Chapter 68
Willow
“For our future?” I gasped in confusion at his unexpected statement. “What do you mean?”
He locked eyes with me for a couple of seconds, the silence growing heavy with unspoken memories. Then, as if peeling back layers of the past I had been unaware of, he began to reveal a story hidden in the depths of its shadows.
“Inheriting royal blood and being born with the title of Prince, I was supposed to spend my life in the palace, destined to fight for the crown when the appropriate time came. I had no objection to the path that had been chosen for my fate until you came into my
life. Having you in my life made me greedy. I wanted to be with you, but it was impossible because royal law would never allow me to be with a she–wolf that was not an Alpha.
“My father and the current King were identical twins, but in the realm of royalty, only one could wear the crown. My father, the younger of the two, harbored no desire for the throne. He willingly relinquished his claim, granting him the freedom to establish and lead the Emerald Bright Pack without interference from the royal family. However, my circumstances were not so easily navigated. Even though our pack operated independently, our ties to the royal family remained unshakable, and my identity as a prince was inescapable.
When I approached my uncle, the king, about assuming my father’s position as Alpha of the Emerald Bright Pack and abstaining from the crown’s contention with my cousins, I was presented with only one path to freedom. I had to prove myself worthy by serving the kingdom for five years. During this time, I dealt with countless treaties, faced deadly wars, and occasionally found myself embroiled in the less savory tasks demanded by the royal family.”
At 18 years old, I was willing to do anything to ensure a future with you, so I accepted the obligation of serving the royals for five years. This commitment meant leaving the pack frequently, not for leisure or to interact with other she–wolves, but to fulfill the tasks assigned by the king and return to you as swiftly as possible. I kept my ties with the royal family and the reasons for my absences from the pack hidden from you, knowing that revealing them would likely cause you to panic and distance yourself from me even further. You were already fervently attempting to conceal our mate bond because of my status as the alpha’s son, so I never dared to confide in you about these matters. Additionally, you never expressed any curiosity about the reasons for my departures. For five years, everything proceeded smoothly, until I entered the final year of my obligation and somehow, my father discovered our relationship.
+5
In those two months following my departure from your house, after spending that rut night with you, I encountered Elder Frank. I settled accounts with him, but a month later, my father unexpectedly visited me with evidence of our relationship that I could no longer deny. Someone had sent him explicit photos of us, including our intimate moments, and it was clear that Elder Frank wasn’t responsible. It was the work of someone else entirely.
I confessed to my father that I was deeply in love with you and that I intended to spend the rest of my life with you. It was my final decision, but he couldn’t accept the idea of an Omega as my mate and future Luna of our pack.
Dad and I found ourselves in a heated argument right then and there. He demanded that I expel you from the pack and forget about you entirely, but I stood firm in my decision not to break things off with you. He was equally resolute in his determination to either force me to end our relationship or remove you from my life altogether, and I understood all too well what he meant by that. Having witnessed since childhood how he dealt with Omegas he deemed unworthy, I knew the extent of his threats.
In a moment of desperation, I issued a deadly warning of my own father, declaring that I would kill him if he laid a hand on you. Knowing I wouldn’t return for another two months, I was prepared to do whatever it took, including issuing threats, to protect you in my absence.
My father understood that my warnings were not empty threats. He envisioned himself meeting a violent end, perhaps even with the entire Emerald Bright Pack going up in flames. At that point, he realized that he couldn’t even think about harming you without risking losing a lot more, including his own son. He knew that my interests had never been tied to position or pack, but that I had become obsessed with protecting both since you entered
my life.
His entire body trembled with anger, but he knew he was powerless to act. In the end, he agreed not to lay a hand on you until I returned to take over the pack. However, he issued a chilling warning that if you became pregnant, he would eradicate both you and our child. I understood the gravity of his threat, but in the moment, I brushed it off, believing that once I assumed leadership of the pack after those two months, he would no longer be able to meddle in our relationship. That’s how I interpreted the situation.
Little did I know that during our rut, I had engaged in unprotected s*x with you, and our children were already growing within your belly.
That’s why when you told me you were pregnant, I was shocked and filled with anger. I lost control and lashed out, saying whatever came to mind. I vehemently opposed your pregnancy at that moment because, as per my father’s warning, if you were impregnated by me, royal law dictated that the she–wolf would be executed immediately. The royal law was
heavily biased in favor of men, placing all blame on women for pregnancies, regardless of the circumstances. It conveniently ignored the man’s role in the situation.
I was fully aware of the dire consequences, and in that moment, I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you. The reality of your unexpected pregnancy weighed heavily on me, and I reacted with anger and frustration because there was no way to turn back time and prevent
- it.
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