5

Opening her eyes once more, she sat up on the bed almost immediately. She looked at the king who was seated on an exquisite golden chair beside the bed.

His eyes were closed, and his slightly glowing hands were in a strange gesture with his braided hair fluttering even though there was no strong wind in the room.. A second later though, he opened his eyes and stared back at her.

"Do you believe me now?" he asked Xylia softly.

She wanted to nod. She'd always felt that she lacked some memories before turning 10 years old but never bothered about it.

She had always thought that the Wilther family gave birth to her, and they told her that she hit her head when she was little, so it's understandable if she had selective amnesia.

Now her memories before she turned ten had been unlocked. She saw a young Xylia being taught how to fish by her parents. She caught only a small fish in the end, but her parents were happy for her. The parents she saw before she turned ten weren't the Wilther couple but two different people.

She also remembered lots of scenes where they played with her; she recalled her dad braiding her hair on many occasions- a job her mother did poorly at. She saw him dress up like a princess after losing a bet with her mother and how he had to parade around the palace in it while wearing a smug face.

The memories that she remembered at first felt foreign then as time went on it felt familiar and natural.

The last thing she saw of her mother was her placing her at the back of a tree while telling her never to come out. Then the last thing she heard was a heart-rending and blood-curdling scream from her.

She disobeyed her mother's order in the end and went to find her mum whose neck had been broken.

She didn't even have time to mourn for her precious mom before getting chased by an unknown masked man who seemed intent on getting her. He'd captured her once but the dagger her mother put in her hair finally came to use, and she stabbed the man's back several times, forcing him to throw her off while he grunted in pain.

Falling to the ground, she found to her dismay that the place was a slope, and she couldn't help rolling until her head hit a big boulder. Then she embraced the world of darkness.

After that scene, Xylia had woken up.

"I... Can I see Mum's face?" she asked.

"Yeah," the king nodded.

Out of the index ring that Xylia had been thinking was just for adornment, he took out a beautiful frame and handed it to her.

Xylia, upon seeing the face that she'd seen in her newly unlocked memories, felt melancholic.

She stroked the picture, and a tear slid down her face. "Mom... Why were we chased that day? Who was that man?"

She couldn't help but ask while staring intently at the smiling beautiful silver-haired beauty dressed in royal attire and a golden crown on her head.

The king let out a sigh before replying, "I had a twin brother, Rufus. Before your grandfather passed away, he'd willed the throne to me, even though I was the younger one. The will was read out before his death and my father wanted my older brother to support me. But he'd stormed off, leaving the kingdom. I tried searching for him but when I found him, he told me he couldn't support a weakling like me. He even stabbed me before escaping. Since then, I didn't bother to look for him. Father passed away a few days later, and I became king."

He paused for a few seconds before resuming his explanation, "Your mother... I fell in love with her during a chance encounter. I had paid a visit to her pack back then; She was the daughter of the late Beta Louis Hamilton. We were not destined mates, but a marriage between two races wasn't frowned upon. A few days after the wedding though, my brother showed up, and we realized that he and your mom were fated mates."

This made Xylia gasp in shock as her eyes widened. She couldn't help but think back to what happened days ago. Frederick had found his mate and he changed for the worse.

"Are you okay?" the king asked in concern. She nodded in response.

"I'm alright,"

"Well... Your mum didn't like him and outright rejected him on the spot. This caused him to go crazy and go on a killing spree in the palace. I restrained him after making sure your mom was alright because the pain from rejection was crushing, especially if you were the one who initiated it. I put him in solitary confinement in the dungeon for years. Our marriage was five years old but your mother and I hadn't even witnessed a miscarriage much less heard the cry of our own child. It turned out that your mother's personal maid had connections with my elder brother and had slipped a barrenness potion into her food. We found the bottle in her room and had the best potion makers at the time try to find the antidote, but they said that one of the ingredients used in making it was blood and only the maker's blood could solve the case. I had no choice but to meet my brother. He said he would give out some blood for the antidote only if I let him out and never bother to look for him."

"And you agreed?" Xylia let curiosity get the best of her.

He nodded, "I agreed back then since he swore never to return to the kingdom. A year later, you came into our life. You were the cutest baby we'd ever seen and our love for you increased each day. Despite our busy schedules we tried our best to make you feel wanted and happy,"

Xylia nodded. Her unlocked memories confirmed that.

The king continued his speech, "When you turned 9, your mother said she wanted to take you to visit the place we first met. The kingdom was peaceful then; there were no battles or death threats. I followed her there, but we got attacked by rogues from several paranormal clans. There were vampires, there were orcs, there were werewolves, there were even some traitor wizards. They wanted our entire family dead. My brother was the leader of that group and was masked. I told your mother to run with you to safety, accompanied by some guards while I and the other guards fought to survive. We won in the end, but there was a heavy price to pay. Most of the guards with me died and the ones alive, were missing a limb or two, only one could stand and was even bleeding.

I was severely injured too, but my only thought was finding you two. I also realized that my brother wasn't among the defeated people. So I ran in the direction your mother and those guards went, but I only found the guards' dead bodies. It took me some hours to find your mom's body. I put her over my shoulder and looked for you. But I had no luck. That was until a few days ago. There was a special gemstone that your mother found. She made it into two necklaces. She gave one to you, the other was hers." he took out a necklace from his pocket and handed it to her.

It was similar to the one she had been wearing on her neck since childhood. Her adoptive mother said it was a gift from her grandma and she believed easily back then. Now, she had found out the source; her real mother gave it to her.

"It's a unique stone, a sort of life lamp. The gemstone on the necklace in my possession glowed only because your life was in great danger. Thankfully I got to you on time." the king sighed in relief.

Xylia felt her neck and saw that there was no necklace on her neck. Maybe it got ruined and that's why the other necklace's gem lit up. Anyway, this led her father to her.

"Dad,"

"Y-yes, Xylia," her father answered with an emotional tone.

"I'm glad to be back home," she got off the bed and hugged him.

"We have a lot to catch up on. Your mum would have been proud to see you," he said with a melancholic tone, his eyes misty.

"She is happy for us wherever she is, Dad."

"So, who did that to you? Who hurt you to that extent?" the monarch asked.

"My former chosen mate. Dad, forgive me but I can't tell you now. And no, I'm not protecting him. I want to take my revenge on him when I'm stronger,"

Her father agreed after a long while. "Okay. You're an adult now. I'll let you do your thing. You'll also rest more for 30 more days. After that, your training will begin. You've already manifested your wolf side. Now it's time to manifest your witch side,"

"You mean to say that I'm a hybrid?" Xylia was shocked.

"Yes. I wasn't that sure at first but while I was helping you remember lost memories, I felt something that only a witch can possess. If you had started early, you'd have become a certified witch. But it's okay. You can train and progress at your own rate."

"Okay Dad," Xylia felt excited at the thought of becoming a witch in the future. Even if her aptitude and talent weren't high, as long as she could become a low-ranked witch, she would be satisfied.

"I'm curious though. Those carvings on the door earlier..."

"It's a seal. A magic seal that only I can undo. I don't want any of your mother's things to go missing. Her room has been the same ever since she left this world. I come here occasionally and do some cleaning or just to reflect. I won't lie to you, sometimes when I feel overwhelmed, I... cry in this room."

"It's okay." she hugged her dad once again.

***

A year later, it was Xylia's birthday. She had turned 25, and she had shown her face to the people for the first time.

Most citizens only knew that the king's daughter was back, but they had never seen her. As a princess, she was required to wear a veil whenever she came out until she had become a certified witch.

That was because after passing the final test, some wiz bloods were known to experience a transformation in either height or beauty. In her case, it was the latter.

She was pretty in the first place, her flaw was that she lacked ample assets. After passing the last test, she had experienced improvements to her face, her shape, her butt and her boobs. Even her hair had become longer. If she was only called an average beauty in the past, right now she looked like a goddess.

The people were very accepting of her. Her father had invited royalties and nobles from other paranormal races to the grand birthday banquet.

Xylia wore a veil on this night dressed in a modest silver gown that failed to hide her curves. Her ankle-length hair had been made into seven braids and studded with several accessories. A golden nose ring chain amplified her beauty along with the other jewellery adorning her supple body.

She and the ten dancers performed for the guests after which she removed her veil and knelt before her dad for a gift.

When the people saw her looks, they cheered. Many royalties from other races had eyes on her, probably they'd propose marriage after the party was over.

While the party was still in full swing, Xylia suddenly perceived an inebriating scent that she couldn't ignore no matter how hard she tried.

Eventually, she excused herself and followed the scent to the royal garden wondering who it was that the moon Goddess had paired with her.

She soon stopped at where the smell was the strongest and looked to her left. There he was- her mate.