Chapter 3

Astrid's POV Maybe I should have followed them. But I didn't. It was one thing to eavesdrop on them from my room and another entirely to go to the Alpha quarters out of bounds for omegas just to listen in on their conversations. So I went to the gardens instead. All the way there, I thought of how unreal all of this was. Me, an omega mated to an Alpha. How exactly did that work? I also thought of all the things that Xavier had done to me over the years. Could I really forgive him for all of that just because of the mate bond? But I was already worried about what his father would do to him. No, Astrid. You will not let your conflicted feelings because of the mate bond affect you. I reached the gardens that were decorated with strings of light, music -that I couldn't tell where it was coming from- and an adorned table that held a much larger cake, gifts and a box that revealed a gold and diamond necklace. There was no one here just yet but I could see the platters of food for people. It was almost as though I had come to my own party too early. I couldn't believe it. Alpha Finn, had all this prepared before he even knew that I was Xavier's mate? It was without doubt the most considerate thing anyone had done for me. I put on the necklace feeling the surprisingly light weight of the diamond settle on my chest. I had to thank Alpha Finn. And maybe even use the chance to check on Xavier. I still thought that he was an ass but I just needed to confirm that he was fine. The guards around the Alpha quarters of the pack house were absent and I realized why when I heard the raised voices coming from the office. "What is wrong with you Dad?!" Xavier growled and I drew closer to the closed door even though I knew it was the last place I should be. Xavier was still talking. "You took the side of a worthless omega over mine and you even ridiculed my future Luna in front of her." Listening to him, I felt my heart break again. How could Xavier say that? Didn't he feel even the slightest hint of the bond between us? I heard Alpha Finn growl through the wall. "I always thought that as my son, you would inherit my sense but no. All you know how to do is pursue women!" "That is not the issue at hand," Xavier responded rudely. "You must explain why you did that to me and Lyra now or else, you can just ask the omega to rule your pack for you." My eyes widened in shock. He would rather lose his place in his pack rather than mate with me? "Shut up! What did you think? That I would do what I did without a good reason?" "That's what I want to know Dad." Alpha Finn seemed to hesitate for a moment then he was speaking again in a hushed voice that I had to struggle to pick up. "Then listen well and this story must not be told to anyone. Not even Lyra." I was still. Very still. Even I wanted to know the reason he wanted me to mate with Xavier. The reason he arranged that set up for my birthday. And I needed to know why it was all some big secret. Xavier agreed with his condition. "Okay, Dad." "You recall that I was the one who brought Astrid home?" I couldn't even remember it. I had been so little. All my memories were of this house. This pack. "Yes, Dad." "I found her in the arms of a dead woman in the area on the border of our land." My mother was dead. I knew that for sure now and I didn't know how to feel about it. When times had gotten hard, I told myself maybe one day my parents would pop up and rescue me. It was a childish fantasy. But it had gotten me through many tough times. Now I knew there was no rescue coming. But Alpha Finn wasn't nearly done yet. "That woman was the mate of the Alpha King." What?! My head nearly imploded from the shock. My mom was the mate of the Alpha King. I was… royalty. "That…that is impossible." Xavier seemed to echo my thoughts. "The Alpha King is missing and he doesn't have any heirs." It was a popular subject of discussion in the pack. In almost every pack in fact. The missing Alpha King who had left a vacuum in his absence that many Alphas were trying to usurp in order to get his power. Only the council kept the seat empty insisting that the Alpha King still lived. My father could be alive. I had never heard such a greedy tone from Alpha Finn before. "But he does have an heir. And that heir is Astrid. I know what I saw, boy." A chill came over my skin as Xavier voiced my thoughts once more. "This is why you want me to accept her." Alpha Finn didn't deny it. "You will take the Alpha King's vacant throne. You will rule all of the wolfkind on this continent." That was why he had prepared my eighteenth birthday party. To soften me up to his son's advances. To get me into his family all the more faster so they could take my father's position. Alpha Finn laughed darkly. "Why else do you think that I have been so good to her? Both of you turning out to be mates was just the doing of the Goddess." I heard my heart break and shatter for the last time that night. The person I saw as my one ally was just using me to further the goal of his family. He wasn't even done yet. "As the daughter of the Alpha King, she should be strong but she is so weak and pathetic. The only thing you need from her is the throne. You can even keep Lyra on the side until your coronation." So this was the truth of Alpha Finn. It was truly a father-like-son situation. If I hadn't come here, I would have carried on believing that he was on my side. That he cared about me. Everything was a lie. My whole life had been a lie. I had grown up being told how worthless I was. How I couldn't rise above my station. But in reality, it had all been a lie. How wicked could one person be? How despicable. Xavier spoke again after his long silence. It seemed like he was just getting over the shock of my identity. "But Dad, I can't become the Alpha King without the ring. And only the missing Alpha king has that required ring." Another restriction from the council. To hand down the throne, the Alpha King had to hand it down his line or had to be fought and ousted from his position and the ring taken. Without the ring, no one could make a claim to the throne. Alpha Finn naturally had a solution to this dilemma no doubt due to how long he had planned this. "We will use your mate's family bond with him, and once we find him, we will kill him, collect the ring and you will have the throne." I covered my mouth as I gasped before I could give myself away. Did Alpha Finn really mean to use me to kill my father, get the ring and discard me afterwards? I knew Xavier. No. He was mean to me but surely he wouldn't go this far for a throne as his father would. He had been my best friend once. I knew him. He wouldn't— "I will do it." Xavier's voice came out lower and scarier than I expected it to. "I'll pretend to care about her and make her fall for me then I will track down the Alpha King and take his throne." I backed away from the door, my hands shaking at my side. Somehow hearing this from Xavier felt like a bigger betrayal than what I had heard from his father. He planned to make me fall for him. To break my trust once again. To use me. This was all I would be good for in this pack. An empty-headed omega to be used at will. That was not the life I wanted for myself. All my life they had tormented me in this pack. Not anymore. I decided there and then what I was going to do. I would leave this pack and find my father. I would find my real home. Xavier and his father could go to hell.