Not adding up…
The packs are growing restless, wondering why the royal bloodline has not been extended. They are beginning to question both your leadership, given the fact that Queen Veronica is still unable to produce an heir.”
I could feel the weight of Nathaniel’s words settling over us. The rumors were spreading faster than we could have anticipated. If the packs believed that we had no way of producing an heir for the Kingdom, it could spark unrest-or worse, rebellion. To make matters worse, if Ashley’s sons do end up being ours, a lot of controversy and issues may erupt, as the people would think that Lucas and I had been hiding the existence of our sons from the world. In fact, things could potentially spiral out of control even faster because of this.
“Who started these rumors?” I asked, keeping my voice even, though my wolf was now pacing anxiously within me.
“We’re not certain yet, Your Highness, but they’ve spread rapidly among the southern packs. There’s been talk of a challenger-a figure who might claim the throne if these rumors are proven true.”
Lucas’s fist tightened on the table, the wood creaking slightly under the pressure. “And what do they plan to do? Overthrow us because of some whispered rumors?”
“Not yet, Your Highness,” Elder Nathaniel replied quickly. “But the tension is growing. We believe now is the time to take action-to dispel these rumors before they take root. The packs need to see stability, especially with the ongoing war in the East. If they think the Salvatore bloodline is under threat…”
His voice trailed off, but the implication was clear. Our rule depended on keeping the packs united. And if they believed we had no potential heir from our bloodline, it could destabilize everything we had worked to build.
Lucas remained silent beside me, his jaw clenched in thought. I knew what he was thinking-he was torn. On one hand, Ashley and her sons could complicate everything. On the other hand, we couldn’t deny the possibility that those boys might not be ours. However, if they were, we had to act.
“We’ll handle it,” I said finally, breaking the silence. My voice was steady, even though inside, I knew this situation was spiraling out of control. “But the elders must refrain from any offers suggesting the idea of encouraging a contender to the throne. We understand the plight of the people, but these rumors need to be put in check, so do not let this spread any further. Is that understood?”
“Of course, Your Highness,” Nathaniel agreed quickly, bowing his head. The other elders followed suit, murmuring their assent.
As the meeting came to an end and the elders filed out, I stood up, turning to Lucas. His expression was dark, his thoughts clearly racing just as fast as mine.
“We really need to figure this out,” I said quietly. “Now more than ever, Veronica would be more desperate to become pregnant, and although that might be useful for us, we have to refrain from it until we are sure whether or not those boys are really ours, because at the end of the day, the packs will demand answers. We can’t hide from them forever.”
Lucas ran a hand through his hair, his eyes stormy. “I know. But what’s our move here, Simon? Do we confront Ashley? Demand answers?”
I paused for a moment, considering. Confronting Ashley could backfire. She had been a wild card in the past, and there was no guarantee she wouldn’t make things even more complicated now. But on the other hand, the longer we stayed in the dark, the more dangerous this situation became.
“We have to be careful,” I said finally. “We can’t let the packs catch wind of this before we know the truth. If those boys are ours, we need to protect them-protect our legacy. But we can’t rush in without a plan.”
Lucas nodded slowly, though I could see the frustration in his eyes. “And Veronica?” he asked, his voice low.
I sighed, rubbing a hand over my face. “We’ll deal with her. But right now, we need to focus on the bigger threat. As it stands right now, the packs are watching us closely. One wrong move, and this kingdom could fall apart.”
Lucas exhaled sharply, his fists clenching at his sides. “Then we go to Ashley. We demand the truth. We have every right, in fact, to question the paternity status of those boys.”
I nodded, though the thought of facing her again after all these years made my wolf restless. There was no turning back now. We needed answers-and we would get them, no matter what it took.
It took such a long time in my eyes, but we were finally able to get substantial information about Ashley and how we could reach her within the space of three working days. During this time, Veronica’s wolf had been going wild all over the mansion. There were certain privileges she had from the marriage rituals we had conducted years back, which gave her undeniable recognition as our spouse-at least until we carry out rituals to break the ties between us. And these were some of the privileges she made full use of during this period.
In her desperate quest to become pregnant, she would often appeal to our wolves to mate even without our approval. She was so persistent that both Lucas and I almost gave in due to the pressure. She would push our self-control to the limit by visiting us late at night, stark naked, and even communicating erotic thoughts to us at random times of the day. It took immense willpower and strength for us to resist it all, even though we sometimes wanted to. After all, we were wolves, and mating is something we do religiously, like an everyday lifestyle.
“Wow, I never imagined myself fighting my wolf so hard in my entire life,” Lucas said, taking a deep breath as he relaxed in his seat.
“You’re definitely not alone on that, trust me. If anyone ever told me that Veronica would do this to us at any point in time, I would have totally argued with that person. It’s like she keeps coming up with something more daring than the last with every passing day. I thought resisting her would be a regular walk in the park, but oh my goodness, that woman is just so persistent.”
“Simon, I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to lose it completely. It’s really not easy, I must say.”
“Oh well, but what about Damien? Has he gathered any information yet?”
“Exactly, about that. He mentioned that he would be coming over today to give us the report of everything he had been able to gather over the past three days. I think he has actually gotten something useful for us.”
“Oh, alright then. For now, we should just-” A knock came on the door, and we invited the person in. The door slowly opened, and Damien walked in, holding a brown envelope in his hand.
“Greetings to Your Highnesses. I have the reports here with me.”
“Damien, good day to you too,” I greeted back, collecting the brown file from him.
“Thank you very much, Damien. I hope this wasn’t too much trouble for you to get?”
“Not at all, Your Highness. I just reached out to a couple of people staying around the pack house where she currently resides and did a little more research of my own, and that was it. Is there anything else you need, Your Highness?”
“Nothing more for now. I will definitely let you know if something else comes up. Thank you, Damien. You may leave,” Lucas said, and Damien bowed, quietly making his way out of the study room.
I looked down at the file in my hands, feeling the content, which was none other than a few papers clipped together.
“Well, what are you waiting for? Open it already,” Lucas said impatiently, looking at me with anxiety written all over his face.
“Wow, chill out, man. I’m getting to it, okay?” I responded, carefully taking out the papers inside the file. I moved closer to Lucas so we could both go through it together, and the room soon turned pin-drop silent as we read through it.
As we went through the papers, looking at each in surprise at every new piece of information we were getting, every discovery seemed bigger than the last. As soon as we were finally done reading, I sat back down facing Lucas once again, and we remained in silence for a short while.
“So from the source that we have, this man that Ashley claimed to be her husband is not even married to her. So what exactly is the relationship they share?” I started, looking over at Lucas as I spoke.
“That’s not even the big question here, to be honest. It says here that the boys were born on the 16th of April six years ago, and we are currently in the month of September. Meaning that their exact age is six, nothing less and nothing more as of right now. If you look at things closely, the months don’t add up.”
“What do you mean?” I was already getting confused by what Lucas was saying at this point.
“I mean, come on, look at it. We threw Ashley out of the house sometime in the month of October, and it says here that the twins were born on the 16th of April. Now do the math-October to April is just six months, and just like the human species, we wolves take about nine months in the womb of our mothers before being born. However, in this case, things are obviously not adding up because it basically means that Ashley had been pregnant even before we sent her out of the house, and no one knew about it.”
“So what you’re trying to tell me is that she actually had the audacity to hide such important information from us, even when we had decided to throw her out?”
“I mean, I can’t totally rule that out as an option, but there is also a huge possibility that she didn’t know either.”
“What? That can’t be possible, Lucas. I’m sure she already knew about it since the babies were already growing inside her for about three months at that point. Come on, it’s her body, for crying out loud.”
“But it is also very possible that she didn’t know. It’s not an unlikely case, you know. Some women don’t show the symptoms of pregnancy early enough, and some don’t even show it throughout the nine months. And then again, just think about it-we were literally sending her out of the house for good. She could have used the pregnancy as an escape route to remain in the house. You know very well that anyone carrying the heir to the throne cannot easily be discarded. If she truly knew about the pregnancy at that time, she definitely would have used it as a means of escape.”
I remained silent as soon as Lucas said this. He actually had a valid point. If Ashley was aware of the pregnancy-which, I will admit, didn’t even reflect on her body throughout the three months she spent before we chased her out-she would have definitely used it as a game card to stay in the mansion. It would have even elevated her status way above where she was, since she was practically carrying the heirs to the throne in her womb.
“Alright then, I want to believe what you’re saying is actually what happened. So what exactly are you driving at?”
“Basically, if we count back nine months from the time the boys were born, it would take us back to July when she was still in the mansion and very much active as our mate. You know what I mean?” I smirked at the thought, reminiscing about the crazy things we had done with Ashley during that period. “In essence, I strongly believe that those boys are actually our own and not that of the man she claims to be married to,” Lucas said finally, throwing the pen he had been holding onto the table as he leaned back to let his words sink into my mind.
“You’re right! It means she was lying the other time just to spite us.”
“Exactly! But then again, we can’t really blame her. We chased her out of the house and practically threw it in her face that she wouldn’t be able to survive. This is basically her comeback, and a bold way for her to show us that she is now successful and living a life we did not expect to see her have.” I sighed deeply, clicking my tongue as Lucas’ words kept adding up.