Leila POV
Okay, so staying at the palace wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Scratch that—it was almost... nice. And the king—Chase’s father—was nothing like the terrifying, overbearing figure I’d imagined in my head. I an, sure, he had this natural air of authority, but underneath it, he was warm and kind. Charming, even. Guess that’s where Chase got it from.
Despite his frailty, he always requested Ash and to spend ti with him. He didn’t treat us weirdly or look down on us for being wolves, which was... unexpected. If anything, he treated like a daughter. And let tell you, that was weird.
Good weird. But weird.
I wasn’t used to warmth like that. I didn’t know what to do with it.
I an, I never had a mother who cared, let alone a father figure like Chase’s dad. My whole life, love wasn’t exactly sothing I experienced. The idea of being welcod, cherished even, was foreign. It made uncomfortable at first, like I was stepping into soone else’s life by mistake. But the way Chase’s father looked at , the way he smiled when I walked into the room, eased so of that tension.
It’s hard to hate soone who treats you like you matter.
And Ash? He adored the king. He followed him around like a little shadow, giggling at his stories and occasionally climbing onto his bed, despite my protests. But the king didn’t mind. He welcod Ash with open arms, and the way he looked at my son, so full of pride and fondness, tugged at sothing deep in .
I’d never seen anyone look at Ash that way before.
Even I started looking forward to the ti we spent with him. He had this endless supply of tales about his younger days with Alexander—my supposed father. Stories of adventures and battles, of loyalty and heartbreak.
I didn’t know how to feel about Alexander yet. My mind was still a ss when it ca to him. But from the way Chase’s father described him, Alexander sounded... good. Noble, even.
It was strange to think that this man, who I’d spent my life not knowing, might have been soone worth admiring. Soone who could have been a part of my life.
But I didn’t let that thought linger. There was no point in wondering what if. What if Alexander had known about ? What if he had been part of my life? Would things have been different?
I didn’t want to entertain those flickers of curiosity. They were dangerous. They could lead to a path I wasn’t ready to walk down yet.
Still, sitting there with the king as he recounted stories about his old friend, there was a small part of that listened a little closer. Maybe not for Alexander, but for the king himself.
Because if there was one thing I knew for sure, it was this: Chase’s father, even in his dying state, was a good man. One who treated and Ash like family.
And for the first ti in a long ti, that didn’t feel so weird.
As for the rest of the people in the castle, it was... an experience.
The guards? They always nodded their heads in respect when I passed by, which was a little jarring. I an, I wasn’t used to that kind of acknowledgnt, and I highly suspected it had everything to do with Chase. Knowing him, he’d probably issued so silent decree that made them treat like a queen in waiting or sothing.
The servants, though? They were a mixed bag.
There were three clear groups.
The first group was curious—wolves in a vampire castle weren’t exactly an everyday occurrence. I could feel their stares as I walked by, hear their whispers just loud enough to catch phrases like "She’s one of them" or "How can she be his mate?" But their curiosity didn’t feel malicious. If anything, they seed... fascinated, as if Ash and I were so sort of rare creatures to study.
Then there was the second group. At first, they regarded and Ash with suspicion, the kind that made my hackles rise. I could tell they weren’t sure what to make of us—wolves in their sacred palace? They probably thought we were here to cause trouble. But over ti, sothing shifted. Maybe it was the way Ash’s laughter echoed in the halls, softening even the hardest of hearts, or how I didn’t act like the feral monster they likely expected. Slowly, they started warming up to , treating like I was... one of them.
It was odd, being accepted like that. Nice, but odd.
And then there was the third group. Oh, these ones were fun.
Five or six, at most, but their disdain was palpable. They behaved as though Ash and I were beneath them, like we were stains on their otherwise pristine castle. They were subtle about it, of course—no outright insults, just a sneer here, a cold shoulder there, and an air of superiority that could suffocate a room.
Honestly, I didn’t care.
As long as they kept their attitudes to themselves and didn’t dare bring it anywhere near my baby, they could raise their noses so high they hit the ceiling for all I cared. But if anything—anything—happened to my little man because of them?
Well, let’s just say I’d show them exactly how savage a wolf can be. If they wanted to believe the stereotypes, I’d be more than happy to oblige.
And then there was this whole... other layer. The king’s revelation about my supposed lineage.
The fact that I might be a descendant of the Black royal vampires wasn’t public knowledge, and thank the moon for that. It was already enough dealing with the whispers and curious glances about being Chase’s mate and a wolf; I didn’t need to add maybe part vampire to the list of reasons for people to gossip about .
Though, honestly, it still didn’t feel real. The only evidence we had was the king’s word—and, apparently, the physical similarities.
I didn’t know what to believe.
Sure, there were the little things that lined up—the uncanny resemblance to Alexander, the supposed scent that tied to him—but was that enough? Part of wanted to dismiss it, to say it wasn’t possible, but another part... Another part couldn’t stop wondering.
If it was true, then what did that an for ? For Ash?
Was he carrying more than just my wolf blood? Could this vampiric lineage—if it was even real—be passed down to him?
The thoughts were enough to drive crazy if I let them. So, I did what I always did—I buried them.
Because whether I was so long-lost descendant of the Blacks or just a regular wolf didn’t change the fact that my priority was Ash. His safety, his happiness—that was all that mattered.
Let the servants gossip. Let the guards nod their heads in respect. Let the world spin with its uncertainties.
As long as my son was safe, the rest could burn for all I cared.
As for being a vampire? That, as far-fetched as it sounded, wasn’t sothing I was going to let bug . I’d gone my whole life thinking I was just a wolf, and I wasn’t about to rewrite my identity based on a theory and a resemblance.
What was bugging , though, was Chase.
It wasn’t sothing he’d explicitly said, but rather what he’d insinuated.
He was going to avenge . For what? For who? Chase didn’t know my past, not really. He had fragnts, bits and pieces I’d let slip, but nothing concrete. And yet, he had that look in his eyes—the one that said he was ready to rain down vengeance on whoever had hurt .
But who would he go after?
My birth pack? The Blood Moon Pack? Or Drake’s?
I didn’t know, and honestly, the idea of him digging into my past left a pit in my stomach. It wasn’t just that I didn’t want to revisit it—I couldn’t. The thought of Chase stepping into that ss, fighting battles that weren’t his to fight, sent a chill down my spine.
And Drake...
Even thinking his na now felt strange.
There used to be a ti when just hearing it would send a sharp pang through my chest, a mix of hurt, betrayal, and anger. But now? It didn’t sting like it used to.
I guess I’d moved past the hurt of his rejection.
There was a hollow kind of relief in that realization. It wasn’t that I’d forgiven him, or forgotten what he did, but the hold his mory had over was gone. He was a shadow of my past, and I refused to let him darken my present—or my future.
Drake was a closed Chapter. My birth pack was a closed Chapter.
The Blood Moon Pack, though...
That was different.
Even if I’d buried the mories, even if I’d pushed the pain down deep, there was a part of that still rembered the betrayal, the injustice. And maybe that’s what Chase saw. Maybe that’s what he wanted to fix.
But vengeance?
It wasn’t his burden to bear.
If there was one thing I’d learned, it was that chasing revenge could consu you. It could turn you into sothing you didn’t recognize, sothing you couldn’t co back from. I’d seen it happen.
I didn’t want that for him.
Chase was fire and fury, protective to a fault, but he didn’t need to carry my scars as his own.
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