The Alpha's Forsaken Feisty Mate

"Mother, did you sleep well? Forgive me for not sleeping with you last night. I felt Radulf needed me more. But today I’ll sleep with you," Zenna pronounced as stepped into Karina’s room, who was standing near the window. She had a tray in her hand with freshly brewed tea above it.

Karina turned around and looked at her daughter. It felt a dream. She was truly free, seeing her daughter right before her eyes.

"Good morning, Mother. Take a seat. I’ll pour the green tea for you," Zenna said.

"I had a good sleep for the first time in years. You did good by staying with Radulf. He needs you more than anyone. I didn’t know poor boy had to undergo so much," Karina said and sighed. "Today is the tribute ceremony for his parents, right?"

"Yes, mother," Zenna answered and forwarded a cup of tea to Karina. She held the saucer with both hands and lifted the cup.

"Go to Radulf. He must be looking for you," Karina told her.

"He’s still in bed. I think this is the first time in so many years, he took such a long sleep," Zenna stated. "I don’t wish to disturb his sleep."

Karina smiled and slowly sipped the tea. She saw how Zenna was looking at her and she lowered the cup on the saucer.

"What is in your mind?" Karina questioned.

"That my mother is with me. She’s so beautiful and lovely," Zenna replied. A small smile curled up on her lips. "Mother, I am sorry for never sensing your presence. You must have tried building communication with me." She lowered her eyes, feeling low suddenly.

"Zenna," Karina whispered her name in an affectionate tone as she rested her hand above Zenna’s. "I was so weak that I couldn’t even send any kind of signal to you. Phillipe kept you locked in the cold palace, far from the underground dungeon. Don’t feel low about it anymore."

Zenna looked into the serene eyes of her mother and nodded.

They conversed even after Karina finished the tea. "You should go and check on Radulf. I’m absolutely fine. Don’t worry about me anymore," Karina told her.

"I’ll see you at the breakfast table, Mother," Zenna said. She then left her seat and took out the tray. She handed it to a servant outside and went back to her bedroom. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"He’s still sleeping," Zenna murmured and sat down before Radulf. She leaned down and planted a soft kiss just above his lips. She admired him silently and decided to let him stay asleep for another hour.

Turning her head, she looked at the wall, where Radulf’s and hers wedding portrait was hanging. "I will commission a new one soon," she murmured. Zenna felt the movement on mattress and turned to check on Radulf.

He was awake, his head leaning against the headboard and rubbing his eyes. "How long did I sleep today? I can see the sunrays are practically inside," Radulf murmured.

"Umm... Past nine in the morning," Zenna replied.

"What?" Radulf lowered his hand. "I slept a lot. Why didn’t you wake me up?" He moved away the duvet and swung his legs down. "How’s mother? She’s feeling better than the other days, is she?" he inquired.

"Yes. She is fine. Mother even drank the tea earlier," Zenna answered.

"That’s good to hear." Radulf tilted his head and pressed his lips to hers, flustering her. "I’ll get ready. We need to began the prepration for the ceremony ahead," he murmured.

"Yes." Zenna blushed and smiled at the same time.

She watched Radulf heading to the washroom. But he stopped at the door. "Zenna, did I tell you how beautiful you look?" Radulf suddenly gave her a compliment. "I think I didn’t. You look beautiful," he said and shut the door, leaving her blush more.

~~~~~

Leon dabbed the napkin over his lips and he looked at Nina, who had finished eating too. "We need to go to the Shadow Hunter Pack’s mansion," Leon informed her.

"Why? Did something happen there?" Nina asked in bewilderment.

"Everything is fine. It’s a tribute ceremony for Radulf’s late parents. In the early morning, Savio had come to deliver the message of Zenna," Leon said.

"Okay. Radulf must have found peace," Nina said. The servants had cleaned the table shortly.

"Yes. He always wanted to bring the truth out," Leon replied.

"You aren’t as bad as they thought of you, especially Zenna," Nina remarked. "You have been a good brother to her," she asserted.

"I was never a good brother to her, Nina," Leon admitted before her. He gestured to the servants to empty the dining hall and now, only they both were present there.

"What do you mean?" Nina slightly furrowed her brows.

"I never saw Zenna as my sister. She’s not even blood-related to me," Leon said with a chuckle. "You always asked me in the past if I had someone in the heart. I must answer you."

Nina couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She realized what he was about to reveal.

"I had feelings for Zenna. I wanted to protect her from my cruel adoptive parents. But I could never act on those feelings. Zenna knew about it and she reminded me the relationship we shared because of this fu..." He paused, not wanting to curse, "position of the Crown Prince. But I have put a halt on them. I know I’ve been wrong in many ways to Zenna. I didn’t let her letters reach Radulf during the time of the war."

Leon then took a deep breath before exhaling and leaned back in the chair. "Nina, I have lied to you a lot of times," he said.

"Why did you choose to tell about it to me now?" Nina queried.

"Because I don’t want to hide anything from you," Leon answered. "I want our relationship to stay as transparent as water. I don’t want any doubt to linger in your mind in the future."

"I see. Thank you for telling me," Nina replied with a tone of understanding.

"You aren’t angry?" Leon thought she would throw a fit about it. But surprisingly, she didn’t. Why? He was curious.

"It was all in the past. Everything has changed now," Nina replied with a thoughtful gaze. "There’s no reason to get angry."

"You are too forgiving. I used to think you were a woman with a bad temper," Leon muttered with an amusing smile on his lips.

"You had prejudices about me," Nina answered. "Well, initially, I was trying to find a way to fit here, so my words would have offended you a few times," she asserted.

"They did. I didn’t like the fact that you were telling everything to mother..." Leon suddenly paused as if he recalled he wasn’t supposed to call ’Loretta’ a ’mother’ anymore. "Nevermind. We should not even talk about the past anymore."

"You are right," Nina agreed and the two left their respective seats.

"I’ll see you in the carriage," Leon said and walked away first.

"He’s broken too... He was alone too..." Nina murmured. ’I will make sure he doesn’t feel that anymore.’ She headed to her own chamber. Getting dressed in a plain dress that was perfect for today’s occasion, she headed out.

The servant led her way to the carriage. To her surprise, Leon was standing just outside the carriage as if he was waiting for her. He looked too good in dark color. And dark blue suited him.

Nina was first to enter the carriage, followed by Leon. Darren locked the carriage’s door from outside and instructed the chauffeur to start. He himself rode the horse side-by-side to the carriage.

"Leon, I do think you protected Zenna silently without the fallen King’s and Queen’s knowledge," Nina began the conversation with a warm smile playing on her lips.

"What do you mean?" Leon looked at her with intrigue.

"During my stay in the Shadow Hunter Pack’s mansion, I found out many times how Zenna helped the pack stand up. After what happened to Radulf’s family, no pack was willing to help to them. Zenna’s name wasn’t either famous because of her illegitimate status. I feel you were the one, who helped her without her knowledge. You must have contacted the packs personally. But some in the Shadow Hunter Pack took it as Zenna’s direct relationship with her father was the reason behind it."

Nina concluded her own assumption, which was the reality.

Leon was surprised by her wisdom and the way she calculated everything so precisely.

"Tell me if I am right or wrong?" Nina asked with a curious gaze.

"You are right," Leon replied and blinked slowly.

"Oh my God! I guessed it correctly," Nina laughed in joy for a moment. "So, why didn’t you ever tell–" She couldn’t finish her sentence as Leon cut her off.

"Because that was not something to brag about before Zenna. Don’t tell her. You won’t tell her. Promise me," Leon pronounced.

"I won’t. I promise you," Nina replied with a smile.