A Proper Introduction
‘W-What the hell?’
It was still so hard for Blaze Davies to believe his eyes. He was still frozen for a couple of minutes, looking at Lillianne's two figures with his mouth agape. He didn't blink even once.
It was not like he had never sensed something awry before. Since the weird dream on Gozo Island and the woman suddenly joining his company as his secretary not long after, he had felt it was too bizarre. He didn't even believe such a coincidence could happen outside of a novel or soap opera.
Not to mention how various odd things continued to occur afterward. Who knows how many times he questioned his sanity since the woman came into his life?
However, getting confirmation by seeing all this was another. He would never be ready for that. Not a single normal person would do.
“H-How… How you d-do that?” He stammered. His voice suddenly cracked.
Instead answered him immediately, Lillianne stopped her magic. She combined her own clonings into one person again. That made Blaze choke even more. The scene looked familiar with the strange phenomenon he saw in front of his room back then. So, it was true. He was not seeing things.
"Sorry for startling you. Are you okay?" The woman asked shortly.
"D-Do you think I AM?" he shrieked.
For God's sake, what was wrong with today? He still can't even process properly to everything that happened regarding his daughter, he couldn't believe that he was facing something like this. Who would be okay when they saw what he did? He was grateful that he didn't pass out.
"It's okay. You don't need to be scared. I won't hurt you." The woman held his hand again. "First of all, let's find a better place to talk--
Blaze quickly brushed her hand off. "How can I do that after everything that happened? Just explain what this is all about. What did you mean with... with everything?"
"I will start by introducing myself." She remained calm in front of the man who was panicking to death. "Lillianne is my real name, but without Guinn because that was just an addition surname I made to make my disguise convincing. I am not 26 years old as I said, but this is the 834th year since I was born into this world. I come from the Evgenis clan, pack for all the nobles in the Notos kingdom, a southern empire in the werewolf world. And I am also the Luna, the consort of the Alpha King."
"W-Wait..."
Wait. Everything she said baffled him. '834 years old', 'clan', 'pack', 'Notos Kingdom', 'Luna', 'Consort', and even 'Alpha King'. What did all those words mean? His brain couldn't catch up on everything.
“W-What? What kind of nonsense are you saying?" Blaze almost lost it. He was so frustrated.
"I know it's difficult for you to accept this. That's normal. Just take it slow. I am here for you."
Lillianne tried to hold his hand again, but the man was faster dodging that.
"And you, you are Leander. In the past, you were the 18th generation Alpha King of the Notos kingdom. You were even in your heyday when you were tragically killed due to being betrayed by Zephyr."
Blaze frowned. "W-What now? Who is that?"
"He is the current alpha king, your former best friend, and... and... my current mate." Lillianne was a little hesitant to say it. She even turned her head away from him. Blaze could tell that the name made her uncomfortable. "It turns out he always had a crush on me, so he couldn't bear to see us together. When we were both off guard, he suddenly sneaked up with a very sharp sword to stab you. That's when you perished and the throne altered. He also immediately claimed me by force after that."
'What is with this angry feeling? Am I just still carried away by my emotions about Evelyn, or... am I reacting to the story because I believe it?'
Blaze quickly dismissed the thought. He also tried to ignore her sad expression, even though he wanted to comfort her.
"Mate is a bonding culture for werewolves. You can equate it with marriage in human's point of view. In the past that was what I was to you, before everything was ruined. I am now... bound by force with Zephyr. Without love, affection, but hatred."
He was very touched. The woman looked very miserable when she said that. It was the most heartbreaking expression he had seen from her all the time he had known her. Oh, how he wanted to caress her face to wipe away those tears.
However, Blaze held back the urgency of it. He still didn't say anything and continued to listen even though he still had difficulty believing it.
"Luckily, you were a pure-blooded Alpha King with high supernatural powers when that happened. It is written in our sacred book that you can reincarnate three times in your life. That's why I am here and doing this." She paused for a while, and then continued, "I didn't know when or where you would appear. So that's why, for hundreds of years I have been wandering around to look for you. I didn't want to lose those opportunities and suffer for the rest of my life. Two chances have been wasted because of Zephyr, but this time I won't let that happen. I will save you."
Lillianne looked at him again with more depth than usual. She even looked teary-eyed.
Meanwhile, Blaze still didn't react. Honestly, he felt attached to all the stories, as if he had actually experienced them, but the rest of his logic still held him.
"That's a small overview of all this. There are still many other things I have to tell you, but I want you to take this information first. The rest you can ask me at any time. I will always be there for you."
"Then what did you mean earlier about that b*stard? Why did you say that Evelyn is indeed his daughter and not mine?" Blaze immediately asked her after that. "Don't get me wrong. I don't fully believe you yet, but... you can't help but explain after making me confused like this."
Lillianne didn't immediately answer. She looked back at Blaze deeply to give him comfort.
"The elite werewolves like me have more abilities than normal ones. As you can see, I can self-duplicate myself, manipulate your dreams, change into wolf form without having to wait for the full moon like most of the others, as well as... detect blood from other werewolves. When the first time I was looking at Evelyn, I didn't see a single drop of your blood on her. At that moment, I knew right away."
Blaze's anger gathered again when he heard that. He still looked like he couldn't believe it. “Stop lying to me.”
“If you don't believe it you can probably prove it yourself, though.” Lillianne wasn't sure when she said that. "I mean, I am not sure whether this will work considering the wolf inside you hasn't awakened and you haven't gotten your powers yet. But we will never know if we don't try, right?”
“What? How?”
“More than elite werewolves, an Alpha King has even more powerful strength. You can do much better than what I mentioned earlier. Anyway, one thing that makes me jealous is that you can go back to the past. You won't have any idea how many times I wanted to go back to the moments when we were still together just to see you again, but I can't do that." She looked at him again, smiling sadly. "So… if that works you might be able to go back to the party to see if Kedrick Caddel was honest or not. You can even... see your late wife again."
'R-Really?'
Blaze looked quite swayed when he heard that. Of all Lillianne's stories, it was the first time he hoped that it was all true. If he tries, will he really be able to see Rhea again? Oh, he missed her so much.
***