" too," he shrugged.
"I’ll be right back," Brandon said, stepping forward. Yet he chose another path and left through the exit. Ashley returned with another glass of wine, and the lounge fell into a heavy silence.
"You think I despise you, don’t you?"
"You hate , and it is obvious," Emma said, and he smirked, silence lingering like a shadow between them.
"The mont I realized I was drawn to a young she-wolf, I walked away while the bond was still weak. And here I am... at peace without her, believing she is sowhere safe. That is what you should have done."
"Are you really sure she was safe when you left her?"
He looked at her and continued where he left off.
"You are a beautiful she-wolf, and I don’t want you to fight this war," he said in a calm tone, though sothing deeper hid beneath it, and Emma grew uneasy. He clearly wanted her far from the royal bloodline. There was more... sothing unseen... but she couldn’t grasp it.
He sipped his wine, set the glass down, and exhaled as though the wine failed to satisfy the hunger within.
"When you realized your heart was shifting toward a moon prince whose destiny binds him to a noble she-wolf, you should have walked away."
"I didn’t know he was a prince. When I found out, I tried to leave... but he ca after ."
"You left a trail; why wouldn’t he follow you?" he asked, staring at her as though she stood at the edge of danger. She lowered her gaze.
"You can still walk away now. It’s not too late"
"He would be devastated."
"For a few moons. Love demands sacrifice. Do this for him—and for yourself. Leave this territory to a place he cannot track you. I can finance your journey." His voice softened, yet urgency sparkled in his eyes. She saw the protectiveness... and fear. And it unsettled her.
They both turned sharply as Brandon entered the lounge, Emily walking beside him like a silent shadow. Ashley’s brows lifted instantly, his eyes widening like a wolf sensing sothing rare. He stared at her, unable to speak or offer a seat. Slowly, his gaze shifted and landed on Emma. Emma looked towards her mother standing in the center of the lounge before averting her eyes. Ashley pressed his lips together and gestured faintly without words. He was utterly speechless. Then he opened his mouth again and said sothing none of them expected to hear at that mont.
"Is this real,a joke or just a dream?" Ashley asked no one in particular.
Emma ignored him as she turned and faced the aquarium again. However, Ashley continued staring at her until the glass of wine he was holding slipped off his palm and shattered on the floor.
Emma stood up to tidy it up, but he waved at her and called the she-wolf that previously cleaned the lounge. Silence wrapped the entire lounge as they waited for him to speak again. Brandon sipped his drink as though his duty as a dominant alpha had ended.
"You know my na, where I co from, my position in this Santorini kingdom. My personal records were assessed when I lodged at that resting den where you had worked as a chamber attendant. Please, do not tell you couldn’t find ," he said, drawing the syllables. "You did not want to know about her." Emma guessed he had just figured everything out.
"I know I don’t deserve to be part of her life because I deceived you, but didn’t you think I deserved to know she exists?" He whimpered, lifted his eyes slowly, and fixed them on Emily.
"My biggest regret is ever trying to let you know. I regret ever entering this territory to find you! If I had stayed in my territory she wouldn’t have ended up with strangers who made her life miserable!"
Everywhere beca calm again. Only Emily’s heavy breathing could be heard.
"I ca here but I was not allowed to move beyond the entrance of the pack road that led to your villa."
"How did she end up with strangers?" Ashley asked with a peaceful tone.
"For more than a full moon, I was trying to see you but the security warriors at the entrance kept chasing away," Emily sniffed. "My thirty-day territory pass expired."
"You have not answered my question Emily," he shook his head. "How did my moonpup end up with strangers?"
"I had no valid docunts to open a bank vault, so I...I...gave birth to her with so wolf’s identity. The stranger also paid the mooncare bills with her credit talisman," Emily sniffed and paused.
"And then what happened?"
"After two winters, I still couldn’t pay up the silver she spent on . Her mate reported to Pack Border Wardens and claid my moonpup.
"Seriously?" He shouted at Emily. "You and your attorney never heard about bloodline verification?"
"My deportation was an expedited removal because I had stayed more than two winters! Everything was rapid! There was no ti to appear before a pack border warden judge!"
Ashley lowered his head and kept quiet. Tears covered Emma’s eyes and she couldn’t see clearly. Brandon wrapped an arm around her and leaned in, his voice low and soothing. ’It’s okay, moonheart... he didn’t reject you after all."
"If you had told them the pup was mine, none of this would have happened," he said with a teary tone. "They would have contacted . Why didn’t you tell them?" He lifted his face and fixed his bloodshot eyes on Emily again.
"I was protecting your image," Emily murmured, probably hoping to get credit from him, but all hell was let loose as Ashley rose in anger.
"Imagine, image, my foot! What nonsense image were you protecting? At the expense of our moonpup? Do you think I would choose my political rank over her? If you had made her your priority, you wouldn’t have given image protection a thought! Now you have succeeded in turning my moonpup against . Thank you very much, Emily! She hates now! Thank you," he sat down and relaxed on his lounger and continued wiping his eyes.
"She didn’t hate you," Emily murmured after a few minutes.
"She just called a hateful High Fang Regent. She said I was only pretending—that I hated her so much."
Tears stread down Emma’s face and she stood and began to walk towards the door.
"Emma," Emily called and ran after her. She held her hand and stopped her from leaving the lounge.
"Why did you call him a hateful high fang regent?"
"He called an illegitimate pup! She-wolf with a scandalous identity."
"Forgive him."
"I don’t like the way he is shouting at you."
"But he was right. Your safety should have been my priority and not his rank. I was selfish and I paid dearly for it."
"Leave us," Ashley said from behind. Emily let go of Emma’s hand imdiately and walked back to the lounger wiping her tears.
"Emma, I’m sorry," he said with a calm tone.
"I don’t like the way you shouted at Emily. She went through a lot."
"I’m sorry; I won’t do it again."
She nodded and turned her head to look at him.
"Let’s go to the garden and talk. Would you mind?" he asked and she shook her head. He held Emma’s hand as they walked slowly toward the exit. It was as if a part of her that was void was filled up. They entered the elevator and he was still holding her hand.
They got off and began to walk towards the garden. The she-wolves in the pool turned their heads and fixed their eyes on them. Probably thought she was his latest moonmate.
He sat in a wide lounger that could accommodate four wolves and urged Emma to join him. She joined him without fear.
"Emma, I’m sorry," he said and wiped her tears. He pulled her closer to his side and held her firmly. He took a deep breath after a few minutes and her wolf senses sparkled.
"When my late mate was kidnapped, violated, and killed most horribly, I felt guilty. Her death devastated her mother and consequently contributed to the death of the aged she-wolf. I felt she would have been alive if I hadn’t mated her. I was hard on myself for not protecting her. I vowed never to put the life of any she-wolf at risk. This is the foremost reason why I buried the feelings I had for your mother. I did not want her to be a victim. The age gap was also one of the reasons, but what I just told you was the main reason."
He kept quiet for a while and breathed in.
"When I found out you were my father, I was afraid you might reject and my mother..."
"How could I ever reject my moonpup, especially when I’ve always wished for at least two? I’m proud you’re mine."
"Are you sure? Because you said I’m headstrong and disrespectful to elders
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