that she was snatched from all those years ago. Ana led her out to the place in the woods where the ritual would be performed. Henry had his guards join some of the royal warriors to help protect the pack during the ritual, spacing them around the pack borders to make sure that no one entered or left the pack. The ritual place was in a sacred grove that had been created for the ritual. There was an alter and seating for the pack to witness her being brought into the pack. As she stepped forward into the grove she could see that every seat had been filled and some were standing around the edges so that they could witness as well. The turnout meant that she was more than likely being accepted into the pack without question. The pack all knew that she was not responsible for her earlier actions and t
She looked up at her father, King, and Alpha as AJ and Xander moved quickly to her side. The crowd pressed into a smaller group, the men and warriors that we guarding them making a circle around the women and pups to protect them. Alyssa noticed that the kings moved to the sides of their respective mates and another appeared on the other side of them. If need be, they would move the pack into the underground shelter nearby to protect them. A threat like that was not taken lightly and the warriors guarding the pack boundary lines were frantically scouring the area. It wasn't long before they came back dragging rogues with them. Five rogues to be exact. Recognition dawned on her face as they were brought over. They were bound with silver chains and she could see that the silver was burning them and causing their skin to go raw and bleed. She looked away as the king glared down at the rogues. Caramon stepped forward as he bowed to the Kings. As Captain of the Royal Guard, it was his
Alyssa remained quiet as the letter was opened and the High Alpha King read the letter first. After he was done he handed the letter to her father and her father read the letter. Neither one said anything, nor did their expression change as the letter was folded back up and placed back into the envelope. Alyssa was curious, but her previous training in the Rogue Pack had also taught her one thing that she needed to do right now. She too kept her face free and clear of any emotion. She remained silent and patient until they were ready to let them know what was in the letter. She knew that they might not want to reveal it at the moment or they may never tell what was in the letter. What she did know, was that it was her place to be respectful and let whatever they decided to be their sole decision. The two kings gazed at each other a moment before they nodded and slid the letter over to Alyssa to read. Raising an eyebrow, she hesitated before she reached for the envelope and then sli