Four

Alder's POV

"Alder, what's going on?" Lance asked when we were left in the living room in the villa where we were staying.

"What do you mean?" I asked him with a mysterious smile.

"Come on, you know what I mean. What did you smell on our way here?" He asked again, and I saw that he started to get frustrated. I laughed at him and leaned back.

"All I can say is that I am happy."

"Now, I am even more frustrated. You really didn't want to tell me?" I laughed at what he looked like. He was definitely pissed, and it was very rare for him to feel that way. Among the three of us, he was the coolest and most patient. Seeing him like this is like a breath of fresh air for me.

Before he gets mad, "I smelled my mate right there."

"What?" he shouted out in shock. I nodded at him, and he was speechless. He knew how much I longed for my mate to come, and even if he didn't tell me, I'm sure he would be very happy for me.

"Wait, didn't the warrior say that they only smelled Clover? The supposed Luna who lost her title to a challenge?" I rolled my eyes at him because he just repeated what the warrior had said earlier. "Then you're her second chance, mate!"

"You know what? I didn't know that I would be able to see you looking so stupid."

"Come on, we are talking about your mate here, my future queen," he said, and I smiled internally. I was sure that he would never judge her—my mate, I mean.

"I need to see and talk to her. But I didn't want to shock her. She had just been challenged, and knowing I was her mate the second time around might confuse and scare her. I needed to be careful when approaching her."

"I agree; she may not like to have a second chance mate, after what happened, especially when you're a Lycan King," he replied, and I growled at him. "I was just trying to think of any possibilities so you would know what you would do, just in case."

"I think you have a point," I told him.

"Thinking the Luna title had been taken away from her, how much more the queen? Do you think none of the pack members will ever challenge her again?"

"As if I am going to allow that to happen. I am not that stupid alpha."

"Just in case, you will never know."

"So, what do you suggest? Hide the fact that she's my mate for the time being?" I asked, and he looked at me before he nodded.

"She will smell me. What am I going to do then?"

"Accept her,"

"Wouldn't she think that I waited for her to acknowledge me first before I did it? She will be hurt," I said in a worried voice.

"Then don't show up in front of her yet," he suggested. "At least while we were trying to find out something about her. Let's say, until Luna's ceremony," he added, and I agreed. It has to be only until the Luna's ceremony because there's no way I will go back to the palace without her.

"Call the warrior," I told him, and he smiled before he rushed outside the villa. The three warriors who were with us stayed outside for our aid, just in case we needed anything. And I needed something more important than material needs.

"Your Highness, you called for us," the warrior said as he stood before me with respect.

"Please take a seat," I told them, which made their eyes widen. It may be the first time that a royal has asked them to have a seat. They did what I told them to do, and Lance sat opposite them.

"We want to know about your supposed Luna," Lance said straightforwardly, and the warrior looked confused. Maybe he was thinking about why we needed to know about her, and then he sighed.

"Clover is a very kind and nice she-wolf." He started, and I wanted to wring his neck, thinking he had his eyes on my mate. "She's kind to everyone, especially to us warriors. She always sends us food that she cooks herself if we are near their house." He stopped and then looked at Lance before he looked at me.

"I don't know how her being a sl*t circulated when she was determined to wait for her mate. Many in the school said she was a bully, but many of us didn't believe that. Especially now, after Monique challenged her. It was her friends who spread those rumors."

"And the alpha didn't do anything about it?" I asked, trying to control my anger.

"I don't think former alpha John knew about it. Even her father, the former gamma Noah, and her mother, I doubt that they knew anything about those as well," he replied.

"We wanted her to be our Luna; she was every pack's dream for a Luna. She's caring and loving not only to her kind but to every species. She's very outspoken, gentle, and strong. That's why we couldn't believe that she lost, though we noticed that she was pale and even thought that she was sick."

"Didn't your alpha notice that?" Lance asked.

"I don't know; he looked like he was anticipating the fight. I didn't want to think anything bad about my alpha, so I always tried to dismiss anything I thought would lead to losing trust in him. I wanted to stay loyal to the pack and to my duties." He answered with his head down. He may be thinking that his Alpha might have known something or even doubted him already.

"Thank you for telling us," I told him, and he nodded before he got up.

"Before I forgot, after she rose from the dead, Clover started to become a little—no,  it wasn't little. She's totally different from what she was."

"What do you mean, rose from the dead?" I asked angrily. How could he say that?

"She died after she went into a coma for two weeks. She was dead for 3 hours already, and her mom, Melinda, was with her crying, praying, and begging the moon goddess to give Clover back to her, then she opened her eyes miraculously." I looked at Lance, and I suddenly felt more worried. With everything she has been through, I think I will have difficulty making her come with me. I hope that our bond will be greater than her grudge over what happened to her.

The warrior left while Lance and I stood in our seats, thinking. What we found out about my mate is something I didn't expect. It seems like the Alpha has played on her.

"Alder," Lance called, so I looked at him. "What if she was never challenged? Will she still be your mate?"

"You know the answer to that, so stop it."

"You're really going to challenge the Alpha?"

"Of course! Mates come only once for us, and there's no way that I am going to deny myself that," I answered with finality.

"Then we have to be ready for Luna's ceremony. The warrior said that her highness changed after she woke up and was now the total opposite of how she was. How do you think she is now?" He asked, but I just shrugged my shoulders because I knew to myself that no matter what, I was going to make her mine.