Chapter 17

I had so many questions. What happened to her? How did she die? What about my son? What would become of him now?
“Your son is fine, from what I’ve heard,” said Hycinth. “But rumours are circulating in the palace that the Alpha doesn’t want him there anymore.”
“What? Why?”
“Because it was Luna Elena’s idea to raise him with the Alpha’s children. He never liked that but she somehow convinced him to agree to it. Now that she’s dead, he doesn’t have to keep the boy in his home anymore.”
“So, what would he do to my son?” I asked fearfully.
“I don’t know but we will find out soon, I guess.”
My question was answered a few days later when Hycinth came to tell me that the Alpha wanted to see me. I couldn’t believe it but it turned out to be true.
I was taken out of my cell to the servants’ quarters in the palace where they cleaned me up and dressed me in pretty clothes. I felt like my old self again for once in a long time.
When I was presented to Alpha Jaxon in his throne room, my knees almost buckled when I saw my now three-year-old son sitting beside him on a high stool. I was tempted to run forward to hug him but I controlled myself because I didn’t want to offend my host.
“You still look terrible,” he said nastily. “No amount of soap or water can wash away the stink of that prison cell from you.”
I was confused by this. Did he call me here to insult me in front of my son?
“Anyway, I don’t have to deal with you or your child anymore,” he continued.
“Elena blackmailed me into letting her keep your child among mine for the past three years. Now that she’s dead, I don’t have to continue staining my children by keeping this little bastard among them. He has enjoyed my generosity enough.”
I wanted to speak but I didn’t know what to say, so I kept quiet and continued to listen to him.
“You and your son will leave the Highlands right now and take your bad luck with you,” he said. He looked at my son hatefully and said, “Go to your mother!”
Domarius hopped down from the stool and ran to me. I could see that he was terrified of Alpha Jaxon and I could see why. He was such a mean creature to everyone including an innocent child.
I opened my arms to my son and he ran into them. I was so glad that he still remembered me after all this time. I held him close to my chest and wept quietly. All of the humiliation and abuse I had endured in this place in the past four years were finally worth it.
“One more thing,” said Alpha Jaxon, interrupting my emotional reunion with my son.
“Take this cursed thing with you,” he said and threw something at me.
I caught it in my hand and was immediately delighted to see that it was my long-lost necklace. At last, I had it back!
“Elena was obsessed with it and I never understood why,” said the Alpha. “She wore it every day and said it made her feel things.”
I wore it around my neck and immediately felt connected to my mates again. “Thank you,” I said gratefully.
“Get out!” He shouted. “Both of you.”
I grabbed Domarius’ hand and hastily left the throne room with him before Alpha Jaxon changed his mind and threw us in prison for not leaving his presence quickly.
Outside, I stood with my son in the sunlight, wondering where to go. We had just been exiled from the Highlands and I don’t know how to find my way back to Apex Woods.
“How did it go?” Hycinth asked, walking toward us. “Is this your son?”
I smiled. “Yes, this is Domarius. Isn’t he adorable?”
“He is,” said Hycinth with a smile. “What now?”
I sighed. “Alpha Jaxon has banished me and my son from the Highlands. We are to leave here right away and I don’t know where to go.”
“Well, that’s not a problem. You can come home with me.”
“Really?” I asked, surprised.
“Yes, Jade. I will leave everything behind here and take you home with me.”
“But Alpha Jaxon said we must leave the Highlands.”
“I am not a Highlander. I belong to the Gypsy Pack. I left my pack and came here to live because I was tired of being treated like a second-class wolf by my family.”
I was amazed by this bit of information. “Thank you for offering to help us, Hycinth, but I don’t want you to be forced to return to your pack if you don’t want to.”
He chuckled. “Don’t worry about that. I’ve been gone for six years. I don’t think anyone is still angry with me for leaving. The Gypsy Pack don’t hold grudges.”
I was relieved to hear this and I smiled at him. “Ok, then. When do we leave?”
“Right away,” he said.
“What about your work here?”
“Prison guards come and go here. It’s not a stable job. It only requires you to be strong enough to handle the prisoners and then you get your money at the end of your shift. I have no ties to this place.”
“I’m happy to hear that,” I said. “Let’s go.”
Hycinth squatted in front of Domarius and said, “Are you ready to hit the road, buddy?”
He nodded shyly and said, “Yes.”
It was the first time I would hear his voice in two years and my heart swelled with love. Hycinth carried him up and put him on his shoulders, making my toddler son laugh happily.
Seeing how he was so kind to my son made me almost fall in love with him but I couldn’t. I was still in love with my mates whether they were dead or alive.
We left the Highlands that afternoon and travelled east to where the Gypsy Pack was currently living. They moved from place to place and according to the latest information, they were planning to spend the coming winter months in the eastern region.
It was nightfall when we finally reached the Gypsy camp. They lived in tents and they were a small pack of wolves sitting around a campfire in their human bodies.
They were all surprised to see us when we showed up but they were not unfriendly. An elderly woman ran forward to hug Hycinth happily.
“My Hycinth! You’re back,” she gushed excitedly.
“Yes, Mother. I am here,” he said, grinning.
She looked at me and Domarius who was now standing beside me and her brows squeezed in confusion.
“Who are these?” She asked curiously.
“Mother, meet Jade and her son, Domarius. They are my family from the Highlands and they will be living with us from now on.”
His mother looked confused. “Is the boy your son?”
“Does it matter?” He asked. “They’re my family and they will live with me. Or do you have a problem with that?”
She sighed. “You will have to ask your father. He is the Alpha of the pack, not me.”
I noticed how Hycinth became tense when his father was mentioned and that worried me. I didn’t want him to get into trouble with his family because of me and my son.
“It’s ok, we can leave,” I said to him quietly.
“No, you’re not leaving,” he said stubbornly. He faced his mother again and asked, “Where is he?”
“Inside his tent,” she replied, pointing at the biggest tent on the far side of the camp. It was standing alone and separated from the other tents.
“Wait for me here,” Hycinth said to me. He squared his shoulders and marched to the tent like a soldier.
“Come here, dear,” said his mother to me. “You two can join us for dinner while you wait for him.”
I smiled and thanked her for her kindness. We joined the rest of the pack in front of the fire and ate a delicious meal of roasted lamb, potatoes and perfectly steamed vegetables. It was the best meal I’d had in years.
We had just finished eating when Hycinth finally came back from seeing his father. I didn’t know what to expect but I prepared my mind for disappointment in case we weren’t allowed to stay.
“Guess what?” He asked mysteriously. “We are staying.”
I sighed in relief and hugged him. “Thank you,” I said.
“Don’t thank me yet,” he said. “There’s more.”
My heart stopped. “What now?”
“There’s a condition attached to our staying here. It turns out that I came back at the right time. My father is seriously sick, Jade. He is dying.”
“Aw, I’m so sorry to hear that,” I said sadly.
“When he dies, I will become the next Alpha. My brother was next in line to take his place but he was killed during an ambush in the south a few months ago. That makes me the only Alpha heir in the Gypsy Pack.”
I didn’t like where this conversation was going but I remained quiet and continued to listen.
“Jade, I will only become the Alpha if I have a mate,” he said. “That is my father’s condition for us to stay.”
I smiled with relief. “Well, that’s not a problem, is it? You can simply find a mate in your pack and our problem is solved.”
“No, Jade. I don’t want a mate from my pack, I want you. Will you be my mate?”
I stared at him in shock. “What? You know that’s not possible. I already have mates.”
“And they’re probably dead,” he argued.
“Or not,” I replied. “I’m sorry, Hycinth, I can’t say yes to your request. Domarius and I cannot stay here.”
“Where would you go?”
“Back to the mountains where I belong.”
“What if they are dead?” He asked me hopefully. “Would you come back to me?”
I didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t answer his question. Instead, I turned around and walked away with my son.