Chapter 17
One month had passed, and everyone had forgotten about Crema. The entire pack regarded her as dead, having given up hope she was still alive. This seemed to involve Giovan, according to the observations of Mercedez. He had just announced his second marriage to Janine. Mercedez and her husband, Vladimir, had no plans to give up on their child. They convinced themselves that their child was simply elsewhere, taking some time alone. Crema’s situation in the royal family was not a secret to her parents, especially Mercedez, to whom she was always open about the unpleasant treatment she received from the royals.
"Where is my daughter?" Mercedez sniffed as she spoke weakly. The recent announcement from Alpha Giovan had broken her heart into pieces.
Feeling the same, Vladimir had to keep his grip as the head of the family and not show any weakness in front of his wife. "She will come home soon. Let us not be affected by the actions of Alpha Giovan. Whatever his reason for marrying your niece is, I believe it has something to do with the good of the entire pack. He has a bigger responsibility to stand up to; our daughter is the least of his priorities."
"I know, but I hope things differ from the day our daughter disappeared. I observed he was affected when Crema couldn’t be found. He even reached the point where he ordered the entire force to locate our daughter. All I thought was that he realized the value of his wife and found out that he couldn’t live without her. However…."
Vladimir hugged his wife in sympathy. He felt so much for her but could do nothing. Even he himself could not figure out what to do anymore.
**
"How can you announce our marriage without my consent?" Janine stormed into Giovan’s office. Her mother had instructed her to marry no one from the pack’s royal family. It was prohibited; she could only flirt with Giovan in order to get information from the inside, and it ended there.
Giovan lifted an eyebrow and acted unbothered. "Don’t make me laugh," he spoke without looking at the woman. He laughed at the woman's apparent anger; he knew she wanted to replace Crema in the position before.
"Don't think too highly of yourself," Janine added, irritated. Although she was trying to control herself because she did not want to offend Giovan that much, she still had to finish her mission. I asked honestly if she, she would admit that she liked Giovan so much. But she couldn't because she had a very important mission for her race. Add to that the fact that she was anxious because she had not seen her father yet. She knew that the day would come when her mother would use her father against her if she disobeyed her orders. If she could have easily taken Harbon away from the kingdom of the vampires, then she would have done it long ago; maybe they could have started a new life in the world of wolves.
Giovan looked up, looked her in the eye, and then said, "So, do you disagree with this idea? Tell me I can change my mind and find another wife. I don't force women into my life; you know that. You should be grateful because you are lucky to have been chosen. What made you change your mind there?"
Scared of the possibility that they would disregard her from the option, Janine retracted her previous disagreement. "I mean, I was just surprised. How could you decide that easily? I mean, I thought that you still need more time to mourn over Crema’s death."
"So, do you want me to extend my mourning? I can do that if you say so. But why would I if, deep inside, I have already moved on from her? She's already dead. What can I do? I cannot bring her to life again. Will my world stop because she's gone? You know that I have an enormous responsibility in this pack."
In her mind, Janine agreed otherwise. She was just surprised by the words coming from Giovan. It wasn’t what she expected from someone who had just lost his wife. Oh no. Not lost because the yard had just confirmed from her mother that Crema is actually alive. Where she is, nobody knows. The news was an intense reality for Janine, but she had to keep it to herself. That way, she could maintain her position in the royal family.
"Your answer now is because the wedding will be tonight. I still have time to cancel." She heard Giovan's voice again. Without a second thought, she said yes. She was stuck when she didn't have to say no because it was necessary for her to accomplish her mission. If her mother didn't understand her, there was nothing she could do. For her, she had to accept Giovan's offer of marriage because that was the only thing that would keep her in the royal family.
"Was that a yes?" Giovan repeated. Janine spoke so softly that she was almost unheard. She nodded.
"Okay… You may leave to have time for the preparation. Someone is waiting for you outside; they will help you with the process."
"Okay." Janine turned to leave, full of worries inside. She was not worried about being a subordinate wife for Giovan, but about her mother’s anger. Her heart was pounding hard as she followed the lady towards the preparation room.
****
Crema’s POV
Alone in this house, I feel so lonely. I am excited to meet my child but unsure if I can survive giving birth alone. I made sure that all my curtains were blinds, super dark to protect me from the outside. I am not sure what I will be when my due date is here. Might my wolf naturally come out or not? I don’t know; I am not very knowledgeable about this.
I walked through the lanai; it is near sunset, and I’d want to watch it. There’s a natural peace that I get from doing so. These were the things that I paid little attention to during my stay in the pack. Things and life were so different there. I envy humans so much because of the simplicity of their lives. They do not have many complications to deal with. Just living life day by day is perfectly fine.