Alder’s POV
Clover staying away from me hurts. She had a point about wolves who were not waiting for their mates when they knew someone was intended for them. I am a Lycan, and the possibility of finding my own mate is close to zero. But I knew for myself that I wanted to have her.
I had to leave her, or I wouldn’t be able to control myself. My beast wanted to mark and mate with her, and I don’t think it was a good idea to do that without her consent. I already mind-linked Lance and told him to bring her parents here so I would be able to talk to them.
After a while, they came and had them sit. “As you already know, your daughter is my mate,” I said, and they looked at each other before they looked at me and nodded.
“She didn’t like the idea of having mates. She got traumatized by what had happened to her previous mate, but I wanted to assure you that I will not do what her ex-mate did to her.” They sighed and smiled.
“Where is she, Your Highness?” Her dad asked.
“She’s in our bedroom. I wanted her to think about us; she resisted the bond, and I understood her perfectly. That’s why I had to leave her for a moment; my beast might become uncontrollable and do what we should have done the moment I found her. And she’s not going to like it, for sure.”
“And the reason that you called for us, Your Highness, is?” Her dad asked.
“I am going to bring her with me to the palace. Judging by current events, I know that you wanted to kill your alpha but respected his father a lot.” I told him, and he had his head down. I can hear his heartbeat, and judging by its rapid drumming, I am correct.
“You can come with us if you want. You might be able to calm Clover as well because I had a feeling that we would be fighting over this, too.”
“We have to settle everything first before we can come,” he replied.
“No problem; you can come after you’re done with everything. Just inform me of your arrival, and I am going to ask someone to get you.”
“Thank you so much, Your Highness,” they both replied, and I suddenly felt uneasy. I looked at Lance, who was listening to us. I know he was very eager to tease me or whatever with everything he had planned to do once he found out I had found her.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. He must really know me. Clover’s parents were also looking at me, and then it hit me-it was my mate.
“Clover,” I said, and I teleported to our bedroom. I know that my mate’s parents were shocked, and I don’t care about Lance because he knew about this ability of mine along with Charles.
Clover was sleeping and probably having nightmares based on her head shaking, but fu**, she was really alluring wearing my shirt. I covered her up with the comforter because Lance and her parents would come up soon.
“Love, I called her, but there was no response. I gently tapped her cheeks so she woke up, but it was useless. Then Lance and the other two came in,
“Love, wake up!” I said, and then she started screaming.
“Nooooo… Daaaaaadd…..” What was wrong with her? Her dad was right there and was doing just fine. Then she wakes up.
“Love,” I said worriedly, and without further ado, she hugged me as she started crying.
“My dad…” she said, still crying.
“Shhh, it’s fine; everything is going to be fine,” I said.
“No, they killed my dad,” she replied, and I heard a gasp. It was her mom and dad, who wouldn’t when her father was with us alive and well, yet she was crying and saying that someone had killed her father.
“Shh, my love,” I told her, giving her light kisses on her head and on her temple while I stroked her hair with my hand and the other on her back. I can feel her pain, and it was because of our bond, and it pains me too. She’s crying so much and doesn’t look like the same Clover who wants to challenge the Alpha and the new Luna.
‘Lance, take her parents back home first. I need to talk to her alone.’ I mind-linked to my beta.
‘Alright,’ he replied, and I felt him approach the Ellington couple and heard the room door close.
“They killed my dad; I am going to make them pay for what they did to my dad,” she continued as she cried.
“Who’s them?” I asked, hoping she would answer.
“Lin and Mike, they killed him the way they killed me,” she replied, but I thought Mike was her boyfriend or, rather, her ex-boyfriend. And what the hell were they killing her? I didn’t understand anything, so I didn’t know exactly what I was going to say to her.
Then she stopped crying but was still sobbing. “Tell me, love. What’s going on?” I asked her when she looked at me. I wiped her tears with my thumb as she continued sobbing. It breaks my heart to see her like that.
She looked at me intently, then shook her head before saying, “I can’t trust you. That bastard alpha rejected this woman while cheating on her, as Mike cheated on me before he killed my father and me with my best friend.”
“I can’t understand you. What do you mean about this woman and you? You are you, right?”
“I am me, so I am not Clover. She’s dead. She died when that bastard of an Alpha rejected her in her coma.”
“You have already woken up, so you’re fine.”
“I woke up, but not Clover. I am a human that was trapped in Clover’s body. So tell me, who is your mate really between us? Me or Clover?”
“Explain to me everything before I can answer your question,” I told her.
“You wouldn’t understand no matter how much I explained this to you. I even started to feel crazy about everything. All I know is that I wanted to get my revenge on them and try to stop them from getting their hands on my money. I am sure that it was what they wanted.”
“Try me, my love. I’m sure I will understand it when you tell me everything,” I said, encouraging her to speak. I could see that she wanted to talk to someone who would be able to understand her. And I want to be someone.
She looked at me, and I looked at her, showing how determined I was to understand her. Then she sighed.
“I am Cindy Mills; as I already told you, I am a human living in LA. I had a boyfriend named Mike and a best friend named Lin,” she started until her death. I wouldn’t believe it if I were not a Lycan. I live in a supernatural world, so everything is possible.
“I believed you,” I said, and she was shocked. “You are even in our world now; why would I not believe in you?”
“Why was it easy for you to believe that?”
“Because I’m a Lycan king and have lived for 187 years, and that is enough to see all kinds of unbelievable things.”
“What??” she exclaimed. “A hundred and eighty-seven?” she asked, so I nodded. “And you’re saying that I am your mate? I am only 25; if you are mated to Clover, she’s only 18!”
“So?” I asked, amused. Even though she sounded offensive, I wouldn’t mind it because she is a human who knows nothing about our kind.
“So, you’re old!” She exclaimed, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Don’t you know the saying, age is just a number?”
“But 187 is not normal!”
“Because I am not normal,” I said calmly. Now I understand why she doesn’t feel the bond the way I did. So, I had to work harder at wooing her. I’m glad she felt the spark, and her wolf was reacting to my beast.
“Whatever, I just hope that you understand now why I am not going to come with you and go back to LA instead.”
“No.”
“No? What do you mean, no? I already explained to you that I am a human,” she said and started getting angry.
“Because that doesn’t change the fact that you are mine,” I replied. “Look, I understand you and your hesitation, and I am willing to do anything so you will accept me, so please, my love, give our bond a chance.”
“Even marriage gets a divorce. What makes you think that you’re not going to change? That I will be the only one for you?”
“I already told you I am 187 years old, and if I wanted, I could have gotten anyone of my kind, but I didn’t because I wanted to be with my mate. I want my heir to be with a mated couple just like my father and mother,” I said, looking into her eyes.
“I am not going to lie. I have been with women before. Even after I met you here, they knew that I was waiting for you. Most lycans never find their mates; if they do, that is only after they are 300 years old or so. That’s why a lot of us opted to have a chosen mate.” I continued, “But I don’t want that; I want to be with my mate forever, even if I have to wait for her for thousands of years.” I added.
She was still looking at me, hoping she would understand the bond we were sharing.