Book 5: Chapter 59 – Xandrios Is Here?

Book 5: Chapter 59 – Xandrios Is Here?
Cerelia’s POV 

“Cerelia, how are you today? Aunt Sophia wants you in her clinic for a checkup. She has lots of patients today. She can’t take out time and come over,” said Nikos, coming into my room. 

It had been over two and a half months since my grandpa died. My pregnancy was progressing well, and I looked pregnant, too. Aunt Sophia still thought my condition was critical, although I wasn’t bedridden anymore. Yet I couldn’t leave the mansion and go to Lucania.

We were all imprisoned inside. There was mayhem outside with Grandpa’s supporters demanding justice. They wanted Uncle Alarik to step down and Grandpa’s friend and counselor, Beta Theodore, to take over as Alpha of the Silvermane Warriors. With an impeccable track record of always following the rules of the pack, he was a strong contender. But our family refused to bend to their demands. As Grandpa’s true successors, Uncle Alarik and Uncle Viktor were the rightful leaders of the pack. 

Every day, their demands grew violent and Uncle Alarik stopped everyone from going out. My brothers were bored to death at home all day with no work or college to attend to. Their lives were disrupted while I waited patiently for permission to leave. 

I knew the pack wanted to punish me for not following my grandpa’s rules. I was the root cause of all the trouble. Yet my uncles didn’t surrender me to the pack. They sheltered me at the expense of their safety. 

I hadn’t announced my pregnancy, but word got around and the mob outside went mad with fury. They wanted to execute me the way Grandpa had executed Spiros. 

“I’m fine, Nikos. Do we need to go today? I’m feeling very restless.” 

Nikos paid no heed to my pleas. “Aunt Sophia will be annoyed, Cerelia. Don’t be so lazy. Get up.” He pulled me up gently to my feet and led me out of the room. We crossed the main reception area towards the other wing, where Aunt Sophia checked her patients. Despite the curfew, there was no end to patients visiting her. 

“Nikos, slow down, please. I’m exhausted.” 

He groaned and slowed down, taking baby steps with me. “If you were lighter, I would have carried you there and back. It would save so much time.” 

I rolled my eyes at him. “What’s the hurry? You have no other work. Neither do you have a girlfriend waiting for you.”

“I don’t do girlfriends. I’m a one-mate wolf and I’m still waiting to meet her.” 

I smiled at my brother’s honesty. “That’s wonderful, Nikos. Soon you’ll meet her. So, what will you do if she isn’t a Silver Wolf?” 

He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter to me. Whoever she is, I’ll accept her, fight for her, and give her a good life.” 

I smiled at his reply. “Here? You’ll have no life here with her.”

“No, I’ll move out of here. I don’t like this place, anyway. I have bitter memories everywhere.” 

I understood him. In this brief period, I was here, I had bitter memories too of this place. I couldn’t wait to get out of here.

“I know. I’m waiting for the day I’ll get out of here. My mate’s waiting for me in Lucania. When will you take me there, Nikos?” 

He nodded. “Dad has reached out to the Shifter Council for help. Once they sort out our problem, we can leave for Lucania. We can leave with them, too.” 

My heart skipped a beat to know Alpha Alexios would be here. Would he rescue me this time, considering my delicate condition?

“Oh, when will they come to Pieria? My delivery is a month away.” I wanted to go home before my delivery. I wanted my pups to be born in Lucania. 

“They should be here in a day or two.” 

I felt relieved, but I couldn’t curb the hope of meeting my mate. I knew he was close to Alpha Alexios. Would he accompany Alpha Alexios and come over to rescue me? It wasn’t impossible. I held onto that faint hope. 

“Shit! There’s such a long queue. We need to wait, Cerelia. Sit here.” He made me sit in the waiting area and went inside to inform my aunt.

The other patients gave me weird looks, knowing who I was. They all regarded me with so much hatred, I felt claustrophobic. It seemed as if I had forced Grandpa to take his life. Wasn’t it the other way around? Grandpa tortured me for no reason. He upheld his fake beliefs over his family ties. 

I tried my best to ignore their judgemental looks. It wouldn’t do me good to start a fight here. Nikos returned to get me. “Aunt Sophia will see you next. Come on.”

“Excuse me. I’m the next one,” said a scowling female. 

“Sure, ma’am. This is an emergency. We won’t take much of your time. Please?” Nikos flashed her a charming smile, and the woman melted. 

“Fine, just five minutes,” she muttered. 

“Thank you so much, ma’am.” Nikos pulled me towards Aunt Sophia’s chamber. “Walk faster, Cerelia.” 

Aunt Sophia checked on me and was happy with my progress so far. “Good going so far. I’m happy with your progress. We will do an ultrasound today. Tell me when your bladder is full and you have the urge to pee.” 

“Oh, I’m bursting now.” 

She grinned and led me to the ultrasound table. “Great then. Let’s get on with it.” 

I watched the screen as Aunt Sophia conducted the ultrasound test. My eyes filled up with tears of joy to see my unborn pups growing in my womb. Xandrios would have been so happy to see them. I missed him so much. More tears fell and I couldn’t control myself anymore.

“It’s just a passing phase, Cerelia. Try to be happy. The pups can pick up your stress and it affects their growth.” 

I nodded, wiping my tears away. I wanted them to be healthy. They were a gift from me to my mate. 

“Good. That’s like a brave silver wolf. I’m so proud of the way you’re handling this, Cerelia. Well, you have two female pups in your womb. Start thinking of their names.”

I smiled, thrilled to know I would give birth to two angelic daughters. After the ultrasound, Nikos arrived to take me back to my room. 

“Thank you, Aunt Sophia.” 

She waved at me. “Take care. I’ll see you at the dinner table.” 

“What took you so long? That patient was driving me crazy,” he muttered with an eye roll. 

“Aunt Sophia conducted an ultrasound. Do you know I have two baby girls in here?” I pointed at my tummy, and his eyes widened with surprise. 

“Really? I’ll spoil them rotten.”

I glared at him. “Oh, no, you won’t. I won’t stay here for you to do that.” 

He grinned. “I’ll stay with you in Lucania. Will you shelter me, Cerelia? I heard Pedro and his family are also there,” he leaned in to whisper, grabbing my shoulders to steady me. 

“Really? Who told you?” I whispered back. I didn’t want anyone else to know. If Pedro was happy in Lucania with his family, no one had the right to torment him. He had done the unimaginable. He had saved my mate’s life. I was forever indebted to him. 

“Dad,” he whispered. 

I was surprised that Uncle Alarik knew about it but took no action against Pedro. No wonder my grandpa’s supporters didn’t like him. 

“Oh, I hope he won’t punish Pedro.” 

Nikos shook his head, and I turned from him, feeling relieved. 

However, my relief was short-lived. There was a commotion all around as we had reached the main reception room. To my immense surprise, there stood Alpha Alexios and his council members in deep conversation with Uncle Alarik. My heart skipped a beat, and I scanned the guests.

My eyes fell on none other than Xandrios standing a little farther away with his gaze glued to me and Nikos. My head felt dizzy with happiness. He was here for me. My mate was here to rescue me. Before I could extricate myself from Nikos’s hold and go to him, I noticed the dark look on his face. He looked furious as his eyes swept over me. 

I froze to the spot. What was wrong with him? Didn’t he want our pups? I blinked to refocus on him, in case I was imagining him. 

“What happened, Cerelia?” asked Nikos, watching me with concern. “Let’s go to your room. The guests are here and there will be utter chaos. You might get hurt.” He escorted me away forcefully before I could utter a single word. I could feel Xandrios’s gaze on me and I couldn’t leave without meeting him at least once. 

“Wait, Nikos. My mate is here.”  

He stopped and whirled around to check. But a hard punch on his face had him release me and fly backward. 

“How dare you touch my mate?” snarled Xandrios, aiming to kill my brother. 

“Xandrios, stop. What’s wrong with you?” I yelled in panic, but Xandrios pulled Nikos up, only to punch him back. 

“Hey, what have I done?” protested Nikos, touching his busted lips.

Immediately, the mansion guards rushed to stop the fight. I had never seen my mate this aggressive. What was wrong with him? 

“How dare you claim my mate? She’s mine,” gritted out Xandrios, shoving Nikos backward. Even the guards couldn’t hold him back.