Book 5: Chapter 47 – Her Viscious Family

Book 5: Chapter 47 – Her Viscious Family
Alexandrios’s POV
Realization hit me hard, but I had no time to react. Why didn’t he warn me earlier when we could retrace our steps? Now, there was no avenue of escape. Cerelia paled, giving me an agitated look. Maybe she had heard it too.
The guards nudged us ahead, but I gripped Cerelia’s hand all the way to the gaping maw of an arched stone entrance. They escorted us inside a cavernous entry room where the ceilings stretched far above our heads. The entire house, made of the same opulent marble, seemed more like a prison than a home. Strangely, the décor was modern, but with a regal touch.
Before I knew it, the guards tugged on Cerelia’s arm, wrenching her away from me. “Alpha Belmont is waiting to meet you, miss.”
She glared at the guard and recaptured my hand in a panicked state. “We’ll go together to meet my grandpa.”
The guard looked clueless but escorted us towards a closed door beside a grand staircase. He knocked and waited patiently for a minute.
“Come in!” a booming voice spoke from inside.
The guard opened the door and gestured for us to enter. Cerelia gripped my hand tighter as we walked into the study. My eyes immediately fell on a giant male with silver hair and fiery golden eyes like Cerelia’s, seated at a desk. He smiled at Cerelia when his gaze fell on me. Sparks of fury radiated from him as he glared at me. It was obvious he wasn’t expecting to meet me.
Then he saw our intertwined hands, and he sprang to his feet. “Hello, my dear Cerelia! I am Alpha Cassius Belmont, your grandpa.” He opened his arms for Cerelia. His face was hard, devoid of any other emotion but anger. It was a strange reaction of a grandparent meeting his granddaughter for the first time.
“Grandpa, I’m so happy to meet you.” Cerelia released my hand and hugged him innocently, unaware of his furious stance towards me. I immediately missed her warmth, longing to have her beside me. It felt like she would vanish any time if I didn’t hold her close to me.
“I’m glad you took to Cedrik, my dear. Won’t you introduce me to your friend?” He glared at me while sarcasm dripped from his tone. How could someone be so two-faced like a chameleon? His description of me pierced my soul.
Friend? Excuse me? Didn’t I introduce myself over the phone?
I couldn’t stop myself any longer. “I’m Dr. Alexandrios Vasiliou of the Luceres Pack, Lucania. As I’ve already told you, I’m not her friend. We’re fated mates, Alpha.”
In an instant, he released Cerelia, shoved her behind him, and came forward to greet me. There was so much malice in his action; I watched him with a frown.
“So, you’re a doctor from Alpha Zephyrus’s shifter pack?” He scoffed as if I were an omega.
His judgmental views didn’t deter me. “Yes, I am.”
Alpha Cassius’s teeth clenched with fury, but he composed himself and turned towards his granddaughter. “Don’t you want to meet your grandma? She’s so eager to meet you, but she’s bedridden. Why don’t you go to her room to see her?” He clapped his hands, and four guards appeared. “Take my granddaughter to meet the Luna.”
“Xandrios,” whispered Cerelia, peering at me. “Let’s meet my grandma.”
Before I could take a step toward her, Alpha Cassius whirled around and grabbed Cerelia’s hand to lead her toward the door. The guards stood there to escort her away, and I panicked.
“I want to discuss something important with Dr. Vasiliou. Why don’t you run along?”
I panicked more. No, I couldn’t let her out of my sight. “I can discuss it after meeting the Luna.”
Alpha Cassius trembled with fury, shoved Cerelia toward the guards, and closed the door, leaving me alone with him. I helplessly watched him, my brain not functioning at all. Why did it feel like this was my last meeting with my mate? “No one disobeys me, shifter. I am the law here.”
He walked towards his desk and pulled out an envelope.
“Here’s your reward for bringing my granddaughter to me. Take it and get lost. Never show your wretched shifter face again.” He held out the envelope while I trembled with fury at his insult. Now I realized why Cerelia’s dad and uncle left home. Alpha Cassius was an evil dictator. I couldn’t leave my young mate with him. He would kill her soul. I had to fight for her.
“You’re mistaken, Alpha. I didn’t bring her to you. I brought her to meet you. Once she’s done, we’re going back home to Lucania. We’re mated and the Moon Goddess will punish you if you even think of separating us.”
He glared at me, taken aback by my reply. Did he expect me to accept the money and leave my mate here to die? Soon he recovered and strode towards me. “Snap out of your dream world, shifter. A true silver wolf can never mate with an ordinary shifter. It’s against the pack rules.” 
“Made by who? Well, Cerelia isn’t a true silver wolf. Her mom, Celia, was a normal shifter like me. Also, Cerelia doesn’t belong to your pack. So the rule doesn’t apply to her.”
“Cerelia will undergo a year-long purification process to get rid of the shifter blood in her system.”
My eyes widened at his pre-historic notion. I was a doctor, and I had heard of nothing of the kind. “What’s that? How can you purify someone’s blood? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“It’s our pack secret. You don’t know because you aren’t a silver wolf. We won’t have Celia’s blood running in her system.”
My head felt dizzy. Was he talking about a blood transfusion? “That’s ridiculous.”
He paced the floor in a fit of rage. “No, it isn’t. Celia was a traitor, a hacker, and a robber. My son loved her so much, he fought against me and separated from the pack. Celia was the fated mate of Alpha Artemis, the evil leader of the red wolves. I warned him so many times, but he paid no heed to my pleas. Cedrik made her his Luna, but she backstabed him. She kept her relationship with her mate, Alpha Artemis, helping him in a foolproof crime. They stole three Fabergé eggs worth millions and hid them in Cedrik’s home. Cedrik found out and her betrayal the day Cerelia was born. They fought and Cedrik killed her in a fit of rage. Now, do you realize why shifters cannot be trusted?”
The complete story rendered me speechless. So that was what had happened. That was why the Red Wolves were after Cerelia and her family. “But all shifters aren’t the same, Alpha.”
“They are the same.”
“My younger son, Erik, fell for a shifter and separated from us. She owed the Red Wolves an enormous amount of money. Eventually, they killed Erik and his pack for revenge. So just take the money and leave before I use force on you, shifter. My opinion on shifters won’t change.”
I stood with a grim look on my face. “I won’t leave without Cerelia.”
He gave me a determined look. “Cerelia is with her species, her home where she belongs. She doesn’t need you. Go, save your life, Doctor.”
I wasn’t going anywhere without my mate. “I want to meet my mate. You can’t separate us forcefully, Alpha.”
He looked furious. “She’s well settled already in her new room, amidst her family. She isn’t missing you. Do you want to see for yourself?”
Before I knew what he was up to, he switched on his desktop and switched on footage showing Cerelia.
I gaped at my mate, flanked by almost twenty family members, young and old, showering her with gifts. She chuckled, totally at home in her new surroundings. It seemed she had forgotten me. She looked so happy to unite with her family. My heart shattered the more I saw her.
“Got your answer? Now get out.” He switched off the footage.
“No, I want to meet her before I leave.” I wanted Cerelia to tell me she didn’t need me in her life. My throat choked with emotions I couldn’t decipher. A dull ache started in my heart, knowing I couldn’t win against Alpha Cassius. He could kill me and no one would ever know.
“You leave me with no choice, shifter.” He clapped his hands and four guards appeared. My heart sank with dread and I stepped backward. What were they planning to do with me? Would they kill me?
“You can’t do this to me. The Moon Goddess will punish you, Alpha. Cerelia belongs to me. We’re mated,” I cried out in desperation.
It seemed to anger the old alpha even more. He lunged forward and grabbed hold of my throat in a deathly grip. It was so sudden, I couldn’t escape. “How dare you take advantage of my granddaughter?”
Before I could respond, his guards grabbed me from all sides. Within seconds, Alpha Cassius released my throat and shoved a syringe into my arm. “Take him away and dump him in Pieria Canyon to die.”