Miller’s POV
Ever since Chris and I talked about his daughter, Anna, I couldn’t stop thinking about our conversation. I couldn’t decide who to side with. Isabella was in a coma, and Anna was imprisoned in a dark cell. Mia had been giving me a cold shoulder. She wasn’t treating me like she usually did. She resisted my touch, care, and affection.
I had been locking myself up in my office, pondering how to please my beloved mate. Perhaps if our daughter was awake, she would be able to smile at me. I prayed for my daughter to wake up as soon as possible. I missed my queen a lot.
“Miller, she’s awake,” I heard Mia’s voice through the mind link.
Good. My daughter had finally woken up. All hail to the deity. I rose to my feet and entered the room where she was.
“Isabella, my daughter!” I called her immediately after I walked into the room. “How are you feeling, my princess?”
I asked about her condition, but she didn’t respond. She stayed damper, but why?
“Isabella,” I called her again and tried touching her.
“Don’t touch me, father. Don’t you dare,” she warned.
“Why, daughter? Why can’t your father touch you?”
“You’re no longer my father, and I’m no longer your daughter. I have repudiated you as my father since you asked them to lock me up in that cold dirty cell, so don’t call me your daughter again,” she cut ties with me.
She was mumbling these to me, and my mate was just squatting by her side, not uttering a single word. My wife and daughter were hostile to me.
“Isabella, I’m doing this for your own sake. Try to understand me. I’m not a bad father. Please stop saying such things. It hurts. If I have hurt your feelings, please forgive me,” I implored my daughter. “I’m sorry, my beloved daughter.”
She looked me in the eyes and said, “King Miller, you may leave now.”
“Why should I leave? You called me king, not father. Mia?” I turned to my mate who was only listening and not saying anything. “Is it okay for you, just watching me like this, being regaled by our daughter? My own daughter? Why are you not speaking, my queen? Please say something.”
“My king, what do you want me to say? You’re the cause of everything,” my mate pointed out.
“Your king, rather than Miller?” I repeated, unable to believe what I was hearing. My own family was treating me like a jerk.
“You caused all of this, and you deserve everything that’s happening to you right now,” she went on to say. “You were too stubborn and felt like no one, not even your mate, could control you, Miller. You locked our daughter in that filthy place for weeks and barred me from visiting her. If it hadn’t been for the incident, I’m sure she’d rot away in that cold cell. Is that the way a father should treat his daughter? Was this how your father treated you? Answer me, Miller. You asked me to say something. Now, I’m saying something and asking you a question. Is this how a good father should treat his daughter?”
“Why don’t you understand me? I’m doing this for our own good. Don’t you see everything good I’m doing? I’m trying my best, Mia. But why? Why don’t you see it? I thought you changed because of our daughter. I guess I am wrong. You just loathe me. You abhor me. What is the problem, my queen? Where did it go wrong between us? Why are you treating me like this? I demand an answer from you.”
“Listen to me. You didn’t offend me, and I do not detest you. I’m only telling you to alter your bad manner. You’re obnoxious, and you don’t take my advice as your mate and queen. It’s my right to correct you on your mistakes, but you never gave me the chance to do so because everything you do was right for you. Think about it. The first time we met, you decided to slaughter me only because I was a wolf. Did you think I didn’t deserve you?” she shot back at me.
“What are you saying? Didn’t I apologize to you? You chose to forgive me and accept me as your mate. Why are you bringing this up again? I’ve never forced you to do anything against your will. Why, Mia? This is our past, not our present life as mates.”
“I apologize for bringing up the past. I just wanted you to change for the better because you should listen to others’ advice. Stop being obstinate and killing innocent people. I asked you to get rid of the dark cell, but you never did.”
“Am I killing an innocent person? Is this what you’ve been thinking about me the whole time? A murderer? Do you think they’re innocent, my queen? The people you call innocent once killed and raped my pack of females. Did I kill the man you were dancing with at the club? The man who was caressing you all over. Did I assassinate him? Answer me!”
“I told you I’m not dating him. He’s just a friend of mine, and I’m done apologizing to you. Why do you choose to bring it up in front of my daughter? Why?” she snapped, annoyed.
“I’m sorry. I went too far, but I hope you understand me as your mate. All the things I’m doing are to protect you, your children, and the pack members.” I turned to face my daughter. “Isabella, I’m only protecting you and your brothers. They’re not your real mate. I don’t know the wicked person who fated you guys together as mates. I had no other option but to lock you up in a safe place, but I had no idea I harmed you. Can you forgive me, please?”
“No, father. Anna almost killed me just because my brothers are my mates. She doesn’t love Aiden. She’s only after the queen’s crown,” Isabella let out.
“What? The queen’s crown? Is Anna Aiden’s mate?” I asked Mia.
“No, she’s not,” she denied. “She’s Aiden’s girlfriend because Anna once told me she was going out with Aiden, but I doubt they are mates.”
“You doubt? Then, do you know who Aiden’s mate is?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Are you sure? I’m getting suspicious of you.”
“Enough, Miller. I don’t know anything,” she claimed. “You should ask Aiden. He’s your son.”
“Father, Anna said my brother has met his mate in the human world, but she doesn’t know who she is,” Isabella mentioned.
“The human world? My queen, are you thinking what I am guessing?” I faced my mate.
“What are you guessing, my king?” she asked me.
“A human? Is Aiden’s mate a human?”
“What? It doesn’t matter as long as he is ready to accept and claim her as his mate. All that matters to me is my son’s happiness. I don’t care about anything else, even if she’s a human.”
“Don’t tell me that,” I roared. “A human as a Lycan Queen? It’s impossible! I can never accept her. Never!”
“This is what I’m telling you about. You’re too stubborn, even if she’s a human, you should be happy. Your son finally met his mate and he deserves to be happy.”