Chapter 60

“Nyla? What kind of name is that?” Ria asked me angrily.
“It’s her mother’s name,” Rowan growled at her.
She fixed her face immediately and grinned at him. “Oh, how wonderful. I didn’t realize it had some sentimental importance to her.”
I swallowed a chuckle. Ria was such a class act. She had let her mask slip in front of her son and now she was trying to backtrack shamelessly.
“I think you should all excuse us now. My family and I would like a few moments of privacy,” said Rowan.
Ria was shocked. “Your family? Are we not your family anymore?” She asked and swept her hand across the room to indicate Rowan’s siblings who were also present.
“You know what I mean,” he replied.
“Of course,” she said, smiling. “Come on, darlings. Let’s give the new family some space.”
They all filed out but not before Ria shot a deadly look at me. I could feel the heat of her hatred for me across the room. It bothered me but I didn’t want to mention anything to Rowan about it anymore, since he believed that his mother was harmless.
“I could stare at this beautiful little face all day,” he said, smiling at our daughter.
She was a perfect little girl with rosy cheeks and her father’s hair colour. Her eyes were green like mine but I hoped they wouldn’t see the kind of horrors that I have witnessed.
“She has your nose,” I remarked.
“And you full lips,” he added. “She is the two of us combined.”
“Yes, that’s usually how it works,” I laughed.
“I’m in awe,” he admitted.
That awe continued for the next couple of months as Nyla grew. Rowan spent nearly every waking moment with her until I almost became jealous. His daughter was his world and everyone knew it.
I was happy to finally have my happy little family. The Highland Pack flourished even as we did too. We never heard of Dominic and his cronies again. My heart was finally at peace and I was happy.
Fate had proven Freya wrong. I have gotten my happy ending at last. The danger that could have separated me and Rowan had been averted when his pack captured Dominic and eventually sent him off with a warning never to return. I have rewritten my destiny!
As Nyla approached her first-year birthday, Rowan asked that I made plans for her party. He wanted to throw a befitting celebration for his adored daughter.
“What’s all this fuss about?” Ria complained. “One would think the child is the Alpha’s heir with all this drama going on.”
I glared at her but before I responded to her insult, I signalled to Cherise to excuse us. We were sitting in the palace library deliberating on how to send out invitations to our guests.
“Please, don’t speak about my child that way again,” I warned her.
“Or else what?” She challenged me. “A girl cannot be the next Alpha, Jade. Surely, you’re old enough to understand this.”
“Why can’t she be Alpha?”
“Oh, please, don’t ask me daft questions. Focus your energy on getting pregnant again and make sure the next baby is a boy.”
“Have you had this conversation with Rowan?” I asked her calmly.
“Why would I?” She retorted.
“Fine. I’ll discuss with him and let him know your concerns regarding his lineage.”
“He will have no lineage if you keep popping out daughters who will be married off and become second-in-command to their mates!”
“Is that what you think about your daughters? That they’re second-class werewolves in their own packs?”
“Don’t get smart with me! You know what I’m saying is true. Your daughter will not be the leader of this pack and that gives some random wolf the privilege of holding a title that should never be his in the first place.”
“As I said before, I will let Rowan know of your concerns.”
“Is that a threat?”
I shrugged. “I’m just helping you pass your message along.”
She snorted. “Don’t overestimate your importance, Jade. Without your daughter, you’re disposable to Rowan.”
Her words sent shivers of anxiety through me. It was as if I was hearing Brianna threatening Domarius again. I rose to my feet and hurried out of the library.
I ran straight to Nyla’s room but neither she nor her nanny was there. I became panicked. Where were they?
“Nyla!” I screamed as I ran through the corridors, searching for her. “Nyla, where are you?”
Ria came out of the library, glaring at me. “What on earth are you screaming about?”
“Where is my daughter?” I shouted at her. “Where is she?”
“How would I know?”
I pounced on my mother-in-law, knocking her to the ground. I grabbed her throat and began to squeeze it with all of my strength.
“Where… is… my… daughter?”
“Jade! What are you doing?”
I looked up and saw Rowan staring at me in surprise. He was carrying Nyla in his arms. Her nanny was standing behind him and staring at me with an open mouth.
“Oh, goodness!” I gasped and immediately released Ria who began to cough and rub her neck.
“Get this crazy woman away from me!” She screamed hysterically.
“What’s going on here?” Rowan asked.
“It was a misunderstanding,” I explained.
“She’s insane!” Ria yelled angrily.
“Mother, that’s enough,” Rowan snapped at her. He handed Nyla to her nanny and said, “Take my daughter to her room.”
I quickly got on my feet and intercepted the transfer. I carried my daughter from her father and hugged her tightly, inhaling her fresh scent.
“I’m so glad you’re safe,” I whispered with relief.
“Of course, she’s safe,” said Rowan. “Why wouldn’t she be?”
“Take her,” I said to the nanny and handed over my daughter to her. When she left, Rowan faced me.
“Care to explain this drama?” He asked.
I glanced at Ria who was still sitting on the floor and glowering at me.
“I am so sorry,” I apologized to him. “It was truly a misunderstanding. She made a statement that sounded like a threat and it sent me into a panic attack.”
His annoyance melted away immediately. “Are you ok?”
“You should be asking me that question,” Ria snapped.
“Clearly, you’re fine,” he replied to her. To me, he said, “Are you ok now?”
I nodded. “I am so sorry for attacking Ria. It’s just that her words triggered something in me and I just stopped thinking and acted on my instincts instead.”
He rubbed my arms tenderly. “I understand. But I’m also worried that you don’t trust me.”
“I do!” I protested.
“No, you don’t. If you did, you wouldn’t attack my mother because you thought she had harmed her own grandchild. Jade, I have guards watching my daughter all day, every day. You know this, don’t you?”
“Yes, and I am deeply sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
“When do I get my apology?” Ria asked.
“I’m sorry,” I said to her with all sincerity. “That will never happen again.”
“I hope not,” she replied haughtily.
“I’m sure it won’t,” said Rowan. “I will inform Tarik to send some servants to prepare Jaxon Hall for you. You’ll move in this time tomorrow.”
Ria almost choked on her own saliva. “What?”
“I can no longer tolerate this animosity between you and Jade,” he continued. “One of you has to leave for the other, and that definitely won’t be Jade because she’s my mate and she belongs with me.”
“Let’s not go there, Mother. You were never mated to my father, you were just one of his breeders. So, technically, this isn’t your home. Jaxon Hall is luxurious enough for you.”
I felt humiliated on her behalf. Her son had just cut her to size in my presence and I could tell that that part was the one that stung the most.
“I had thought that we could live peacefully together under the same roof but I was wrong,” he added. “Anything that threatens my mate’s peace of mind, threatens mine too.”
“All I have ever done was to love you and look out for you,” she said with a shaky voice. “And this is how you repay me?”
“Thank you for everything you have ever done for me, Mother. If you truly love me as you always say, then you will leave and let me be happy with my mate.”
Ria struggled to compose herself. She swallowed a few times and blinked away the tears that were threatening to betray her.
She slowly got on her feet and dusted her skirt. “As you wish,” she said stiffly and swept past us with her head held high.