Chapter 28
Chapter 28
I stare back at myself. “I…I
don’t even know what she
looked like.”
I never gave this much thought. I don’t know if it
was my subconscious trying to protect me but, I never thought about my real mother, until now. I have
always had to be so strong. It
is like I have been numb all
this time and now I am
finally starting to feel something. Sadness.
“Come. Let’s fix your hair.‘
She gently pulls me to a chair. “Such pretty hair,” she
mutters as she starts working
with it.
She is gentle and doesn’t pull
on it. She puts my hair into a simple updo bun. It is not slick, but still curly. I like it
because it is simple.
“Alright, makeup,” she says
getting in front of me. “I’ll
keep it simple and clean. Just
enhance your natural
beauty.”
“Natural beauty? With these
scars?”
“These are an indication of
what you have survived. It
means you are a warrior. I
have my own scars and I
never cover them. I wear
them with pride because I
overcame it all. You should
too.” She says.
This woman is making me
think differently about many things.
After a few minutes, she is
done. I have never in my life
wore makeup. I feel weird but I can see that I look
good. She did keep it nice
and simple which I am
happy about.
“There. Now let’s get your
shoes, and head downstairs. It’s just about time.”
She pulls out ivory–colored
shoes that match the dress
perfectly. They are heels. I put them on and we both
look at them.
“That’s perfect. Let’s go.”
We start to walk out but then
with no warning, I fall.
She gasps and all I can do is
laugh.
“Are you okay?!” she asks
with panic.
“Yes. I have never walked in
heels.”
“Oh my…” She smiles. “Okay. Let’s fix that.” She goes back into the closet and gets me a different pair of shoes. They still have a bit of length to
them but not as much as the
first ones.
I put them on and walk with them perfectly fine. Still
giggling because of my
mishap, we walk through the
hall but suddenly, Poppy
stops.
She looks at me and smiles.
Then she looks up at the wall
where there is a painting.
“You said that you didn’t
know what your mother
looked like. This is her.”
I stare at the painting and suddenly, I feel emotional.
She was so beautiful and I
can’t deny the resemblance.
She had long curly hair like mine but hers was a lighter
brown and she had hazel
eyes.
Up until now, I didn’t know
how much I needed this.
“Thank you…Poppy.”
She smiles and nods. “I’ll
have someone bring a picture of her to your room
so you can have it with you. Now let’s get going”
Somehow, amidst
everything that is
happening, I feel just a bit of happiness.
I enter the dining room with
a small smile but it soon falls
when it is filled with people that immediately look at me as I enter. Poppy leads me to
a chair next to Warrick. As I
slide next to the man, I scan
the room looking for Colt
and the moment I see him, I
immediately relax. He stands among the crowd of people
at the table.
“My…daughter.” Warrick’s
voice is a bit broken as he
talks to me. I stare up at him
to see him eying me with
what seems to me is just a bit
of sad emotions.
“You look just like your mother…” He whispers low
enough for me to be the only one who hears him.
He looks down for a second,
reaching for his composure,
and then suddenly that
sadness he has is gone as if it
never was there. He gets up
and everyone who is seated
gets up as well.
Warrick looks at my dress.
“You look incredible. Indeed
you are your mother’s daughter.” His words feel almost rehersed, as if it was something generic he would tell anyone. As if the man
who looked at me with so
many emotions running through him just a few seconds ago when I first
seated was never real.
His eyes avert back to the
small crowd of people who
stand around the table.
“This…is my daughter,
Casseopea. My eldest child. Dahlia’s daughter.
Unbeknown to me, she survived and all these years, she was under the enemy’s
nose.” He looks at me. “She
will be succeding me. She is a true Alpha.”
I almost gasped thinking
about this now. I hadn’t
realized this but if he is
really my father—which I
am starting to believe he is— I am of Alpha blood. I…am
an Alpha!
When it comes to female
Alphas, there is very little
difference from them to
Betas, Gammas, or Omegas
other than the blood that
flows through their veins. However, I was always taller in my wolf form but I never gave it much thought.
Warrick speaks to me. “Casseopea, these are my brides. Lotus and Jasmin. Poppy, you already know.”
I immediately noticed Skye and I was right, she is Jasmin now. She looks a bit
different. Her blond hair is
now long and she dresses very luxuriously.
I am sure she recognizes me
but I am not sure what she is
thinking. Her blue eyes show an expression of confusion
and fear. Maybe she thinks
that I will recognize her and
tell Warrick who she is. But I
would never do that because that would give Colt away.
Lotus is a bit older. Seems
she would be my mother’s
age. She has thin brown hair and green eyes. She looks at
me with a sweet smile.
“The last time I saw you, you
were a tiny little thing.” She
says.
I give her a small smile.
“And these are my seven generals,” Warrick says. “You
already met Alexis, Beck, and your brother Victor. Part of my generals are also your other brother, Garret.”
He waves to a man with light
brown hair almost blond in a
short but wavy style. He has
dark eyes and is very
handsome. Victor is too but
Garret seems less
intimidating though he does
not look very happy right
now.
“You also already met Serge. He is also one of my generals.”
I look at Serge who gives me
a nod. The man seems to be
so quiet all the time.
“And these are the rest of my generals, Rodrick, and then Archie who is also my Beta.”
The two men give me a nod.
Rodrick is much older with
white hair and a scar across
his face.
I have to admit that even
though they have smiles on
their faces, they do not look
happy at all.
“Now tell me, how is it that
you came to be in the
enemy’s pack and how did you survive all these years?” Warrick asks now sitting
back on his chair.
Everyone else does the same
and so do I.
I push through and find the
courage to use my voice.
“Well…I was told I was found
near the river that travels
through the pack.
Mother…was dead. A couple
found me first and they
immediately took me in and
raised me as their own. No
one knew who I was…neither
did I.”
He nods with his eyes closed.
Then he opens them and
looks at Colt.
“And tell me, Alexis, how is it
that you came across her and
what made you believe she
was my daughter.”
“Well, I was taken prisoner
and so was she.”
Alpha Warrick looks
confused.
“I punched the Alpha’s
daughter and I was taken to the dungeon as punishment.” I quickly say.
Suddenly, Warrick starts laughing. “You display so many characteristics of your mother and you don’t even know it. She was a feisty
one.”
Somehow, at this moment,
he doesn’t seem so scary. Maybe it is because he is in a good mood.
Colt continues. “In the cells,
she was attacked by a man.
That is when she displayed her power. I immediately
knew she must be your
daughter.”
I am staring at Colt with my eyes wide.
So it was me. I did kill him. I
killed Niles. But how? Was it just by thinking about it?
“I told her who she was and
she helped me escape. That is how we made our way back to you.” Colt finishes.
“My boy, you will be greatly
rewarded for this. You will
have the top seat on my table
from now on next to the
Beta. Beck, move.”
“You honor me, Alpha.” Colt
gets up and gives him a bow.
Beck on the other hand
looks pissed. He gets up and
as he walks past Colt, he hits
him on his shoulder with his
own shoulder.
“You won’t be there for too
long,” Beck says.
Colt ignores him and
Warrick doesn’t seem to
care.
Now Colt is much closer.
Skye does not look at him and Colt doesn’t even glance
at her either. It is strange for
me to see them like this
when all I remember was
them together.
But his presence makes me
feel at ease. Isn’t this how
mates are supposed to feel with each other? I feel more
of a connection with Colt
than I ever did with Ezra.
Ezra…I have not felt any pain at all. Has he gone celibate? I want to laugh at my own stupid joke but I hold it in.
I was afraid of what was
going to happen at this
dinner but the evening went Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.
well. A bit too well if I am
honest. Warrick and most of
his men drank too much.
Poppy takes me back to my room when they start getting riled up.
“Is that how he always is?” I ask Poppy as she helps me
undress.
“No. I have to admit, he was
in a very good mood today.
It is rare to see him like that.”
“Do you not fear him?”
“Sometimes. When he gets angry and violent, me and the other brides just leave
him be. He doesn’t mistreat
us as long as we are loyal to
him. When it comes to
matters of the pack, now that is a different story. To me, it always seems like he believes
that he has to rule with an iron fist. He prefers for
people to fear him.”
“That’s sad,” I mutter.
“Now, have a good rest. I’ll
see you tomorrow.” She says
and leaves.
I go to the drawers where I start to look for something to
wear and I find a drawer
filled with sleepwear. I put
on a pajama that is like a big
shirt. It is soft and
comfortable.
When I turn, I almost lose
my shit. The shadow of a
man stands in front of me
but I quickly notice that it is Colt so I stop myself from doing a karate chop on his
ass. Not that I know how to
do one but whatever I did
would still hurt.
“How did you get in? You
scared me!”
He smiles and takes me in a
hug. “I came through the
balcony. But don’t leave your door unlocked again.”
“Why? Because handsome
men will start poring in?”
He chuckles. “Yes. Exactly
that.”
I close my eyes feeling his tight embrace.
“I was so scared, Colt,” I whisper.
“I know. I am sorry we ended up in this situation. This is
not how it was supposed to
be.”
I back up and look up at him. “Is he really my father,
then?”
Colt nods. “I believe he is.”
“And this power?”
He backs away and sits on
the bed. “You are familiar
with Alpha command?”
I nod. “Yes, but this is not
that.”
“No. It is similar but stronger.
You come from an old line of
werewolf family. They were
thought of as royals a long time ago because of their
power. There were three families with this power. The Solveig, the Gunnvald and
your family, the Chevalier.
However, not everyone in the family gets this power. Only those who are born with the will of a true Alpha inherit this power. None of your brothers have it.”
“And…what is this power?”
“Similar to Alpha command, you can control someone’s mind. As you know, some Alphas of packs have Alpha
command. This is when they are able to give a command to their pack members. Now,
a pack member can fight the
command but it hurts them
to do so however it is
possible to disobey. You’re
power however cannot be disobeyed. Your power…can command the soul, the b*dy
itself to do anything and this
is anyone, not just your pack.”
“So…if I command someone
to die…their heart will stop
beating…”
He closes his eyes and nods.
“So I did kill him.”
He nods again but this time he gets up and holds me.
I look up at him. “I didn’t
want to kill him. Not really.”
“Don’t feel sorry for that. He
deserved it.”
“You should run. Go back to
your pack,” I tell him.
“What?”
“Warrick is never going to let me go now that he knows I
exist. I am sure of this. But
you shouldn’t have to be
here because of me.”
“I won’t leave you.”
“Why? You owe me nothing.”
“Maybe I am in love with
you. I don’t have to owe you
anything if I am in love.”
I squint my eyes. “In love?
Really?” I ask with an
obvious doubting
expression.
“But…what if I did love you?”
He asks sounding serious.
“How can you love me when we don’t really know each other? I would accept it if we were actually mates. The
mate bond would make us
fall in love with each other
after such a short time
together but-”
He interrupts, “Do you not feel safe with me? Do you
not look for me whenever
you are out? Do you not think of me whenever you
are alone, unable to rid me out of your mind?”
I do feel all of that. Is this
what love is?
“I have never felt love before, so I guess I wouldn’t know
what it looks or feels like,” I
tell him.
“Then maybe, this is what it looks like,” he whispers.