Third Person’s POV
Marked and mated completely. Alder felt himself stronger than he already was, and Cindy was content. She just realized that placing her mark on her mate gives them great power. Now that their bond is complete, they are confident that they will be able to attain their maximum power and potential. Everyone in the palace was rejoicing as they also felt their king and queen’s bond getting stronger. One thing about a Lycan being with its fated mate is that it gave the entire kingdom an unexplainable bind as well. Every pack will become connected to its king and queen.
Because of the completion of their bond, the morning in the palace becomes special. The omegas prepared their breakfast intended for everyone. It started with Alder’s grandfather, who found his fated mate, compared it to those who didn’t, and noticed that their power increased. That’s why his grandfather made his father promise to wait for his fated mate, which he did, and he grew up with that in mind. That’s why he keeps on waiting until Cindy appears.
“Congratulations, Your Highness,” Joshua greeted. Everyone was in the dining hall celebrating with the royal couple, who were both very happy, seeing how happy their people were.
“Thank you so much, Joshua. I know that you have been waiting for this. I mean, not only you, but everyone.” Alder replied,
“Forgive me if it takes too long for me to fully accept him. My doubts made Alder worry, but I am thankful that he didn’t give up on me or on us.” Cindy said,
“You are fated mates. No matter what happens, you will be able to meet each other along the way, and nothing can change that. That’s why it’s called fated.”
“Alright, everyone,” Lance said. He stood up and caught everyone’s attention. “Today, we are celebrating the completion of our king and queen’s mating and markings. I also know that you have been very excited since last night when we felt their bond become stronger. Now, more than ever, and once again, our kingdom has gained another level of strength and power. From Omega’s up to the highest-ranked officials.” He continued, then looked at Alder and Cindy, who both stood up, and Sheena gave them the medieval dagger that had been used by Alder’s grandparents when they had their blood compacted after they marked and mated with each other.
Charles and Mia come closer with a golden medieval chalice where they will combine their blood. Alder took the dagger and cut his palm before he did the same to Cindy’s. Charles was holding the chalice to collect their blood, and one after the other repeated the process until everyone had devoted their loyalty to the royals and the palace. Lorena was looking at the ceremony, and she was happy that the kingdom was once again at its strongest. Even if there was a threat lurking around them, she knew that the royals would be able to get through it and defeat their enemy.
‘I promise that I am going to do everything to protect you, Cindy,’ she told herself. Then the party continued, giving everyone the chance to celebrate.
‘My dear,’ said the voice. Cindy looked around, trying to find the one who said that. She didn’t know if she was the one who was being called, but the endearment seemed familiar to her. She looked at Alder, hoping he had heard it too, but he was busy talking to Lance and Charles along with the council. She looked the other way and found Lorena looking at her happily. She didn’t think that it was her aunt who called her attention because she looked clueless as well.
‘Who are you?’ She couldn’t help but ask in her mind, hoping she would be able to get an answer.
‘Thank goddess, you heard me.’ The voice said,
‘Who are you?’ She asked again,
‘I have no time to explain right now, but I am your mother.’ she said, which made Cindy’s eyes widen. ‘Don’t close the link; just listen to me first. You are in danger, and I want you to be careful. I cannot show up in front of you, but I promise that I’m going to protect you with my life.’
‘Where are you?’ she asked,
‘It doesn’t matter; it will be better if you don’t know for now. This is all I can say to you. I love you, my dear.’ her mother said, and then she heard nothing.
“My love, what’s wrong? Alder asked when he looked at her and noticed that she was spacing out.
“Nothing,” she replied. She decided to talk to him about her mother later. She didn’t want to ruin everyone’s happy mood and worry them. She decided to believe her mother, saying that she only wanted to protect her because she loved her. She sighed and continued chatting with the others.
Until the end of the day, Cindy didn’t find an opportunity to tell Alder about her mother since he was occupied by the council and her Aunt Lorena with his beta and gamma. Sheena and Mia were both happy looking after the others and talking to them, trying to listen to them and find out what they wanted to tell the king and queen.
Without Cindy’s knowledge, Alder had been looking at her all the time, and he had a feeling that there was something that bothered her. He had asked her earlier, and he didn’t believe what she had said. As the days went on, he started to find out everything about his mate. Whenever she was lying, troubled, happy, or angry, he knew it; that’s why she couldn’t hide anything from him. Plus, the fact that they were already marked and mated means their feelings and emotions are already connected to each other.
The palace warriors who exchanged shifts were ready just in case anything happened. That’s how they were trained. No matter what the occasion was, they had to be prepared. So, the one who was on the border now was having a hard time getting in. Lycan warriors have more heightened senses than any other species. Plus, the security system that Cindy put up at the end of the border was a big help. It was a sensory system that would make noise once it sensed any kind of movement.
“The guards were really good. They didn’t leave their post,” the man said to the woman beside her.
“As far as I know, they were having a celebration right now. Why are they still standing there?” the woman replied,
“They never let their guard down. Lorena did warn them,” the man said again.
“Their family has been a pain in my a**, and we have to do something about her. It was already a good thing that her niece had been killed in the human world, but why is she still there and very loyal to the royals?” the woman asked, confused. “How long does her family have to li*k the royals as***s?” she added.
“What are we going to do now?” the man asked,
“We need to get a little closer for me to get into the bitch’s mind. Our distance was too great. We need to camp inside the territory, so make sure to find a way to get in and find a place where I will be able to stay and concentrate without being bothered.”
“I am a Lycan rogue, and there’s no way that I am going to follow a witch like you.” The man said,
“You are nothing without me. I am the only one who knows how to kill the queen. So if you want to weaken your king and kill him later, you have to do as I said.” The woman replied, “Don’t forget that it was thanks to me that you could stay at the border without being detected. I was the one who gave you a potion that could mask your scent,” she added.
The Lycan rogue shut his mouth because what the witch said was true. She was the one helping him move freely, and none of the guards and palace warriors could detect him. It’s just a different story when he tries to get to the palace border.
“Let’s go back first and think of a better way to come closer.” The witch said, “Our client was waiting for us; we have to continue the auction even if the omegas and humans that we kidnapped were not enough. The packs had been training really hard this past week, and that is because of Alder. He made sure to give each pack a Lycan warrior while some of the pack’s fighters and warriors were training in the palace,” the witch added.
“I forget about our clients. We needed funds for the new hideout that we were trying to put up in human territory. We needed a place we could use as our storage for every Omega and human we kidnapped,” the Lycan rogue replied while the witch was opening a portal.
“Why can’t you just do that to get to the border?” The Lycan rogue asked,
“Do you think I haven’t tried that yet? I already did! But there was something in there that my spell didn’t work. I was certain that it was because of a witch. I just don’t know who it was,” the witch replied and walked into the portal with the Lycan rogue.