Chapter 13: Chapter 14

Chapter 14 Matilda | quickly got ready and stepped out of the bathroom. The echo of Prescott’s husky command sull lingered in the air. Avoiding looking at the bed, | started packing my bag for his business trip.

“You don’t need to pack now. The meeting in the town has been postponed,” he informed and the crushing weight on my chest lifted, bringing instant relief.

| didn’t want to leave my little sister alone in the Silver Claw pack. | knew that it would take a few hours for her to wake up again and when she would wake up, | wanted to be with her.

“You look tense,” | remarked, looking at his tense muscles. Although | was feeling embarrassed after what just happened, my wolf was dying to get a glimpse of him.

“There is something weird about your uncle. | don’t know why but I get a sour vibe from him,” he said, not hesitating even a bit.

My uncle was a snake in the grass who betrayed me. | didn’t know why he helped me elope with Gabriel if he wanted my Dad to hate me after that. He was the one who told me to choose my fated mate because Alpha Prescott was the most ruthless Alpha who had killed so many wolves in cold blood.

“Can you tell me where he is staying?” | asked, ignoring his question. | needed to figure out why he was doing it to me when he loved me like his own child.

“He seems like a dangerous man. | won’t let you go alone to him,” my mate asserted decisively.

His overprotectiveness irritated me. | wasn’t a kid who needed his protection.

“Liam is my uncle. He has raised me like his own child. He will never harm me,” | declared, folding my arms, leaving no room for arguments...

“Fine but mind-link me if anything happens,” he replied coldly though he looked pissed off. “He is staying in the second last room of the pack house.”

“Thank you,” | said coyly before lowering my head. | didn’t want him to see me with flushed cheeks, He watched me keenly with an amused smile on his face. “You’re always welcome, wifey.”

way he had supported me in front of my family, he had earned my respect. No one The way Ill 12.31 Sat, 24 Feb had dared to look into my father’s eyes, let alone fight against him for me.

“We'll have our breakfast in private from now on.” Alpha Prescott stated when | reached for the door.

Was our fake marriage slowly turning into the real one? Was he feeling something for me?

No. | won’t trust my mate this easily. He might be playing his stupid games with me and | might encounter that bit*h again in this apartment tomorrow morning. It could be just a silly prank.

“| don’t care. Nothing will change between us,” | told him adamantly without turning to look at him.

“You're so-” he could respond, | walked out of the room and soon reached the packhouse as it wasn’t that far from Prescott’s apartment.

“I'll prove it in the council that nothing is happening between the two of them. There is no mark on either’s neck so it’s not real love,” Liam talked over the phone with someone.

| stood outside his room, eavesdropping on his conversation.

“The next full moon, you can attack-” he suddenly stopped and | realized that | was standing too close so he must have smelled my scent.

I rushed inside the room next to him and closed the door behind me before Liam could catch me intruding on him.

“What are you doing here?” My father asked in a hushed tone. And | was astounded to see concern instead of anger for me in his eyes.

“Dad,” | whispered and ran to him.

“Oh, my sweet Princess,” Dad muttered before pulling me in a warm embrace.

His tears made my shoulders wet but | didn’t pull away. Seeing him crying would only make me hate myself more. | wasn’t capable of seeing him cry when all my life he had been like a hard rock that provided shelter during all the storms.

“I'm so sorry, Dad. I’m so sorry,” | broke into a sob, letting all the pain that | endured through these years flow from my eyes.

“No, honey. You did nothing wrong,” Dad pulled me away and wiped my tears away. “Hadn’t you escaped, you would have been dead by now.”

“What?” | freaked out. He was hiding something or else he would never humiliate or 12.31 Sat, 24 Feb hurt me in front of anyone if he wasn’t truly mad at me.

“Yes. Matilda. Your uncle isn’t the same man | grew up with. He is mated to the daughter of the rogue Alpha and that bastard wants his daughter to become the Queen. | found it out the night of your escape when he was telling his mate that he would have killed you if you hadn’t listened to his advice and since then, | have been keeping an eye on him and playing this facade,”

my father explained everything.

| looked at my little sister who was lying on the bed unconsciously. “Is the fated mate’s. bond so strong that it can change a person completely?”

“Unfortunately. yes but we choose what we want to become and Liam chose the darkness,” Dad said gloomily, pressing his lips.

Uncle had always loved me and cared for me. There was a time when he took a dagger on him which was supposed to kill me.

How could he be so cold that he would kill me?

| wish my mate could also feel the same pull, sparks, and power of our bond.

“I'm still not able to understand why he wants me to hate you,” Dad spoke, rubbing his finger on his chin.

aybe because he wanted to become the Alpha King after you,” | guessed. “He didn’t know that | had my crown ceremony with Alpha Prescott so he wanted you to disown me so | would lose my right to become the Queen.”

“I'm glad that Alpha Prescott made the right choice at the right time. Only he is capable of becoming the King. I’m so relieved to know that he loves you and you accepted him,” my father smiled sadly before kissing my forehead.

| would never tell him that he didn’t love me. It was just a contract between us.

“Mom,” Avery yelled in her sleep.

We both went to her and Dad sat on the bed after waking her up. Her forehead was covered in the beads of sweat.

“Did you have a nightmare? What did you see, sweetheart?” Dad slowly rubbed her hands and pulled her closer.

| had missed my family so much. | still couldn't believe that they were here with me.

“Mom was held as a captive and Matilda was trying to reach her amidst the flames of fire,” Avery uttered with unease.

“I'll find your mother. I'll not let anything happen to her, sweetie,” Dad promised Avery who was still looking so pale and scared.

Chapter 14 24 Feb “Matilda is the only inheritance of Mom’s superpowers which means that you're the blessed wolf with the powers of healing and manipulating elements of nature,” Avery said with a straight face, holding my hands in hers.

“But | don’t know how to use them,” | countered.

‘Come home, right now, my mate commanded through the link.

“I'm not your slave, Prescott. I'll come when | want to,’ | replied and cut the link.

“Open the fu*king door or I’ll break it,” Prescott growled from outside of the room so he knew that | wouldn't listen to him.

“Break it for all | care,” | let out a low growl to let him know that | wasn’t scared of him.

Before he could respond, my father opened the door and a furious Alpha entered the room.

“Your uncle has gone missing,” he charged at me as if | had told him to do so.

| hated him. | hated how he would accuse me of the things | didn’t do over and over.