If their bond was truly broken, why did she still feel this pull toward him? Why did the connection feel just as strong, if not stronger, now? Was it possible that the Moon Goddess had given her a second-chance mate... only to throw Zion back into the mix, along with two more as compensation?
The idea made her head spin.
Was the Moon Goddess so determined to tie her fate to Zion’s? Or was this so divine test, an orchestrated challenge ant to force all four of them to face sothing greater than themselves?
Addison bit her lower lip, frustration coiling in her chest. She didn’t understand any of it, and worst of all, there was no one who could give her the answers she so desperately needed.
Then her father leaned closer and whispered, "Sweetheart, what’s going on between you and this Greyhound mutt?"
The sudden question snapped her out of her swirling thoughts.
Right.
She hadn’t told her parents anything about her past with Alpha Zion yet. She had planned to. She ant to. But the twins had fallen ill, and all her energy and worry had gone into them. Telling her story had taken a backseat to being a mother.
As the image of her twins flashed through her mind, Addison froze. Her gaze locked onto Zion again, and a tremor ran through her body as her face drained of color. Panic surged within her. What if Zion found out about their existence?
He had once thrown her into the dungeon and ordered a hundred lashes, as if she were so traitor guilty of an unforgivable cri. She had nearly died that day. If he could be that ruthless toward her, what might he do if he discovered that she had given birth to his children?
’No,’ she told herself firmly. ’I can’t let him find them. I won’t risk it.’
But then, a flicker of doubt crept in. ’Even lions don’t harm their cubs... Maybe he wouldn’t hurt them? Maybe he’d accept them?’
Her heart ached. Her twins, though mature for their age, were still children. They needed love, love from both their mother and their father. There were things only a father could teach. Sure, they had their grandfather and other strong male figures in their life, but none could truly take the place of a father.
Still... was it worth the risk?
The weight of uncertainty crushed her. She couldn’t afford to gamble, not when it was her sons’ lives on the line. The "what-ifs" were too dangerous to even imagine.
Seeing the color drain from his daughter’s face, the Alpha King turned to look at Zion again, this ti, truly seeing him.
Earlier, he’d barely spared Zion more than a dismissive glance, writing off the faint sense of familiarity as a resemblance to Zion’s father. But now, as he studied Zion closely, sothing clicked. That face... it was far too familiar. How could he have missed it?
Zion looked almost exactly like the two little boys the Alpha King had co to know and love, his grandsons. Eight parts out of ten, if not more. His eyes widened in disbelief, and he quickly looked back down at Addison, realization hitting him like a thunderbolt.
He wasn’t the only one stunned.
Beside him, the Queen gasped audibly, her hand flying to cover her mouth as her eyes darted between Zion and Addison. Recognition settled heavily on her face. She, too, saw it. The resemblance was undeniable.
But Addison said nothing.
She stood frozen in place, her silence loud with aning. The only explanation they could grasp was that she didn’t want Zion to know. After all, when they’d found her, she was barely a week pregnant, too early to tell, and in a condition so dire that it was a miracle she hadn’t miscarried. No wolf, no healing ability, no support for the fragile lives growing inside her. It was sheer will, and perhaps fate, that kept her and the twins alive.
And so, the Alpha King’s hostility toward Zion deepened, now laced with a burning protectiveness he couldn’t mask. Thankfully, neither he nor the Queen betrayed their realization, at least not outwardly. To any onlooker, their expressions only reflected the sa stunned disbelief everyone else was experiencing.
After all, this gathering had already been shaken by an unprecedented revelation: a single she-wolf with not one, but three fated mates, sothing unheard of in werewolf history. The collective shock rippling through the room was so intense, it concealed the deeper, more personal realization the royal couple had just made.
Amid all the gasps and stunned silence, their reaction didn’t seem out of place at all.
The Alpha King and Queen exchanged a glance, their eyes mirroring the sa disbelief and unspoken understanding. Then, they turned their attention back to Addison, who looked both anxious and on the verge of panic, though she quickly tried to mask her emotions. But they were her parents, and as the saying goes, no one knows a child better than their own mother and father.
Even Zion, who was now bound to her as a fated mate, couldn’t sense the storm of emotion she was barely holding back. But her parents could.
To silently reassure her, the Alpha King reached out and placed a firm, comforting hand on her shoulder. The warmth of his touch grounded her, steadying the turmoil within. Addison felt a flicker of relief.
Right. She wasn’t alone anymore. She didn’t have to carry the burden of protecting her children by herself. She still had her parents.
But before she could fully process that comfort or settle her thoughts, another voice cut through the mont and drew her attention.
"Addie..."
It was a soft murmur, thick with emotion and longing, so fragile it almost disappeared into the hum of the crowd. But then, the voice called again, louder this ti, firr, as if anchoring itself in reality and confirming what the speaker could barely believe: she was really there. She wasn’t a fignt of imagination. She wasn’t a ghost.
The man’s eyes searched the gathering until they landed on her, and when he saw that everyone else was already staring at Addison, he spoke once more, voice shaking.
"Addison."
And with that, he began to move forward, pushing through the crowd, unable to stay still now that she was within reach.
"Lance?" Addison breathed, her voice laced with surprise and uncertainty as she finally recognized him.
He looked so different now, less like the rugged vice-captain of the Border Patrol team and more like a refined nobleman, dressed sharply, standing tall and composed among the guests at the banquet. She wasn’t surprised to see him here, but what truly caught her off guard was the storm of emotions flickering across his face: pain, longing, disbelief.
It suddenly made sense. The rumors Anna and Alvin had ntioned, once dismissed as idle gossip, now felt real. Perhaps she had really been close to Lance before her abduction and mory loss.
As he stepped closer, Lance’s eyes flicked briefly between Zion, Levi, and her supposed fiancé. The hurt in his expression deepened, and doubt clouded his gaze. ’Why?’ Why had the Moon Goddess given Addison three fated mates, and none of them was him?
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