Cassy pov

We had won. There weren’t many casualties on our side, though some warriors had to be treated in the infirmary. Thankfully, we had managed to defeat the rogues without much difficulty. I couldn’t be happier that he had underestimated our army.

We buried the dead bodies of the rogues in a mass grave and gave the few who had been martyred from our side a burial suitable for a hero.

We thanked Ava’s grandma for her help and informed the wizard king about Zitao. We came to know that he was a wanted criminal in his realm and had been hiding for more than 20 years.

Looks like we got rid of the right one. After everything settled down, Miles, Calli, Ava and Nolan returned to their pack while Ava’s grandma went back to her kingdom. Everything seemed to be back to normal. Everyone started to go in with their lives. However, my father was immersed in deep sorrow, after learning the reality of the end of the deceased.

Days passed, however, time didn’t heal his grief. He would stay in his room most of the time and by the time two weeks passed after the war, mom reached out for help. She had been hoping that he would slowly overcome it and be better. However, no matter what he did, he would bring that topic up and start talking about it.

I went into their room to look for him. Perhaps, I could think of a way to help him.

“Dad?” I called softly. He was staring out of the window. His face was wilted. However, he forced a smile when he saw me.

“My princess.” He replied.

“I missed you, dad,” I said, hugging him. He sighed. And kissed my crown.

“I am sorry, honey. I just couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened to my family.” He closed his eyes and sighed once again.

“I should have known better.” He kept repeating to himself.

“Dad. You couldn’t have done anything about it. Who would have thought that a psycho was after our Kingdom?” I told him. He had been in his room ever since that day. Despite our efforts, he kept beating himself.

“None of us had even done anything for him to want to snatch this kingdom away from us. He was just sick in the head.” I told him, stressing how impossible it was to avoid the situation. He paused his lips and looked at the far distance, through his window.

“At least I can visit my sister’s grave. I can’t even do that for my nephew.” Broken-hearted, he croaked, as he looked in my direction. Frowning, I bit my lower l*p. He was right.

I wish I could help. I wish I had the power to see where he had taken her.

“Is it possible that Ava’s father could help? Maybe magic could do the trick.” I heard Izzy’s suggestion through our link.Original content from .

Yeah …….

I glanced at my father. His eyes which used to be full of life were now empty.

“It is worth a shot,” I replied to Izzy and excused myself. I rushed towards my room so that I could make that phone call in private. It was a good thing that I had saved his phone number so that it would be easier for me to contact him in case of an emergency.

“Yes, your majesty.” He said, as soon as he answered the call.

“Mr Cooper, I need your help.” I went straight to the point.

***

“Where are we going?” Mom asked. I smiled at Elliot who was driving towards our destination, the centre of the unclaimed land. Ava’s father had been a sweetheart and helped us locate the place where my cousin’s body was buried. We had visited the place and confirmed the location before I decided to take my parents there.

During the session we conducted with Ava’s father, we found out that Zitao had been crazy enough to mark Zander’s grave as his trophy and make it a habit to visit his grave once every month, just to taunt my dead cousin.

“It is a surprise mom. Just a little patience.” I told her, grinning from ear to ear.

We reached the place after an hour-long ride. My mother scrunched her nose as she climbed out of the car.

“Why in the world are we in the centre of the unclaimed land?” She asked, clearly bewildered.

“Come with me.” I gestured to them to follow me and walked towards the little tomb Zitao had built, marking my cousin’s grave.

I stood by it and waited to see my parent’s reaction.

“Why is a grave here in the middle of nowhere?” My mom frowned. But then she focused on the writings.

“Wait…..is this…..” mom gasped. “Richard! Look! It’s Zander’s name!” She exclaimed as she pointed at the messy carving on the cement.

My father’s wilted face lit up as he knelt beside the tomb and started to wipe the dirt away from the carved letters. His chest heaved heavily, as he took deep gasps of breaths.

“Zander.” His voice quivered as he whispered, and his eyes welled with tears.

“I am sorry my boy. I couldn’t protect you.” He cried silently. My mom slowly knelt beside him and held on to his shoulder as she cried with him. I felt my own eyes sting with tears as I watched my parents cry tears of sorrow in silence. Their tears stained faces were hard for me to watch. Though few words were uttered, I knew their tears spoke volumes. My throat tightened, as I fought against the salty water that was fighting its way out of my tear ducts. Just then, I felt Elliot wrap his arm around me, making me realise that I was not alone.

“Elliot…” I whispered and snuggled into his chest. Sniffling and sobbing, I let my tears soak his shirt. I wanted to be strong, yet it was hard when I knew how sensitive this situation was.

“It’s okay babe.” He whispered back, and he held me close to him.

Was it okay to cry? I thought. Elliot placed a soft k**s on my forehead and caressed my back.

Yes…..it is okay. It is perfectly fine to cry.

***

The trip to visit Zander had helped my father. He slowly managed to help himself out of his sorrow. From time to time, he and his mom visited Zander’s grave, which was soon cleaned and marked as the grave of a royal lycan.

Things in the kingdom slowly went back to normal. Thankfully, all the injured warriors made a full recovery. I made sure I called my adoptive parents twice a week to check on them.

“Isn’t it time for you to have pups yet?” Mom asked when I called her and I held back my urge to g***n out my frustration. This wasn’t the first time they suggested that I started having pups already, and I don’t expect it to be the last. I had been telling them that we wanted to take some time before we planned our family.

“Moooom” I g*****d.

“What? I’m sure your birth parents also would love grandpups. I am pushing Nolan to do the same.” She said, and I chuckled at the thought of him being irritated by her nagging.

“Soon mom.” I giggled and ended the call.

“You still haven’t let us have ‘us’ time,” Izzy grumbled in my mind. I giggled.

“Wait. I’ll talk to Elliot and let you both out soon.” I replied to her.

“What is it?” Elliot asked, making me giggle.

“Izzy,” I replied and he suddenly went stiff.

“Oh, God! Rex is going bonkers. Let’s go to the woods before he drives me insane!” He exclaimed.

“Yeah. Let’s do this.” I replied, standing up.

We went to the woods and shifted to our lycans after making sure we were hidden behind the trees.

I watched as Izzy ran into Rex’s arms who lovingly held her, just like Elliot would hold me. I felt my cheeks heat up when Izzy licked on his fur, all over his body. Rex was enjoying her touch, and when she offered herself for him to mate I squeezed my eyes shut.

“Sheesh, Izzy. Quit being a slut!” I told her.

“I don’t ask you to stop when you go wild with Elliot, do I? Perhaps you forgot how you love it when he nails you and bends you in every possible way. How about when he bent you over the kitchen table? You were lucky that none of the staff heard your m***s.” Came the reply. I face-palmed.

“Izzy, stop.” I g*****d. My face heated up at the memory.

“I will. Let me enjoy this.” Her voice was breathy. Smiling, I remained silent for the rest of the time. She was right. We have had our moments and this was their turn.

They mated and I was glad that they were out in the wild instead of anywhere near the palace. After that, they went for a run. It was kind of sweet and entertaining to watch them tease each other playfully. They hunted together and watched the sunset. It brought back memories of when we would sneak out of the palace to watch the sunset and spend some time together.

“See you later mate,” Rex told Izzy in his gruff voice and licked Izzy’s face.

“See you later.” She sighed in reply and then let me take control.

When I opened my eyes, Elliot was grinning at me from ear to ear.

“That was fun.” He stated.

Giggling, I nodded in agreement. “Yeah,” I said.

“Is it time to go back?” He asked softly, as he traced my cheek with his finger.

“Umm… maybe we can wait for a little?” I suggested in response. He chuckled and gazed deeply into my eyes.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” I whispered, looking into his alluring grey eyes.

“Because I love you mate.” He whispered back and lowered his head to claim my lips in a passionate k**s.

Closing my eyes, I moved my lips against his. My heart fluttered with each passing second. Oh, I love him! I love him with every beat of my heart.