Chapter 65

‘How bad was it?’ Lucianne wondered as she watched Xandar’s handsome face show a visible streak of

discomfort at the mention of Aunt Charlotte.

Xandar took a breath before he said, “Whenever I visited, she would sit me down and ask how many

girls I’ve slept with in the past week, or how many girls I’ve ever taken out on a date, how many drinks

can I handle before I got drunk, who and how many have willingly stripped in front of me. Her face

showed that it was fun for her to ask these things but to be on the receiving end of those questions was

just…” Xandar shook his head in disapproval, annoyance and dismay before he said,(This novel will be

daily updtaed at www.noveljar.com) “I am so glad I don’t have to deal with her anymore. That was the

one funeral I attended in pure happiness.”

“Oh wow. That was bad.” Lucianne muttered, and had to shake her head to bring herself out from what

she had just heard. Something came to her mind, and she cocked her head to one side as she asked,

“Didn’t your parents find such questions inappropriate? Didn’t Uncle Conrad?”

Xandar sighed and responded in disappointment, “No. They kept insisting that Aunt Charlotte was only

being friendly and was only teasing. But really, these are too inappropriate and uncivilized to be

considered as jokes! Aunt Reida threw a fit when I told her. Granpa Brock tried to ask Uncle Conrad to

persuade his mate to stop but that only made things worse. After that, Aunt Charlotte would just ask why

I was being so secretive about the things she was asking.” Xandar groaned in frustration and whisper-

yelled, “It was not a goddess damn secret! It was a very crazy line of inappropriate questions that one

shouldn’t be asking anyone! Especially not one’s own nephew!”

Lucianne shook her head in dismay as she absorbed Xandar’s words, “What a creature.” After a

moment, Lucianne asked in curiosity, “What’s Greg’s parents like? Are they still alive or?”

Xandar shook his head, “His mother passed on from a blood disorder. His father died about a decade

later in a car accident. Greg was already an independent adult by then so there wasn’t an issue of

custody and guardianship, thank Goddess. Otherwise, my father would’ve willingly taken him in and I’d

have to live with him and that irritating mouth of his.”

Lucianne nodded in response, “That was a very interesting conversation.”

Xandar scoffed. He then fixed his soft gaze on Lucianne and said, “Now, babe, it’s your turn.”

“What?” Lucianne looked up from her plate in confusion.

Her mate was smirking, “I told you about my family. It’s your turn to tell me about yours.”

Lucianne put a small cube of steak into her mouth as she thought about where she should start, “Well,

my parents were killed by hunters when I was six. So I didn’t know them for very long. I’ve never met my

paternal grandparents because they died when my father was a teenager. And my maternal

grandparents did spoil me when they were alive but they lived in

another pack so I didn’t see them very often.”

She took a sip from her glass before she continued, “From my father’s side, there was Uncle Peter. He

was a warrior, and was killed in a rogue attack. From my mother’s side, there’s Aunt Greta and Aunt

Portia. Aunt Greta never liked me, said I spoke too much for a girl. (This novel will be daily updtaed at

www.noveljar.com)Aunt Portia always saw something wrong with my body and appearance. She’d tell

me to try some skin products to brighten my face, consider plastic surgery to alter my body and a whole

list of things like that. I haven’t spoken to both of them in…eight years so I really don’t know whether

they’re dead or alive. And I honestly couldn’t care less.”

Xandar swallowed the food that he was holding in his mouth from the shock at the mention o f plastic

surgery before he asked, “You didn’t really go through with surgery to change your appearance or body,

did you?”

Lucianne scoffed, “Like I would listen to those scatter-brains. Besides, Luna Janice wouldn’t have

allowed it.”

Xandar sighed with relief, which made Lucianne tease, “For a second there you thought you fell in love

with a fake face on a fake body, didn’t you?” She chuckled before she said, “I was never pretty like some

of the she-wolves but I never felt that my face was so disfigured that I needed surgery. It’s a waste of

money too, to be honest. Could very well buy more books with that cash.”

Xandar reached for her hand and squeezed it gently as he uttered sincerely, “Lucy, baby.” Their eyes

locked as Xandar continued, “You are beautiful. Please, don’t think you’re anything less. You are the

most beautiful creature I’ve laid my eyes on, I’m not just saying this because I’m your mate. You have no

idea the amount of attention you get from the men in a room with your looks alone, even before they

know you’re Queen. If I were to kill everyone who looked at you in yearn, half of the people in the dining

hall would be dead by now. Please, baby. You may not think that you’re pretty but you have to know that

you’re the most beautiful creature i

n any room we enter.”

Every word that came out of his mouth pulled her heartstrings. The desperation in his eyes for her to

believe him made her heart melt. But deep inside, she knew that what he said wasn’t true. She had seen

so many more beautiful she-wolves who all normally have males and other she-wolves crowd around

them. (This novel will be daily updtaed at www.noveljar.com)Lucianne herself had never garnered that

sort of attention. At least, she didn’t know that she did.

Logic told her that Xandar only saw her the way he did because of the mate-bond. But Lucianne didn’t

want to start a debate on something as petty as her looks. So, she glanced at their hands, and gave

Xandar’s hand a gentle squeeze before she whispered*Thank you, Xandar.”

Xandar sighed before kissing her hand and letting it go for Lucianne to continue eating. He then added,

“You might not believe me today. But I’m going to keep telling you that you’re beautiful. And I won’t stop

even after you believe me.”

Her knife and fork stopped moving in her hands when he said those words. She felt the familiar warmth

creeping up her cheeks before she threw Xandar a shy smile. Xandar returned her smile and got on with

their earlier conversation about her family, ‘So, uh… Uncle Peter, what was he like? You two must have

been close with him being a warrior. Was he a Gamma by the way?”

Lucianne shook her head, “No. He was one of Blue Crescent’s best but not the best. I would say we

were quite close. I’d tag along when he goes for warrior training, and I’d sit on the sidelines as I watched

them train.”

Lucianne then chuckled, “The first time I followed, I didn’t know what I was walking into. And when the

warriors started sparring, I screamed and burst into tears. I actually thought that they were going to kill

each other. It took Uncle Peter and another warrior a whole hour to calm me down. Uncle Peter never

took me along after that time. So I snuck in there by myself.”

Xandar’s eyes twinkled in mischief as he pictured Lucianne doing what she just said she did,”

Seriously?”

Lucianne shrugged, “Yeah. They don’t lock the doors when warriors are training so getting in was never

the problem. Staying hidden was more challenging. I would hide behind the rolled up sparring mats

they’d put at the corner. And I’d move a few just a little to make a gap between them, just enough for me

to see what they were doing. But I was caught after doing it five times. Should’ve changed a hiding spot

every once in a while.”

“They kicked you out?” Xandar asked in despair.

A smile graced Lucianne’s features, “The Gamma wanted to. But I promised them that I wouldn’t cry or

make a sound. I’d just watch. Many of them insisted that I left because of what happened the first time.

But Juan’s father, Alpha Ken, said I could stay. Alpha Ken and Uncle Peter would even sit with me

sometimes if it wasn’t their turn to train. They’d explain what the warriors were doing and why they were

doing it. After a few months, Alpha Ken and I even bet on who would win a spar. We would select a pair

at random, and we’d place our bet and watch them in silence until a winner emerged.”

Lucianne chuckled again, “Now that was fun. If I won, I’d get to play with Juan for the whole day on a

Saturday when I was normally allowed only half. If he won, I’d have to share my treats with him.”

Xandar’s smile grew wider as Lucianne chuckled again at her memory. ‘Beautiful, he thought to himself.

(This novel will be daily updtaed at www.noveljar.com)He then asked, “Juan never joined you to watch

the warriors?”

Lucianne shook her adorable head, “No, he was more of a video game type at that age. I’m okay with

video games but I’ve always preferred entertaining myself with books, tv and well, watching the warriors

train. And also betting with Alpha Ken.”

Xandar chuckled this time. He then said gently, “You must miss Uncle Peter. You both do

have something in common.”

Lucianne offered a small smile, “I do. He watched over me like a daughter when my parents weren’t

there. And he wanted to take me in after my parents died but he already had three pups of his own. So

Alpha Ken and Luna Janice reasoned with him that it was best if they both took me in instead since they

only had Juan. I’d go visit Uncle Peter in the evenings sometimes, like after watching them train. But I

wouldn’t stay long. His mate and my cousin don’t like me very much. Aunt Penny would say that my

interest in something as barbaric as training would be a bad influence on her daughter, whom she was

grooming to be a ‘well mannered, presentable lady’.” Lucianne rolled her eyes.

Xandar smiled and shook his head at the absurdity, “Didn’t we leave the Renaissance and Victorian eras

ages ago?”

Lucianne chimed in, “Well, Xandar, as King, you must understand that some of your subjects require

more time than others to evolve.” Xandar burst into laughter. Even his animal was chuckling. When he

could finally stop, he took her hand and pecked a kiss before declaring i n all carefreeness, “Oh, I love

you.”

She shook her head gently at his reaction to what she said before she uttered a shy, (This novel will be

daily updtaed at www.noveljar.com)“I know. Thank you.”