Chapter 6
My mind kept running wild with all the craziest thoughts. I had a mate, and he was the most notorious Alpha out there. I squinted my eyes at my book, thinking he was probably scheming ways to get to me or, worse, ways to aggravate my father. I couldn't tell anyone I had a mate, and I prayed this Alpha didn't ruin my life by coming here thinking he could just take me. Oh, my father would never allow that; he would lose his mind.
A knock on the door had my heart almost jumping out of my chest, but then I smelled my mother's scent. She smelled different, but I decided to brush that off—it was probably a new bath soap or fragrance she had on. My mother, being human, loved trying out new things all the time. I didn't have to answer the door; my mother knocked once, and it was obvious she would enter right afterward.
"Mom, I am sorry I snuck out last night," I apologized again.
My mom smiled at me. "Your father will get over it; he is just going to be a little hard-headed for a bit. Back in my day, it was normal to sneak out, go to secret parties, and just do the craziest things. I am sorry that it's not the same anymore."
I sighed, knowing that my mother was totally right. Nothing was the same anymore; everything was different. I was born in this world, and it was so lonely. I couldn't do anything normal, and it sucked. Worse, I was Alexander's daughter, which meant my situation was even worse—I couldn't even have friends because everyone was scared of my father. It was either they were scared or vengeful, which meant I couldn't trust anyone.
When I was born, someone tried to kill me on the same day just to break my father, so yeah, I couldn't have a normal life because someone was always after my family. "Where is Father?" I asked, hoping he wasn't still hunting my mate. He had smelled his scent at the borders, that was for sure.
"Actually, your father just arrived from the border. I came to get you because we have an announcement to make to everyone, but we wanted you to know first before anyone else," she said calmly, and I looked at her curiously.
My heart started beating a little faster. Had they found out about my mate? Did they want to announce to everyone that I was being taken away? I didn't want to leave; I wasn't ready for any of this. "Mother, what is it? Did they find something? Who was it?" I asked nervously, my hands starting to shake.
Lucy shook her head with a soft smile as she gestured for me to follow her. "None of that, my curious kitten. Come, let's go. Your father is probably waiting impatiently."
If it wasn't that, then what could it be? I followed her back to my father's study. This meant that they didn't want people to know just yet, which made me even more curious. We entered, and my father was sitting in his chair reading a document of some sort—probably Alpha business as usual. He put his papers down on his desk as I closed the door behind me.
He was watching me closely, which always made my heart rate increase. He made me nervous, as if he could read my every thought. Right now, I didn't want him to know what I was thinking. I sat down, and my mother sat in a chair next to mine at his desk. I waited for one of them to speak. Honestly, I didn't have time for this. They were making me extremely anxious, and my anxiety was rising to a hundred at this point.
"Astrid, you know we love you so much. You have been such a blessing in our lives. You have been such an amazing daughter—a bit hard-headed like your father sometimes—but you have been absolutely perfect," Lucy said with a big smile while I could hear my father grunt almost silently. He was probably rolling his eyes at the part where she said I was hard-headed like him sometimes. It was true—I got my stubbornness from him, so he should deal with it.
Why did it sound like she was making those speeches people make before they give their daughters away? I couldn't take it anymore. They couldn't just send me away already. I really thought they loved me, so why was it this easy for them to just send me off as if I were just an object to give away? I was their daughter, and this was unacceptable. I would run away and put up a whole fight first before being sent off to be enslaved by that brute.
I stood up and almost dropped my chair in the process, my hands shaking furiously. My eyes were turning amber or purple, a rare color I had. They called me special because of that. I honestly did like the color purple now because it was unique and had become my favorite color. My father said it showed how I was of royalty, that I was his special little gem, but now he dared to just send me off!
"You CANNOT SEND ME AWAY TO THAT BRUTE! I would rather die than go to HIM. Just kill me instead! I am not going, please don't DO THIS!" I shouted at them, breathing out hard with a growl.
My father stood up, and in a second he was in front of me, standing next to my mother. "Stand down... now, pup," he growled, and my wolf immediately recognized his power. He was our father and our Alpha. My eyes went back to their natural color.
"Baby, we would never send you off. What are you talking about?" my mother said, completely confused, which confused me even more.
I breathed out. "So what's this whole meeting for?"
"You are going to have a little brother, Astrid. You are such an amazing daughter, and you will make such an amazing big sister, my baby," she said, and I felt like passing out.
"What," I said, surprised. "Really? Oh my goodness, that's amazing." My heart skipped in excitement. I had always wanted a little brother or sister. I was already excited that my aunt Amara was going to have one I could babysit and take care of. Now I was going to have an actual little brother!
I hugged my mom, and she laughed, hugging me back tightly. She was surprisingly shorter than me, and I considered myself really short. My father broke us apart, which was a bit rude. I scowled at him, but he ignored me.
"Who did you think we were sending you off to, and why, Astrid?" he asked, and my heart immediately dropped... again.