Chapter 8

Lucas' POV:

I couldn't believe it when my dad told me that he found his daughter. Like he has another child from another woman and the girl just reappeared from nowhere.

Since my dad and I didn't have that father and son kinda relationship, I still felt betrayed. During the four months that the newly found daughter spent in the hospital, I never visited her. News of the king's missing daughter has spread all over the pack and slowly I began to feel threatened.

What if she steals the throne from me?

The thoughts of Veronica's return infuriated me and now my mom's advising me to be friendly to my 'sister'.

"Mom, does any of this even make sense to you?" I said, biting my lower lip nervously. "It doesn't make sense because how do you explain that Dad finds a girl on the seashore and claims she's his daughter just because she appeared in his dreams"

I paced around my sparsely decorated round.

"Lucas, I know how you feel but—" my mom started.

"You don't know how I feel, mom! You don't know what it feels like to live with dad, walking on eggshells and trying to be flawless. You don't know what it feels like to have a rival who might suddenly become interested in the throne" I was breathing hard as I spat out the words that have been on my mind all this while.

My mom slowly stood up from the edge of my bed where she's been sitting the whole time. Walking in a slow, calculated step, she reached out her hand and touched my face, her smallish figure was a sharp contrast to my towering height. Her eyes, though glassy, held a lot of emotions, and looking into those green eyes melted my heart.

"My son," she spoke softly, "You don't have to be scared of anyone. The throne will be yours after your dad's gone. Nobody is taking it away from you. Besides, if you keep acting cold towards your father, it'll drive him to love Veronica even more", she stared into my eyes as though pleading for my understanding.

"She's just a human being, barely a werewolf even so why should you feel threatened by her existence". My mom's last word gave me some comfort. Veronica is not even a werewolf so she can't even dare to be a threat to the throne.

"Alright mom, but that does not mean I'm coming to the Pack's meeting tonight. I have an appointment to attend to" I said, running my fingers through my hair.

"Appointment? Playing snooker at Sinema club is what you prefer over the Pack's meeting?" My mom asked, raising her eyebrows slightly as she removed her palms from my face.

"You have to start standing up to responsibilities if you want your father to acknowledge you as the heir to the throne"

"But mom, at least I'm coming to dinner tonight. Half is better than none, yeah" I questioned, throwing my hands in the air in defense.

"Dinner's at seven. You better get your hair fixed and be nice to Veronica at the dinner tonight", she retorted, rolling her eyes as she made for the door.

Well, Veronica's not even a werewolf so I guess I have nothing to lose anyway but no matter how I tried to convince myself that there's nothing to be afraid of, I still felt threatened by her presence.

It was a few minutes past seven when Veronica joined us at the table. Damn! She was beautiful and her dress fitted her perfectly, hugging her curves at the right places. Why would someone so beautiful and fragile pose a threat to me? As the dinner progressed, the conversation between my parents and the council members was beginning to bore me and I desperately wanted to leave.

I shot tempting looks at the door at intervals and just in my moment of desperacy, I felt someone's eyes washing over me. I had barely touched my food and when I looked at her plate, I discovered that there were actually two of us who weren't interested in dinner.

My moment came when Veronica left the table. I whispered to my mom that I was having a stomach upset and I was excused from the table. Oh, gracious! How exhilarating it felt to escape that hellhole of a dinner.

I left the palace and headed to the club to meet up with my friends, Deaton and Parrish. When I got to the club, I met my friends having a hearty conversation over a glass of wine.

"Hey man, I'm sorry for being late. You know the usual royal dinner and stuff" I said, pulling out a chair beside Parrish.

"Of course, we understand. Your Royal Highness" Deaton and Parrish chorused, bowing mockingly.

"You motherfuckers," I laughed.

"A glass of Dry Martini, please," I said to the bartender.

"So how's the bonding between you and your sister going?" Deaton asked, taking a long sip of his drink.

"Nothing much really, I barely saw her at the dinner tonight" I reached out to my side pocket and brought out my phone.

I got a notification. It was from Matilda. I barely unlocked my phone when Parrish interrupted.

"I heard she's very beautiful. Why not introduce us to her one of these days? Who knows, we might get along pretty well" Parrish smirked. Parrish is a shameless flirt and I won't blame him. He has the looks and every girl in the pack wanted to be with him.

"That'll only happen in your dreams" I retorted as I gulped the wine in my glass and headed to the snooker table.

We played snooker for an hour amidst a discussion about the next full moon. My phone buzzed and I retrieved my phone from my pocket and saw another notification.

It was from Matilda again. It read:

"This meeting is beginning to give me the creeps and I can't wait to leave. Meet me at the wild house in 30 minutes."

I smiled as I read the text. The 'wild house' is the name we gave to our meeting spot in the forest. Matilda and I have an uncommitted sexual relationship that has lasted for three years and since we're yet to meet our respective mates, we just had fun with each other, exploring our sexual fantasies while maintaining our friendship.

It was just sex and nothing more. Even though at some point I began to develop feelings for her but she wasn't interested so I had to suppress my feelings for her.

"Hey man, I've got to go. I'll see you guys tomorrow" I said, taking my jacket from the chair and heading to the door.

"It's Matilda right?" Deaton called out. I stopped in my tracks and turned around to face my friends.

"Duty calls and damn, I really need a good ride" I replied, winking and smacking my lips.

As I stepped out of the bar, I felt the cold night wind slap against my face. The half-moon was high in the sky casting its silvery sheen all over the place.

"Damn! I need to take a run" I thought to myself as I crossed the street and headed to the dense forest.