Chapter 18
Noelle
“Kidnap?!” My mother sputters before seeking eye contact with my father and then laughing. “We haven’t kidnapped anyone, and no offense, but if we were to kidnap a child, do you really think we would pick Noelle?”
Since Lucian is too shocked to speak after my mother’s harsh words, she continues.
“No offense. Noelle, but you’re a weak Omega,” her attention shifts to my face before those eyes of hers land on Lucian again. “As the Alpha of our pack, I’m sure you must understand what a burden it has been for Noelle’s father and me to care for a werewolf that can’t even shift and defend herself. Noelle is far from a royal lycan princess”
My father clears his throat and finally puts his fork down, something he often does, which means he is about to say something serious.
He looks at Lucian with a hint of sympathy. “I think you’ve drawn the short stick from the pile, son,” he says. “To be mated to my useless daughter…well, that’s quite unfortunate.”
The room grows quiet after my father speaks, and I stare down at my untouched food with a terrible feeling in my chest. I’m used to my parents hurting me with words. Still, I had hoped they wouldn’t talk ill about me in front of Lucian. What if he ends up rejecting me, too? Is that what my parents are trying to do, make him leave me?
Lucian is the first to break the silence. “Unfortunate?” he asks in an irritated tone. “I’m not unfortunate to be mated to your daughter. Noelle is a wonderful woman and you’re wrong about her. She isn’t weak; her wolf is stronger than the both of you combined.”
My parents snort as though Lucian has told them the funniest joke they have ever heard all evening. But when they realize he isn’t joking, my father clears his throat.
“Listen, I’m going to be honest. Noelle isn’t our daughter, but we didn’t kidnap her from the lycans. It was a fairy woman that her to us, said she wanted the twerp gone, and since we are good–hearted people, we raised the child like our own,, hoping she would become strong. But she never did. Noelle might as well be a human at this point.”
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I turn stiff in my chair, feeling my entire world crumble into pieces around me. A fairy woman gave me to my parents? So I’m not their daughter after all?
Lucian growls. “So you did take her!”
My father holds up his hands in surrender. “Please, Alpha! It was over eighteen years ago, and we regret it! Had we known that Noelle wasn’t even special, we wouldn’t have taken her! We were hoping she would bring us some honor, glory, even, But all we got was an Omega.”
“Excuse me?” Lucian’s voice is now dangerously low, and I can see his eyes flashing a bright red, the fairy within him teetering on the edge of breaking free.
“No offense, Alpha Lucian,” my mother quickly chimes in, her fingers fidgeting nervously in her lap. “We are just stating facts. Since she is an Omega, she is relatively weak for our kind.
I can barely keep myself from crying at this point. Their words are slicing through me like a blade. I feel small and insignificant under their brutal judgment but also incredibly angry. If they think I’m so useless, then what the hell are they doing here?!
“If you think I’m so useless, then why the hell are you here eating dinner with me and my mate?!” 1 snap, unable to sit quietly for a second longer, l’in boiling on the inside.
“Oh, Noelle,” my mother–who isn’t really my real mother–sighs, her voice dripping with condescenston. “You must understand that we are here because of Lucian, not you.”
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“That’s right,” my father, or whoever the heck he is, chimes in from his seat. “In a werewolf family, the child always takes care of their parents when they grow old, and your mother and are convinced that Alpha Lucian will uphold that tradition even if you don’t.”
My mother nods. “Yes, Alpha Lucian is a respectable man, and he must understand that your father and I are very poor after taking care of someone like you.”
“It took up so much of our time and even made us start drinking alcohol since you’ve caused us so much emotional trouble. First, you’re born as an Omega, and then you get rejected by your Beta mate. Not much has gone right in your life, which is stressful for me and your mother,” my faux–father adds, rubbing at his beer belly. “I’m sure a man of Alpha Lucian’s stature would understand our hardship. He can cover our needs and compensate us for your failures.”
Lucian’s fists clench beneath the table, and his jaw tightens. His eyes are dark and stormy, a hurricane of emotions whirling within them. He glances at me, his gaze softening slightly. He looks at me like I am the most precious thing in the world before he focuses back on my parents, a dangerous growl rippling through the tensed silence.
“Do you think I care about your petty wants?” Lucian’s voice is calm but laced with a clear threat. “Noelle’s past rejections do not define her. She is not a failure, and she is not weak. In fact, should have both of you executed for talking ill about my future wife and Luna!”
My mother gasps, clutching her faux pearl necklace tightly. “Alpha Lucian…” she begins to protest weakly, but Lucian cuts her off sharply.
“You should be grateful that I’m not ending your pretty little lives as we speak. Noelle might be an Omega, but she is also my mate. Your words against her are insults against me and my pack Lucian growls, his eyes burning with a menacing glare.
My parents blink at him in disbelief, their faces turning a ghastly shade of white. I can see sweat gathering on my father’s brow, the lines on his face deepening as he swallows hard. They never expected Lucian to defend me like this, to stand up for me in front of them.
Lucian continues to speak, his tone icy and stern. “You have raised Noelle under a false pretense and mistreated her because she did not meet your expectations. But know this. She is no burden to me. She is my strength and my heart. And she will also be the one to decide your fate. If she wants you dead for kidnapping her when she was young, then so be it.”
My parents gasp in shock, but I cannot tear my gaze away from Lucian’s. His fierce declaration, filled with possessiveness ånd protectiveness, sends shivers down my spine. I have never had anyone stand up for me before, least of all someone as powerful as an Alpha.
“You…you would put our lives in her hands?” My mother stammers, disbelief written all over her face.
Lucian nods, shifting his gaze from their unnerved faces to mine. “Yes,” he replies firmly. “Her decision will be final.”
“But…but she’s just a weak Omega…” my father whispers, his arrogant veneer crumbling to reveal a frightened man beneath. Lucian growls, his eyes flashing dangerously. “She is my mate and future Luna,” he turns his attention to me then. “And 1 trust her to know what kind of fate the two of you deserve.”
Even though Lucian is putting so much fate in me, I have no clue what to do with my “family.” I want to know where I came from, but I suspect they know nothing.
“Lock them in the pack dungeons,” I say. “If they later remember anything about the fairy woman who gave me up, they can tell me. Until then, they can live as they made me live: let them sleep on hard mattresses and make sure their food is bland and boring. That’s what I had to endure throughout my life while they lived in comfort and luxury.”
A surprised but satisfied look crosses Lucian’s face at my decision while my parents stare at me.
Outrage colors my not–father’s face, but he quickly rearranges his features into a mask of apology. “But Noelle,” he begins in a pleading tone, your mother and I are old, we…”
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“I don’t care,” I interrupt him. The room falls silent for a moment before I add, in a much softer voice this time. “And you are not my mother and father, You took me, and I will never forgive you for withholding the truth from me all these years.”
Chapter 19
