Chapter 3

Alpha King Pov

I stared at the young woman standing before me, my heart pounding as I studied her face.

The first thing I noticed when I walked in was the young woman. I had only wondered why someone was cleaning at this hour. But the moment she raised her head and looked at me, my thoughts came to a sudden stop.

Her eyes…

They looked so much like my wife’s. It had been years since I lost my queen, but I could never forget those beautiful blue eyes.

I sucked in a sharp breath as an impossible thought crossed my mind.

Could she be…?

My eyes widened as I studied her face again.

Could this woman be the daughter I had spent twenty years searching for?

Twenty years ago, Queen Nelda had given birth to twins. She died during childbirth, and in the chaos that followed, one of our daughters disappeared.

I had never stopped regretting that day.

If only I had paid more attention. If I hadn’t been consumed by grief over Nelda’s death, perhaps I would have noticed my daughter was missing.

My throat tightened. I forced myself to swallow the regret threatening to overwhelm me.

I studied her face again. She was around the same age as my son.

Could this really be the daughter I had lost?

Whether she was my daughter or not, I needed answers. I wouldn’t ignore a chance like this—not when I had spent twenty years wondering what had happened to her.

My gaze fell to Thalia’s patched clothes before moving to her thin face. My jaw tightened.

If she really was my daughter, who had treated her this way?

And whoever had done it…

I would make them pay.

****

THALIA POV

The air seemed to freeze at that moment.

My heart thumped as I stared at the King, my eyes wide open.

I hadn’t expected a powerful Alpha like the King to pay attention to something like this. Talk more about asking questions.

Just then, an awkward laugh broke the silence.

Jacob.

Sweat laced his forehead. He spared me a glance, then immediately turned his head and took a step towards the King.

“Thalia is not my real sister, Alpha King,” he said quickly, bowing his head. “There was… a mix-up at birth, and she is also not mentally stable. Please forgive her appearance,” he explained, his tone apologetic.

My fingers slowly curled by my sides. My eyes stung.

Not mentally stable? Ah… what a lie.

The King’s frown deepened. “Mentally unstable?” He muttered, his eyes trailing down my body before stopping on my face.

I didn’t dodge his gaze. I stared back, my eyes clear.

The King blinked softly, then returned his gaze to Jacob. “Then why hasn’t she been returned to her biological family?”

My breathing sped up. But before Jacob could answer, I took a step forward, my voice echoing in the room.

“I don’t know my real parents.”

Parents? I have never thought about them. Not once.

I could feel Jacob’s glare, but I didn’t spare him a glance. I lowered my gaze and just stared at the ground.

The King didn’t say another word, but somehow, I could feel his deep gaze on me.

The room remained silent for a moment, then the King suddenly turned around and walked away without sparing anyone another glance. His guards followed behind him.

I slowly raised my head, and a strange feeling filled my chest as I watched the Alpha King leave.

Strange.

Just then, a figure blocked my view.

My brows furrowed as I stared into Jacob’s face. He didn’t speak. He only looked at me from head to toe, his lips parted as if he wanted to say something, before shaking his head.

He sighed. “Behave yourself while the King is here. Don’t cause problems,” he warned before walking away with Rose following behind him.

***

I heaved a sigh of relief after cleaning the last shard of glass from the floor. My hands were shaking as I stood up. I didn’t know if it was from hunger or the pain from the injury on my shoulder.

A moment later, I walked towards my old room out of habit. Even after four years, my feet still remembered the way. But the moment I reached the familiar corridor, I froze.

In front of me wasn’t the white door I remembered. It had changed into a transparent, luxurious door.

My mind went blank. I stood in front of the door, staring at the clothes inside, unable to come back to my senses. My whole body trembled as I slowly took one step forward, then another, before pushing the door open.

Instantly, Rose’s familiar scent filled my nostrils. A huge, luxurious walk-in closet came into view. My simple room had been transformed into something I couldn’t recognize. Clothes from different brands filled the room, along with shoes, bags, and perfumes. It was obvious they all belonged to one person—Rose.

My lips twitched, but I couldn’t even form a smile. Only a small whimper escaped me.

If even my little space was given to her, then… What else belonged to me? I… I have nothing.

My eyes stung, and a tear rolled down my cheek. When I turned, my knees suddenly weakened.

I closed my eyes as my body tilted, then—

“Thalia! Be careful!”

I felt a strong pull, then my face hit a strong chest. The familiar scent filled my nose.

Jacob.

“Hey… are you okay?”

I pushed myself away from him, then stared at him. Jacob looked so worried, and for a moment, it felt like things had returned to the past. But the room behind me told the truth.

My fingers clenched.

Jacob’s face darkened when he didn’t hear a response. His eyes flickered towards the door, and instantly, his expression changed.

Panic flashed through his eyes as he immediately looked at me.

“I—Thalia… You—” he stammered, but couldn’t even complete his words.

Our eyes met.

I wanted to ask him to explain. Why did they have to treat me this way? Why should everything of mine be given to Rose?

Rose was their daughter and sister, but I had also been their daughter and sister for nineteen years. So why…?

I didn’t want to cry, especially not in front of Jacob, but the tears came rushing down anyway.

“Thalia… I…”

Guilt filled Jacob’s face. He took a step forward, his hand stretching towards me, but I immediately stepped back.

“There is no need, Alpha. I understand,” I whispered, forcing a smile at the corner of my lips.

Jacob paused. He stared at me for a second, then let out an exhausted sigh.

“This is my fault. I should have prepared another room before you came. I was just too busy.” He pinched his brows, his voice regretful. “But don’t worry, I’ll immediately renovate another room for you when the King leaves. We can’t let the sound from the renovation disturb the King’s rest.”

He smiled gently, as if waiting for me to jump excitedly at the offer.

“Just manage a guest room for now, okay? You can do that for your brother, right?”

My lips twitched as mockery flashed through my eyes.

“There is no need for that, Alpha,” I muttered, my voice hoarse and cold. “When the King leaves, I’ll also be leaving.”

The air between us grew tense instantly.

Jacob’s face darkened. He glared at me, his eyes sharp and cold.

“What do you mean by that, Thalia?” He spat. “Why do you have to throw tantrums for every little thing?! Didn’t I say I would have a room prepared later?!”

My heart tightened.

Little thing? He called changing the room I had lived in since childhood into a closet for Rose a little thing?!

That was my solace space. A place that belonged to me. A place where I could hide and lick my wounds. That room was meant to be mine… only.

I snapped my eyes shut, forcing down the emotions threatening to erupt. After a while, I slowly opened them.

“Thalia—”

“I’ll manage the guest room. Good night.” I interrupted him, then turned to walk towards one of the guest rooms.

I could still feel his gaze on me, but I didn’t turn back.

It was late in the night, but as I lay down on the soft bed, sleep refused to come. Every incident replayed in my head.

Alone in the room, I buried my head between the pillows to stop the cries leaving my throat.

***

I woke up drenched in sweat, my eyes swollen from crying. Morning had already come, but I had barely slept for an hour.

The memories of the night still filled my head as I slowly sat up. There was no point crying again.

I wiped my face before getting out of bed and walked towards the bathroom. After washing up, I carefully removed the cloth covering my shoulder. Pain shot through me when I touched the wound, and I quickly pulled my hand back.

There was no healer here for me, so I cleaned it myself as best as I could and wrapped another piece of cloth around it. There was nothing else to wear, so I put the same worn dress back on.

I stepped into the corridor, then immediately wrapped my arms around my stomach. It twisted painfully. I hadn’t eaten in days, and even standing felt difficult.

I looked around the unfamiliar corridor.

Where can I find something to eat?

I sighed.

I had lived in this house for sixteen years, yet I no longer knew where anything was.

Just as I took a step forward, a sharp voice stopped me.

“You! What are you doing just standing there?”

I turned around.

A maid stood a few steps away, her hands resting on her hips as she glared at me.

“I…”

“We need hands in the laundry room, and you’re wandering around doing nothing?” she snapped. “Come with me. Now!”

Before I could explain, she grabbed my arm and pulled me forward.

“I’m not—”

“Save it.”

Her fingers tightened around my arm as she dragged me down the hallway.

I stared at her hand around my wrist, too tired to fight her. I wasn’t a servant, but then my stomach twisted again.

I closed my eyes for a moment.

What was the point?

She pulled me into the laundry room, where several maids were already working. The moment we entered, an older woman turned towards us.

“Why are you just standing there?”

“She was wandering around the hallway,” the maid beside me complained. “I told her we needed help here, but she kept trying to argue.”

The older woman looked at me from head to toe.

“I’m not a servant,” I finally said quietly.

She raised an eyebrow, then looked at my worn dress.

“With clothes like that?” she scoffed. “Sure.”

My lips parted, but no words came out. I lowered my eyes.

Would she even believe me if I told her I was the Pack princess?

The older maid picked up a stack of clean towels and threw them into my arms.

“Take these to the Alpha King’s villa.”

I quickly caught them before they fell.

“Quickly,” she added. “Don’t make the Alpha King wait.”

I looked down at the towels. Just then, my stomach growled loudly. My face burned with embarrassment, and I quickly pressed my lips together.

Maybe if I finished this, they would give me something to eat.

I tightened my arms around the towels and walked out.

I walked through the hallway, holding the towels tightly against my chest. Every step made my stomach twist again, but I kept going.

Suddenly, laughter drifted from somewhere nearby.

I slowed down.

The sound came from the dining room.

I didn’t know why my feet stopped, but they did. I turned my head and looked inside.

Jacob and Rose were sitting together at the table.

There was food everywhere—meat, fruits, bread, soup… more than I could remember seeing in one place. My stomach twisted painfully.

I swallowed.

Rose had said something that made Jacob smile. He reached across the table and gently wiped something from her cheek.

It looked so natural, so easy, like they had done it a thousand times before.

My fingers tightened around the towels.

They looked like real siblings.

No one looking at them would ever think they had not grown up together. No one would think that I had spent years beside Jacob while Rose had only returned later.

My eyes burned.

So… this is what blood means.

My throat tightened, but I refused to let the tears fall. I looked away before they could see me and forced myself to keep walking.

The pack looked different too. New buildings stood where the old training grounds used to be, and faces I didn’t recognize walked past me as if I had never existed.

I used to know every corner of this place. Now, I felt like a stranger walking through someone else’s home.

Four years.

It had only taken four years to erase me completely.

I turned around a corner without looking ahead.

Then—

Bang!

My body collided hard with someone.

The towels slipped from my arms and scattered across the floor.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going…”

I quickly bent down to pick them up. But the person I had bumped into didn’t move.

My fingers stopped above one of the towels.

Slowly, I raised my head.

But the moment my eyes met that familiar face, every word died in my throat.

My eyes widened.

My heart seemed to stop.

Peter.