Betrayed Heiress: My Second Chance Mate is A Lycan King

Aira’s POV

There is a part of the palace I have never been to yet.

I always told myself that I would venture to that part of the palace, but with all this drama going on, I never thought of it. Once it wasn’t a part of my route, I didn’t bother to cross it.

It was a whole other extension of the palace on the west side. Whenever I would take a peek at it, it was always deserted, like there was no one there. Like there was no life. I came to the conclusion that maybe the palace was just too big and there was no one staying at that part of it because it was quite far from the main entrance.

Now I can see that I was terribly wrong.

“Where are we going?” I ask as Alex, Arnold, and I walk down the hall leading to the west wing. I did not know how to explain it, but the air here was awfully cold, the halls were silent, and there was this feeling I got as we walked deeper and deeper into the west wing.

Alex doesn’t answer my question; I don’t think he even heard me. He has been staring off into the distance for quite some time. It was quite a wonder how his feet were even moving in a straight line. Or maybe he just wasn’t in the mood to talk.

I mean, it is not every day your mate comes into contact with your mother, who has been dead for over a decade.

“Remember when we found you? We told you that there was an oracle who told us where to find you,” Arnold explains instead. I nod slowly, remembering the night when Ana and Jace hired those hooligans to take my life.

I hope they all have a special place in hell.

“Well, our kingdom is actually a very spiritual one. We speak to the spirits whenever we need guidance through our royal priest,” Arnold pauses. What he says next causes my brows to shoot to the top of my head. “Alex’s dad.”

I gulp. “So, it is Alex’s dad, the royal priest, that we are going to see now?” I ask, and Arnold nods. I do not know why, but I suddenly feel terribly nervous.

It was only once that Alex made mention of his dad. That was many months ago, on the night Alex and I had our first ever civilized talk. Ever since then, there has never been any mention of him after that. I remember Alex mentioning that he enjoyed staying on his own, but I have been here for months and have never once caught sight of the man.

My attention returns to Alex; he still hasn’t said a word. I squint my eyes at him. Even though I know it is impossible to see right through him and know what his exact thoughts are, it still wouldn’t hurt to try. It bothered me so much that I couldn’t at least find the right words to comfort him.

We came upon a great black doo; it appeared to be over seven feet. There is this chill that crawls up my spine, and I just knew that there was a great source of power coming from the other end. This must be it.

Alex stood before the door, appearing hesitant. That is something I never knew he was capable of. Alex always seemed to know what he was doing and stood confidently on it. But now…

“Alex?” I call out to him.

“My father was never one who enjoyed ruling. He was always a deep man who loved to keep to himself. He did more meditation than he did ruling during his reign. It was my mother who supported him and helped him with his duties as the alpha. Some even considered her the alpha, not him. When she died, everything just fell apart. My father decided he no longer wished to be an alpha and that the spirits ordained him as a priest. The next day, I resumed my role as the alpha of this kingdom. It was hard to have to deal with my mother’s death and have an entire nation’s responsibilities dropped on my shoulders all in one day. I never wanted to speak to the coward. The only time he did speak to me was when he knew that the day in which I would find my mate had finally drawn near. And it did. That was the last time I spoke to him.” Alex finishes, and I place my hand on his shoulder.

“You are sad,” I tell him, and he snorts.

“No.”

“You can’t lie to me,” I remind him, and he clenches his chin. “You don’t have to speak to him if you don’t want to.”

“That’s the thing; it’s not what I want that matters. It is what I have to do.”Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

He pushes past the door, and Arnold and I share a glance. We step in right after him, and my jaw drops the second I do.

I was expecting to find an old, wrinkly man who could barely even lift his head up. But the man sitting in this shrine was far from that. He was tall and muscularly built, and despite the gray strands on his head and chin, he still looked exceptionally breathtaking.

Perhaps it was because Alex was basically his spitting image, just a younger version. The only difference between the father and son were their eyes. The priest had light, honey-brown eyes, while Alex is, as always, incredibly dark. Just like his mother’s.

“About time you showed up,” the priest says before shifting his eyes to me. “A pleasure to finally meet you, daughter-in-law.”

I parted my lips to respond, but Alex beat me to it. “You are the one who didn’t wish to see her or any of us.”

“I believe it goes both ways, Alexander,” the priest counters. He spoke so coolly without much emotion. I suppose he and Alex are similar in more ways than one. “What do you want? I am sure you didn’t come here for a friendly visit.”

“I am sure a being as knowledgeable and wise as yourself knows that this kingdom is growing through some dark times,” Alex says, but the sarcasm in his tone is evident.

“Yes, I am also aware that it is going through some dark times due to the result of your foolishness,” the priest says, and my eyebrows shoot to the top of my head. I did not expect those to be his next words, nor did I know anyone was capable of speaking to Alex in such a manner.

“I didn’t come here to be reprimanded by a man who failed to be a father for three decades.” Alex says through gritted teeth, and for a second, something flashes within the priest’s eyes, something oddly similar to regret and guilt. “I came to the pack priest for consultation. What can I do to stop him?”

“And find those who are supporting him,” Arnold adds.

The priest doesn’t utter another word to us. Instead, he shuts his eyes and begins to utter some incantations. He takes out some incense, and it fills the entire room, choking up my lungs. The priest continues to speak in a language unknown to me and pours some ingredients into a bowl. He mixes it with his fingers before finally parting his eyelids.

“The spirits utter only two words concerning this predicament,” he says after a moment of silence. I knew I shouldn’t have been surprised, but a part of me just wished that there was some other way.

I suppose I was wrong.

“Kill him.”