Chapter 169
Claire’s POV
4
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Hospitality at the Royal Palace was legendary, so it wasn’t a surprise that, even with the frosty reception from Luna Queen Victoria and Princess Susanne, we were welcomed with our own rooms and even a guest common area for us to gather with our own party away from the main house.
Even with the hostility, we were welcomed to the meals and even to socialize, though the royal family stayed mostly distant.
It was later in the day, just after a conversation–less dinner, when I was trying to find the hallway back to the guest area, I accidentally overheard voices.
“You never should have allowed them to stay, George,” Victoria said. “You can’t really be entertaining this idea.”
“The similarities are obvious,” George said. “Do you not think that enough reason to consider it?”
“If she thought she was truly your daughter, why wait all this time? Why not arrive sooner?” Victoria said. “No, instead she’s been waiting for this moment, when you are at the cusp of considering who your heir will be, before showing up here with her offspring.”
“Her children, my love.”
“Whatever,” Victoria said. “We all know what she’s after, and it’s not a cozy family reunion. She wants the clout, George. She wants clout. Possibly she wants you to make her children your heir.”
“My heir has always been our son,” George said. Even I knew of the prince. To my knowledge, he had been traveling across the kingdom, studying and training for the day he would take over as Alpha King.
“She will try to change that.”
“If she does, she will be unsuccessful. You have nothing to fear from her, Victoria. But we have so much to gain. If she is my daughter, then those children will be our grandchildren. Can’t you see how wonderful it would be to add so many people to our family?”
I couldn’t see Victoria, but I imagined the soft frustrated huff of breath belonged to her.
“Ivan also vouches for her. And Alpha Gideon, too. Ivan was taken in by my family, but I have long considered him a brother. If he believes her claim has merit, I have to take it seriously,” George said. “Please, my love. Accept them. Just for a little while.”
“I want them to leave,” Victoria said, sharp and immovable.
George sighed. “Allow for a blood test, first. Then, after the results, if they are as you suspect, I will send them away.”
The words sliced into me. They were perfectly reasonable and shouldn’t have affected me at all. Except, because of my past, they reminded me of what it was like to be unwanted.
10:37 Mon, Feb 9
Chapter 169
84
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As an orphan, I was an outsider, never wanted, never accepted anywhere. Gideon’s father had taken a chance in allowing me to stay with his pack, but no one really welcomed me there.
It had been due to my own perseverance that I had pushed myself to become as strong as I had been, as strong as I was now.
I had thought, at my age, that I would have been over feelings like this. But to hear my own potential father be so ready to dismiss me… it still hurt. At once, I was that scared little girl facing the world all on my own again.
Maybe bringing the children here was a mistake. I didn’t want them to know the life I had known. They should be welcomed and cheered for everywhere, and accepted for their own merits, not just because of who their parents were.
Gideon and I would always love them. This thought gave me some comfort. I could face my own hurt, knowing they would never have to.
I’d already heard too much, so I slipped away before I could be discovered.
I hated this feeling that lingered within me, making me feel unwelcome, like an outsider. I just wanted to go back to my room now, but I wasn’t sure I would actually be able to sleep.
Along the way, I stopped, my gaze glancing to my right. There was a door there, that opened up to an outside balcony. The door was open, and out on the balcony, standing near the railing along the ledge, was Gideon.
His neck was craned back and he was looking up at the stars. The soft light illuminating his strong features in a gentle glow, making him seem like he was in some kind of dream.
I should have just gone to bed and not worry about him at all. I’d already had a trying enough day. The wrong kind of conversation with him would only add to the unhappiness.
Yet, I was drawn to him like a moth to a flame. There was something about him tonight, standing out there… It was as if my heart was leading me out onto that balcony.
I approached him and came to stand beside him at the railing. I tilted my head up to see what he was seeing, and I was blown away by the sheer number of stars visible in the sky. Despite being so close the capital, perhaps because the Royal Pack was higher in elevation than the other packs I lived, I felt like I was closer to the sky than I had ever been before.
“You know, once this all gets worked out, this could be a home to you,” he said.
I wasn’t willing to believe that just yet, afraid to hope only for it to turn out to be untrue. But for Gideon to say so… if I imagined it for just a minute…
Yet, before the image could fully form in my mind, I remembered what I had overheard and shook the thoughts away, allowing disappointment to swell inside of me.
“Even if it’s true, I’m not sure I’ll stay here,” I said. “I don’t feel particularly welcome here.” With a sigh, I added, “I don’t really feel welcomed anywhere anymore.”
I used to feel as if I belonged in Gideon’s pack, but then I had been cast out. After, I felt I belonged to Ivan’s pack, but maybe that had only been an illusion, as he’d hoped I would fill the place of his deceased love.
10:37 Mon, Feb 9
Chapter 169
84
DB vouchers
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Gideon said, “But I can promise you. You will always be welcome in my pack.”
I looked at him, searching for sincerity. He looked back at me, and with the stars shining in his eyes, my heart skipped a beat. Out here, in this moment, it was so easy to believe him. So quickly, I could fall back under his charms.
I started to lean, wanting to be closer.
He stayed still as a statue, but his lips curled upright ever so slightly, like he was teasing me a little, in a playful, romantic way.
Gods, I wanted to kiss that smirk off his lips.
Wait.
What?
The thought startled me so badly that I stumbled backwards. What was I thinking? Why would I ever allow myself to think that? To even consider it!
How could I forget his betrayal so keenly? To ignore how I almost died in rogue territory because he listened to Daphne’s words over my own.
No.
I would never be hurt by Gideon again.
“Goodnight, Gideon,” I said, backing away.
Disappointment flickered across his face, but only for a moment. “Goodnight.”
I turned and walked away, steeling my heart against him with each step.
AD
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