Chapter 146

Xandar looked at the ground in guilt for a moment before meeting his mate’s black orbs as he said,”

Because they hid it, Lucy. The Claws hid it. They shared a good relationship with Reagan’s parents, so

they ordered historians to write Rosalie off completely. The first Claw King…used his Authority to compel

them to do it. With his Authority, he compelled the rest of the Kingdom to never speak about Rosalie ever

again.”

“Portraits and any written work documenting her life story was burnt. The only reason a part of her has

been successfully incorporated into a school idiom was because linguists were clever enough to work

their way around the King’s Authority and subtly…inserted her and Reagan into something that lived on,

transcending lifetimes and generations.”

“But if everything about her is gone, how is it that this portrait exists?”

“This wasn’t kept by our kind.” Xandar’s eyes were serious when he said, “This portrait is a duplicate

copy gifted by the vampires to the descendants of Rosalie’s distant relatives long after the first Claw King

passed away.”

“Vampires?” Lucianne asked in disbelief.

“Amazing, wasn’t she?” Xandar said with a smile. “As a doctor, Rosalie treated everyone, regardless of

species. She even successfully operated on a high-ranking vampire once, which their entire species was

eternally grateful for. The vampires were not affected by the King’s Authority, of course, not being a wolf

o I Lycan. So, they kept Rosalie in their history.”

“Whatever I just told you was what I read from books published by their species, and hidden by mine. It

took me decades before I was able to find enough material to piece her story from head to tail. Some

historians even went so far as to suggest that her death was one of the many reasons why the vampires

declared war on the Lycans, and the werewolves bore the brunt of it when they were sent to the

frontlines first.”

Lucianne returned her sights to the woman in the portrait, and her heart felt heavy for what happened to

her. Xandar wrapped his arms around Lucianne’s abdomen and whispered, “Rosalie’s eyes are lilac like

the rest of us in human form. But her eye color painted here is her animal’s. They were as blue as

sapphires…like your animal’s, sweetheart.” 1

Lucianne’s eyes widened in realization. Her body jerked upright and she tumed and asked, “Were there

other Lycans like her? Those who have animals with eyes which are not lilac?”

Xandar tucked a stray hair behind her ear as he said, “Not that I know of, Lucy.” They stared at the

portrait for another moment before Xandar said, “It is also rumored that this is not a good depiction of

what she looked like. Some argue that her hair color only looked brown under the sun, and that it was

actually black most of the time. Those dots on her face could very well be faint rashes from crying too

often. They’re not freckles. She cried to herself a lot after her first two rejections. Some say the rashes

lightened when she met Reagan but no one knows for sure.”

Sapphire eyes. Black hair. Rejections. Wanting to reject their bonded mate on their first meeting. Four in

the morning, the time Lucianne chose to wake up everyday was the time the Prince awoke from his

sleept o call out his mate’s name. The only difference was that Rosalie was bonded to the Crowned

Prince, Lucianne herself was bonded to the King. 2

Lucianne was hesitant when she asked in a small voice, “Do you…do you think we’re somehow…

reincarnated from them?”

Xandar had the exact same thought in the car when this portrait came to his mind. He kissed her deeply

between her eyebrows before he whispered, “It’s possible. If we are, then it certainly explains why the

Moon Goddess saw it fit to make you immune to certain poisons, and give you the ability to smell them. I

doubt Rosalie could smell the Oleander in her tea when she took it. And she clearly didn’t heal from it.

But you can smell it, Lucy. And you healed from it within hours.” 1

“Did she also have a striped tail?” Lucianne asked all of a sudden,

Xandar looked into the bright eyes he felt guilty of having to disappoint as he said, “I don’t know about

that, sweetheart. I’m sorry.” Lucianne leaned the side of her head against his chest and listened to his

heartbeat as she continued looking at Rosalie.

With his arms around her, Xandar spoke again, “I’m grateful for two things that my parents have already

passed on when we met; and that the King’s Authority cannot be used to compel creatures to mate and

mark a creature that they themselves don’t want. I would’ve never been able to forgive myself if what

happened to Rosalie happened to you, Lucy.”

Xandar noticed her biting her bottom lip. After smoothening it with his thumb, he asked, “What is it,

baby?”

Lucianne’s eyes glistened when she said, “I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if you ended up like Prince

Reagan, living the rest of your days alone in pain, devastation and suffering. It hurts to picture you like

that.”

Xandar held her tighter as he muttered, “Not as much as it hurts picturing a life without you.” He kissed

her hair and uttered firmly, “I love you, Lucy.”

Lucianne didn’t trust her voice to be steady so she linked, ‘I love you, too, Xandar. So much.’

Tell me you know that I love you, baby.’Xandar linked in response.

She chuckled lightly before parting their bodies slightly for their eyes to meet as she said, “I know. Thank

you.”

After sharing a kiss, they moved down the other portraits and tales before pausing for the day to head for

dinner.

A man in a cap pretended to be looking at some scriptures when he noticed Xandar and Lucianne

leaving the castle. As usual, he took note of the time and got his comrade to take over watch duty from

there, What he didn’t know was that he, too, was being watched, by a woman who had to forgo chewing

gum as she disguised herself to look like a cold, knowledgeable professor studying the artifacts in glass

casings