Book 5: Chapter 60 – Why Is He Here?

Book 5: Chapter 60 – Why Is He Here?
Cerelia’s POV

“Xandrios, what the hell are you saying? How can you accuse Nikos?” I faced my mate fiercely, shoving him backward. Nikos tried to protect me, knowing my delicate condition.

Xandrios looked even more furious. What was wrong with him? “Why can’t I? How could you move on from me, Cerelia? How could you forget me and accept him in your life?”

I gaped at him as realization struck me. Did he think Nikos was my rebound? Did he think I was carrying my brother’s pups?

“Are you out of your mind? Nikos is my brother. Why will I move on with him? If you don’t want to accept me and your pups, why are you here? I’m fine. I’m alive. Go away, Xandrios. I don’t need you.”

I left him frozen on the spot as tears stung in my eyes. “Bro, please, can you help me to my room? I’m feeling dizzy.” I didn’t look at Xandrios, my heart breaking at his lack of trust in me. Didn’t he feel my love for him? I had endured so much, hoping to unite with him one day. For months, I waited for him to rescue me. Now, when he finally came, it was only to suspect me.

“Don’t cry, Cerelia. He’s just jealous because he loves you.” Nikos tried to comfort me as he led me to my room.

I cried more, realizing Xandrios didn’t follow me to apologize. Instead, he stood there frozen, watching me go. Why was he here then if it wasn’t to take me home?

Yes, I’ve realized it the hard way. I’ve realized that my mate’s home is my only haven. If only I had agreed to go to Lucania with him earlier, I would have been saved from this harassment.

Although I had no complaints about my other family members, I didn’t really need them in my life. Neither did they need me. In fact, I was a burden on them. They were fighting a war against their own pack members to save my life.

“Rest, Cerelia. I’ll check out what’s going on outside.” He left, and I waited patiently for some news about my mate. Would he stay over for the night? A loud commotion from outside the mansion got my attention. What was going on?

I opened the window of my room to check. The courtyard was teeming with members of our pack, demanding justice for my grandpa.

“Members of the Silvermane Warriors, please calm down. I am Alpha Alexios Vessezac from the Shifter Council and I’m here to listen to your grievances. I want to help you lead a peaceful life the way you used to when your Alpha Cassius was alive. So please lay down your demands before the council.”

There were hushed whispers, and after much discussion, Beta Theodore stepped out to announce their demands.

“Welcome to Pieria, Alpha. Before announcing our demands, all of us gathered here have one query for you.”

Alpha Alexios looked undeterred. “I’m all ears.”

“We want to know why the enemy has accompanied you.” They all stared at my mate, who stood behind the members of the council. However, instead of trembling with fear, Xandrios’ gaze was hooked on my window. I gasped with embarrassment. How did he know where I was?

“Why do you consider Dr. Alexandrios Vasiliou your enemy? Did he harm you?”

There was utter chaos among the pack members while I waited patiently for their reply. “He has mated with a Silver Wolf. It’s against our rules. We want to execute them together.”

The entire pack agreed to their beta. I gasped with horror, wanting to go out and protect my mate. How was he still standing there without a care in the world?

“Silence. No one speaks out of turn,” yelled Alpha Datsyuk of the council.

Alpha Alexios regarded them coldly. He hated to interfere in pack matters, but things were going too far now. “The one who has made these rules has defied our goddess. And he has paid for his crimes with his life. Do you realize that? It’s the Moon Goddess who decides our mates. No pack rule is above hers. Then who gave you the power to disobey her? Who gave you the power to execute three souls? What if the council kills all of you, your pregnant mates, in return as punishment? Would you like that?” Alpha Alexios’s voice echoed around the still air. There was a pin-dropped silence all around. It was a stark contrast to the constant commotion going on outside for the last two months.

“No one has killed Alpha Cassius Belmont. He died because the Goddess punished him. Do you want a similar punishment?” supported Alpha Datsyuk.

“I understand what you’re trying to say, Alpha. But we can’t overlook the pack rules that have been going on since its very inception,” said Beta Theodore.

“Then change your mindset. Will you reject the mate the Goddess has chosen for you? Would you want to stay alone all your life because of a bunch of hypocritical rules? Who’s happy with such rules?” Alpha Alexios scanned the pack members standing with their heads hanging low. Not one of them claimed to be happy.

“Cerelia Belmont is pregnant and, as such, she needs to unite with her mate. She doesn’t belong to Pieria. Her father Cedrik Belmont was the Alpha of Silver Trails Pack, Yukon. He mated with a normal shifter. So what problem can you have if Cerelia leaves Pieria and settles down with her fated mate?”

I felt indebted to Alpha Alexios for fighting single-handedly for me. He drew my mate forward. “Do you see this young doctor? He is treated as God in his pack. He runs his own hospital where he treats the rich and poor, young and old alike, even free of cost. Why would he risk his life and come all the way here knowing he could die? It’s true love. Who are we to separate them when your Alpha couldn’t? For days, he tortured the poor girl, his only granddaughter. But could he break their love? No, the Goddess took his life instead.”

There was a deafening silence all around. All the pack members sat with their eyes cast downward. They had no answer.

“You won’t understand how it feels when one of us breaks the rules. If you were a silver wolf, you would have known.” Alpha Alexios glanced at Beta Theodore. So he was the mastermind behind the agitation. Maybe he had the ulterior motive of becoming the Alpha himself.

“I see. Alpha Datsyuk, please give me the rule book every pack and wolf must follow. They are the council’s laws. If anyone is found breaking them, the council can take action against him. I might not be a Silver Wolf, but believe me, Beta Theodore, I know exactly how it feels when some of us break the law. Right now you’re doing so. I wonder what ulterior motive is making you fuel the uprising against the reigning Alpha Alarik Belmont? Do you want to see yourself in his place? Is that why you’re making such a big issue for the last two months?”

A gasp of horror escaped Beta Theodore, and he looked ill at ease. “You’re seeing too much into a simple issue. All I want is justice for our Alpha.”

“We can read between the lines, Beta. Well, let’s go through the council rules. Then we can discuss the punishments.”

He read out the rules of the council that every wolf learned at their academy. They were the basics, and we knew them by heart. “And the last rule is to respect every fellow wolf and not attack unless threatened.”

He looked up at all the pack members. “You have two options. Either to abide by the rules and let Cerelia Belmont go with her mate or face war. Do you want a battle with Dr. Vasilou’s pack leader, Alpha Zephyrus Averoff, and the entire kingdom of Aromania?”

A loud gasp of horror escaped most of them. No one in their right mind wanted to fight with Alpha Zephyrus.

“No, we don’t want war,” said a member.

“Quiet, Marius. We will fight if that’s what it takes to dethrone Alpha Alarik and get justice for Alpha Cassius,” said Beta Theodore.

I knew this was a futile effort. They would never agree.

“I will never step down and let your dreams come true, Beta Theodore. I will uphold my father’s rules and run this pack like he had. Only I will respect and obey the Moon Goddess’s wish about fated mates. Every silver wolf can choose his or her mate fearlessly,” declared Alpha Alarik.

I was surprised to see a few pack members supporting his decision.

My mate stepped forward to address them. “Dear members of the Silvermane Warriors. I’m a doctor by profession. My duty is to heal and save lives, not take them. It would have been easy for us to attack you with almost ten thousand warriors and wipe out your pack to rescue my mate. Zephyrus and I have done it plenty of times when in Aromania. But this time, I wanted to reach out to you and convince you to accept our relationship. It doesn’t matter to me, but it does to Cerelia. After her father’s death, she considered herself an orphan. She wanted to seek her species out first before accepting me as her mate. We globe-trotted in search of silver wolves. Can you believe you’re the last few silver wolves alive in the entire world? You’re her only family. Therefore, your permission matters to her. She doesn’t want to break this last link with her roots. It’s your decision now. I will rescue my mate by all means.”

“Welcome to the family, Dr. Vasiliou,” said a pack member.

“Welcome to Pieria,” said another.

“May the Goddess bless you both,” said another member. Tears stung at my eyes as, one by one, all the pack members accepted my mate and our relationship.

So that was why he was here? To win them over and whisk me away with him!