Chapter 19
Nyssa pov
It was already night when I arrived at the packhouse, and the moment I stepped in, I found my father pacing back and forth, his hand on his chin, lips drawn into a deep frown, and his eyes dangerously narrowed. A strong, tense aura radiated off him, making me pause mid–step.
My father was usually a calm and collected man, someone who rarely lost his temper or reacted strongly to anything. So, seeing him like this genuinely caught me off guard.
Did something happen?
I turned toward Serene, who stood behind my father, and mouthed the words. “What’s wrong?” Instead of answering, she shook her head, and her gesture seemed to catch my father’s attention. He paused in his pacing, then turned to face me, his frown deepening even further.
Huh, what did I do?
“You-” My father began, striding over to me, his hand pointing in my direction, only for him to stop mid–sentence, sigh, and run a frustrated hand through his hair.
“Father, what’s wrong? Is everything okay?” I asked, unease settling in. Had something changed from the past? From what I knew, nothing significant should have happened yet.
“What’s wrong?” he repeated, his voice incredulous as he stared at me in disbelief. “Are you seriously asking me what’s wrong when you’re about to be rejected by the Lycan King in three days? Why didn’t you tell me, princess? Do you have any idea what it means to be rejected, especially by him?”
My eyes widened, and the next second, a rush of relief flooded me. I placed a hand on my chest, trying to calm my rapidly pounding heart.
“Oh, it’s because of that. I thought something bad had happened. You scared me,” I said with a nervous laugh.
But almost immediately, my father’s gaze darkened, and a chill ran down my spine at the intensity of his stare.
Hmmm. I shouldn’t have said that. But I wasn’t joking, what scared me wasn’t the rejection itself; it was the thought that something else from the past might have changed. If that was the case, I had no idea what would happen next. That uncertainty terrified me more than I would ever admit.
“Father, you don’t have to worry. Everything will be fine,” I tried to reassure him, but a shocked scoff escaped his lips, and he took a step back from me.
“It seems you don’t understand the gravity of this situation,” he said, his voice tense as he started pacing again. “This is rejection, Nyssa. Rejection is a taboo in the eyes of the goddess, and the consequences are severe. That’s why most people avoid it because they could lose their minds or even die from it. Some lose their connection with their wolves. And you… you don’t even have a wolf. Even if you did, do you honestly think you can survive a rejection from the Lycan King?”
I raised a brow at his words but remained silent. I knew he was only speaking the truth and that he was worried about me. Still, it was what it was. Darius wanted to reject me, there was nothing I could do about it. I just had to accept it.
“Nyssa,” I watched as he walked toward me and held me by the arms, his gaze serious and intense. “This is a serious matter. If the king rejects you, then you will really-” He paused, unable to say the last word.
“Die? I know,” I said, cutting him off with a sad smile. “I know that if he rejects me, I’ll die. I know the consequences of rejection, but I don’t have a choice in this, Father. You know we can’t go against the king’s decision. If he’s made up his mind
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to reject me, then I’ll have to accept it. There’s no way around it.”
My father’s gaze darkened at my words, and I could tell he knew I wasn’t wrong. Even though Darius had lived in seclusion for years, unseen by most, no one could deny he was the most powerful man alive.
Rumors about his strength had been passed down for generations.
Before everything changed, before the death of his mate, before he went rogue and was cursed, Darius had been the strongest Lycan king in history. His power had no equal. It was said he once annihilated hundreds of werewolves on his own and the most insane part was, he did it in his human form.
And I wasn’t looking forward to letting my father get in bad terms with a man like that.
“But Nyssa-”
“Father” I said and reached out his hands with a smile. “I am going to be okay, I am going to survive so don’t worry. Promise me, you wouldn’t do anything that will keep the pack at risk. If you go against the king’s order, you know what will happen to our pack, right?” I asked with a serious expression and from his expression I knew he had understood what I was saying.
This was the same man who hadn’t even spared his own pack. If we disobeyed him, there was no telling what he might do to
- us.
“You’re still worrying about the pack even at a time like this?” my father frowned, clearly frustrated.
I couldn’t help it, my grin stretched wider.
“The pack is my home. It’s where I grew up, and it belonged to our ancestors. Of course I’ll worry about it.”
And I had promised myself, this time, in this lifetime, I wouldn’t let anything happen to it.
“So don’t worry. Nothing will go wrong. Let’s talk about this tomorrow, I’m pretty tired, Father,” I said, eager to end the conversation.
For a moment, he didn’t say anything. He just stared at me, his expression unreadable, before finally sighing and nodding. Then he leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on my forehead.
“Okay, princess. Go to bed. We’ll talk about this tomorrow. And you’re right- nothing will happen to you. I’ll make sure of it,” he said as he softly stroked my hair.
I opened my mouth to respond, but he seemed to know exactly what I was going to say because he added,
“Don’t worry, princess. I won’t do anything that would harm our pack. Now go get some rest. Goodnight.”
That was all he said before turning and walking out of the packhouse without a backward glance.
I frowned, but deep down, I knew my father was too smart to make any reckless decisions that could endanger the pack.
Now, time to get some food and a proper night’s sleep because tomorrow marked the beginning of my plan. And I was going to need all the strength I could get.
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