38

Chapter 38

Jace's POV 

My eyes were affixed on his irritating face when Oakley informed me on the mind link, 'All the guests on the lists are here, Jace.'

'Okay. Thanks, Oakley. What about Jenna? Is she ready?'

'Yeah, I just got word from Pluto that she's waiting to make her entry with Jared, though he's being very whiny and grumpy today.' 

I sighed helplessly. Jared's grumpy mood can be very intimidating. When he's in that mood, he either just wants to stay in Jenna or mom's arms, or just be left alone on the floor so he can crawl around. 

It's definitely the latter because since morning, everyone has been carrying him around. He got very little play time today. 

I'm certain Jenna will find a way out to handle him. I focused on the crowd in front of me. 

We were in the grand hall of the castle. It was specifically designed for such balls. The pillars were decorated with scented flowers and gypsies. The chandelier was illuminating with hundreds of candles in it. The room was cool as both the nature and air conditioners were working together to keep the guests happy. 

I strutted over to the staircase to stand up high so I could see everyone. I halted on the third step as I swept a gaze around at the guests. They were all the Alphas and Lunas of my kingdom. Some were from Nomad Packs who didn't fall under my territory but are my allies. 

The Rogue king and queen were also here... An old couple, who were my biggest allies. Since they joined my alliance, I've faced very few rogue attacks. 

Anyway, I cleared my throat thrice, loudly, to get their attention. A hush promptly unfurled throughout the hall as every head turned towards the staircase at me. 

"My fellow Alphas, and graceful Lunas, thank you so much for being here today. Thank you for gracing this celebration with your presence and for joining us as we celebrate my son’s six-month birthday." All the faces were warm and happy, Chris' particularly. He looked overly excited. 

'Well, maybe because you said you have a surprise for him. He probably thinks you'll honor him or something.' Denis sneered. 

Honor. I grunted. He'll soon find out what I've called him here for. 

"I can't express my gratitude in words. Truly. My queen and I are really honored to have you here. Before I summon her or bring my son out and introduce him to all of you, there is something I would like to share— A story." 

"A story?" 

"We love stories!" 

People shouted in joy and chuckled. I returned their chuckle and continued, "If you love stories, this one in particular will skip your heart and make you believe that—When destiny wants two people to find each other, nothing in the world can keep them apart. It always finds a way to bring them together."

There were some hoots and I looked in the direction and nodded, "It is my story. A story about how I found the two people who have changed my life completely." 

I paused and let everyone brace themselves. When my gaze fell on Chris, he showed his thumbs up and mouthed: So excited. 

I grinned in response. The poor guy has no idea what's coming for him. 

"Okay, so..." I began. "As you may know, I lost my mate years ago, and when that happened, I was heartbroken. So broken that for a long time I stopped believing in love altogether. I was afraid of loving again. Afraid of finding another mate, because I knew exactly how painful it was to lose one."

"Those of you who have gone through the pain of losing your mate and have been blessed with a second chance mate know exactly what I mean." Some heads nodded in approval as a look of distant longing and attachment crossed their features. "You know the fear that comes with opening your heart again after having it shattered once. So I was scared. I didn't want another mate. I didn't want to go through that pain again. I didn't want to fall in love again or go anywhere near it."

"But..." I sighed. "As you also know, I turned thirty this year. Not trying to brag about it, but I think I am doing my job well—"

"There's no doubt about it, Alpha King."

"Yes, we love you!" 

"You're so young and yet so good at your job."

"— Thanks for all the praises, what I was saying is... I had a kingdom to think about. I may not want a wife or mate because for myself, the kingdom I needed an heir. All of you needed an assurance that someone will take after me and watch over you should something happen to me. And that's when I decided I need an heir."

"So I convinced myself that I could have a child without having to go through the complications of love or finding another mate." Pause. "That was when I decided to have a child through IVF. It's an easy way to get a child. You just ejaculate in a small container and nine months later you get a baby."

I tried to be funny, and to my surprise everyone laughed at it. Chris was the loudest. 

"Unfortunately, finding a woman who could carry my child wasn't as simple as I had imagined." I softened my tone into a mildly somber one for the dramatic effects. I was really loving this story telling. "Every woman I approached either wasn't physically strong enough or was unable to carry the pregnancy in her womb."

"It was so daunting, even the doctors at the IVF center couldn't understand it. Some said it's because the child was mine— The Alpha king's, thus the women were unable to carry it through. Some said I was probably cursed. All these talks really made me think it was impossible. I even started to lose hope."

He paused to breathe as I took this time to look over the crowd. They were invested in my story. I inwardly smirked. I could be a story teller, I guess! 

"But then, something happened!" I exclaimed. 

"A miracle?" Someone from the crowd remarked. 

A faint smile touched my lips as I bobbed my head, "You can say that because— I found her." 

"Well, My Beta and my best friend, Oakley, was the one who found out." I raised a hand to refer to him. 

Oakley was standing in the back with a glass of drink. A tight smile graced his lips when I turned everyone's attention to him. That got to me. I felt a pang in my chest. I hadn't expected Oakley to react this way, but he's angry. 

He's been distant and awfully professional ever since we had an argument over Liza in my study that day. 

"He was unable to see me looking despirited and decided to go and threaten the doctors to perform some magic and get me a child. And eventually he uncovered a shocking mistake in the entire process." I shrugged as my guests leaned in interest. 

"You see, somewhere along the way a terrible mistake was made. The doctor at the IVF center accidentally injected my sperm into another woman, another one of their clients, because he was drunk. And all this while he told me the women couldn't bear conceiving my child, he's been lying all along. He was just too afraid to confess and left me in the dark."

Tbc…