Chapter 39 Suspicion
But the girl before him... she was nothing like that. She looked as if she had been battered by countless storms, each one leaving its mark. She seemed broken in a way he couldn’t comprehend. And there was something else—a void. He couldn’t feel her wolf, that primal force that had always been so strong within her.
He had never fathered an illegitimate child—he was certain of that. So if this girl shared his bloodline, there was no other explanation for it. She had to be his daughter, but why did everything feel so wrong?
After all, he and his mate had never been the type of werewolves to indulge in fleeting affairs or casual flings. They had one child, one daughter, and that was all. The idea of an illegitimate child was simply out of the question. If there were any girl out there sharing their blood, the only possibility was their missing daughter.
There was, however, another possibility—one that unsettled him deeply. His younger brother. The man was a disgrace, lost in a life of excess and debauchery. It wouldn’t be beyond him to have fathered a child outside of his marriage.
But even then, the thought was hard to bear. His brother’s only legitimate daughter was the only one who could be considered remotely decent in that family, and she had been the closest friend to his own daughter.
The Alpha King exhaled shakily, pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to steady himself. A wave of unease and worry gnawed at him, but he couldn’t bring himself to voice his fears. His mate had already been through so much. She had waited for this day for years—the day they would finally find their missing daughter, the day she would return home. He couldn’t bear to shatter her fragile hope with doubts, not now, not when they were so close.
And so, all they could do was wait. Wait and see if this girl was truly their daughter, or if they were still lost in the dark.
After the Alpha King donated 600 milliliters of blood to Addison, he returned to his mate’s side, silently standing by as the royal healer and royal doctor began their work.
Some of the medical staff carefully wiped the blood from Addison’s face and gently began washing her matted hair, revealing more of the girl beneath the injuries.