Alpha's Secret Bride

"Moonfang, I will not forgive her," he shook his head, voice edged with a dominant growl. "If that young wolf had not crossed into the territory and saved you, you would have been lost by now. Those rogue wolves in that territory would have tainted you with sickness! Moonfang, no—I must bring her before the council for negligence."

"She was young and untrained...?"

"Wolves guard their pups with their lives. They would rather fall than watch a vulnerable pup be taken from them! I wish to meet that moonmate of yours who rescued you when they sent you to the far north. We owe him deeply. He deserved to be your destined mate," he said, glancing around as if to confirm Brandon was not nearby.

"You have already met him."

"Are you certain? Because in all your stories, you said you lost contact with him after returning from the far north. You never spoke of meeting him again."

"You only read my older stories. If you had followed my current writings, you would have known who he is."

"You mean you found him again?" he asked, a spark of delight in his tone.

"Yes."

"Who is he?"

"Brandon Oliver."

"Moon Prince Brandon?"

"Yes."

"W-what?? Are you certain he was the one? He once studied with me in Oxford, England during the winter you mentioned in your story."

"That was when I lost contact with him."

"Wait...are you saying...he did not reveal his identity to you?"

"He did not." Ken let out a brief laugh, studying her again.

"He hid himself from you as well? Do you realize that until now, seventy-five percent of our packs do not know him?" he grinned again. "He keeps no active social presence. None of his images appear on the royal pack’s page," Ken added with a soft smirk, looking away.

"Please...forgive my mother," she said when she noticed his anger had faded.

"Fine. But I do not wish to see her around us."

"Thank you," she said softly, believing that one day he would forgive her completely.

"Now I know why I feel so free around you. I’ve been trying to remember where I’ve seen your face." Apparently, it was Emily’s picture that confused me.

"You have a council meeting next week, right?"

"Yes."

"I will stand beside you as your sibling," he said, and Emma beamed, embracing him warmly.

"Just like Brandon and Elara, the wolves of the High Fang Regent, hold honored seats in the throne hall, you must sit with me."

"No..." she whimpered, and he immediately understood why.

"Do not worry, father will legitimize you before the meeting. You are the only she-wolf of Ashley Ashford. Even the Alpha King will choose his words with care when addressing you."

Emma smiled, lowering her gaze.

"But...there is a greater problem."

She lifted her face again, her eyes locking onto his, wondering what problem he spoke of.

"Our father."

"What of him?"

"He does not like the King and will not permit his only she-wolf to have anything to do with his pack."

"I noticed he did not trust them."

"Not all of them. He holds Brandon and Elara in respect, but he does not like the King and his High Luna."

"Why?"

"I do not know. He refused to tell me."

"I believe I know."

"You do?"

"When did you first notice the hatred?"

"Since Brandon and I were pups."

"Alright...I...this is not what I am thinking."

"What are you thinking?"

"Never mind."

"Let us go and uncover what he is hiding. He cannot hide it from his soft fang."

"No," she shook her head.

"Listen, do not fear him. He is your father."

"He will reveal the truth at the right time," she said softly.

"Every moment is the right moment! Let us go and ask him," Ken insisted, reaching for her. She hesitated, not wanting him to use her bond to force Ashley into revealing what he did not wish to say.

She quickly stood when he threatened to carry her himself if she delayed again. Ken never bluffed—and she knew it. She stood willingly.

"I am going to host a gathering on Saturday for my moonallies. We must celebrate this blessing. Oh...I cannot believe I have a sibling!" he exclaimed, as though the revelation had just reached him. Overjoyed, he attempted to lift Emma. She darted away, and he chased after her. Ashley watched them running toward him and burst into laughter.

She swiftly climbed onto the lounge and held onto their father so Ken could not lift her.

"Ken, let her be," Ashley said. Ken stopped chasing her and joined them on the lounge. Emma silently prayed he would not question Ashley about his hatred for the King and his mate. She feared anything that might make her despise them as well. Her heart skipped as she recalled Ken’s words from moments ago.

"He does not like the King and will not permit his soft fang to have anything to do with his pack."

Dinner in her father’s exclusive and super-luxurious nine-meter square feeding chamber felt like she was in paradise. Emma kept staring at the soulcraft etched into the glass walls like ancient pack runes. The floor was tiled with precious stones, and the Lalique lights that illuminated the entire feeding chamber made the stones shimmer like enchanted crystals. It was one of the most breathtaking sights she had ever seen.

The meal was extraordinary, rich with carefully prepared game and rare delicacies, but Emma wasn’t really paying attention to its excellence because happiness had taken full control of her thoughts.

It was a moment of celebration for her, and she was thrilled. However, the only thing that made her feel uneasy was Ken’s anger towards Emily. Emily smiled and waved at Ken when she and Brandon joined them in the garden, but Ken pretended he did not see her, and that made Emily uncomfortable, and Emma felt a pang of sadness. She knew how much Emily wanted to meet them. She never imagined things would not be as they were twenty-four winters ago.

She expected a slight change from Ken when Brandon took him to the back of the pack house and had a prolonged conversation with him, but nothing changed. He clearly showed Emily that he was still furious with her.

"Brandon, my soft fang told me you did not want to stay with us for the moon-fall."

"I have no reason to stay for the moon-fall," he smiled and continued eating slowly. "I’ll send my drivers to pick her up at moonrise."

"My drivers can do that, but Emma and Emily are going to stay for a while. We have a lot of things to take care of."

"Alright," Brandon responded. His voice was quite low, as though he was already missing her presence. Emma felt bad, and she didn’t know why.

He wiped his lips after a few minutes, tossed the napkin aside, and stood up.

"Are you leaving now?" Ashley asked.

"Yes."

"We are going to have a long-winded discussion this moon-fall, and I would like you to have a glimpse of our discussion before leaving," Ashley said and signaled him to sit down. Brandon sat down again, relaxed against the backrest, and crossed his legs.

"I want to get the process of legitimizing my soft fang underway at moonrise. Emma, Ken, what do you both think?" Ashley asked, staring at them one after the other. Ken and Emma exchanged glances and shrugged.

"I think the idea is good. She is going to appear before the king in extravagant style," Ken said, smiling at Emma. Ashley ignored them and fixed his eyes on Emily.

"Emily, what do you think?"

Ken dropped his cutlery and focused on her. His face held no warmth, as if he was waiting for Emily to oppose the idea.

"Em....I....I’m...." Emily paused and shut her mouth again. She was obviously confused, and Emma felt like taking her out of the feeding chamber to find out what was wrong.

"I know," Ken said, looking at her. "I know she won’t like the idea."

"Ken!" Ashley called. Ken picked up his cutlery and continued eating.

"Emily, feel free to tell us what you think about the idea. If you don’t want me to legitimize her, tell us and give your reasons."

"I think it’s a nice idea, but I...."

"But what? Tell us!" Ken interrupted her.

"Ken! Don’t interrupt her again."

"Father, she never wanted the best for my sibling. It is obvious! Can’t you all see?"

"Ken, a lot of things are involved in the process. She and I have major roles to play in the legitimization. Please, allow her to say what she has in her mind."

Emily dropped her cutlery and walked slowly out of the feeding chamber. It was the opportunity Emma had been waiting for since the topic was raised. She stood up and followed her. They entered the big kin’s sitting chamber and stood in the middle of it.

"Emily, what is bothering you?"