Chàpter 199: Her Father

Chàpter 199: Her Father
Meredith's POV

"Let him in!" My head snapped to Logan the moment those words came out of his mouth. Ruin growled in my head. I could understand that he hasn't really had a good time with Vida apart from the time we marked her. "Relax, it's either you face him now or live in fear, and you should trust Vida, she will never leave with him."

He hit the nail on the head; somehow, he had recognized my fear. I wanted to believe him but I was just too scared that Vida might pick him over me, she had always longed for a complete family, the day Luna Akira's mother came here with her father, that night she had asked me if she would be lucky to meet her father since it was obvious her mother was already dead. I had told her that if fate wanted her to meet him, then she would definitely meet him. And Vida, being Vida, said she can't wait for that day to come, and when that day comes, she wouldn't want to be away from her father. "I hope so," I muttered before Logan could say a word, the guard had already returned, with Prince Vladimir, the moment the guard stepped aside, I felt the shift in the air, it was heavy and dangerous, he walked in, calm and composed, like he owned every space he stepped into.

"I'm sorry," he said smoothly, his voice carrying a quiet authority that didn't need to be forced, "I didn't mean to visit this late, but I just couldn't wait another day, and I don't know when you will be leaving the territory again." My entire body went rigid, as I stared at him. Stared at the man that I had been trying to deny, trying to forget, his green eyes were exactly as I remembered, cold distance and aloof. And even though his clothing was simple, there was nothing simple about him; power and royalty clung to him. Without being told he is a royal, his movement will because it was in the way he walked, the way he stood, the way the air itself seemed to acknowledge his presence. I didn't move, didn't speak, I just stared at him because there was no doubt anymore, if earlier I had said Vida got all her features from her mother then I am lying because Vida is the female version of the man standing here. Logan stepped forward.

"Please," he said, gesturing inside, "come on and sit."

The man inclined his head slightly and stepped further into the living room. I watched every movement, every breath, every shift of his eyes, and somehow I was seeing something different from the man I knew him to be. He took a seat as if he belonged there, like this wasn't an intrusion into our home at this ungodly hour. Like he hadn't just walked into the center of a storm, he didn't even realize he had caused it.

"Thank you!" He said as he took to his seat, his eyes roved the room like he was searching for something, of course, he was.

For a few moments, no one spoke; the silence stretched, thick, tense, and unbearable. Logan finally broke it, "Can we offer you anything?"

The man shook his head lightly, "No, thank you."

"Alright, so what brought you here at this time?" Logan asked.

"I apologized once more." He said, his gaze moved briefly around the room before he settled again on me, "I heard something," he continued, his tone casual but there was intent beneath it.

Logan's expressions didn't change, but I felt the shift beside me, "What did you hear?" It was Logan who asked again, because somehow I had lost my voice.

"That there is a girl living with your beta," Prince Vladimir said, and I clenched my fist. Vida wasn't just a girl living with me; she is my mate. I wanted to scream that to his face, but I kept quiet, "a girl with wings."

My jaw tightened, every instinct in me screamed danger, and I stepped forward slightly, "There is no one like that here." My voice was firm, the lie sounded like it was true, his eyes flickered to me, and for a moment, something passed between us, recognition and suspicion found their way to his eyes.

Then he frowned suddenly, "That earring, where did you get it?" His voice came out low, as he pointed to my left ear. My hand raised instinctively, touching the earring in my ear 

"Why?" I asked but my gaze didn’t leave his. “Is yours missing?” I didn't look away, even when my wolf whispered that maybe he was the one who gave the earring to my mate's mother.

He held my gaze for a second longer, then he shook his head; his shoulders dropped slightly, for a proud man like him to look defeated.  Although I did not have much knowledge about the prince, from what I heard about him, he was proud, powerful, and dangerous. He is the crown prince of the imperial kingdom; unlike his brothers, he was never seen in gatherings, and he was never the social type.

The one time I had encountered him, he had saved me, but he had rubbed salt on my injury by mocking werewolves as weaklings. For a proud man like him to look this way, it must really be desperate to find her, he must really love her. The tension in him eased slightly, like something he had been holding onto just slipped through his fingers, "I thought..." He murmured almost to himself ignoring my question, "I thought I could finally get information about Veronica?" The name hit the room like a spark, and before I could react, a voice came from upstairs.

"You know Veronica?" Everything stopped, the moment I heard Vida's voice, and without thinking Vladimir turned towards her, and I did too, Vida stood there, frozen, as she stared at the man sitting on the sofa, her eyes locked with his, while his locked with hers, and in that moment, everything changed, I saw it. I saw the exact second it happened.

The flicker of her eyes, Logan gasped softly beside me, because her eyes' color changed, right before us, as if something hidden had just been unlocked, I know shifters' eyes change colors whenever they are communicating with each other through the mind but this was different, it happened so fast like recognition was taking place. For a moment, I couldn't find my voice; none of us could. Prince Vladimir, Linda's voice broke through the silence, "Vida! Your eyes!" But I barely heard her because my attention was on Vladimir, I was watching him, the way his expression shattered, as confusion hit him and then shock, pure shock before realization settled on him.

"Veronica..." He whispered, his voice almost unsteady, and he shook his head, "No!" His gaze moved over Vida's face, taking in every detail, every feature, like he was seeing a ghost, "she didn't tell me..." He said slowly, "That she was pregnant."

My fist clenched at my side. There it was, the truth; it was standing right in front of us, breathing and confirming every fear in my head, and to think this prince wasn't even having a single doubt in his head that Vida wasn't his child.

I stepped forward instinctively, "she is not your child." The words came out sharp, protective, and final, but he didn't even look at me, he didn't acknowledge me. He acted as if I didn't exist, as if nothing else in the room mattered anymore, except for Vida, my Vida.

"How old are you?" He asked softly, his gaze remaining locked with her.

"I'm nineteenth!" Vida answered softly,

A soft smile found its way to his face, and his expression softened, emotions overwhelming him, "I'm your father," he said quietly, the words landed heavy, the man who is almost forty didn't even talk about DNA, he just declared that Vida was his daughter.

"How did you know?" Vida asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I do not need anyone to tell me what is mine when I see them, your eyes, your hair, and your voice, didn't you already notice they sound like mine?" The words hit, it was when he said it that I just realized that for a second I hadn't heard another voice sound except his. "Where is Veronica? Where is your mother?" He added, his eyes roved the room again, "Tell me, where is she? I had been searching for her for almost twenty years. She promised to come back, she promised that we would elope together, but I didn't see her. I waited for days for her to come, but she didn't show up, and I had no idea where I could look for her." His voice came out soft, and worried, and it was that moment that she broke. Vida's entire body trembled, her face crumpled, and then she cried, not softly, not quietly, but like everything inside her had finally shattered beyond repair.

"Baby!" The sound tore through me, I stepped forward immediately, but I wasn't fast enough, because he was already there, he crossed the distance in a second and before I could reach her, he pulled her into his arms, "I'm sorry," he said, his voice breaking now, "I'm so sorry..." He held her tightly like he had the right, like she belonged to him, like he hadn't just appeared out of nowhere and turned her world upside down, "Father is here now, no one would hurt you again." My chest burned, my fist tightened, every instinct in me screamed at me to push him away from her. To take her back. She is mine and not his, but I stopped when Vida didn't push him away; instead, she cried into him, clung to him like she had known him all her life. Recognition, acceptance, and longing flow through Vida emotions and I could feel it, she didn't block her walls so everything she felt for this man, I could feel it, and somehow it hurt more than I expected, I stood there, frozen, watching another man hold my mate, whispering apologies into her hair, while pressing soft kisses on it. Watching her arms wrapped tightly against him, and for the first time since all of this started, tears filled my eyes, because this wasn't just about truth anymore it was somehow far more complicated, far more painful.

This was her family. I swallowed hard, my throat tight as I forced myself to stay where I was, to not interfere because this moment wasn't mine to take from her, even if it was tearing me apart to witness it. Logan stood silent beside me, his hand resting on my shoulder, "This will be fine." He said softly, and I wanted to agree with him. When Vladimir pulled from Vida, he ran his hand over her long hair, wiping the tears from her face.

"Baby, come home with father."